Starring Jerry Lewis, Connie Stevens, Marilyn Maxwell, and Salvatore Baccaloni
Directed by Frank Tashlin
Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Let's celebrate Father's Day with a dad who really knows about taking care of children. This would be Lewis' third solo movie after breaking up with Dean Martin, and his first with director Tashlin. Considering Tashlin used to direct cartoons and Lewis acted like a live-action cartoon at times, it wound up being a match made in film comedy heaven. How does the tale of a TV repairman who finds himself taking care of three abandoned babies look nowadays, as more fathers take care of children on their own? Let's begin, not with Lewis, but with movie star Carla Naples (Maxwell) as she admits to her agent Harold Hermann (Reginald Gardiner) that she has a big problem and find out...
The Story: Carla admits to Harold that she had a drunken night with a Mexican matador and ended up marrying him. They were going to have it annulled, but then he died in the ring. She returns to her hometown in Indiana to ask TV repairman Clayton Poole (Lewis) to take care of her child. Clayton has always been devoted to Carla and agrees to watch the baby.
To his shock, it turns out to be not one, but three babies! Clayton runs himself ragged trying to care for and afford the three little girls, until her sister Sandy (Stevens) and strict barber father Gigi (Baccaloni) agree to help. Even with them pitching in, the Indiana child support services insist on placing them with a more typical two-parent family. Sandy finally claims she's married to him...just as Carla decides she wants her children and says she's married to Clayton! Clayton goes on the run, until he figures out which lady he really cares about.
The Song and Dance: I was expecting something annoying, like a few of Lewis' later vehicles, but this ended up being rather sweet. Makes me wish Lewis did more flat-out musicals without Dean Martin. He has the lion's share of the music, including the opening number over the credits and a hilarious rock spoof, and he handles them very well. Baccaloni starts out as a stereotypical strict Italian father, but he ends up a lot more interesting when he sees Clayton working hard to take care of the babies and realizes he may have been too hard on his girls. Their duet ends up being one of the film's highlights. Tashlin's own manic sensibilities always brought out the best in Lewis, and this is no exception. Some of Clayton's gags early-on when he's trying to stop a blasting hose and figure out how to take care of three babies are especially funny.
Favorite Number: We open with the show-business "Rock-a-Bye-Baby" over the credits, as Lewis and several show girls romp through a theater, explaining what we're going to see. The first song in the actual film is "The Land of La La La," as Clayton recalls his relationship with Carla as children in their favorite spot. He insists that "Love Is a Lonely Thing" when he worries about having to leave town because of Gigi's wrath. Clayton and Gigi have a genuinely charming lullaby, "Dormi, Dormi, Dormi" that finally makes the worried grandpapa understand how much Clayton loves his little girls.
Sandy bemoans Clayton seeing her as a child, even as she helps to take care of his children, wondering "Why Can't He Care for Me?" We get to see the filming of the so-called Egyptian "epic" that caused Carla to abandon her daughters as chorus girls in loincloths sing about "The White Virgin of the Nile." Clayton is so desperate to make milk money, he joins a rock group playing for a local TV amateur hour in the early rock spoof "Rock My Baby, Rock." He's no guitar-player, but he does prove to have some pretty sweet - if rather odd and jerky - moves.
Trivia: That's Lewis' son Gary playing him as a boy during the "Land of La La La" number.
Based after the 1944 Preston Sturges comedy Miracle at Morgan's Creek.
What I Don't Like: First of all, neither Stevens nor Maxwell come off especially well. Stevens is annoying and obnoxious, pushing herself at Clayton when it's obvious he wasn't interested. It feels more like they end up together because the script says so than any chemistry between Stevens and Lewis. Maxwell is a little cold, leaving her children for what turns out to be an empty-headed musical, and her sudden change of the heart in the end feels like too little, too late. Also, there is a lot of Lewis in this movie. He even has most of the songs. If you're not a fan of his, this isn't the place for you.
The Big Finale: If you ever wondered if Jerry Lewis could handle a musical on his own, the answer is...yes, mostly. Recommended for fans of his or Tashlin's who love slapstick or early rock satire.
Home Media: Easily found on disc and streaming. DVD and Blue Ray are via Olive Films.
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