Alles um Anita

Though according to the Nick Tosches biography of Dean Martin, both Martin and Lewis were barely speaking to each other off camera, the two of them did go out on a good note in Hollywood Or Bust.

In fact the antagonism between them probably helped in a way. The plot calls for Martin to be a gambler into a bookie big time. But he's got a scheme whereby he cheats a lottery and wins a new car. The problem is that Lewis, playing his usual schnook, also has a winning ticket, the real one. Car dealer Willard Waterman gives joint ownership of the car to them.

Martin takes the offer thinking he can dump Lewis and still sell the car to cover his losses. But Lewis wants the car to meet his dream girl Anita Ekberg playing herself.

Two other passengers come along on this New York to Hollywood trip, aspiring showgirl Pat Crowley and Lewis's great Dane, Mr. Bascomb. The gags involving the dog were taken straight from the WC Fields classic, Six of a Kind. That's certainly in keeping with the Paramount tradition of having Martin and Lewis remake some of their classics. The great Dane foiled Dino's schemes and caused quite the ruckus.

A very hot song writing team of the period, Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster, wrote the score for Hollywood Or Bust. They won two Oscars in the Fifties for Secret Love and Love Is A Many Splendored Thing. One of Dino's best ballads comes from this score, It Looks Like Love. His Capitol Record is a classic.

Because of the antagonism the two were feeling in real life, the scenes were sharp between Dean and Jerry. Lewis in fact told one and all this would be the team's last joint effort.

And in Hollywood, they did indeed bust, but they busted with style.

"Hollywood or Bust" was the last of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin musical comedies and a very good one. Although it is not as bracingly innovative and riotous as Tashlin's "Artists and Models", I kept laughing throughout.

Some hilarious and enjoyable scenes come to mind: The opening moments in the movie theater where Lewis is ruining a woman's hair with popcorn; the rousing musical number "A Day in the Country" (Martin and Lewis in a car) which is Tashlin's homage to the "Beyond the Blue Horizon" number in Lubitsch's 1930 musical "Monte Carlo"; and there is Lewis' imitation of Rudolph Valentino's "Blood and the Sand".

Sure it can be silly and puerile at times, but it's a lot of fun.

Worth seeing.

Malcolm Smith (Jerry Lewis) wins a car in a lottery but degenerate gambler Steve Wiley (Dean Martin) scams the contest with a counterfeit ticket. Malcolm is a dedicated fan of famed actress Anita Ekberg driving across the country to Hollywood. Steve pretends to be her neighbor and joins him on the drive. Steve fails to steal the car and they lose it to an armed old lady. They get the car back and pick up aspiring dancer Terry Roberts on her way to Vegas.

This is the final movie for this legendary pairing. Things got so bad that the guys barely conversed off screen. They are still very professional in their performances. I'm sure their split affected the critical reception at the time. This has the broad comedy and song singing that one expects from this duo. It is not that offensive except for the native stopover and various old fashion stuff. Much of it is a picturesque travelogue. It is not the deepest of movies but one wouldn't expect one here.

Oh, poor little film, only three user comments! I'll scribble something for self-amusement, so, uh... You might as well skip this.

The film is indeed highly enjoyable.

Some of the bits are stupid, borderline-infantile in fact, but that matters not.

The movie buff element could've been emphasized more.

I need to see more Tashlin. Nice cartooniness again, though the look of "Artists and Models" is even sweller. In fact, it's better overall.

The songs, in something of a surprise, are great!

The dialogue sparkles at times, which I appreciate much.

What, that's it?

Malcolm Smith loves the movies and especially Anita Ekberg. Getting one of his lucky feelings, Malcolm buys a ream of raffle tickets to win a car. Sure enough he wins, but so does gigolo gambler Steve Wiley, who, not unsurprisingly has won by less than honourable means. Refusing to give out two cars, the promotion merely tells the men that they will have to share the car. Much to Steve's annoyance as he has debts to pay. So deviously he agrees to drive with Malcolm to Hollywood, planning to ditch him at the first chance he gets. Only he hadn't figured on Mr. Bascom, Malcolm's Great Dane who's along for the ride, and an encounter with the pretty Terry Roberts. Yep, it's safe to say this is not going to be an ordinary road trip.

With their relationship deeply fractured at this time (this was their last film together), it's something of a surprise to find that Hollywood Or Bust is one of the finest films that Dean Martin (Steve) and Jerry Lewis (Malcolm) made. Everything that made the duo so massively popular is in here, even into the bargain daring to cast a satirical slant to the whiles and trials of Hollywood itself. A lot of the credit has to go to director Frank Tashlin. Tashlin, who was also at the helm for arguably the boys career high point Artists & Models, keeps the whole thing zippy, steering the duo in a direction to which they simply could not fail.

Sure enough the humour is almost juvenile at times, and yes Dean of course croons and tries to bed the girl (a spiky Pat Crowley as Terry), but it's got such a sense of joy to it, the kind of joy that much like Artists & Models, can really lift the blues. Stand out songs from the Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster score are "A Day in the Country" and "It Looks Like Love", whilst it will be tough not to giggle at some of the antics of Mr. Bascom and the irrepressible Lewis, particularly with one particular movie parody. Anita Ekberg comes and joins in the fun later in the piece, just in time for the riotous carnage that you know is around the corner.

If the sight of a Great Dane driving a car is not funny to you? Well chances are you should avoid this film completely. But that would be a shame for it's a delightful film, brisk and cheeky, it's most definitely one that's in desperate need of reappraisal from the grumpy brigade because it's a real blues lifter. 8/10