Un pitre au pensionnat

I was watching this movie and suddenly thought it seemed very familiar!! I then realized it was a re-making of the 1942 movie "The Major and the Minor" starring Ginger Rogers! There is a sub-plot that is different,but many of the scenes are identical except for the fact that now it is Jerry Lewis playing a 12 year old boy instead of Ginger as a 12 year old girl.Another pairing of Lewis and Martin-lightweight but enjoyable.

A few years back, I watched a Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis movie, "Artists and Models." I hadn't watched any of the 16 movies they made together in ages, and I thought that was one of their best and funniest. Since then, I've watched more of their movies, including "You're Never Too Young."

I think this may be one of their best pairings on film. And it struck me that most of the movies with plots in which they were not partners or friends in the story, but strangers, turned out to be much better and certainly much funnier films. In their movies, as with other comedy teams (e.g., Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy), when the duo starts off as acquaintances in the entertainment field, the plots are ho-hum and one has the sense that we're just audiences at a stage play, waiting for the next entertaining skit. Those plots don't seem to allow for the spontaneity of the actors that these films have when the stars are strangers.

In this one, Jerry is Wilbur Hoolick, a cleaning guy in a barber shop. Dean is Bob Miles, an athletic trainer and coach at an all-girl's college. How they wind up together at that school, with Jerry then playing an overgrown kid, is as far out as any plot can get. And, that's just part of the comedy. To me, comedy doesn't have to have a plot that makes a lot of sense.

This is a wonderful, funny, movie. Some of the individual scrapes and antics that Wilbur gets into are outlandishly hilarious. Paramount must have had a special barber chair made for one scene. There are some marvelous talent scenes in here as well. One is when the college marching team gives a welcoming performance and Wilbur joins them. Before long he is doing the crazy gyrations, jumps and twists of strange dance moves that the entire group of young women imitate to a T. It's one fine job of choreography and must have taken several practice sessions for them all to copy Jerry's lead in synch.

Another very hilarious scene is Wilbur mimicking a woman on a long-distance telephone call. This change in his voice is very funny. Later he conducts a chorus with many similar laughs.

An interesting look in this film is Raymond Burr as Noonan. This is in the days before he became "the" Perry Mason on the long running Perry Mason TV series. Burr is one of the Hollywood tough and bad guys from his early films, who wound up on the right side of the law. Here he keeps a straight face but cracks a couple of very funny lines.

While the general idea for this film borrows from Paramount's 1942 smash hit, "The Major and the Minor," the story is very different. This plot has many original angles and different scenes. A remake is mostly a new cast with the same or an updated setting.

This is one fine comedy that everyone should enjoy. Here are some favorite lines from the film.

Nancy Collins, "What's the matter with you - you're trembling?" Wilbur Hoolick, "I have very loose bones."

Mrs. Brendan, "Wilber's a very remarkable boy. In this day and age, it's so difficult to rear a child properly." Noonan, posing as Wilbur's father, "Yes. I wouldn't give you 10 to 1 on a boy like Wilbur living to grow up." Mrs. Brendan, "Oh, well that's a little on the pessimistic side, Mr. Hoolick." Noonan, "All right, I'll make it 8 to 1."

Wilbur Hoolick, "I like it here. I wanna go to school here." Noonan, "This is a girl's school." Wilbur, "That's why I like it here."

With this movie, Martin & Lewis have a reunion with a couple of co-stars from their first feature-My Friend Irma: Diana Lynn, Jane Stacy in that and its sequel, is not only Dean's girl here but also a crush of Jerry's. And Hans Conried plays Jer's barber mentor, Francois. Then there's a couple of cameos from other of M & L's flicks-Nancy Kulp, from The Caddy, as a lady with a "12"-year-old son and Bobby Barber, from Money from Home, as a newsstand clerk. With that out of the way, I'll just say the plot of a jewel robber (Raymond Burr) trying to get the diamond out of Jerry's coat pocket-which the latter doesn't know about-as Jer tries to pass himself off as a minor in order to get a half-fare train ticket with him ending up at a girls school where Martin and Lynn teach is perhaps the most ridiculous story yet for the boys' movies but darned if I didn't find myself constantly laughing anyway! As usual, plenty of Lewis' mugging and doing impersonations provide plenty of fun entertainment along with Martin's smooth crooning on many romantic ballads. And seeing the latter get constantly hit and bumped into by his partner just adds to the fun. So despite the many nonsense shenanigans, I heartily recommend You're Never Too Young.

With a bit of James Bondesque finale, climax. This is one Jerry Lewis feature with many musicals, as Esther Williams' features were, but with comedy and gags galore. I feel that Frank Tashlin's movies with Lewis were a bit different though. It is efficient, funny, with I repeat more musicals as usual for Lewis, thanks to Dean Martin. Ray Burr as the heavy is an excellent choice.

I'll never get tired of watching this movie!

Jerry Lewis is everything in this movie, from a goofy barber assistant to a spoiled little brat to a suave and sophisticated young man.

All the funny bits will never be old to me, they still put me in stitches even after I've watched the film umpteen times.

My favorite part is the choir scene...

If you haven't seen it, don't be a ninny and get the movie for yourself! You won't regret it!

I'm glad I still have my good old copy of this wonderful classic.