Un vrai cinglé de cinéma

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

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.

Having spent the last two or so weeks watching Martin & Lewis movies in chronological order on YouTube, I just finished their very last one on the same site. Once again, a couple of female players from their previous ones have appeared here: Pat Crowley, previously Jerry's girl in Money from Home, is now Dean's here though she initially plays hard to get. And Anita Ekberg, who was a model in Artists and Models, plays herself as the movie star Jerry has a massive crush on. Since this is directed by Frank Tashlin, expect plenty of well-endowed women in view, particularly when Dean and Jerry are watching the views of various farming countrysides on the road. Oh, and there's also a dog named Mr. Bascomb in tow to add to the hilarious comedy that's almost nonstop throughout. Watching this, you wouldn't know that Martin & Lewis weren't talking to each other off-set and that they would break up the act for good. Maybe it's just as well as they both would continue to have success solo (Jerry) and with others (Dean). I've had the best time seeing them grow as performers during this time and I'm looking forward to watching what I can of their subsequent films separate from each other. So on that note, I highly recommend Hollywood or Bust. P.S. While the IMDb cast list doesn't identify him, I swear the guy who announces the winning car ticket that Dean & Jerry claim is Harold Peary, best known to me as The Great Gildersleeve on radio, especially when he enunciates certain words. And I immediately recognized when they went through my birthtown of Chicago, Ill., by the Prudential building.

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?

"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.