Der Ladenhüter

"Who's Minding the Store?" is a movie that is so stupid its funny. This film contains scenes that are incredibly dim-witted. Other scenes are dumber than dumb. But I found myself laughing at what was going on. I haven't seen alot of Jerry Lewis movies with the exception of a few including this one. "Who's Minding the Store?" stars Lewis as Norman Pfeiffer, a hapless young man who works as a poodle dog walker and animal sitter. He is engaged to be married to a lovely young woman named Barbara played by Jill St. John (before she became a Bond woman in "Diamonds Are Forever"). Barbara works at a department store as an elevator operator. One day she goes to visit Norman while dog-sitting, and she breaks the news to him that her bosses want Norman to come work at the store. Norman is thrilled to get the chance to work close to his girl, and (foolishly) accepts the job. However, what Barbara doesn't know is that this is a scheme by her mother Phoebe Tuttle (played by "Bewitched" star Agnes Moorehead), who just happens to be the store owner. Phoebe is not happy one bit that her daughter is engaged to this imbecile. So she orders the store manager Mr. Quimby (Ray Walston) to give Norman the hardest, most impossible jobs to do so that he'll quit his new job and hopefully end up breaking off his engagement to Barbara. The jobs that Norman does in this film are unbelievable, and in the process ends up turning the store upside down into a disaster area. I laughed, and laughed, and laughed, at the stupidity of what went on and I couldn't help it. This movie cracks me up (interesting, because 20 years after Lewis made this he made a movie titled oddly enough "Cracking Up"). I feel kind of guilty admitting that I like this film, but I did.

*** (out of four)

Norman Phiffier (Jerry Lewis) is a bungler young whose previous jobs include that of caddy , TV repairman, and Paramount Theater usher. Barbara (Jill St. John) is a very rich girl posing as an elevator-girl and falls in love with Norman . He now works as a store clerk in a large department store. Clumsy and inept, he set loose in store and can't do anything right . Boy are they in trouble . But , Barbara's mother (Agnes Morehead) doesn't want her daughter to marry such a poor man.

Amusing and spasmodic comedy with the genius comic Jerry Lewis acting in his stereotyped role by relinquishing creative control and concentrating on humor based on destruction and wreak havoc , nice inventive bits , skilfully combining the entertainment with the amusement. It features quick editing , wild and outrageous gags , and extremely odd angles. Enjoyable film with characters genuine and sympathetic , it is plenty of humor , tongue-in-cheek , side-splitting sight gags and amusement . Director Frank Tashlin introduces cinematic especial techniques in animated cartoon style , such as odd camera angles, montage and quickly paced editing , as some shots lasting only five frames long . Jerry Lewis is top-notch playing a botcher and meek store clerk ; Jerry played similar character as a bumbling idiot in other films such as a caddy in ¨The Caddy¨ and a TV repairman in both ¨Rock-a-Bye Baby¨ and ¨It's Only Money¨. The co-starring role stands out Jill St. John , surely the most gorgeous girl any clerk ever had . Excellent support cast formed by likable secondaries as Ray Walston as Mr. Quimby , John McGiver as Mr. John P. Tuttle and special mention to Agnes Moorehead as Mrs. Phoebe Tuttle . Furthermore , watch rapidly to veteran Kathleen Freeman . Colorful and shimmer cinematography in Technicolor by Wallace Kelley and catching musical score .

The motion picture was well directed by Frank Tashlin , one of the few directors to successfully make the transition from animation to live-action , as he directed his cartoons like live-action films and his live-action films like cartoons . He directed various vehicles for Jerry Lewis as ¨The Geisha boy¨, ¨Hollywood or Bust¨ , ¨Rock-a-Bye Baby¨ , ¨Cinderfella¨ and for Bob Hope as ¨The son of Paleface¨ . Who's minding the store ? is considered to be one of his best films . Rating : 6,5 . Entertaining and amusing movie that it will appeal to Jerry Lewis fans . Worthwhile watching .

Jerry Lewis plays Norman Phiffier, a poodle dog walker who is going to marry a rich girl named Barbara Tuttle (Jill St. John) who works as an elevator operator at a department store.Barbara doesn't want Norman to know that she's rich.Barbara's mother Phoebe Tuttle (Agnes Moorehead) doesn't want her daughter to marry such a fool as Norman so she gets Norman a job from the store Barbara works and gets him the worst jobs.Norman has to eat fried ants for example.Frank Tashlin's Who's Minding the Store from 1963 is filled with hilarious situations.Jerry Lewis causes disasters and makes people crack up.It's hard to say the best movie of Jerry Lewis but this must be one of the them.It has everything Jerry Lewis fans need.Watch this movie if you want to get a good laugh a'la Jerry Lewis.

I saw this movie at a Sunday matinee in 1963. The movie was so funny that the mere memory of that movie was enough to get me laughing. And I got sent to the principal's office as a result. So you can say that Jerry Lewis got me in trouble in school!

Jerry Lewis is an incompetant errand boy who is engaged to the store owner's daughter. But to get him out of the daughter's life, the store owner turns the screws on the engagement by assigning him the worst jobs. The store owner then moves him from one department to another, leaving massive chaos and destruction everywhere he goes.

The results are hilarious enough. But the aftermath of his time in the appliance department, alone, is worth watching the movie alone. It left me laughing so hard that I had stomach cramps!

I saw the movie again many years later and it was second childhood all over again.

Not my Favorite J.L. Film, (that would be Errand Boy), but delightful, nonetheless. Great physical comedy and some lightweight satire ("a man has to be king of his own ranch style tract home").

The woman who played Jane Hathaway in Beverly Hillbillies makes a cameo appearance as a Big Game Hunter looking for a new rifle in the Sporting Dept., where Jerry's Character is working the counter.

The usual slapstick devices come into play such as the golf bag sch tick (you know, the one), the golf ball going out the window...making, let's just say..multiple bounces along its journey, and of course.

The exercise bicycles on the mattress, and ensuing endurance jog make my side hurt with laughter.

Home sick from work or school, either from a cold or the bad ironic humor that pervades your weekdays? This is your film.

If you don't like Jerry, you have no soul.