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Wednesday, July 16, 2025

THE ERRAND BOY -- Movie Review by Porfle



Originally posted on 8/20/17

 

THE ERRAND BOY (1961) recalls the previous year's THE BELLBOY in that we find writer-director-star Jerry Lewis shooting a low-budget black-and-white feature which is simply a plotless series of gags set in one location (in THE BELLBOY it was a busy Miami Beach hotel, while this takes place in and around a bustling movie studio).

There's a semblance of plot involving studio head Brian Donlevy and his obsequious toady, played with verve by Howard McNear (Floyd the barber from "The Andy Griffith Show") but it's just an excuse to give Lewis the run of the place once again, packing each scene with as many imaginative gags as he can devise

Jerry is helped in this task by an excellent cast that also includes Stanley "Cyrano Jones" Adams, Kathleen Freeman, Doodles Weaver, Sig Ruman, Fritz Feld, Iris Adrian, and some surprise guest stars.


Much of it is as laugh-out-loud funny as you'd expect, while the rest is rather hit-and-miss. Jerry, of course, disrupts the orderly filmmaking process at every turn, at one point dubbing his own ear-splitting vocals into a lovely young actress' song interlude and elsewhere attempting to eat a quiet sidewalk lunch on the set of a war film.

The usual bathos occurs when the errand boy befriends some cute little puppets which come to life for him in a dusty storeroom--it's in these moments that Lewis tries too hard to be charming when we really want him to keep making with the funny.

This he does in one of his most celebrated sequences, in which he pretends to be the chairman of the board non-verbally chewing out his underlings while broadly pantomiming the instruments in a blaring big band tune. For this scene alone THE ERRAND BOY is well worth a look for Lewis fans, but it has so much more to offer as well including a raucous, slapstick finale.



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Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Extreme Comedy Reactions #3: Charlie Callas in "The Big Mouth" (1967)(video)


 

 Rex (Charlie Callas) mistakes Jerry Lewis for a gangster who's supposed to be dead...

...and it totally blows his mind.

The resulting extreme comedy reaction is a showcase for Charlie's comedy talents.

 

Video by Porfle Popnecker. I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

 


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Monday, July 14, 2025

The Eating Scene From "The Big Mouth" (1967) (video)

 


In the Jerry Lewis comedy "The Big Mouth" (1967)...

...three great comic actors -- Charlie Callas, Buddy Lester, and Harold J. Stone -- demonstrate their skill at delivering lines while stuffing their faces with food.

 Let's hope this scene didn't require too many takes!

 

Video by Porfle Popnecker. I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

 


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Sunday, July 13, 2025

Extreme Comedy Reactions #2: "The Munsters" s1e6 (video)


 

 Herman Munster's nearsighted doctor (the legendary Paul Lynde)...

...finally gets a good look at him, resulting in one of the most extreme comedy reactions ever. 

 

Video by Porfle Popnecker. I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!


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Saturday, July 12, 2025

Extreme Comedy Reactions #1: "Archie's Funhouse" Ep.22 (video)

 


In this brief clip from 60s cartoon "Archie's Funhouse"... 

...Archie says something dumb to his dad, and, instead of merely reacting, his dad literally levitates out of his chair.

 

Video by Porfle Popnecker. I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

 


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