Rating: 
Summary: Classic Lewis, in his TOP TWO works I'd say
Review: Again, a great conversion to DVD format. Widescreen has so much more to offer. I am highly disappointed though that they didn't fix the bad edit in the diner as Stanley gets his utensils and turns to see the counter has filled with people. Anyone knowing this film will know the section I'm, referring to. It's the scene just before he settles for sitting with the gangsters. Jerry why?! Why didn't you fix this?! It doesn't ruin the entire film, because it still is full of unique bits of Jerry's,but it a jarring edit point which in the modern digital era, could have been fixed easily. Jerry mentions in one commentary elsewhere that he fixed a bad edit in this film for his own use, but he doesn't elaborate. Great scenes more that make up for it, including the classic 'setting up the chairs in the ballroom' scene, the bit with Mrs. Hartung, and a great 'music conducting to an absent band' scene. The music conducting isn't as good as the bit in "Errand Boy" but it's still good. No collection is to be without this masterpiece. As I mentioned in the review title, its among his top two in my standings. Again, his commentary while it plays, is recommended. You learn many tidbits about the production and will realize if you don't already, that the man was good and can afford to be a little errogant about it if he so desires.
Rating:
Summary: ONE OF JERRY'S BEST SOLO EFFORTS!
Review: God..but does this movie scream 1960's! Jerry plays Bellboy Stanley at a swank Miami Beach hotel. No Plot -- The film starts with this proclamation. This film is definitely one of J.L.'s best of his carrier. Filmed during the height of his movie output in the 1960's, this film is comedy unto its own sake. The gags just don't stop -- you aren't given a moment to relax, because it's all so funny, you can't stop laughing. The NO PLOT aspect only helps, as the audience is free to concentrate on the moment. I still burst into laughter when the hotel manager is called by the airport to tell 'HE WHAT!?' Yes, this film is dated by today's standard, but that should come as no surprise. This film was the product of a different era -- and a different society. The change in our society was what made him decide to briefly retire from film in the '70s. The standards of humor just changed. And performers had to change with it. But film is permanent.
It is set in celluloid. It can be re-edited, but what would be the point? For anyone who can appreciate 'the artist' for his art, this film still can be enjoyed. For anyone who can look at past films for nostalgia, this film can be enjoyed.
Lewis plays himself in a cameo as a guest as does Milton Berle.
Surprisingly the disc is filled with a lot of extras including commentary by Lewis and Steve Lawrence, deleted scenes, bloopers, rehearsals, and more.
Quite a nice package for only around $15
Rating:
Summary: Finally, this classic is released!
Review: Hi There!
Don't ask me why I like Jerry Lewis. I can't stand the Marx Brothers (Groucho's okay), I despise any & all inceptions of the Three Stooges, I'm not big on Laurel & Hardy, and, to compare him to our modern-day physical comedians, I detest Jim Carey. So why do I like Jerry Lewis? I dunno, it's something "innate" in his humor, something primitive and... I dunno.
Anyhow! Get this if for no other reason that the 3 minutes where the guys are watching a comedy trio The Novelites in a bar. This is the funniest 3 minutes in the history of comedy, I swear. I cannot stop laughing. Deep, gut-laughs. It's like medicine. I don't care if your dog just died, this will make you laugh. If this doesn't make you laugh, you're under 30 or dead.
Rating:
Summary: Magical, sublime, groundbreaking comedy! See it!
Review: I am moved with joy to the point of tears each time I watch this film. This movie mark's Jerry Lewis' directing debut. He was staying as a guest at the Fountainbleu (the setting of the movie) when, inspired by the bell boys there, he spontaneously decided to create this film. This movie is so rich in comedy, inspiration, and meaning. "The Bell Boy" is a keeper...it gains even more magic with each viewing. It will upstage people looking for a traditional, formulaic, Hollywood-style comedy because it is an experimental, non-narrative based film. He not only gives tribute to his hero Stan Laurel (of Laurel and Hardy), who makes an appearance in this film, but in an inspired and subtle way, to many great early comedies and shorts, like Eliot Porter's "Fun in a Bakery Shop." Here we also glimpse Lewis' great humanitarian and political side. He plays a big-hearted, bumbling bell boy who gets treated like dirt but, with crazy devotion, tries to shine in every menial task he's asked to perform. In a light-handed and funny way, he shows the unfair treatment and tedium that working-class people endure. He mocks Hollywood's celebrity worship. By playing a mute, he not only brings out the best and most outlandish of his physical comedy, but he also shows the unbowing spirit of the voiceless. He weaves all these issues in so subtly and with so much joy that you hardly notice that he is making a statement. Lewis' comedy and acting is brilliant, and you'll be dazzled by all the inventive, wacky ways he brings out magic and laughs inside the hotel lobby. "The Bell Boy" has the force and sweep of Disney's "Fantasia 2000." A total gem of a movie!
Rating: 
Summary: "A Visual Diary Of A Few Weeks In The Life Of A Real Nut"
Review: Jerry Lewis' first film entry of the 1960's, "The Bellboy", turned out to be a bit of a fluke. He'd just finished filming "Cinderfella" at the end of 1959, but wanted to wait to release it as a family film over the Christmas season in 1960, instead of over the summer like Paramount Pictures wanted. In order to delay the release of "Cinderfella", Lewis convinced Paramount to finance an undeveloped project, which he finally came up with while on his way to perform an engagement at the Fountainbleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. In it, he plays a silent bellboy running amok in the hotel. By using locals as extras and placing celebrities already appearing at the Fountainbleau in various roles, Lewis was able to film "The Bellboy" over a period of four weeks.
