Sailor Beware

"Melvin Jones" (Jerry Lewis) is a young man with several medical conditions which includes having several allergies. So when a doctor advises him that an ocean voyage could help him out he decides to join the U.S. Navy. Yet even though most of his ailments would preclude him being able to pass the entrance physical, he somehow manages to squeeze by each important test and subsequently enlists. Additionally, while at the examination station he meets another young man named "Al Crowthers" (Dean Martin) who who has a "trick knee" which typically disqualifies him for entrance into the U.S. Navy. On this particular day, however, he discovers that the standards have been lowered and finds himself now serving alongside Melvin as they head to basic training. Once there they manage to go on a liberty pass and it's then that Melvin is accidentally labeled a "ladies' man" which results in a high-stakes wager being placed on him as to whether he can get a certain nightclub singer in Hawaii by the name "Corinne Calvet" (Corinne Calvet) to kiss him in public. Melvin, of course, knows next to nothing about women and the fact that he is allergic to most of the lipstick and makeup that women wear only serves to make the challenge all the more difficult for him. Likewise, the fact that Corinne doesn't care much for sailors doesn't help his cause either. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I think this film is one of the best Jerry Lewis-Dean Martin films produced in that it has an interesting plot, decent acting and some really good humor throughout. In short, I enjoyed this film and for the reasons stated earlier I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

Jerry and Dean serve again in the Armed Forces this time in the Navy. Jerry does his antics managing to sink a dinghy and disrupt a submarine. Dean sings a few numbers. Robert Strauss co stars as a hard boiled CPO. Look for a young Vince Edwards and Jack Benny's semi-sidekick Don Wilson. Corinne Calvet appears as herself. Betty Hutton has a quick scene as Deans girlfriend. If you look real close you'll catch a glimpse of screen cult legend James Dean.

One has to take Martin & Lewis like a dash of salt & pepper. Why does Martin put up with Lewis? Then again, why do all the women in this movie like Jerry? Because he is innocently likeable! Martin sings a few good songs (lip-sync'd at least once) and Jerry manages to kiss more girls than in all his other movies combined. I generally find that I can take just so much of Jerry's antics before they become aggravating. BUT.... in this film, watch when Jerry gets stuck outside on a submerging Navy submarine! EXCELLENT! Buster Keaton should have been proud. I give the film a 7.

Al Crowthers (Dean Martin) and Melvin Jones (Jerry Lewis) are in line to join the Navy. Ladies man Al has already been rejected 11 times, but he's doing this to get kisses from the girls. Melvin is the idiot with a weird reason to join. Navy requirements have been lowered and everybody gets accepted.

This is the fifth Martin and Lewis film. It is exactly what one expects from them. Lewis can be annoying at times especially when he talks gibberish as other ethnicities. He does that. Otherwise, he is good fun. Martin is super cool and does his singing. That's it. It is ok humorous but not great.

This B&W film reached the spartan movie house of my Frisian village about 18 months after its release. In those days much of our full-length comedy fare hailed from Denmark (Nils Poppe anyone?) so this movie struck like a thunderbolt -- it had me weeping with helpless mirth, ROTFL as we'd now put it. OK, so some of the sight gags were in fact recycled vaudeville 'schtick', but how was this 'barefoot boy with cheeks of brass' to know that at the time? In any case, my favorite scenes had Jerry's unique brand of frantic clowning, like that Hawaii boxing match.

Seeing "Sailor Beware" again fifty years later I still guffawed loudly at the goings-on. Granted, without the nostalgia component it would probably be just another fair-to-middling comedy. But then, another movie that once had me in stitches even more helplessly, the Spike Jones outing "Fireman Save My Child", now seems dated and stilted apart from some too-short orchestra bits and Doodles Weaver scenes. Must be some special ingredient that makes Martin & Lewis product stay fresher longer. To me this one at least rates eight out of ten.