7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Lester is a clumsy and awkward TV repair man who is nevertheless gifted technically. In helping out a friend, he is drawn into a mystery involving a missing heir in a rich family. He begins to notice little things, like how much those family portraits look like him. Surely..no..he can't be...can he ?
Starring: Jerry Lewis, Joan O'Brien, Zachary Scott, Jack Weston, Jesse WhiteComedy | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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'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 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.
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 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.
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