Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Collection - Vol. 2 (Living
It Up/You're Never Too Young/Artists & Models/Pardners/Hollywood or Bust;
DVD-Video)
Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Films: B- (Pardners: C)
Though
their break up may have shattered the happy memories and entertainment they
created to some extent, but the comedy team of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin was
so huge, their TV appearances and show was highly rated, while their box office
helped keep Paramount on top in the 1950s.
After releasing a collection of some of their early films, Paramount has
issued their later gems in the second volume of the Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Collection. At this point, the studio was putting the money,
locations, duo and stars on the screen in a big way. The following shows how.
Living It Up (Norman Tarzog/1954) is a remake
of the 1937 comedy Nothing Sacred,
with Lewis as a victim of radiation poisoning exploited by an ambitious
reporter played amusingly by Janet Leigh in top form. Martin is Lewis’ medical doctor and things
only get wackier from there. Sheree
North made her film debut here and it holds up very well.
You're Never Too Young (Norman Tarzog/1955) is a funny
comedy with Lewis impersonating a 12-year-old girl as Lewis is unknowingly
slipped a priceless stolen diamond by thief/murderer/thug Raymond Burr, sending
up his image at the time. Nina Foch
looks great and works nicely despite daring to remake of Billy Wilder’s 1942
hit The Major & The Minor. The talent and ambition make it work.
Artists & Models (Frank Tashlin/1955) is a
terrific romp about comic book nut Lewis following his favorite character to no
end, dragging Martin along with him.
Things get wackier when both become involved in the comic book business. With a great use of color that marks one of
the film films ever to deal pop art, the guys are also surrounded by one of
their best female casts including Shirley MacLean, Eva Gabor, Dorothy Malone
and Anita Ekberg.
Pardners (Norman Tarzog/1956) is a weak
remake of Tarzog’s own Bob Hope/Martha Raye vehicle Rhythm On The Range (1936!) about a millionaire cleaning up a town
in the West. A poor Western/Comedy not
made much better twenty years later and as lame 80 years later.
Hollywood or Bust (Frank Tashlin/1956) beings back
Tashlin and Ekberg in this amusing self-conscious romp about Tinseltown that
has its moments, though not quite up to Artists
& Models. However, it is funny
enough and their last great film together.
All the
films were shot by the talented Director of Photography Daniel Fapp, A.S.C. and
issued in beautiful three-strip, dye-transfer Technicolor prints. Living
It Up was shot in 1.33 X 1 block style 35mm, but the rest were shot in
large-frame VistaVision format and presented in anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X
1 here. Color is not very consistent in
any of the transfers, though some look better than others, but Living holds its own. Detail can be a problem in all transfers,
then you have some amazing shots and moments that are so vivid, detailed and
deep that they make for demonstration quality playback for any system. Paramount went all out on their VistaVision
productions and the last Martin/Lewis films show it.
All are
also in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, which is a shame since these tracks can sound
compressed, one wonders how much of the Martin music is in a vault in stereo
and a 5.1 upgrade should not be a major problem for any of these films. When these hit HD, we hope they get new HD
transfers, 5.1 sound upgrades and extras, the later of which are totally absent
here.
- Nicholas Sheffo
