Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River

Last updated

Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River
Dontraise.jpg
Cinema poster
Directed by Jerry Paris
Screenplay by Max Wilk
Based onthe novel
by Max Wilk
Produced by Walter Shenson
Starring Jerry Lewis
Cinematography Otto Heller
Edited by Bill Lenny
Music by David Whitaker
Production
company
Walter Shenson Productions
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • 12 July 1968 (1968-07-12)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,100,000 (US/ Canada) [1]
316,754 admissions (France) [2]

Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River is a 1968 British comedy film directed by Jerry Paris and starring Jerry Lewis, Terry-Thomas and Jacqueline Pearce. [3] [4] It was written by Max Wilk based on his 1961 novel of the same title, with the original Connecticut locale moved to Swinging London and Portugal. It was produced by Walter Shenson and released on 12 July 1968 by Columbia Pictures.

Contents

Plot

George Lester is an American living in Britain. His passion is get-rich-quick schemes, and they have caused financial and personal grief for him and his wife, Pamela, who is considering divorce if he continues with them.

Willy Homer is a conman who plans to help George raise some quick cash by selling plans for a drill to a group of Arabs. The plans, which were stolen, are smuggled to Lisbon with help from his accomplice, Fred Davies. As they are about to trade the plans, they realise that they are being double-crossed. A series of chases follows, and eventually the plans are revealed to be worthless to everyone.

Distraught, George finds comfort in his wife and promises to never embark on any more schemes, but Willy shows up at his door with another one.

Cast

Production

Filming took place between 15 May and 30 June 1967. The director, Jerry Paris, has a cameo as the umpire at a baseball game.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Even the most diehard Jerry Lewis enthusiasts would be hard put to find anything to please them in this disastrous muddle of a film. Quite apart from the fact that Lewis and director Jerry Paris seem to have been at odds with each other throughout the film, there is scarcely a single gag which doesn't misfire; and the result is an embarrassingly unfunny farrago of comedy styles, ranging from the more asinine antics of the Carry On series (a predatory Girl Guide leader collapsing into highpitched giggles at the mere sight of a man) to Lewis at his twittering worst, and petering out in a feeble slapstick finale. Left to himself, Lewis occasionally almost pulls off a gag (the one idea that does work is a purely visual joke in which he appears to be playing draughts with a black-gloved German until the camera pulls back to reveal the two hands at opposite ends of the board as his own); but elsewhere he looks sadly lost in the midst of a number of British comedy stalwarts, and his tired impersonations of half a dozen nationalities fall very flat." [5]

Kine Weekly wrote: "What might have been an entertaining comedy has been made into a raging farce, which is, of course, entirely suited to the comic style of Jerry Lewis. He is, however, far more subdued than usual and uses hardly any of his famous grimaces. The result is a farce that is curiously sparing of real laughter." [6]

Variety wrote: "An initial lack of clarity in plot premise, followed by routine and not very exciting episodic treatment add up to a generally flat result. Terry-Thomas heads a good supporting cast." [7]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Dreary comedy apparently intent on proving that its star can be just as unfunny abroad as at home." [8]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Jerry Lewis is quite hopelessly adrift and desperately unfunny in an awkward UK adaptation of humorist Max Wilk's novel. It's ham-fistedly directed by former actor Jerry Paris, and concerns Lewis's plans to steal a high-speed oil drill and peddle the plans to oil-rich Arabs. The Brits acquit themselves well, yet both pace and tone are uncertain, and Lewis's performance is embarrassingly undirected." [9]

Home media

The film has been released twice on Region 1 DVD, on 8 July 2003 and again in a Jerry Lewis Triple Feature collection with Three on a Couch (1966) and Hook, Line & Sinker (1969) on 16 January 2018.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Paris</span> American actor and director (1925–1986)

William Gerald Paris was an American actor and director best known for playing Jerry Helper, the dentist and next-door neighbor of Rob and Laura Petrie, on The Dick Van Dyke Show, and for directing the majority of the episodes of the sitcom Happy Days.

Max Wilk was an American playwright, screenwriter and author of fiction and nonfiction books. In all, Wilk was the author of 19 books, four films, three produced plays as well as many TV shows and magazine articles.

<i>Three on a Couch</i> 1966 film by Jerry Lewis

Three on a Couch is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Jerry Lewis and starring Jerry Lewis and Janet Leigh.

<i>Dont Just Lie There, Say Something!</i> 1974 British film by Bob Kellett

Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! is a 1974 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Brian Rix, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims and Joanna Lumley. It was based on the Whitehall farce of the same name written by Michael Pertwee, who also wrote the screenplay. A government minister and his best friend take action in parliament against permissive behaviour in the United Kingdom.

<i>Hook, Line & Sinker</i> (1969 film) 1969 film by George Marshall

Hook, Line & Sinker is a 1969 American comedy film produced by and starring Jerry Lewis. This was the final film for director George Marshall, whose career dated back to 1916, and Lewis' last film for Columbia Pictures.

