The Family Jewels | |
---|---|
Directed by | Jerry Lewis |
Written by | Jerry Lewis Bill Richmond |
Produced by | Jerry Lewis |
Starring | Jerry Lewis Sebastian Cabot |
Cinematography | W. Wallace Kelley |
Edited by | John Woodcock |
Music by | Pete King |
Production company | Jerry Lewis Productions |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 99 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $2,600,000 (US/ Canada rentals) [1] 824,903 admissions (France) [2] |
The Family Jewels is a 1965 American comedy film. It was filmed from January 18 to April 2, 1965, and was released by Paramount Pictures on July 1, 1965. The film was co-written, directed, and produced by Jerry Lewis who also played seven roles in the film. Lewis' co-star, Donna Butterworth, made only one other film, Paradise, Hawaiian Style , with Elvis Presley. Gary Lewis & The Playboys have a cameo in which they sing "Little Miss Go-Go"; their hit song "This Diamond Ring" is also featured.
Donna Peyton is a ten-year-old girl who inherits $30 million from her industrialist father. Per terms of his will, Donna must choose one of her six uncles to become her new "father". Willard Woodward, the family chauffeur, takes Donna to all of her uncles to stay with them for two weeks. Donna's uncles are:
The more time she spends with her uncles, the more Donna realizes that Willard should be her father: he was always a father to her even when her real father was still alive, because her father was too busy to spend time with her. Unfortunately the family lawyers will not allow her to choose Willard, insisting that she must choose one of her uncles. At the last minute, Uncle Everett shows up unexpectedly, asking Donna to choose him. To everyone's surprise, Donna agrees, and the two leave together. As they walk down the hallway, Donna reveals that she knows the truth: "Uncle Everett" is actually Willard in disguise. She recognized him because, as always, his shoes were on the wrong feet.
The character of Julius Peyton is similar to the character of Julius Kelp in Jerry Lewis' earlier film The Nutty Professor (1963). [3]
The film was released three times on DVD. Paramount released it on October 12, 2004 and January 5, 2021 and Warner Archive released the film on made-to-order DVD on June 20, 2013. [4]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 80% rating based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 6.62/10. [5]
Several of the film's characters were caricatured in Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down , an animated series.
Jerry Lewis was an American comedian, actor, singer and humanitarian who was famously nicknamed "The King of Comedy" and has appeared in more than 59 motion pictures, including the first sixteen films with his partner, singer Dean Martin, during their act as Martin and Lewis.
The Nutty Professor is a 1963 American science fiction black comedy film directed, co-written by, and starring Jerry Lewis. The film also co-stars Stella Stevens, Del Moore, Kathleen Freeman, Howard Morris, and Elvia Allman. The score was composed by Walter Scharf. A parody of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it follows bullied scientist Julius Kelp as he creates a serum that transforms him into a handsome man, which he subsequently uses under his alter ego Buddy Love.
Peyton Place is an American prime-time soap opera that aired on ABC in half-hour episodes from September 15, 1964, to June 2, 1969.
James Neil Hamilton was an American stage, film and television actor, best remembered for his role as Commissioner Gordon on the Batman TV series of the 1960s, having first played a character by that name in 1928's Three Weekends. During his motion picture career, which spanned more than a half century, Hamilton performed in over 260 productions in the silent and sound eras.
Jay Adler was an American actor in theater, television, and film.
Underworld is a 1927 American silent crime film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Clive Brook, Evelyn Brent and George Bancroft. The film launched Sternberg's eight-year collaboration with Paramount Pictures, with whom he would produce his seven films with actress Marlene Dietrich. Journalist and screenwriter Ben Hecht won an Academy Award for Best Original Story.
Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down is a 1970 animated showcase for various caricatured Jerry Lewis characters, all based on characters from the 1965 film The Family Jewels, and styled in a fashion similar to Archie's TV Funnies and the Groovie Goolies. The title is a variant of the deciding question on the game show To Tell the Truth: "Will the real __________ please stand up?" Like most 1970s-era Saturday morning cartoon series, Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down contained an adult laugh track.
Donald Martin Stark is an American actor known for his role as Bob Pinciotti on the Fox Network sitcom That '70s Show for all eight seasons (1998–2006) and fictional Los Angeles Devils owner Oscar Kinkade in VH1's Hit the Floor, Star Trek: First Contact (1996), and John Carter (2012). He also provided the voice of Vincent in Father of the Pride (2004–2005) and voiced Rhino in Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1995-1997). He has two daughters.
Vito Giusto Scozzari, also known as Vito Scotti, was an American character actor who played both dramatic and comedy roles on Broadway, in films, and later on television, primarily from the late 1930s to the mid-1990s. He was known as a man of a thousand faces for his ability to assume so many divergent roles in more than 200 screen appearances in a career spanning 50 years and for his resourceful portrayals of various ethnic types. Of Italian heritage, he played everything from a Mexican bandit, to a Russian doctor, to a Japanese sailor, to an Indian travel agent.
Gene Nelson was an American actor, dancer, screenwriter, and director.
Kid Millions is a 1934 American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth, produced by Samuel Goldwyn Productions, and starring Eddie Cantor. Its elaborate "Ice Cream Fantasy Finale" production number was filmed in three-strip Technicolor, one of the earliest uses of that process in a feature-length film.
The Bellboy is a 1960 American comedy film written, produced, directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on July 20, 1960, by Paramount Pictures and marked Lewis's directorial debut.
Hollywood or Bust is a 1956 American semi-musical comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring the team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis alongside Pat Crowley and Anita Ekberg. The picture was filmed from April 16 to June 19, 1956, and released on December 6, 1956, by Paramount Pictures, almost five months after the Martin and Lewis partnership split up.
The Caddy is a 1953 American semi-musical-comedy-sports film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It is noteworthy for Dean Martin introducing the hit song "That's Amore".
3 Ring Circus is a 1954 American comedy film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The picture was shot from February 17 to March 31, 1954, and released on December 25 by Paramount Pictures. The supporting cast includes Joanne Dru, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Wallace Ford, Sig Ruman, Nick Cravat, and Elsa Lanchester.
The Patsy is a 1964 American comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on August 12, 1964, by Paramount Pictures.
Gary Lewis is an American musician who was the leader of Gary Lewis & the Playboys.
The 23rd Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1965, were held on 28 February 1966.
Donna Lee Butterworth was an American actress and singer, best known for starring opposite Elvis Presley in the 1966 musical comedy Paradise, Hawaiian Style, when she was 10 years old.
Jesslyn Fax was a Canadian-American actress. She is known for playing 'Miss Hearing Aid' in Rear Window (1954), Avis Grubb in The Music Man (1962), Miss Hemphill in The Man Who Died Twice (1958), and Airline passenger in The Family Jewels (1965).