{"id":17678,"date":"2011-06-02T09:25:22","date_gmt":"2011-06-02T16:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17678"},"modified":"2020-12-26T23:32:21","modified_gmt":"2020-12-27T06:32:21","slug":"sad-sack-the-1957","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17678","title":{"rendered":"Sad Sack, The (1957)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;If we can make a soldier out of a man with that kind of a record, it will pave the way for the Bixbys of tomorrow.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Poster-116x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"116\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-59834\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Poster-116x300.jpg 116w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Poster-50x128.jpg 50w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 116px) 100vw, 116px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn army psychologist (Phyllis Kirk) tasks two servicemen (David Wayne and Joe Mantell) with helping a physically inept soldier (Jerry Lewis) to pass basic training. When she discovers Bixby (Lewis) has a photographic memory, she sends him on a secret mission to Morocco, where he falls in love with a beautiful nightclub dancer (Liliane Montevecchi).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Comics and Comic Strips<\/li>\n<li>George Marshall Films<\/li>\n<li>Jerry Lewis Films<\/li>\n<li>Peter Lorre Films<\/li>\n<li>Soldiers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nBased on a <a href=\"http:\/\/sacomics.blogspot.com\/2009\/01\/single-issue-review-sad-sack-154.html\">beloved WWII-era comic book series by George Baker<\/a>, this was Jerry Lewis&#8217;s second solo feature after breaking with his longtime partner, Dean Martin. I&#8217;m honestly not sure why Peary includes it in his book, given that absolutely nothing about it stands out as particularly noteworthy, and in general it&#8217;s simply a real mess. Lewis plays yet another variation on his typically bumbling self: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lewis4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lewis4-1024x492.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"308\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-59835\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lewis4-1024x492.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lewis4-300x144.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lewis4-128x61.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lewis4-768x369.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lewis4-562x270.png 562w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lewis4.png 1481w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>though in this case he also happens to be a savant of sorts, with a photographic memory and the ability to utilize said memory to grapple with complex mechanical concerns &#8212; thus leading to the film&#8217;s &#8220;exotic&#8221; second half, taking place in a sound-stage simulation of Morocco where Peter Lorre truly embarrasses himself in a demeaning bit role as an Arab baddie. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lorre.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lorre-1024x490.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"306\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-59832\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lorre-1024x490.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lorre-300x143.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lorre-128x61.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lorre-768x367.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lorre-565x270.png 565w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Lorre.png 1495w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, feeble attempts at anti-feminist humor are doused liberally throughout, primarily at the expense of poor Kirk, whose romantic attraction to Wayne is surely one of the least convincing couplings ever attempted. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Kirk-Wayne.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Kirk-Wayne-1024x503.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"314\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-59833\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Kirk-Wayne-1024x503.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Kirk-Wayne-300x147.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Kirk-Wayne-128x63.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Kirk-Wayne-768x377.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Kirk-Wayne-550x270.png 550w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Sad-Sack-Kirk-Wayne.png 1481w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I suppose fans of the comic book series might be curious to see how its central protagonist is transformed into a flesh-and-blood character &#8212; but I doubt they&#8217;ll be very pleased. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><br \/>\nI can&#8217;t really think of anything at the moment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo; this one is definitely only must-see for Jerry Lewis fans. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0050922\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/review?res=9E01E2D81238E637A2575BC2A9679D946692D6CF\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rinkworks.com\/movies\/m\/the.sad.sack.1957.shtml\">At-a-Glance Film Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;If we can make a soldier out of a man with that kind of a record, it will pave the way for the Bixbys of tomorrow.&#8221; Synopsis: An army psychologist (Phyllis Kirk) tasks two servicemen (David Wayne and Joe Mantell) with helping a physically inept soldier (Jerry Lewis) to pass basic training. When she discovers Bixby (Lewis) has a photographic memory, she sends him on a secret mission to Morocco, where he falls in love with a beautiful nightclub dancer&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17678\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17678"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59837,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17678\/revisions\/59837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}