Always prone to giving the consumer more bang for their bucks, Mill Creek Entertainment compiles a six DVD set of the best of Martin and Lewis. And while it may not have their all time greats, it still manages to be a solid set that can mesh in with any collection of a Martin and Lewis fanatic. The set comes packed in the usual slip case and compiles a lot of past releases for one fine compendium you can entertain yourself with for hours. In this case, it’s almost thirty hours total of Martin and Lewis shenanigans with five movies and twenty eight episodes of “The Colgate Comedy Hour.”
There’s the Comedy Triple Feature with Jerry Lewis of “3 on a Couch,” starring Jerry Lewis as a man named Christopher whose psychiatrist girlfriend refuses to move with him to Paris due to her counseling of three women with relationship problems. To end her problem, he secretly begins dating the trio of women taking on three different characters, hoping to solve their psychiatric issues. “3 on a Couch” definitely flexes Lewis’ comedic ability and his knack for various characters. While the premise is slimy, it’s at least novel. “Hook Line and Sinker” is less a comedy and more a slice of life as Lewis plays Peter, a man who is told he’s going to die. Hoping to get the most out of his last days he begins partying, and running up scads of bills out of his festivities—only to find out that he isn’t dying after all.
Finally “Don’t Raise the Bridge, Lower the River” is Lewis at his worst, as a con man that gets in deep when his wife divorces him. It’s the lesser of the trio. There’s the Comedy Double Feature with Dean Martin featuring “How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life,” starring Martin as David Sloane, a bachelor whose friend, played by Eli Wallach is having an affair. After David’s friend promotes the woman who saw him having the affair, David assumes she’s the mistress and makes a play for her to prove she doesn’t really care for his friend. “How to Save a Marriage…” is a fairly fun and entertaining comedy about misunderstandings and madcap situations. It works as another of the many relationship comedies with a cast like Eli Wallach, Stella Stevens, and Martin.
“Who Was That Lady?” stars Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh and Martin in another goofy comedy where Curtis plays a Chemistry professor whose friendly kiss from a student turns in to a divorce from his wife, who mistakes it as an affair. Enter Martin as a TV writer who convinces Curtis’ character to save his marriage by concocting an excuse about him being an FBI agent protecting his cover, leading to confrontations with the real FBI, CIA, and assorted authorities. It’s another solid comedy in the set with amazing acting talent behind it. Lastly, but not least, the final four discs in the collection includes twenty eight episodes of “The Colgate Comedy Hour,” the iconic variety show filled with various hosts. The twenty eight included are, of course, with Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, or the comedy pair. It’s a great re-visiting of a typically raucous and funny series, and a great capper to a solid set.