L'increvable Jerry

Even if you don't crave for comedies, you can't miss this kind of stuff, never boring material which always keep its promises in terms of entertainment. It is fast paced with always an excellent climax, here with the lawnmowers. The story is only a pretext, as usual, you have not to ask many questions, just enjoy and laugh. Only pure top entertainment. I guess Jerry Lewis was the best of his time. I am sure that Frank Tashlin made the best of his films with Lewis, though I have not seen all his films either. I am not a comedy specialist, you see.

When the French deliver accolades regarding the genius of Jerry Lewis, this is, no doubt, one of the flicks they refer to.

IT'$ ONLY MONEY provides the viewer with a perfect blend of Dir. Frank Tashlin's deft touch with a comedic script and the harnessing of star Jerry Lewis who, for this movie, walks a fine laugh-filled tightrope all the way with nary a mishap.

Jerry has referred to Tashlin as his "mentor" and probably for that reason, the comedian has restrained himself from his usual on screen excesses. The result is unbridled humor from the star with special emphasis on featured player Jesse White who is a perfect foil to Jerry's man-child character.

Eye candy is provided by the lovely Joan O'Brien who portrays Jerry's girl. Uh! Oh! Opposites do attract,especially in the movies.

IT'$ ONLY MONEY pays off with interest.

In this offering, Jerry was a stupid television repairman who is an heir to a fortune that an unscrupulous attorney wants for himself. Many attempts are made to insure that Jerry does not live to get the inheritance. Of course, they all fail. The action was so predictable that I considered the whole show to be very dull - just so much more slapstick Jerry.

I've noticed that in Jerry Lewis' earlier solo films, he tended to play his roles a bit more...quietly. In films like "The Delicate Delinquent" and "The Sad Sack", Lewis was reasonably restrained. However, as the 1960s arrived, Lewis began a long period in which being loud and overplaying things was his schtick. This mugging was quite obvious here in "It'$ Only Money". He's very loud, his voice is much more intensely annoying and ethnic and he is anything but subtle. As a result, it's difficult going at times.

The film finds Jerry playing a TV repairman. A rich inventor has recently died and Jerry's detective friend (Jesse White) wants to use Jerry to infiltrate the dead man's mansion. What no one knows at this point is that Jerry is the heir to the estate--the rich guy's long-lost son. The first to realize this is a shyster lawyer (Zachary Scott) who plans on using his homicidal assistant (Jack Westin) to kill Lewis before he can collect his fortune. And, his plan is to then marry the dead guy's sister (Mae Questel) and then kill her--and taking the fortune for himself. Can Jerry somehow survive? And, for that matter, can the audience survive the ordeal?! Considering how much Lewis mugs during the train recording sequence, when he's shaving and when looking at the painting of his dead father, it's doubtful. Subtle and well acted, it ain't! If you do watch, look for Barbara Pepper (Mrs. Zipfel from "Green Acres") and Mae Questel (the voice of Olive Oyl and Betty Boop). Pepper is just there in a cameo as the lady at the fishing pier and Questel plays Jerry's aunt with the very annoying voice (hence, it's easy to tell they are supposed to be related).

Frank Tashlin and Jerry Lewis did a very special film with It's Only Money. The film is a salute to those noir films of the Forties and Fifties with a generous helping of Jerry Lewis's comedy stylings.

Like Bob Hope in My Favorite Brunette, Jerry is a television repairman, but what he wants most of all is to be a private detective having devoured all the Mickey Spillane and Dashiell Hammett he could get his hands on in the orphanage he was raised in. Usually his hero, real life private eye Jesse White snubs Lewis, but comes a day when Lewis's talent and his profession come in handy on a case he's on.

It concerns a missing heir and if said heir can be found he'll inherit the fortune of an electronics tycoon. Otherwise the money will go to the tycoon's sister Mae Questal and her fiancé lawyer Zachary Scott when they tie the knot. Unbeknownst to all Scott has been shrewdly manipulating events and he wants the estate all to himself. And he's enlisted family chauffeur Jack Weston in his scheme.

To be sure this is a Jerry Lewis film and he got the lion's share of the laughs. I did so love his time on the pier 'helping' a woman catch a fish with his head and later on having her line snag him in the rear and saving him from a planned explosion courtesy of Weston. His show of gratitude was equally full of laughs.

But Frank Tashlin was generous all around with the players. Questal is pretty ditzy as an heiress without a clue, note that she keeps singing a whole flock of songs associated with Paramount classics like Isn't It Romantic, Cocktails For Two, and It's Easy to Remember. Weston has some good laughs as a hit man who just can't get the job done. Even Joan O'Brien who is the nurse for Questal and the love interest for Lewis has some funny moments.

This was Zachary Scott's farewell performance on the big screen. Scott in his salad years at Warner Brothers in the Forties and later on did some really serious slick villain roles. In this one however, Frank Tashlin discovered Scott's funny side and he did really well spoofing some of the parts he did in his starring days. A really good performance to go out on.

It's Only Money was one of Jerry Lewis's better solo films and his legion of fans especially the French will keep this special for centuries.