Artists and Models

I've never seen a Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis movie. This was my first and I hope it is not my last! With a wacky story line (Crazy-for-comic boy Eugene dreams up comic book stories with Vincent Vulture and Freddie Fieldmouse and his friend writes them down) and a ton of laughs ("Not only will I watch your switchboard but I'll buzz your lights and tangle your wires. Come 'ere baby." "Not while your friend's watching." "Oh, he left." "Wow! Then what are we waiting for? My saggitarius was right. Come on, boy. Don't fight.") And the cutest actors (Shirley MacLaine, Dorothy Malone). How can you not love the songs? And then there's the entire Eva Gabor thing going on. This movie is hilarious, too bad it's not popular NOW. I highly recommend it. I love it.

Well it looks like I will be the first reviewer to give Artists and Models a lukewarm opinion. Saw this on the big screen today at a downtown theater. With Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Shirley MacLaine,Dorothy Malone and Eva Gabor and the most fun I wind up having is with Eddie Mayehoff! Loved his portrayal of publisher Murdock. I don't know...to me, this movie just got more boring as it dragged on. While I do love all the vintage set designs, vintage wardrobe and remembrances of how things used to be-one pay phone in the hall for an apartment building, Dean scrubbing up in a bathtub before a shower became common and the historical fact that comic books were once decried as evil by the bastions of society, I still had to fight off massive amounts of sleepiness as this grinded to its conclusion. I don't know...maybe it was just the mood I was in. It WAS very colorful and Martin can't keep from smiling even when he's supposed to be mad which is amusing but, Gabor was a disappointment and Malone was kind of blah and Jerry, I was just kind of bored with his schtick today. But yes the highlight for me was Mr. Murdock played by Eddie Mayehoff.

Worth it for the moment that Jerry Lewis's character says that reading comic books made him r*****ed, unless I misheard because I couldn't believe what I heard lol.

This definitely isn't the first Jerry Lewis movie I watched, and neither is it the first time I've seen Dean Martin in a film, but I think it is the first Martin & Lewis movie I've watched. It was fine, I guess. It has a scattershot, almost manic energy that's sometimes fun, but also wore me down a little as it went along.

Artists and Models is just a silly old-fashioned comedy with a few infrequent music numbers and a lot of bright colours. Martin and Lewis have a good dynamic and it's all slightly amusing. I guess it was fine for a film of its age, but it probably won't stick with me.

A crazy film for devotees of the super-hero comic book. Shirley MacLaine was both wacky and alluring as Bessie, who is the inspiration of the Bat-Lady, a character of the comic book which Dorothy Malone draws(?) Jerry is his usual self, while Dean Martin turns up a one-note performance as the typecast Lothario who tries to romance Dorothy who at first would have nothing to do with him. Eva Gabor(before Green Acres), cast as the seductress who tries to worm spy secrets out of Jerry is excellent.

I remember seeing the movie years ago and there was a scene where Jerry paints faces and puts little dresses on the knees of a young blonde actress in one scene. The actress bared a slight resemblance to Anne Bancroft. Is this correct?

Brian T

A feast for the eyes. It's candy box Technicolor the whole way with lots of skimpy costumes and color loaded sets. Of course, director Tashlin specialized in cartoonish fare like A and M. Team him with the cartoonish comedian of the day, Lewis, and you've got the perfect visual counterpart. Then add impish Shirley MacLaine, the perfect loopy foil to Lewis, and you've got perhaps the best Martin and Lewis feature. Forget the plot, which is incidental anyway. Then too, Lewis's antics are much at times. Instead, catch that centerpiece with MacLaine and Lewis on the stairway. It's brilliantly done, a combination of mugging and acrobatics, showcasing their athletic skills. I don't know how they rehearsed since the timing and coordination are so precise. Besides, one misstep on the staircase and somebody's sporting a plaster cast. Probably shouldn't forget Martin's tuneful rendition of Innamorata (means "female sweetheart" in Italian). As I recall, it was a popular radio hit, as well. All in all, the crazy comedy manages bouncy entertainment the whole way. It also provides a chance to catch the scene-stealing MacLaine on her way up the show biz ladder.

(In passing— the grisly content of comic books was an object of national debate in 1954, which likely accounts for the movie's comic book theme. That debate ended with a self- imposed code of content governing the industry for years.)