FILM: The Bellboy

Description

Directed by Jerry Lewis USA/1960/71 minutes/B&W Filmed on location at the Fontainebleau Hotel, The Bellboy marks Jerry Lewis' first film as writer-director-star. Though its gags are variable, the film works on every level. It's both contemporary (love that jazzy MiMo architecture!) and a throwback to two-reel comedies of the late-silent/early-sound era, though it most closely resembles Jacques Tati's M. Hulot's Holiday (1953) in terms of structure and pacing. And, like Tati's film, it keeps dialogue to a minimum, rendering its nearly-silent protagonist more an observer than force of action.