{"id":17916,"date":"2011-06-13T11:27:39","date_gmt":"2011-06-13T18:27:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17916"},"modified":"2020-12-10T20:51:32","modified_gmt":"2020-12-11T03:51:32","slug":"nutty-professor-the-1963","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17916","title":{"rendered":"Nutty Professor, The (1963)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Professor Kelp&#8217;s just the kind of guy who might fool you.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Poster-205x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"205\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-56954\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Poster-205x300.png 205w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Poster-698x1024.png 698w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Poster-87x128.png 87w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Poster-184x270.png 184w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Poster.png 751w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 205px) 100vw, 205px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nJulius Kelp (Jerry Lewis) &#8212; a nerdy chemistry professor with a crush on a beautiful student (Stella Stevens) &#8212; develops a potion which turns him into a narcissistic, womanizing singer named Buddy Love.\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<li>Mad Doctors and Scientists<\/li>\n<li>Multiple Personalities<\/li>\n<li>Professors<\/li>\n<li>Stella Stevens Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary has written quite a bit about this most famous of Jerry Lewis films, not only discussing it in the front section of his <em>Guide for the Film Fanatic<\/em>, but analyzing its cult appeal in his first <em>Cult Movies<\/em> book, and outlining the brilliance of Lewis&#8217;s dual performances in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> book (where he casts a controversial vote for Lewis as Best Actor of the Year). <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Lewis2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Lewis2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56958\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Lewis2.png 560w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Lewis2-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Lewis2-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Lewis2-497x270.png 497w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He refers to the film in general as &#8220;wildly inventive&#8221;, calling out Lewis&#8217;s &#8220;innovative direction and&#8230; witty screenplay&#8221; (co-written with Bill Richmond), which is full of countless hilarious moments &#8212; including inventive sight gags (such as the surreal consequence of Kelp trying to lift weights in a gym):<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Dangling-Arms.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Dangling-Arms.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17928\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Dangling-Arms.png 560w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Dangling-Arms-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Dangling-Arms-300x162.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; remarkably effective use of sound effects for humor (as when Kelp enters his class with a raging hangover, and over-reacts to every noise made by his students):<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Hangover.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Hangover.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17929\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Hangover.png 560w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Hangover-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Hangover-300x162.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and plenty of darkly humorous sequences with Buddy Love (which indicate that this film could in some ways be more accurately described as a &#8220;black comedy&#8221; than a straight &#8220;comedy&#8221;).  <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Love.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Love.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56957\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Love.png 560w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Love-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Love-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Love-497x270.png 497w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Peary writes that &#8220;If <em>The Nutty Professor<\/em> is Lewis&#8217;s best film, and I believe it is, it is not so much because it is his funniest as because it is his most daring&#8230; in the sense that Lewis, who begs for love in all his other films, knew he was making a picture to which his greatest fans, children, would probably react negatively.&#8221; Love is a truly provocative character &#8212; someone so outrageously, obnoxiously arrogant (and cruel!) that one hesitates to laugh at him. (An exception is during the one Love scene played strictly for laughs: the truly chuckle-worthy sequence in which Love &#8220;gets into the&#8230; good graces of the dean [an excellent Del Moore] by complimenting him on his suit and flattering his acting ability, coaxing him into reciting Hamlet&#8217;s soliloquy while standing on top of a table and wearing the weird attire that Buddy hands him every time he tries to begin.&#8221;) <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Reciting.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Reciting.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56960\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Reciting.png 560w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Reciting-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Reciting-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Reciting-497x270.png 497w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The rest of the time, however, one simply squirms uncomfortably at the notion that a half-rate, oily slickster like Love could genuinely charm an entire population of college students, and Stella Stevens in particular. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Stevens2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Stevens2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56961\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Stevens2.png 560w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Stevens2-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Stevens2-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Stevens2-497x270.png 497w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>With that said, Stevens&#8217; attraction to Love is decidedly complex: while Stevens (Peary argues this is her &#8220;best role in a comedy&#8221;) spends a bit too much time simply staring at Love or Kelp with either puzzled sympathy or annoyance, it&#8217;s clear that she&#8217;s genuinely trying to tease out the nature of her attraction to both men. She&#8217;s turned on by Kelp&#8217;s intelligence, but simultaneously drawn in &#8212; as if by hypnotic spell &#8212; to the web of Love&#8217;s allure, despite clearly recognizing the folly of her conflicted desire. Love himself has traditionally (and most facilely) been viewed as representing &#8220;Lewis&#8217;s ex-partner, the cocky, romantic-singing, and boozing Dean Martin&#8221; &#8212; but Peary (and others) note that Buddy is perhaps more accurately the &#8220;alter-ego of Jerry Lewis, the Lewis we see each year on the telethon: that conceited, sanctimonious, singing, angry older fellow who tries unsuccessfully at times to keep the funny-voiced &#8216;Kid&#8217; bottled up inside him&#8221;. Check out Lewis&#8217;s 1969 interview with Dick Cavett (available on YouTube) for a classic representation of just this dynamic. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jerry Lewis as Julius\/Buddy (selected by Peary as Best Actor of the Year in his Alternate Oscars)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Lewis.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Lewis.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17923\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Lewis.png 560w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Lewis-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Lewis-300x162.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Del Moore as Dr. Warfield<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Moore.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Moore.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17924\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Moore.png 560w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Moore-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Moore-300x162.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Stella Stevens as Stella Purdy<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Stevens.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Stevens.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Stevens.png 560w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Stevens-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Stevens-300x162.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Hal Pareira&#8217;s memorable set designs<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Sets.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Sets.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17926\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Sets.png 560w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Sets-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Sets-300x162.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The humorously frightening initial &#8220;transformation&#8221; scene<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Transformation.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Transformation.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17927\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Transformation.png 560w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Transformation-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Nutty-Professor-Transformation-300x162.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as Lewis&#8217;s acknowledged cult classic &#8212; and a rare Lewis film guaranteed to appeal to most viewers, regardless of their tolerance for Lewis. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0057372\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/moria.co.nz\/sciencefiction\/nutty-professor-1963.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/4739\/the-nutty-professor#articles-reviews?articleId=102786\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/nuttyprof.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-nutty-professor\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Professor Kelp&#8217;s just the kind of guy who might fool you.&#8221; Synopsis: Julius Kelp (Jerry Lewis) &#8212; a nerdy chemistry professor with a crush on a beautiful student (Stella Stevens) &#8212; develops a potion which turns him into a narcissistic, womanizing singer named Buddy Love. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Comedy Jerry Lewis Films Mad Doctors and Scientists Multiple Personalities Professors Stella Stevens Films Response to Peary\u2019s Review: Peary has written quite a bit about this most famous of Jerry&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17916\"> 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-17916","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\/17916","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=17916"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56962,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17916\/revisions\/56962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}