Billed simply as a "visual diary of a few weeks in the life of a real nut," a clumsy, eager-to-please bellboy known simply as Stanley (Jerry Lewis), the film is essentially 72 minutes of vignettes set at the Fountainbleau Hotel, pieced together in such a way so as to tell a credible story (which, by the end we're told is more of a moral). It's also Lewis' tribute to the silent film era. Not only does Stanley not utter a word throughout the movie - at least, not until the very end - but Lewis also asked Stan Laurel to play himself in the movie. Laurel turned the opportunity down, insisting his fans would be disappointed by his aged appearance, but was happy to offer input to Lewis on the script by suggesting scenes that would be better left cut from the final print. Lewis' cowriter, Bill Richmond, played Laurel as a caricature instead, randomly entering scenes from time to time with nary an explanation for his presence. As with silent films, background music plays a key role in the picture, thanks to the score by Walter Scharf. Comic sequences such as Stanley conducting an invisible orchestra in the ballroom are heightened by Scharf's score, and add to the production values of the film. Gags include Lewis having fun with trick-cut photography, Stanley's frequent scuffles with guests, and big-time movie stars Lewis and Milton Berle visit the hotel and meet bellboys who look like each other! "The Bellboy" did so well at the box office that Lewis was able to write his own ticket at Paramount for the next few years.
Of the ten Jerry Lewis movies brought to DVD in the Fall of 2004, "The Bellboy" is second to "The Nutty Professor" in terms of bonus materials included in the package. It's a lot of extras for a film with no real plot.
Rating: 
Summary: Whistle away your troubles...
Review: Jerry Lewis's particular brand of slapstick humor, often sacrifices a coherent plot, in favor of over the top gags. Transitions, are often just cuts between the end of one joke, and the start of another. A well-written storyline, often doesn't seem very important. In "The Bellboy", we see this particular approach taken to the extreme. Lewis has a dual role in the film, the primary one is as Stanley, a bellboy at Miami's Fontainebleu Hotel, who remains mute until the end of the movie. His second role is as himself, "Jerry Lewis" the moviestar, who is a guest in the hotel. This role is of course, a speaking one. The film basically splices together an assortment of bits and gags, primarily featuring the Bellboy character. There is no real story. A few of the gags are truly funny or amusing, but most of them are the excessive, often ridiculous, in your face stuff, that Lewis would continue to make a part of his films. That the resulting "movie" is actually not that different than one of his regular feature films, really says a lot about Lewis's style of filmmaking. Jerry Lewis is a gifted funnyman, however one of his flaws seems to be an inability to determine when he has gone too far. Hammering home his point, is something that he often can't resist. If you enjoy Jerry's comic excesses, "The Bellboy" has more than its share.
Rating: 
Summary: Just Plain Dumb
Review: Jerry was not funny when he was with Dean. And this makes him any more funny being on his own.RIGHT
Rating:
Summary: I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT BUTTER!!!!
Review: Man I pooped myself -literally -when I just happen to stumble across this listing. This movie is TOPS!!I didn't believe ANY studio would press these out until Jerry bit it,so I am very stoked. There is this killer dialouge in the movie (Four Rooms)stated by Quentin concerning The Bellboy and Mr.Lewis and his fan base in the US vs France...so dead on. SO VERY STOKED
Rating:
Summary: Musical chairs in Miami
Review: Paradox completists eventually must turn to la mystere de Jerry -- why is it that French film masters such as Godard and Truffaut so loved Jerry Lewis? The Franco-Lewis thing has become a well-worn joke -- something to swig down with Freedom Fries -- but it's a safe bet the directors weren't thinking of the braying, pratfalling side of the American comedian.
Instead, the new wavers cited Lewis' work from the early 1960s -- including what arguably are his best films as an actor and director: "The Bellboy" and "The Nutty Professor." Paramount, Lewis' longtime studio, has released both titles in splendid widescreen versions, along with seven of his other films. Some titles come with full or partial commentaries from Lewis and his pal Steve Lawrence; other modest bonus features are spread about the collection.
"The Bellboy," from 1960, comes in relaxed black-and-white, in contrast to the hot circus colors of "Nutty Professor." Lewis made his directorial debut on the project, cranking it out in 28 days in order to give Paramount a quickie summer film.
The movie with "no story, no plot" consisted of vignettes about the misadventures of a Miami bellboy (Lewis) who never spoke. The bumbling bellboy was named Stanley, in honor of the director's friend and idol, Stan Laurel.
Lewis wrote and shot the film while appearing nights at the Fontainebleau. All but two of the scenes are set in the hotel. Stranded from Hollywood, he scoured the clubs of Miami for visiting talent, dunning the showbiz night owls into making 7 a.m. calls. Among his finds was TV news and weather guy Bob Clayton, a terrific straight man in the bell captain role.
Much of the film has a 1960s Euro-cinema feel, helping it age quite gracefully. Seeing Lewis' film in its original aspect ratios unveils the director's dedication to offbeat and rewarding visuals.
Rating:
Summary: A Beginning
Review: This film occurred when Jerry Lewis needed a summer movie, Paramount wanted to release "Cinderfella", but Lewis insisted that wait for the Christmas season. Therefore, on a shoe-string budget he created his first masterpiece as actor, director, producer, and writer all on one film (with "The Ladies' Man", "The Nutty Professor", and other notables to follow). The film promises--from the beginning--to be about "fun", no more, no less. Indeed, it is pretty much a romp through sketches involving Stanley, a bellboy. Nevertheless, Lewis couldn't help added some social commentary, and the scene where he plays himself is among one of cinema's finest moments. Certainly not his best work--overall--but a great start to what is a lavish solo career.
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