<i>The Sandwich Man</i> (1966 film) 1966 British film by Robert Hartford-Davis

The Sandwich Man is a 1966 British comedy film directed by Robert Hartford-Davis starring Michael Bentine, with support from a cast of British character actors including Dora Bryan, Harry H. Corbett, Bernard Cribbins, Diana Dors, Norman Wisdom, Terry-Thomas and Ian Hendry. It was written by Hartford-Davis and Bentine.

<i>Too Many Crooks</i> 1959 British film by Mario Zampi

Too Many Crooks is a 1959 British black comedy film directed by Mario Zampi and starring Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Brenda De Banzie, Sidney James, Bernard Bresslaw and Vera Day.

<i>The Ritz</i> (film) 1976 film by Richard Lester

The Ritz is a 1976 British-American comedy farce film directed by Richard Lester based on the 1975 play of the same name by Terrence McNally. Actress Rita Moreno – who had won a Tony Award for her performance as Googie Gomez in the Broadway production – and many others from the 1975 original cast, such as Jack Weston, Jerry Stiller, and F. Murray Abraham, reprised their stage roles in the film version. Also in the cast were Kaye Ballard and Treat Williams. The film, Jack Weston, and Rita Moreno all received Golden Globe nominations in the comedy category. It opened to mixed reviews.

<i>Dry Rot</i> (film) 1956 British film by Maurice Elvey

Dry Rot is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey, and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Peggy Mount, and Sid James. The screenplay is by John Chapman, adapted from his 1954 Whitehall farce of the same name.

<i>Up the Creek</i> (1958 film) 1958 British film by Val Guest

Up the Creek is a 1958 British comedy film written and directed by Val Guest and starring David Tomlinson, Peter Sellers, Wilfrid Hyde-White, David Lodge and Lionel Jeffries.

<i>Go for a Take</i> 1972 British film by Harry Booth

Go for a Take is a 1972 British comedy film starring Reg Varney and Norman Rossington, directed by Harry Booth. The screenplay was by Alan Hackney.

<i>Sailor Beware!</i> (1956 film) 1956 British film by Gordon Parry

Sailor Beware! is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Peggy Mount, Shirley Eaton and Ronald Lewis. It was released in the United States by Distributors Corporation of America in 1957 as Panic in the Parlor.

<i>Sally in Our Alley</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Sally in Our Alley is a 1931 British romantic comedy drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Gracie Fields, Ian Hunter, and Florence Desmond. It is based on the 1923 West End play The Likes of Her by Charles McEvoy.

<i>Jumping for Joy</i> 1956 film by John Paddy Carstairs

Jumping for Joy is a 1956 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Frankie Howerd, Stanley Holloway, Joan Hickson and Lionel Jeffries. It tells of the comic adventures of an ex-worker at a greyhound racing track.

<i>The Man in the Mirror</i> (1936 film) 1936 British film by Maurice Elvey

The Man in the Mirror is a 1936 British comedy film, directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Edward Everett Horton, Genevieve Tobin and Ursula Jeans.

<i>Not Wanted on Voyage</i> 1957 British film by Maclean Rogers

Not Wanted on Voyage is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix and Catherine Boyle. It is based on the play Wanted on Voyage by Ken Attiwill and his wife Evadne Price, and was made at British National Studios.

<i>Keep It Clean</i> 1956 British film by David Paltenghi

Keep It Clean is a 1956 British black-and-white comedy film directed by David Paltenghi and starring Ronald Shiner and Joan Sims.

<i>The Gangs All Here</i> (1939 film) 1939 British film

The Gang's All Here is a 1939 British black-and-white comedy-mystery, directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Jack Buchanan and Googie Withers. It was produced by Associated British Picture Corporation and released in the U.S. in 1943 as The Amazing Mr. Forrest.

<i>And the Same to You</i> 1960 British film by George Pollock

And the Same to You is a 1960 British boxing-themed comedy film directed by George Pollock and starring Brian Rix and William Hartnell. It was written by John Paddy Carstairs, John Junkin and Terry Nation based on the stage farce The Chigwell Chicken by A.P. Dearsley.

<i>The Girl in the Taxi</i> (1937 film) 1937 film

The Girl in the Taxi is a 1937 British musical comedy film directed by André Berthomieu and starring Frances Day, Henri Garat and Lawrence Grossmith. It was based on the stage musical The Girl in the Taxi and was part of a trend of operetta films produced during the decade.

References

  1. "Big Rental Films of 1968", Variety, 8 January 1969 p 15. Please note this figure is a rental accruing to distributors.
  2. Jerry Lewis films French box office information at Box Office Story
  3. "Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  4. Weiler, A.H. "Jerry Lewis in 'Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River'". The New York Times. No. July 13, 1968. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  5. "Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 35 (408): 155. 1 January 1968 via ProQuest.
  6. "Under the Doctor". Kine Weekly . 614 (3177): 14. 31 August 1968 via ProQuest.
  7. "Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River". Variety . 251 (3): 6. 5 June 1968 via ProQuest.
  8. Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 290. ISBN   0586088946.
  9. Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 264. ISBN   9780992936440.