Trois bébés sur les bras

Giving a Jerry Lewis movie, any Jerry Lewis movie, a vote of ten is in some people's minds tantamount to movie heresy. That is, however, the vote I gave to Rock-A-Bye-Baby, and I stick by it. Believe it or not, before he became the king of overindulgent egomania in many of his later films, Lewis did manage to put a few good films on celluloid. These films were not only funny, but gave us charming, sympathetic characters, a good script, and good supporting casts. Of his early solo efforts, Rock-A-Bye Baby is the one that has stuck with me the longest, so it is the Lewis film I have chosen to talk about here.

Lewis plays Clayton Poole, a television repairman, who has gone through life carrying a torch for the beautiful Carla Naples (Marilyn Maxwell). Because of advice that Clayton gave Carla, she left town to become an actress, and ends up becoming a big film star. Carla's father, Gigi Naples (Salvatore Baccaloni) blames Clayton for his daughter going away. Then there is Carla's younger sister, Sandra (Connie Stevens), who is carrying the torch for Clayton. It turns out that Carla, had been married for a short time to a bullfighter who was killed in the bull ring. Later, just when she finds out she is to star in a film called (believe it or not) White Virgin of the Nile, she also finds out she is pregnant. Believing that she will not be able to do the movie if people find out she has had a baby (not to mention the way morality was looked at back then, see what happened to Ingrid Berman), Carla contacts Clayton to see if he will temporarily take care of the baby till the film is finished. Feeling that this is the one thing he can do for Carla, he agrees. What Carla doesn't tell Clayton is that there is not one baby, but three as she has had triplets.

What happens after that, well I set it up for you it's up to you to find the movie and watch it. Jerry as Clayton is funny throughout, without resorting too much to mugging while keeping the slapstick toned down to where it fits well into the picture. Marilyn Maxwell plays Carla, and though in todays climate it would hard to understand her motives, in this movie we are reasonably able to understand her motives, and despite the fact that she is using Clayton, we are sure she wouldn't if she had another way out. The rest of the cast is also good. Connie Stevens as Sandra, is sweet and funny, especially when she gets frustrated at Clayton for refusing her advances. Salvatore Baccaloni as Papa Naples, shows a rough mean exterior, yet we know inside he is a loving, carring, father. Reginald Gardner is witty and debonair as Carla's agent. Hans Conried who plays Claytons boss, could have been on note but it is not, as he also cares about Clayton despite Clayton's on the job foul-ups.

There is an early scene in this movie, where Clayton sings a song with himself as a child, played by Lewis's own son Gary. It sets the tone for the rest of the movie and from then on we are hooked. How does it all end? I'll not tell that, as it is one of the funniest endings of not only a Jerry Lewis movie, but of any movie.

This movie is for everyone. It has heart, it has soul, it has comedic genius. I only wish Jerry had made more films like this one. Then, not only in France, but in the USA, we just might be calling him "genius".

Till Next Time, Next Class Please

This is another typical Jerry Lewis comedy. Overall, it will make you laugh. But more, this is a musical that makes you laugh. Jerry Lewis hits a home run for his typical audience. No surprises here, if you are a fan of his work, this is a treat. Then again, the supporting cast including Marilyn Maxwell, Connie Stevens and Salvatore Baccaloni make it more than just a Jerry Lewis comedy. Baccaloni is perfect. At first you hate him and then love him. Connie Stevens is beyond beautiful. She is as sexy as she can be for the decade. She plays the perfect girl next door who is head over heels for Jerry. The trick is, it is Jerry who is playing hard to get. This adds to the wonderful genre that Lewis created in his comedies. This is a nice story that offends nobody. This is hard to do when making a successful comedy. Somewhere, usually someone is the butt of the joke. Here, Jerry is the butt as well as the rest of the cigarette (wink wink).

I have seen most of Jerry Lewis' comedies and I wasn't surprised that I liked this film, as it was made during a period in which most of his best films were made--the late 1950s (don't ask me what I think of the ones from the late 60s and 70s...yick). However, I must confess that while I liked the film overall, it was very uneven and about as many gags worked as flopped. As for me, I actually preferred many of the moments when Jerry wasn't trying to be funny-- such as one of the musical numbers where Jerry and the babies' grandfather sing a nice little duet.

