The Sad Sack

The only memorable thing about this bland, tacky, cheap-looking comedy is Liliane Montevecchi. That this beautiful, spectacularly entertaining creature could have been intentionally included in this otherwise nastily drab picture is almost beyond belief. Peter Lorre is also brought in to jazz things up a bit, mostly to no avail, though thanks to his efforts one of his scenes with Jerry Lewis is very nearly funny.

Aside from a god-awful opening tune sung by Lewis (ugh!), "The Sad Sack" is an entertaining little film. Fresh from his breakup with long-time partner, Dean Martin, the studio instead gave him David Wayne AND Joe Mantell to fill the void. And considering that there isn't any of the usual singing, things worked out just fine. However, don't expect huge laughs from this one--just a pleasant little army comedy.

Lewis naturally plays the Sad Sack--a soldier who can't seem to do anything right. However, a dopey female Major takes him under her wing and gets a couple soldiers (Wayne and Mantell) to buddy up with Lewis and help him through basic training. Eventually, the trio is sent to North Africa where they have a series of mildly interesting adventures.

Like I said above, this is not a hilarious film but a nice little comedy. What I especially liked is that Lewis was far more likable and restrained than usual--without the excess mugging that sometimes ruined his later films. What you're left with is some nice acting, a decent script from this little time-passer. The only negative I noticed is that there are quite a few sexist remarks about the major--a product of the times in which it was made.

I do believe the American critics simply prefer to dislike Jerry Lewis' comedy, rather than seeing it for what it really is. The French on the other hand laugh at what makes them laugh, without stopping to analyze weather or not they should. Maybe that is why Lewis is still so popular in France. If so, this film is a perfect example.

It is impossible to watch this film (dated though it is) and not laugh at the comic genius of Lewis. The man has the keen ability to leap between pathos and comedy without showing any signs of effort, or evident seams between the two. Like it or not American critics, that's comedic genius.

Try this film on for comedic size. You'll like it. And just sit back and laugh, don't analyze.

For his second film post Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis did a live adaption of George Baker's World War II comic strip The Sad Sack. It was a role perfectly suited to his talents though I have to say that it looked like David Wayne was standing in for Dino.

It was a fateful day that Wayne and buddy Joe Mantell reporting back to Louisiana's Camp Calhoun ran into Lewis on the train who in his usual innocence befriends these two. Because of him they're late for reporting back and that's only the beginning.

In fact Lewis who is blessed with a photographic memory, but has the coordination of a goony bird has set an army record of most time in basic training. He's become an army project in that army psychologist Phyllis Kirk is sent down from the Pentagon and she puts Wayne and Mantell into personally supervising him through basic training. Seeing Lewis qualify on the rifle range is the funniest sequence in the film.

Once finished the whole platoon is assigned to an Air Force base in Morocco for security as some classified items involving a new army weapon have vanished. In fact the whole weapon has been taken, but its apart and bad guys George Dolenz and Peter Lorre don't know how to put it together. But the guy with photographic memory does.

The Sad Sack is a perfect part for Lewis and I have to say that David Wayne without getting in the way of the star gives a droll, but unobtrusive performance. It's definitely a Dean Martin part without the songs. Jerry even gets some romance here in the form of Liliane Montevecchi who plays a Moroccan belly dancer in league with the bad guys, but who has a change of heart when she meets The Sad Sack.

You have to see how Lewis, Wayne, and Mantell foil the bad guys. This is a really good role for Jerry and holds up very well for today.

While I've enjoyed many of Jerry Lewis' movies I believe Joey Bishop would have been a better choice for the title role since Joey kind of resembled the classic comic book character. But perhaps it was Jerry's ego that kept him from producing a movie with someone else as the star.