The Disorderly Orderly (1964) or, Lewis in a Hospital

♥♥♥

The splashy, busy poster for Frank Tashlin's The Disorderly Orderly

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Jerry Lewis (The Errand Boy (1961)) is presented to us as Napoleon, a mountain climber and a medic (all equally ridiculous identities for him), before we get to see him as the latter: In an exclusive hospital, he goofs and tumbles around for the duration of the film.

Disorderly Orderly might appeal more to American taste than Scandinavian. I saw most of it mostly as a curiosity of its time period, a pretty bizarre curiosity, I might add. Lewis grimaces, screams, tumbles, yell, tumbles again and then screams some more. His brand of slapstick comedy is often nearly cringe-worthy, and to me it's a far cry from the disciplines' masters like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.
But Disorderly Orderly is also an exuberant, colorful and highly energetic work, (even if its plot could fit in a teaspoon.)
It is written by writer-director Frank Tashlin (Son of Paleface (1952)), based on a story by Norm Liebmann (The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1977-79)) and Ed Haas (The Jerry Lewis Show (1967-68)).

 Watch the original trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 2.7 mil. $ (North America only)
= Unknown
[The Disorderly Orderly was released December 16 and runs 89 minutes. It was filmed at Greystone Park and Mansion in Beverly Hills, CA. Sammy Davis Jr. sings the opening song. Besides the above number, the film drew 1.4+ mil. admissions in France, but those are the only numbers I have found on its release. I suspect it was a box office success. The Disorderly Orderly has been given a 3.5/5 rating by 2,214 users on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Disorderly Orderly?

The Cannonball Run (1981) - Needham's major buck race bonanza

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Excitement and star parade on the high-spirited poster for Hal Needham's The Cannonball Run

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A row of charismatic groups in different cars each wants to win the outlawed Cannonball Run that races across the States.

This silly, nearly plotless crazy comedy/car movie was able to gather a surprising cast, which causes some laughs and entertainment value and in the process salvages the boundlessly pointless film from sinking as dead weight.
Roger Moore (A View to a Kill (1985)), worn out Dean Martin (Rio Bravo (1959)) and Sammy Davis Jr. (Ocean's 11 (1960)), Burt Reynolds (Boogie Nights (1997)) and Dom Deluise (Blazing Saddles (1974)) along with Farrah Fawcett (Logan's Run (1976)) and Jackie Chan (The Legend of Drunken Master (1994)) help to make Cannonball Run, - despite its obvious idiocy, - an enjoyable lowbrow comedy.
It is directed by stunt man legend/director Hal Needham (Cannonball Run II (1984)), produced by the Hong Kong-based Golden Harvest company, and it's based on an actual outlawed race, which was held twice in the 70s.

Related review:

Hal Needham: The Villain/Cactus Jack (1979) or, The Wackadoodle West!

Watch the trailer here

Cost: 16-18 mil. $
Box office: 89.8 mil. $ (USA and Germany only)
= Huge hit
[Despite bad reviews, audiences loved this film: It made 72.1 mil. $ in the US and 17.6 mil. $ in Germany alone. It was the 6th biggest box office hit in America that year.]

What do you think of The Cannonball Run?