The plot to this film is kind of weird. Clayton Poole (Lewis) used to date Carla Naples (Marilyn Maxwell) but now Carla has gone on to better things. She's now a big Hollywood star and her career is about to take a hit because she's pregnant and her husband died after only a day...and no one knows about the marriage. So, to avoid any sort of scandal, she plans on dumping the baby off on Clayton. However, she is surprised when she ends up having triplets. Yet, oddly, Clayton agrees to raise the kids even though they aren't his and he spends most of the rest of the film with the three adorable little girls. But, some rich biddy without kids decides to go to court to try to take the kids away, as everyone back in the 1950s KNEW that a man cannot raise a child by himself. What's next?

The film has lots of jokes that simply fall flat. The ones with the babies tended to work better because they were gentler and seemed less forced. As for the music, Jerry sings a lot of tunes (several of which were poorly chosen, as they were out of his musical range) and his acting is very nice. Overall, a cute little film that Lewis fans will love and others will at least tolerate.

I've read the preceding comments and they pretty much tell the story of why this is a classic Jerry Lewis film. However, I think one of the reasons I love this one so much is that it also captures a feel for what life was like growing up in the fifties (as I did). In many ways it typifies the fifties mindset, but also exemplifies the entertainment of the period. Things were so much more family-oriented. Sex wasn't non-existence in films, but it was more often handled tastefully. Language was wholesome and the humor didn't depend on "shock" (such as the name of Navin Johnson's dog in The Jerk).

I find the segment in Hill Valley of the fifties in Back to the Future especially enjoyable as Robert Zemeckis does a great job of re-creating the era. Watching Rock a Bye Baby, which is authentically of the era confirms that. (In fact, the court house and town square in both of these films appear to have a striking similarity to one another.)

Although the story owes a lot to The Miracle of Morgan's Creek as inspiration (and even gives Preston Sturges credit), it really has its own unique flavor as well. Like a son who bears a resemblance to his father but also has his own personality. In many ways I think that Frank Tashlin has improved upon it. The subplot with the sister and its resolution are wonderful additions.

Over all I think it is a great film and can't wait till it's available on DVD (Is anybody listening?).

It might be redundant to say that Jerry Lewis did his best work with Frank Tashlin as director, either by himself or with Dino. He was a comic genius, but it took another genius to bring out the best in him.

Paramount dusted off the Preston Sturges classic The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek for Lewis in his early years as a solo entertainer. When he was with Dean Martin, Paramount was always remarking earlier hits for the team so this was in tradition. It took a lot of rewriting because Lewis's raucous type of comedy is far different than Eddie Bracken's more gentle schnook like character. Still Jerry does generate a lot of whimsy and pathos in his character of Clayton Poole.

It seems years ago Lewis had a big old torch for Marilyn Maxwell who left town and became a Hollywood Star. Maxwell's younger sister Connie Stevens is also crushing out on Lewis, but he can't see for the glare in Maxwell's spotlight.

Marilyn is now in a family way expecting triplets as a result of a marriage to a bullfighter who died in the arena after the honeymoon. It was all a blur and she can't remember where she got married, only that she did.

Her agent Reginald Gardiner fixes up the answer, have her go away to quietly give birth, then send them to her old friend Lewis to take care of. Later she can adopt. Hey, it worked for Loretta Young back in the day.

Of course Jerry gets fond of the three and goes to extraordinary lengths to tend to the kids. His scenes with the infants are both Tashlin and Lewis at their best.

The only real criticism I have is Lewis's best comic moment is unfortunately right at the beginning where he gets involved with a some loose chimney bricks, a runaway firehose, and a great deal of chimney soot, wreaking havoc for the whole neighborhood. Something that good should have been saved for last.

Rockabye Baby is not quite the classic of Miracle Of Morgan's Creek, but it's right up there with some of Jerry's best.