Sailor Beware

When I see these old Martin and Lewis films again, I'm always amazed and curious. Curious as to why I found them so funny when I saw them at the time of their release and amazed that I enjoyed them so much. Martin was always the essence of Mr. Cool. Good looks, smooth with the chicks and that soft Italian voice. Lewis was always a loose cannon, with his goofy slapstick and sentimental shifts. This film is typical with an implausible story and lots of crazy situations but memorable mostly for (later-to-be) screen legend, James Dean's first film lines, "That man's a professional!"

You can't judge these films on the same level as today's comedy. Martin had a style of his own and showed he could act in later films. Lewis just kept being Lewis, which if you enjoyed him, you caught his later films (I'd outgrown him by then and thought Geisha boy was one of the silliest films I've ever seen). He could never do a prat-fall like Peter Sellers nor be as genuinely goofy as Robin Williams, but he could tickle your funny bone at times.

Al Crowthers (Dean Martin) and Melvin Jones (Jerry Lewis) are in line to join the Navy. Ladies man Al has already been rejected 11 times, but he's doing this to get kisses from the girls. Melvin is the idiot with a weird reason to join. Navy requirements have been lowered and everybody gets accepted.

This is the fifth Martin and Lewis film. It is exactly what one expects from them. Lewis can be annoying at times especially when he talks gibberish as other ethnicities. He does that. Otherwise, he is good fun. Martin is super cool and does his singing. That's it. It is ok humorous but not great.

Sailor Beware is the 5th big screen outing for Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis. It's directed by Hal Walker and also stars Corinne Calvet, Marion Marshall, Robert Strauss & Leif Erickson.

As was normally the way with a Martin & Lewis vehicle, the plot is rather thin. This one sees the boys, against all odds, pass the requirements for joining the Navy. When Lewis' bumbling kissing phobe Melvin Jones is mistaken for being "Mr Temptation" on a TV show, it leads to a big wager amongst the ranks that he can't kiss supposedly ice cold Corinne Calvet. The bet is on and chaos follows. Sailor Beware is one of the better black & white pictures from the duo. It finds Lewis on particularly manic form, suffice to say those with an aversion to his high energy buffoonery are best advised to stay away. Highlight here is the whole boxing sequence, the pre fight chatter and the actual fight itself. Some good tunes like Sailor's Polka and Blue Hawai brighten up proceedings, while Robert Strauss as a Bluto type character is perfect foil for the duo.

As a double act they were just about finding their feet in this one. Better things were to come but this certainly pays dividends for the Martin & Lewis fan. 7/10

This B&W film reached the spartan movie house of my Frisian village about 18 months after its release. In those days much of our full-length comedy fare hailed from Denmark (Nils Poppe anyone?) so this movie struck like a thunderbolt -- it had me weeping with helpless mirth, ROTFL as we'd now put it. OK, so some of the sight gags were in fact recycled vaudeville 'schtick', but how was this 'barefoot boy with cheeks of brass' to know that at the time? In any case, my favorite scenes had Jerry's unique brand of frantic clowning, like that Hawaii boxing match.

Seeing "Sailor Beware" again fifty years later I still guffawed loudly at the goings-on. Granted, without the nostalgia component it would probably be just another fair-to-middling comedy. But then, another movie that once had me in stitches even more helplessly, the Spike Jones outing "Fireman Save My Child", now seems dated and stilted apart from some too-short orchestra bits and Doodles Weaver scenes. Must be some special ingredient that makes Martin & Lewis product stay fresher longer. To me this one at least rates eight out of ten.

After At War With The Army which assured Martin&Lewis of stardom another service comedy seemed in the offing so Sailor Beware was on tap as the fifth vehicle for Dean and Jerry. This story begins at the recruiting office where Dean is enlisting again for the 11th time knowing he's a 4- F. And Jerry with all his allergies isn't sure they'll take him.

Guess what folks; the standards of enlistment were lowered so both get in. Which is a bit of a tragedy to Dean after saying goodbye to his latest girlfriend Hetty Button. Why they would take Jerry God only knows, but both of them run into their nemesis at the recruiting center Robert Strauss a former Navy man who has been given back his rating of CPO upon his taking the oath again.

Dean gets his series of songs and Jerry has some great moments during basic training on a submarine to Hawaii and then as the object of a bet to see if he can thaw out the been through the mill Corinne Calvet. It seems as though because of a local TV contest on Don Wilson's show Jerry gets the reputation as a lady killer. But Dino has Calvet earmarked for himself.

Best bit in the film is a boxing match with Jerry fighting to defend his honor when he's challenged. One of the seconds of his opponent is James Dean whom you will have to watch carefully for and not blink. Of course Jerry wins the fight, but not exactly with the Marquis of Queensbury rules.

Hetty Button is of course Betty Hutton making an unbilled appearance twice in Sailor Beware. Dino's best song in this film is Never Before written by Jerry Livingston and Mack David.

Don't you beware of this film, it's pretty funny.