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.

Has Jerry Lewis just gotten a bad rap? Well, when you combine his top-notch physical humor with a good script, wonderful supporting cast (and the ever necessary loyal pretty girl played here by Joan O'Brien) and Frank Tashlin's cartoon-expert direction, you've got to wonder. Very funny (and those creepy, one-eyed, flesh-eating, canister vacuum cleaners at the end are a blast).

While not on par with Lewis's very best (The Nutty Professor, The Ladies Man, The Bell Boy, Who's Minding the Store, the underrated The Family Jewels, and others), It's Only Money is entertaining for fans. It includes many instances of iconic Lewis linguistics and enough funny gags to sustain its 90 minutes. While not on par with Lewis's very best (The Nutty Professor, The Ladies Man, The Bell Boy, Who's Minding the Store, the underrated The Family Jewels, and others), It's Only Money is entertaining for fans. It includes many instances of iconic Lewis linguistics and enough funny gags to sustain its 90 minutes.

Jerry Lewis has undoubted talent as a slapstick comedian. Unfortunately he also has a massive ego and a rather unpleasant personality which make most of his movies (especially the ones without Dean Martin) almost impossible for me to watch. In this one director Frank Tashlin seems to have established firm control, doesn't let Lewis hog the camera but makes the most of his acrobatic comedy. This, supplemented by an expert supporting cast, Zachary Scott as the villain, Jesse White as the private eye and Mae Questel as the dotty aunt, along with some understated but well done Noir type photography make this mystery spoof watchable and funny.

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.