The Delicate Delinquent
The Delicate Delinquent | |
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Directed by | Don McGuire |
Written by | Don McGuire Jerry Lewis (uncredited) |
Produced by | Jerry Lewis |
Starring | Jerry Lewis Darren McGavin Martha Hyer |
Cinematography | Haskell B. Boggs |
Edited by | Howard Smith |
Music by | Buddy Bregman |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $3.4 million (US and Canadian rentals)[1] 803,522 admissions (France)[2] |
The Delicate Delinquent is a 1957 American comedy film starring Jerry Lewis. Shot in black-and-white and VistaVision in 1956 and released on June 6, 1957 by Paramount Pictures. It was the first film to star Lewis without his longtime partner Dean Martin. This film was Lewis's film producing and screenwriting debut.
Plot[]
Sidney L. Pythias, a janitor, is mistaken for a gang member and arrested along with three so-called "juvenile delinquents," Artie, Monk, and Harry.
Police officer Mike Damon believes he can help a wayward youth just as a cop once did for him. He is given a month by Captain Riley to set a boy right, provided he allow socialite and civic do-gooder Martha Henshaw assist him in the effort.
Sidney's secret ambition is to be a policeman. He also wants to impress Patricia, a student nurse who lives in his building, by making something of himself. Mike and Martha bicker while working with Sidney, who is permitted to attend the police academy, over the objections of his "friends" Artie, Monk and Harry.
Artie is accidentally shot by a gun in Sidney's possession, endangering his future with the police force, but it turns out Monk is responsible. Cleared of all blame, Sidney becomes a cop, determined to set a good example for youths like himself, while Mike and Martha fall in love.
Cast[]
- Jerry Lewis as Sidney Pythias
- Darren McGavin as Mike Damon
- Martha Hyer as Martha Henshaw
- Horace McMahon as Capt. Riley
- Mary Webster as Patricia
- Richard Bakalyan as Artie
- Robert Ivers as Monk
- Joseph Corey as Harry
- Emory Parnell as Sgt. Levitch
- Frank Gorshin as Wise Guy on Street
- The Great Togo as himself
Production[]
- The Delicate Delinquent was filmed from September 5-October 12, 1956 and is based upon a script entitled Damon and Pythias inspired by the Damon and Pythias legend. Darren McGavin stepped in to fill the role of a police officer that was originally written for Dean Martin. Martin refused to play the role, ending the Martin and Lewis partnership.[3] Although the credits show a copyright date of 1956, the film was released the following year, a common practice in Hollywood.
- Lewis, who also produced the film, played a 'juvenile', although he was 30 years old at the time.
- The romantic interest was provided mainly by actress Martha Hyer, who in 1966 married Hal B. Wallis, the producer of the Martin and Lewis films. Hyer's wardrobe was created by longtime Paramount costumer designer Edith Head.
- Comedian/impressionist Frank Gorshin made an early dramatic appearance as a gang member.
Box office[]
The cost of the film was a little under $500,000, and it grossed about $6 million.[4]
Re-release[]
It was re-released in 1962 on a double bill with another Lewis film, The Sad Sack (1957).
Home media[]
The film was released on DVD on October 12, 2004 and July 22, 2019.
References[]
- ^ "Top Grossers of 1957". Variety. January 8, 1958. p. 30. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- ^ Jerry Lewis films French box office information at Box Office Story
- ^ p.198 Palmer, R. Barton Larger Than Life: Movie Stars of the 1950s Rutgers University Press, 30 Jun 2010
- ^ Lewis, Jerry; Gluck, Herb (1982). Jerry Lewis In Person. New York: Atheneum. p. 209. ISBN 0-689-11290-4.
External links[]
- 1957 films
- English-language films
- 1957 comedy films
- American comedy films
- American films
- American black-and-white films
- Films set in New York City
- Paramount Pictures films
- Films based on classical mythology
- Films produced by Jerry Lewis