{"id":17758,"date":"2011-06-04T21:10:00","date_gmt":"2011-06-05T04:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17758"},"modified":"2021-01-25T00:57:27","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T07:57:27","slug":"bellboy-the-1960","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17758","title":{"rendered":"Bellboy, The (1960)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;There&#8217;s an awful lot of kooks in this hotel.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Poster-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-17759\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Poster-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Poster.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA mute bellboy (Jerry Lewis) at a fancy hotel encounters and interacts with a variety of guests &#8212; including Jerry Lewis himself.\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>Jerry Lewis Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary seems only mildly impressed by Jerry Lewis&#8217;s directorial debut, &#8220;a series of brief, unconnected vignettes&#8221; which was &#8220;obviously influenced by Jacques Tati&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2339\"><em>Mr. Hulot&#8217;s Holiday<\/em><\/a>&#8221; (1953). He notes simply that while &#8220;most gags fall flat&#8221; and &#8220;none are hilarious&#8221;, overall the &#8220;film is amusing&#8221;. Given that I&#8217;m not at all a fan of Tati&#8217;s films (and find <em>Mr. Hulot&#8217;s Holiday<\/em> in particular to be quite tiresome), I was genuinely surprised to find myself enjoying <em>The Bellboy<\/em> as much as I did. While I wasn&#8217;t quite laughing out loud (Lewis&#8217;s films rarely provoke that reaction in me), I did genuinely chuckle numerous times &#8212; and even the gags that &#8220;fell flat&#8221; seemed to do so innocuously, and with good, simple grace. I suspect a large part of the film&#8217;s enjoyment for me lies in the fact that Lewis&#8217;s central character &#8212; &#8220;happy-go-lucky&#8221; bellboy Stanley &#8212; <em>doesn&#8217;t talk<\/em> (hallelujah!). <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis3-1024x586.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"366\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-59705\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis3-1024x586.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis3-300x172.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis3-128x73.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis3-768x440.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis3-1536x879.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis3-472x270.png 472w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis3.png 1805w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Lewis pokes some good fun at his own celebrity by appearing in cameo in one of the film&#8217;s most genuinely amusing vignettes, as an entourage of assistants clamors around &#8220;real&#8221; Lewis like a horde of rabid groupies, laughing hysterically each time he opens his mouth to say a word. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Horde-Laughing.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Horde-Laughing-1024x584.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"365\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-59701\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Horde-Laughing-1024x584.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Horde-Laughing-300x171.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Horde-Laughing-128x73.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Horde-Laughing-768x438.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Horde-Laughing-1536x876.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Horde-Laughing-473x270.png 473w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Horde-Laughing.png 1807w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>(Clearly, Lewis was a tad sensitive about being expected to be &#8220;be funny&#8221; at all times; this is evident as well in the lengthy and revealing interview he gave with Dick Cavett in 1969 &#8212; check YouTube to see this in chunks). <\/p>\n<p>What works about so many of the gags here, I think, is how random and\/or surreal they are &#8212; and, thankfully, how Lewis rarely lingers too long before moving on. In one of many throwaway scenes, for instance, Stanley is busy sorting keys into guests&#8217; mailboxes, and apparently has been doing such a slow job of it that he&#8217;s still not done after an hour. He&#8217;s yelled at to finish, and hastily throws the remaining keys willy-nilly into the boxes. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Keys2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Keys2-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-59703\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Keys2-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Keys2-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Keys2-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Keys2-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Keys2-1536x865.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Keys2-480x270.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Keys2.png 1821w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The next shot immediately shows a hallway full of guests wrangling simultaneously with their doors, none having been given the correct key. It&#8217;s amusing simply because it defies all rationality &#8212; that is, the guests would never all be trying at the same time to open their doors. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Opening2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Opening2-1024x574.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-59702\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Opening2-1024x574.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Opening2-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Opening2-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Opening2-768x431.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Opening2-1536x862.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Opening2-481x270.png 481w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Opening2.png 1827w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, in his review, Peary complains about this very fact, noting that &#8220;in subsequent films Lewis would learn that his character works best in an otherwise orderly world; here the world he inhabits would be wacky without him&#8221;. I disagree. It&#8217;s the very &#8220;wackiness&#8221; of the Fontainebleau Hotel and its inhabitants, I feel, that works in this film&#8217;s favor. Just check out the reaction of the entire crew of bellboys when a convention of models walks into the hotel, and you&#8217;ll see exactly what I mean&#8230; Stanley is not alone. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Bellboys-Models.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Bellboys-Models-1024x573.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"358\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-59700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Bellboys-Models-1024x573.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Bellboys-Models-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Bellboys-Models-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Bellboys-Models-768x430.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Bellboys-Models-1536x860.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Bellboys-Models-482x270.png 482w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Bellboys-Models.png 1835w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Be sure to read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/68415\/the-bellboy#articles-reviews?articleId=92560\">TCM&#8217;s article<\/a> on the film to learn more about its interesting production, and Lewis&#8217;s ground-breaking technique of videotaping alongside his primary camera to get immediate feedback on his work. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Numerous humorous vignettes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis2-1024x574.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-59707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis2-1024x574.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis2-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis2-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis2-768x431.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis2-1536x862.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis2-481x270.png 481w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Lewis2.png 1813w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Conducting.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Conducting-1024x570.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"356\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-59704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Conducting-1024x570.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Conducting-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Conducting-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Conducting-768x427.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Conducting-1536x855.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Conducting-485x270.png 485w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Conducting-1038x576.png 1038w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Bellboy-Conducting.png 1831w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply for its historical importance as Lewis&#8217;s directorial debut. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0053644\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/bellboy.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/review?res=9907E7DF103EEF3ABC4951DFB166838B679EDE\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitallyobsessed.com\/displaylegacy.php?ID=6521\">Digitally Obsessed Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/13201\/bellboy-the\/\">DVD Talk Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/68415\/the-bellboy#articles-reviews?articleId=92560\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-bellboy\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s an awful lot of kooks in this hotel.&#8221; Synopsis: A mute bellboy (Jerry Lewis) at a fancy hotel encounters and interacts with a variety of guests &#8212; including Jerry Lewis himself. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Comedy Jerry Lewis Films Response to Peary\u2019s Review: Peary seems only mildly impressed by Jerry Lewis&#8217;s directorial debut, &#8220;a series of brief, unconnected vignettes&#8221; which was &#8220;obviously influenced by Jacques Tati&#8217;s Mr. Hulot&#8217;s Holiday&#8221; (1953). He notes simply that while &#8220;most gags fall&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17758\"> 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":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17758","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=17758"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65830,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17758\/revisions\/65830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}