Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

It's Only Money Blu-ray Movie Review

It's definitely Jerry.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 5, 2012

The detective genre has been rife for making fun of by iconic comedians from Buster Keaton to Bob Hope. It was probably only natural that Jerry Lewis would want to tackle the idiom in one of his solo outings, and it’s worth noting that when he did, in 1962’s It’s Only Money, he did something unusual for his movies: he did it in black and white. (I’m giving Lewis at least partial credit for this decision since his hands on approach with regard to his films is legendary, and his corporation was a co-producer of this particular movie.) It’s Only Money may not exactly be a film noir, despite its monochromatic ambience, and in fact it’s really not much of a detective story either, since the solution to the “mystery”, such as it is, is revealed pretty much as soon as the mystery itself is introduced, and then we’re left with an hour and a half of Jerry’s buffoonery to fill the time. On the whole, though, this is one of Jerry’s more satisfying efforts from this era, if one can get past his incessant mugging and amped up performance style, which is completely out of control throughout this film and leads to several sequences where the funny man just seems to be riffing madly, spewing out one non sequitur after another. Lewis’ lunacy, which should after all be completely expected (even if that makes it no less annoying for a certain class of viewers), is offset in terms of audience appeal by a game and wonderfully varied supporting cast of characters. Jesse White (that’s Mr. Maytag Repairman for you of a certain age) is on hand as Pete Flint, the local private dick whom Jerry, playing television repairman Lester March, idolizes. The inimitable Mae Questel, voice of Betty Boop and Olive Oyl, plays local doyenne Cecilia Albright, a woman on the hunt for her long lost nephew who is due a huge inheritance. Albright is shadowed both by an obsequious attorney named Gregory DeWitt (Zachary Scott) who is engaged to Albright and has designs on the Albright fortune; and a natty if slightly unhinged butler named Leopold (Jack Weston) who moonlights as DeWitt’s henchman. Albright is also attended to by a comely nurse named Wanda Paxton (Joan O’Brien). It’s a typical potpourri of character parts for a Lewis film, but perhaps due to the caliber of this supporting cast, It’s Only Money is often funnier than it might have been with lesser talents.

It shouldn’t exactly come as any surprise (and it’s not really a spoiler per se since it’s revealed so early in the film), but Jerry’s character of Lester is of course the long lost nephew that Cecilia Albright is on the hunt for. Jerry is of course unaware of this fact, and Cecilia, being a dotty old woman, isn’t quite sure of it, either, something hampered by the fact that both DeWitt and Leopold are knee deep in a plot whereby DeWitt will marry the old girl, kill her, and then the two of them will split the proceeds. Meanwhile Pete Flint is desperately trying to find the long lost heir for the reward money it will bring him, all the while unaware that the kid idolizing him and aping his every move is in fact that heir. This is a somewhat more convoluted set up than that found in a lot of Lewis films, but it helps to build a foundation for some wonderfully colorful character bits along the way.

It’s worth noting that It’s Only Money, while directed by Lewis’ long serving collaborator Frank Tashlin, is one of the rare outings that wasn’t written (or co-written) by Tashlin, and instead had one John Fenton Murray as its scribe. Murray was a veteran of television and also wrote the at times quite winning Man’s Favorite Sport?, and his sensibility is different enough from Tashlin’s that It’s Only Money’s tone is subtly, albeit noticeably, different from other Lewis films. Some of the gags are just flat out silly, as when Lewis pushes his television repair van into a tight parking spot. Others are rather funny and smart, as when any number of buxom women take one look at private dick Jesse White (Jesse White?) and rather vigorously lock lips with him. There are also a couple of wonderful set pieces in the film, including the manic finale, which is one of the highlights of this era of Lewis films. (I can still remember squealing with laughter at this sequence as a young boy when I caught this film in some broadcast on television.)

It’s Only Money is full of live action cartoon elements from start to finish, and most of the supporting turns would seem perfectly at home in any given Looney Tunes feature (Tashlin’s early career was in animation, something that comes through quite clearly in his film directing oeuvre). Lewis is given a rather longer leash than usual here (if indeed his leash even existed to begin with), and his performance is completely over the top in several key moments. Those who love Lewis’ shenanigans will no doubt adore his goings-on in It’s Only Money, while those less prone to tolerate his manic performance style will just as undoubtedly be rolling their eyes and checking their watches in hopes of a speedy end to the proceedings. But even within the somewhat frantic pace of most Lewis films, It’s Only Money remains one of the best examples of why Lewis was such a surefire box office phenomenon in those days. Even those who couldn’t stand the actor himself could relish in the glut of really funny supporting performances, and It’s Only Money is jam packed with those.

It's Only Money Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It's Only Money is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is one of the first, if not the first, black and white films from the vast Paramount catalog that Olive Films has licensed and release, and the good news is that Paramount has provided a really nice looking master. While the elements here do have some very minor damage, most of that is limited to occasional specks and flecks, and most of those take place in the film's opening reel or so, especially in the credits sequence. W. Wallace Kelley's nice black and white cinematography is rendered here with excellent contrast and appealing sharpness and clarity. Fine detail is especially strong in close-ups but is well above average throughout this entire high definition presentation. Black levels also remain strong and consistent throughout the film. There is some very minor ringing in one or two moments, and some of the process photography is probably more noticeable than ever due to the uptick in resolution, but otherwise this is a very solid effort, hopefully auguring well for seeing some other nice looking classic black and white catalog releases coming down the pike in the future.

It's Only Money Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

It's Only Money features a great sounding lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix that ably reproduces the film's dialogue and sound effects, as well as nicely modulated score by Walter Scharf. Scharf did a lot of the Lewis films, and he's a sadly unrecognized talent from Hollywood's Golden Age of film composition, racking up some ten Academy Award nominations dating from 1942 and continuing on through his score adaptation for the film version of Funny Girl to similar work on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and his final nomination, for Best Song for the title tune from Ben, a big hit for a young Michael Jackson. Scharf's music sounds very nice in this presentation, alternately swingin', as in the brass inflected credits sequence, or noir-esque, as in several faux detective moments. Fidelity is excellent throughout this track, with no damage to report.

It's Only Money Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As is usually the case with these Olive Films releases of Paramount catalog titles, there are no supplements of any kind on the Blu-ray.

It's Only Money Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's Only Money is one of the more consistently funny, if totally silly, films from the heyday of Jerry Lewis. It's not without its flaws, chief among them the unbridled Lewis himself, who simply goes overboard a bit too much (or maybe even a lot too much). The film is salvaged by some wonderfully daffy supporting turns by a very game cast, including Zachary Scott, Mae Questel, Jack Weston and Jesse White, all of whom are very funny. And the detective set up is fun, if not exactly hewed to with anything approaching a strict satire or parody of the genre. Frank Tashlin directs with his usual aplomb, and the film is stocked full of some great sight gags. Those with a low tolerance for Lewis' hyperbolic shenanigans should probably steer clear of this film, but for others this nice looking and sounding Blu-ray comes Recommended.