The Ladies Man

The Ladies Man is a 1961 American comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on June 28, 1961 by Paramount Pictures.[3]

This article is about the 1961 Jerry Lewis film. For the 2000 film starring Tim Meadows as Leon Phelps, see The Ladies Man (2000 film).
The Ladies Man
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJerry Lewis
Produced byJerry Lewis
Written byJerry Lewis
Bill Richmond
StarringJerry Lewis
Lillian Briggs
Helen Traubel
Kathleen Freeman
Buddy Lester
George Raft
Music byWalter Scharf
CinematographyW. Wallace Kelley
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • June 28, 1961 (1961-06-28)
Running time
106 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3.1 million[1]
Box office926,423 admissions (France)[2]

Plot

Herbert H. Heebert is a young man who loses his girlfriend, swears off romance, and then takes a job at a genteel, women-only boarding house, run by Helen Wellenmellen. Although most of the women treat him like a servant, Fay helps him with his fear of women.

Cast

In addition, Lillian Briggs, the "Queen of Rock & Roll," made her Hollywood acting debut in this film and actor George Raft appeared in a cameo role.[4]

Production

The main set is a four-story doll house-like interior of a mansion turned boarding house with a central courtyard allowing crane shots spanning its three and a half floors. The structure was several rooms deep at each level and in total 177 feet long, 154 wide and 36 feet high.[1][5] The main set alone cost $500,000 to build (equivalent to $4,300,000 in 2019).[1]

Reception

Howard Thompson, in a review for The New York Times wrote: "Now, in all fairness to a frankly light-headed vehicle that dies on its feet, Mr. Lewis' latest gets off to a fresh and really funny beginning." However, after the first half-hour, "the remainder of the picture, with everyone else firmly relegated to the background, [it] has Mr. Lewis shuffling and stumbling in full view, as if he and the movie were merely improvising."[3]

In 1998, Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader included the film in his unranked list of the best American films not included on the AFI Top 100.[6]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 100% rating based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 7.25/10.[7]

Accolades

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Home media

The film was released on DVD on October 14, 2004 and again on July 15, 2014 in a 4-film collection, 4 Film Favorites: Jerry Lewis, with The Bellboy, The Errand Boy, and The Patsy.

References
  1. Hill, Gladwin (2 December 1960). "Comic Constructs Edifice for Film: Jerry Lewis Concocts a 40-Room Building for The Ladies Man". The New York Times. p. 33.
  2. Box office information for film at Box office story
  3. Thompson, Howard (July 13, 1961). "Ladies' Man Heads New Double Bill". The New York Times.
  4. Vagg, Stephen (February 9, 2020). "Why Stars Stop Being Stars: George Raft". Filmink.
  5. http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/ladiesman1961.php
  6. Rosenbaum, Jonathan (June 25, 1998). "List-o-Mania: Or, How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love American Movies". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on April 13, 2020.
  7. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_ladies_man
  8. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-07-30.


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