Main Cast: Jerry Lewis, Brian Donlevy, Howard McNear, Dick Wesson, Robert Ivers, Pat Dahl
Release Year: 1961
Country: US
Run Time: 92 minutes
Plot
The second of Jerry Lewis' directorial endeavors, The Errand Boy, like its predecessor The Bellboy, is essentially a series of "spot gags," some hilarious, others only moderately amusing. The gossamer-thin plot finds Morty Tashman (Lewis) being hired by the CEO of "Paramutuel Pictures" (Brian Donlevy) to spy on studio employees and report any incidents of wastefulness and sloth. This gives Morty a chance to wander all over the Paramutuel Pictures lot, inadvertently interfering with work in progress, encountering strange characters and inexplicable events, and overall making as much of a nuisance of himself as possible. Some of the better gags include Morty's chaotic behavior at the "wrap party" for a vainglorious movie queen (Iris Adrian); his attempts to eat lunch while a noisy battle scene from a war picture rages all around him; his misguided effort to dub in the singing voice of a tone-deaf actress; the "Mr. Baebrosenthal" bit; and Morty's tete-a-tete in the studio swimming pool with a scuba diver. The weakest scenes involve Morty's sugary encounters with the Ritts Puppets, and a smug curtain speech about the importance of laughmakers in this troubled world. The huge supporting cast includes such reliable chucklemeisters as Howard McNear, Sig Ruman, Milton Frome, Benny Rubin, Fritz Feld, Doodles Weaver, Joey Forman, Dick Wesson and Joe Besser; also making fleeting appearances are actress/writer/director Renee Taylor, veteran movie tough guy Mike Mazurki (in drag!), silent film comic Snub Pollard, and the four stars from TV's Bonanza. Even non-Jerry Lewis fans will come down with a case of loose chuckles while watching The Errand Boy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
It hasn't been fashionable to praise Jerry Lewis in a long time. Yes, many of his films are inane pieces of fluff, but every now and then a forgotten gem resurfaces to remind many of what made him popular to begin with. The Errand Boy, the second feature to be directed by Lewis himself, is a collection of elaborate gags held together by the fact that the same character appears in all of them. It's a poke in the ribs to Hollywood as the title character Morty Tashman, played by the auteur himself, meanders all over the "Paramutuel Pictures" lot and causes a general ruckus. What redeems this film are some of the better jokes -- Morty eats lunch in the middle of a battle scene from a war movie, dubs the singing voice of an actress, and performs a very funny boardroom pantomime to big band music. There's nothing subtle about any of the humor and there's plenty of misses along with the hits, but there are enough to provide an overall sense of good clean fun. There's also the fun of identifying all the members of the enormous supporting cast which features classic screen comedians like Doodles Weaver, Sig Rumann, and ex-Stooge Joe Besser. In addition, Morty literally runs into the cast of TV's Bonanza on several occasions. What makes the film lose some luster is his tendency for schmaltz, epitomized by the long preachy monologue at the end of the film that serves no real purpose. Still, there are some good laugh-out-loud moments and Jerry Lewis has definitely done worse. ~ Dan Friedman, All Movie Guide
Arthur Lonergan - Art Director, Hal Pereira - Art Director, Nick Castle - Choreography, Edith Head - Costume Designer, Ralph Axness - First Assistant Director, Jerry Lewis - Director, Stanley E. Johnson - Editor, Walter Scharf - Composer (Music Score), Jerry Lewis - Songwriter, Louis Y. Brown - Songwriter, Wally Westmore - Makeup, W. Wallace Kelley - Cinematographer, Ernest D. Glucksman - Producer, Sam Comer - Set Designer, James W. Payne - Set Designer, Ed Pine - Set Designer, Charles Grenzbach - Sound/Sound Designer, Hugo Grenzbach - Sound/Sound Designer, Jerry Lewis - Screenwriter, Bill Richmond - Screenwriter
Paramutual Pictures decides that they need a spy to find out the inner workings of their studio. Morty Tashman (Jerry Lewis) is a paperhanger who happens to be working right outside their window. They decide that he is the man for the job and hire him on the spot. He bumbles his way through a series of misadventures, reporting everything back to the corporate executives.
