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YOU'RE NEVER TOO YOUNG
In 1954, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had one of their biggest film hits with Living it Up, which was a remake of an old Carole Lombard comedy called Nothing Sacred. The following year, they decided to do another remake called You're Never Too Young.
In this 1955 remake of the 1942 Ginger Rogers comedy The Major and the Minor, Lewis plays Wilbur Hoolick, an aspiring barber who meets Bob Miles (Martin), a teacher at a private all-girls school who is involved with another teacher at the school (Diana Lynn). Bob and Wilbur's lives become mixed up when a murderous jewel thief (Raymond Burr) slips an exotic diamond that he killed to get his hands on in Wilbur's pocket. Wilbur finds the only way to escape is by impersonating a 12-year old boy to get a half-price train ticket out of town and ends up hiding out at Bob's school.
Director Norman Taurog provides breezy direction to Sidney Sheldon's often humorous screenplay which remains loyal to the original Ginger Rogers comedy while providing a spark of originality to the proceedings. As in the original film, we never really buy Jerry as a 12-year old boy and are surprised that most of the other characters do, but we tend to forgive because Jerry completely invests in the role the same way Ginger Rogers did, with what seems to be a little more discipline from the director's chair.
Dean and Jerry were at the height of their stardom at the time and we can see why...Lewis was always the king of physical comedy, but by this time Martin was becoming just as adept at it without ever forgetting that he was always the straight man here. I also loved the casting of Raymond Burr as a comic villain, almost immediately after playing a very serious villain for Hitchcock in Rear Window.
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Diana Lynn and Nina Foch are attractive leading ladies and there is a cute supporting turn from future comedy actress/writer Mitzi McCall as a student at the school smitten with Wilbur. And if you don't blink, you'll miss a brief appearance from Hans Conreid. The film features a few songs by Arthur Schwartz and Sammy Cahn including "I Know Your Mother Likes", "Simpatico", "I Like to Hike" and an elaborate production number called "Face the Music." It has a slow spot here and there and the water-bound finale takes a little too long to wrap up, but fans of the duo will not be disappointed.
In 1954, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had one of their biggest film hits with Living it Up, which was a remake of an old Carole Lombard comedy called Nothing Sacred. The following year, they decided to do another remake called You're Never Too Young.
In this 1955 remake of the 1942 Ginger Rogers comedy The Major and the Minor, Lewis plays Wilbur Hoolick, an aspiring barber who meets Bob Miles (Martin), a teacher at a private all-girls school who is involved with another teacher at the school (Diana Lynn). Bob and Wilbur's lives become mixed up when a murderous jewel thief (Raymond Burr) slips an exotic diamond that he killed to get his hands on in Wilbur's pocket. Wilbur finds the only way to escape is by impersonating a 12-year old boy to get a half-price train ticket out of town and ends up hiding out at Bob's school.
Director Norman Taurog provides breezy direction to Sidney Sheldon's often humorous screenplay which remains loyal to the original Ginger Rogers comedy while providing a spark of originality to the proceedings. As in the original film, we never really buy Jerry as a 12-year old boy and are surprised that most of the other characters do, but we tend to forgive because Jerry completely invests in the role the same way Ginger Rogers did, with what seems to be a little more discipline from the director's chair.
Dean and Jerry were at the height of their stardom at the time and we can see why...Lewis was always the king of physical comedy, but by this time Martin was becoming just as adept at it without ever forgetting that he was always the straight man here. I also loved the casting of Raymond Burr as a comic villain, almost immediately after playing a very serious villain for Hitchcock in Rear Window.
Diana Lynn and Nina Foch are attractive leading ladies and there is a cute supporting turn from future comedy actress/writer Mitzi McCall as a student at the school smitten with Wilbur. And if you don't blink, you'll miss a brief appearance from Hans Conreid. The film features a few songs by Arthur Schwartz and Sammy Cahn including "I Know Your Mother Likes", "Simpatico", "I Like to Hike" and an elaborate production number called "Face the Music." It has a slow spot here and there and the water-bound finale takes a little too long to wrap up, but fans of the duo will not be disappointed.