Mill Creek Entertainment awesomely makes February 13, 2018 a lucky day for comedy fans; this is the release date for two Creek DVD + Digital releases of collections of the work of two great comedy teaming.
Our current focus is on "Martin & Lewis Collection," which includes team and solo performances of this classic duo. A review early next week is on the accurately titled "the Kid in the Hall: The Complete Collection." This one is a bonanza of material from the hilariously subversive cross-dressing Canadian comedy troupe of the late '80s through the mid-90s.
"Martin" additionally follows the (reviewed) February 6, 2018 Creek release "Hollywood Profiles: The Lucille Ball Collection." That tribute to that comedy legend includes a documentary, and a plethora of films, TV episodes, and ads.
The centerpiece of "Martin" is a four disc (with digital download) set of 28 Martin & Lewis-hosted episodes of the "The Colgate Comedy Hour" variety show. "Colgate" was "must-see" NBC fare during its 1950-55 run of live broadcasts. The "very special guests" in these episodes include future Martin's fellow Rat Pack member Frank Sinatra, Jack Benny, and surprisingly Burt Lancaster.
The volume of material in "Martin & Lewis" requires limiting the discussion of "Colgate" on the first episode in the set. This one gets off to a great start in having our stars literally make a grand entrance at a high society party. A granting of a request for an autograph hilariously leads to Lewis initially squirting ink on the pristine white shirt of a one-percenter. This leads to Lewis adopting his well-known high-voiced and anxious persona.
Another '50stastic skit has an announcer narrating Martin relaxing in his luxurious "Colgate" dressing room; this leads to showing that the dressing room that Lewis occupies next door essentially is a janitor's closet. The two then have a Bugs Bunny-Daffy Duck style argument regarding Lewis reminding Martin of an agreement of equal treatment and Martin using his cool to try to convince his partner that they are receiving equal treatment only to then treat his "peer" as an errand boy.
The boys also keep vaudeville alive in a skit in which movie theater owner Martin uses his employee to try to seduce Lewis into buying a ticket to see a movie at that failing business. Suffice it to say that hilarity ensues.
The same interest in keeping this review a reasonable length that is cutting discussion of "Colgate" short is prompting a short cut regarding a triple feature of solo Lewis films in this set. This set of "Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River," "Hook, Line, & Sinker," and "3 on a Couch" is a recent individual Creek release. Readers who wish to learn more about this examples of pure Lewis hilarity are asked to check out the January 2108 review of it.
The Dean Martin double feature (DVD only) begins with the 1960 screwball comedy "Who Was that Lady?" that is a mash-up of a Martin and Lewis classic and a Hope and Crosby Road picture. Martin (who also sings the film theme) plays CBS network television writer Michael Haney, and Tony Curtis co-stars as his best friend/Army buddy/Columbia chemistry professor David Wilson.
The action begins literally from the start as a foreign exchange student enters the lab of Wilson and kisses him during the opening credits; almost immediately Wilson wife Ann (Janet Leigh) enters and goes mildly psycho in terms of slapping David and then rushing home to book a flight to Reno for the purpose of obtaining a quickie divorce.
A distraught and desperate David calls on Michael. The solution of this womanizing scribe is to concoct an elaborate scheme whereby David convinces Ann that he an undercover civilian FBI agent. The rest of the story is that the kiss in the lab is is in the course of duty.
The ensuing hilarity involves the real FBI getting in on the act, Michael utilizing the Rat Pack style cool of Martin to convince David to go on a double date, and all of this leading to Soviet spies (including one played by "F Troop" star Larry Storch) capturing our primary trio.
Martin and Lewis style wackiness fully takes center stage as Martin and Curtis wreak havoc in an escape attempt. This leads to our trio hitting the "road" as they stroll off arm-in-arm into the sunset just before the closing credits.
The 1968 romcom "How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life" is more Hudson-Day than Martin-Lewis; it further reflects the Swinging '60s.
The successful stud whom Martin plays this time is Wall Street guy David Sloane; his best friend/army buddy with marital problems in this outing is department store owner Harry Humphrey Hunter (Eli Wallach).
This one revolves a wacky misunderstanding regarding Sloane mistaking store employee Carol Corman (Stella Stevens) for the mistress of Hunter. The effort of David to help Harry not throw away his marriage for a woman whom David thinks has something of her own going on the side leads to David setting up Carol in a love nest for him and her.
An even greater element of "Three's Company" enters the picture regarding the apartment that David rents for Carol being next door to where Harry pays the rent for his actual mistress Muriel Lazlo (Anne Jackson). A crucial plot point regarding this is that neither of these kept women know about the connection between the men who are doing the keeping.
The Hollywood-style depiction of this era of free love extends as far as Carol having a full-size bed but her common-law marriage of inconvenience to David only approaching consummation.
The honeymoon ends when Carol learns the truth regarding the deception that David utilizes to avoid putting a ring on it. This leads to hilarity in the form of Carol becoming a She-Devil who shows David that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. He makes a valid point in stating that he is acting out of friendship for Harry and that pure vindictive revenge motivates Carol.
Of course, the right boy ends up with the right girl and everyone reverts to complying with the Hays Code of film morality.
The spectacular nature of all this is that it gives fans of Martin and Lewis as a team and as solo performers a good chance to relive fond memories of those stages in their careers. It also gives new fan a fairly broad perspective of this team.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Martin & Lewis" is strongly encouraged either to email me or to connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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