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Despite his enormous popularity as a performer (for years, was one of the top box-office draws and he was such a draw in the Nineties revival of "Damn Yankees" that he became Broadway’s highest-paid star), his innovations as a director both artistic and technical (the "video assist" that he developed that allowed him to instantly see what a scene that he shot looked like thanks to a video camera attached to the main cameras is now a standard filmmaking tool) and his tireless works as a humanitarian (whether you agree with his methods, he has raised countless millions to research and combat muscular dystrophy), Jerry Lewis still doesn’t get the type of praise and respect that he so clearly deserves. His influence has been seen on countless generations of comedians ranging from Woody Allen (who sought him out to direct "Take the Money and Run") to current stars like Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey (whose work in "The Mask" made you speculate what Lewis, who regularly utilized gags in which the human body was stretched, squashed and otherwise deformed, could have done with contemporary CGI tools) and yet the public opinion of the man still suggests that he is only enjoyed by small children, weirdo cinephiles and the French.

As I fit into at least one of the above categories, I will happily defend Lewis’s work against that of any other comic filmmaker. To prove my point, I suggest taking a look at "The Bellboy", the 1960 film that marked his first work as a director. Conceived, written, produced and released within a breakneck six-month schedule (in order to keep Paramount from releasing "Cinderfella", which he had planned as a holiday release, in the summer), the film remains one of the most startlingly assured and innovative debuts from a comic filmmaker-not to mention one of the funniest. More a collection of blackout gags than anything else, Lewis stars as Stanley, a silent-but-goofy bellhop at Miami’s swanky Fontainebleau whose efforts to do his job wreak havoc on both his co-workers and his guests. Among the most inspired gags are the scene in which Stanley is asked to remove the contents from the trunk of a guest’s car, a bit involving his titanic struggle to drag an enormous steamer trunk across the lobby (a little masterpiece of physical comedy) and, strangest of all, a bit where he encounters a spoiled movie star played by...uh, Lewis himself. (There is also a funny bit from Milton Berle, also playing himself.) Almost avant-garde in its refusal to conform to a conventional storytelling style and refreshingly free of the sentimental streak that would plague later works, "The Bellboy" is a profoundly funny masterpiece that is hilarious to watch today as it was 44 years ago.

Paramount is releasing "The Bellboy" as part of a collection of ten Lewis DVD’s, many featuring bonus materials including outtakes and commentaries from the man himself (aided, inexplicably, by Steve Lawrence). In preferential order, the other titles are "The Nutty Professor", "The Ladies Man". "The Disorderly Orderly", "The Delicate Delinquent" (if only for the unforgettable sight of Lewis wrestling with a theremin), "Cinderfella", "The Stooge", "The Errand Boy", "The Patsy" and "The Family Jewels".

Written and directed by Jerry Lewis. Starring Jerry Lewis, Milton Berle, Bob Clayton and Bill Richmond. 1960. 71 minutes. Unrated. A Paramount Home Video release. $14.95

THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (The Criterion Collection. $49.95): Criterion does it again with another stunning set paying tribute to a classic film-this time, Gillo Pontecorvo’s 1965 masterpiece about Algeria’s 1954 revolt against French occupation forces that fused fictional storytelling with a documentary aesthetic that lent it an immediacy that can still be felt today. To demonstrate that the film, which had a highly-publicized theatrical re-release last year, is as timely as ever, this three-disc behemoth contains, among other bonuses, seven documentaries about the film and its parallels to real life and a featurette in which filmmakers such as Spike Lee and Steven Soderbergh discuss its influence. Essential.

BETTY BLUE (Columbia/Tri-Star Home Video. $24.95): Apparently the folks at CTHV read this column-just after I wrote something calling for the release of this infamously sexy 1986 French ode to amour fou, they announced that they would be releasing it at director Jean-Jacques Beineix’s preferred extended version that is almost an hour longer than the original U.S. edition. (Unfortunately, that hour of additions does not occur during the legendary opening sex scene.)

CHRISTINA AGUILERA-STRIPPED-LIVE IN THE U.K. (BMG Home Video. $14.98): Talk about a misleading title-this just turns out to be a video of a concert performance and nothing else.

REN & STIMPY: THE COMPLETE FIRST AND SECOND SEASONS (Paramount Home Video. $39.99): Initially, the notion of owning this set collecting the greatest episodes of the early-Nineties cult TV hit (the "Space Madness" episode remains one of the funniest things I have ever seen) had me privately singing "Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy". Then I discovered that, despite a box that promises the cartoons are uncut, some of the episodes apparently do have some deletions to them. Those EEEEEdiots!!!

ROLLING STONES ROCK & ROLL CIRCUS (ABKCO Films. $19.98): This film of a day-long concert thrown by the Rolling Stones, featuring performances by themselves, The Who, Jethro Tull, Marianne Faithful, Yoko Ono and others, became legendary when the group prevented its release for nearly 30 years-the rumored reasons for the delay centered on the band’s alleged lackluster performance and their embarrassment over being shown up by The Who (the latter gained credence when the clip of their incendiary performance of "A Quick One (While He’s Away)" was later released in "The Kids are Alright"). Watching this disc, which features outtakes and comments from participants, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Pete Townsend, it turns out that both rumors were pretty much true. While it is a kick to see an impossibly young-looking Jagger and Richards, their set, including "Jumpin Jack Flash" and "You Can’t Always Get What You Want", was pretty weak and not even the sight of one of Brian Jones’s last performances is able to give it a lift. As for The Who, all I will say is that if you ever find yourself having to explain rock music to someone with no concept of it, all you have to do is show them this clip and they will know.

Copyright © 2004 Peter Sobczynski
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While the views expressed by Peter Sobczynski do not necessarily reflect the views of Criticdoctor.com, the Critic Doctor will occasionally examine Mr. Sobczynski's film reviews to bring forth an honest examination of those views expressed.