THE LADIES MAN had Jerry Lewis, emboldened by his successful creative control of 1960’s The Bellboy, again taking on multiple duty for the first of his 1961 romps (followed by The Errand Boy). Starring, directing & producing, he shared script credit with Bill Richmond,who subsequently worked with him on five more movies. Mel Brooks did the first script, but clashes with the star had him fired and he refused credit. Though, as usual Jerry the actor hammers most bits so hard that they past promising into pathetic, he scores well in producing and directing, and allows for neat work from many in the large supporting cast. After The Nutty Professor, this is one of best showcases, one of the most tolerable for those who aren’t die-hard fans.

“Hey, lady!”

After ‘Hubert H. Heebert’ (Lewis) is dumped by his girlfriend, he swears off the opposite sex. “And then I decided that my life was over and a bachelor I shall be.” Lewisian logic therefore has HHH take a job as a houseboy at a women-only boarding house. In Hollywood. He gets along with the overseer, retired opera singer ‘Helen N. Wellenmellon’ (Helen Traubel, 61, retired opera singer) and Katie the cook (Kathleen Freeman) but he’s challenged by the bevy of resident beauties.

Lewis does the expected moronic clowning, zany dancing and sentiment sapping his fans demanded and the less-enamored avoid like hydrophobic hyenas. But unperturbed Traubel and sunny Freeman (the third of eleven times she worked with Lewis) are steadfast and there are fun scenes with Hope Holiday (‘Miss Anxious’, intensely wacky actress hopeful), Buddy Lester (a tough-talkin’ hood) and Sylvia Lewis (‘Miss Cartilage’, ultra-dramatic dancer). *

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An unbilled co-star is inanimate but filled with activity: the main set designed by art directors Ross Bellah and Hal Pereira (23 Oscar nominations and yet overlooked for this), a 3½ story cutaway interior, effectively a giant dollhouse. Each level contained several rooms and in total measured 177 feet deep, 154 wide and 36 high. Of the $3,000,000 budget, $1,085,000 went into constructing it.

Box offices rang up $8,000,000, 26th in ’61. With Pat Stanley, Madlyn Rhue (always a pleasure, as ‘Miss Intellectual’), Mary La Roche, George Raft (lame cameo, as himself), Marty Ingels (cameo), Harry James (playing his trumpet), Westbrook Van Voorhiss (sending up Edward R. Murrow), Jack Kruschen, Ann McCrea, Lillian Briggs, Jack LaLanne, Francesca Bellini, Patricia Blair, Doodles Weaver (Sigourney’s uncle), Del Moore, Joan Staley, Fritz Feld, Mickey Finn, Jacqueline Fontaine, Darlene Tompkins, Karyn Kupcinet and Dave Willock. 106 minutes.

* Lewis, about Freeman: “I could write three pages at night and give it to her at coffee in the morning.She’d nail it by the time we’d go and make the shot. And she would do spontaneous pieces with me that were incredible. I always opened up stuff and she handled it like a champ.”

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