1960 | Approved | 1h 12m | Comedy
It’s quite fun to watch big Hollywood stars who are so self-assured of their celebrity that they poke fun at both themselves and the rabid, celebrity-worshiping infrastructure that surrounds them. A perfect example of this type of self-deprecating humor is during the first act of the 1960 slapstick comedy “The Bellboy,” where Jerry Lewis plays himself as a big-time, self-important celebrity who is visiting the posh Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.
Lewis arrives at the hotel with his army of an entourage, which sycophantically swarms around him like a cloud of locusts, feverishly attempting to predict his slightest desire—such as rushing up to light his cigarettes or diving in to help him register at the hotel’s front desk, nearly smothering him to death. He has to remind this throng of scampering hangers-on to restrain themselves by constantly shouting “Hold it!”
Harking Back to the Silent Era
But that’s the most you’ll see of Lewis talking in the film. The majority of its rather short 72-minute running time harks back to the silent era of film as Lewis embraces the role of one of the hotel’s bellboys, a blundering simpleton named Stanley. He mutely obeys the orders given to him since his superiors forbid him to “talk back.”The film’s opening is a scathing illustration of how demeaning the service industry can be to work in. A line of fully grown men, referred to as “boys,” march in a line out into the hotel’s sprawling main foyer. With almost military precision, they stand in place continuing to march until Bob, the bell captain (Bob Clayton), orders them to stop.
As Bob walks down the line and inspects each man-boy, there’s a conspicuous gap that Stanley quickly shuffles up to fill. Here, we get the first inkling of what’s to come as Stanley dramatically contorts his face in an effort to look as innocuous as possible under the menacing glare of Captain Bob.
The bulk of this brisk comedy comprises short blackout gags, a rapid-fire vaudevillian technique where the lights are turned down after a joke’s punchline, allowing the crowd to laugh. Here, this method is emulated by the camera fading to black after many of the film’s scenes. Together, these vignettes form a larger tapestry of the misadventures of Stanley as he interacts with both his fellow employees and the various guests who come to stay at the luxurious hotel.
While none of the film’s comedic skits elicit hysterical laughter, there are quite a few laugh-out-loud moments or at least a chuckle. Having worked in the service industry (and at hotels) in the past, I am reminded of how belittling it can be, and this film lambasts the darker side of it. Some genuinely imaginative skits play out from the very beginning of the film.
For instance, we see Stanley taking his time while placing room keys into their small boxes behind the front desk. A couple of managers come up to scold him for taking so long to do such a simple task. After they depart, Stanley simply begins to toss the keys at the boxes haphazardly and then dashes off with a mischievous glint in his eye. The next scene shows shots of numerous hotel guests as they all try to wrangle their misplaced keys into their doors at the same time.
In another funny scene, Bob and a few other managers stare at Stanley as he happily whistles while completing a simple task. His childlike glee at fulfilling any task baffles them since they tend to lounge around. Bob suddenly orders Stanley to “set up the seats for the motion picture tonight.” As Stanley walks into the huge movie theater chamber, it’s quite evident that he’s been given a task for at least a dozen men.
Slapstick Gags
There’s a certain kind of surrealism in these scenes that are obviously not meant to be realistic, although they poke fun at realistic situations that most of us can relate to. The slapstick gags hit more than they miss and quickly move from one silly situation to the next, each one becoming more ridiculous as the film progresses.It’s great to see Lewis, arguably at the height of his incredible stardom, playing a humble bellboy, and it’s quite apparent that he’s channeling parts of his own life, as he used to work menial, dead-end jobs during his younger years (such as working as a soda jerk). The bellboy character is also named in honor of Stan Laurel, Lewis’s friend and mentor.
“The Bellboy” marked Lewis’s directorial debut. (He also wrote the script.) And it achieved commercial success, although some critics believed his performance to be a little too restrained in comparison to his usual frantic antics. Reportedly, Paramount Pictures needed to quickly fill the gap for a summertime film and Lewis was tasked to come up with a comedy on short notice, and with a stringent budget.
In my estimation, Lewis rose to the occasion and filled that gap, just as he did in the line of bellboys.
