Jerry Lewis: 10 Films (DVD)

Ten-disc set includes:

The Stooge (1952)

Comic farce with some surprising dramatic and autobiographical moments starring Dean Martin as Bill Miller, an accordion-playing vaudevillian who decides to go solo without help from his partner (Richard Erdman). After falling flat on his face, Bill’s manager suggests he recruit a “stooge” in the form of a zany, put-upon second banana. Enter Ted Rogers (Jerry Lewis). But how long can Ted remain the butt of Bill’s jokes without proper credit. Polly Bergen, Eddie Mayehoff also star. 99 min. C/Rtg: NR

The Delicate Delinquent (1957)

In his first solo outing, Jerry Lewis plays Sidney L. Pythias, a nerdy janitor who gets caught in the middle of a gang rumble and is arrested for being a juvenile delinquent. Officer Mike Damon (Darren McGavin, in a role written for Dean Martin) sets out to reform the "delinquent" Sidney, who soon becomes a cop. This mirthful mix of silliness and sentiment based on the Damon and Pythias legend co-stars Martha Hyer, Horace McMahon. 100 min. BW/Rtg: NR

The Bellboy (1960)

Jerry Lewis wrote, produced, directed, and starred in this plotless comedy par excellence--Jerry’s tribute to silent film idol Stan Laurel--as inept bellhop Stanley. You’ll check in for laughter as Stanley turns a posh Miami Beach resort upside down, and welcomes such guests as Milton Berle, golfer Cary Middlecoff, Laurel imitator Bill Richmond, and Jerry himself! Narrated by Walter Winchell. 71 min. BW/Rtg: NR

Cinderfella (1960)

The fairy tale classic is turned on its head when Fella (Jerry Lewis) gets some help from his Fairy Godfather (Ed Wynn) after his father dies and he’s left in the care of his rotten stepmother (Judith Anderson) and her two sons (Henry Silva, Robert Hutton). But things soon turn around for Fella after he meets Princess Charming (Anna Maria Alberghetti), and loses his shoe. Will Princess find the wearer of the shoe...and will the couple live happily ever after? With Count Basie. 87 min. C/Rtg: NR

The Errand Boy (1961)

Le Grand Goofee, Jerry Lewis, is Paramutual Studios’ gopher Morty Tashman, who turns Tinseltown upside-down with one hilarious misadventure after another after his boss (Brian Donlevy) solicits him to spy on his fellow lot workers and report back any incidents of wastefulness and laziness. Frenetic film farce features a slew of celluloid chuckle-makers, including Sig Ruman, Milton Frome, Benny Rubin, Fritz Feld, Doodles Weaver, Joey Forman, and Joe Besser, with a cameo by the cast of TV’s "Bonanza." 92 min. BW/Rtg: NR

The Ladies Man (1961)

Jerry Lewis is at his zany best playing Herbert H. Heebert, a young recent college grad who swears off women after his girlfriend leaves him for another man. But that plan quickly proves moot when Herbert takes a job as a houseboy at a Hollywood home for wayward girls. What could possibly go wrong? Helen Traubel, Pat Stanley, George Raft, and Harry James and His Orchestra (performing "Bang Tail") are also featured in this wacky outing. 95 min. C/Rtg: NR

The Nutty Professor (1963)

Considered by many to be his best film, writer/director/star Jerry Lewis' slapstick spin on the Jekyll/Hyde story finds him, as nerdy college professor Julius Kelp, inventing a mysterious potion that turns him into hip, conceited stud Buddy Love (whose persona, some say, was based on Dean Martin). Stella Stevens plays his love interest, Miss Purdy. With Del Moore, Kathleen Freeman. 107 min. C/Rtg: NR

The Patsy (1964)

An inept hotel bellhop named Stanley Belt is groomed for stardom by a late comedian's management team after their meal ticket is killed in a plane crash. With no talent to speak of, Stanley is soon given the boot by his handlers...but one team member (Ina Balin) has taken a shine to the goofy “patsy,” and stays by his side on his unlikely road to success. Madcap farce--intended as a sequel to “The Bellhop”--co-stars Peter Lorre (in his last film), Keenan Wynn, Everett Sloane; Jerry directs. 101 min. C/Rtg: NR

The Disorderly Orderly (1964)

The diagnosis is bellylaugh after bellylaugh when Jerome Littlefield (Jerry Lewis), an attendant who experiences "sympathy pains," turns a quiet hospital upside down in this hilarious comedy. But when Jerry’s former high school crush becomes a patient, he realizes that his love for her is the cause of his problems as he attempts to heal her...and himself. With Susan Oliver, Jack E. Leonard, Kathleen Freeman. 89 min. C/Rtg: NR

The Family Jewels (1965)

If one Jerry Lewis isn't enough for you, how about seven of him! In this heartwarming comedy Jerry portrays six wacky uncles of 10-year-old heiress Donna Peyton (Donna Butterworth) who must choose a guardian, as well as her faithful chauffeur. Spending two weeks with each of her offbeat relatives, Donna discovers that her ideal father may have been under her nose all along. With Sebastian Cabot, Neil Hamilton, and a cameo by Jerry’s son’s band, Gary Lewis and the Playboys. 99 min. C/Rtg: NR

Starring: Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Polly Bergen, Martha Hyer, Milton Berle, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Brian Donlevy, Helen Traubel, Stella Stevens, Peter Lorre

Rating: NR