Who's Minding the Store? (1963)

Norman Phiffier (Jerry Lewis) is a bungler young whose previous jobs include that of caddy , TV repairman, and Paramount Theater usher. Barbara (Jill St. John) is a very rich girl posing as an elevator-girl and falls in love with Norman . He now works as a store clerk in a large department store. Clumsy and inept, he set loose in store and can't do anything right . Boy are they in trouble . But , Barbara's mother (Agnes Morehead) doesn't want her daughter to marry such a poor man.Amusing and spasmodic comedy with the genius comic Jerry Lewis acting in his stereotyped role by relinquishing creative control and concentrating on humor based on destruction and wreak havoc , nice inventive bits , skilfully combining the entertainment with the amusement. It features quick editing , wild and outrageous gags , and extremely odd angles. Enjoyable film with characters genuine and sympathetic , it is plenty of humor , tongue-in-cheek , side-splitting sight gags and amusement . Director Frank Tashlin introduces cinematic especial techniques in animated cartoon style , such as odd camera angles, montage and quickly paced editing , as some shots lasting only five frames long . Jerry Lewis is top-notch playing a botcher and meek store clerk ; Jerry played similar character as a bumbling idiot in other films such as a caddy in ¨The Caddy¨ and a TV repairman in both ¨Rock-a-Bye Baby¨ and ¨It's Only Money¨. The co-starring role stands out Jill St. John , surely the most gorgeous girl any clerk ever had . Excellent support cast formed by likable secondaries as Ray Walston as Mr. Quimby , John McGiver as Mr. John P. Tuttle and special mention to Agnes Moorehead as Mrs. Phoebe Tuttle . Furthermore , watch rapidly to veteran Kathleen Freeman . Colorful and shimmer cinematography in Technicolor by Wallace Kelley and catching musical score .The motion picture was well directed by Frank Tashlin , one of the few directors to successfully make the transition from animation to live-action , as he directed his cartoons like live-action films and his live-action films like cartoons . He directed various vehicles for Jerry Lewis as ¨The Geisha boy¨, ¨Hollywood or Bust¨ , ¨Rock-a-Bye Baby¨ , ¨Cinderfella¨ and for Bob Hope as ¨The son of Paleface¨ . Who's minding the store ? is considered to be one of his best films . Rating : 6,5 . Entertaining and amusing movie that it will appeal to Jerry Lewis fans . Worthwhile watching .

Right up front, I think it's important you know I am not particularly a fan of Jerry Lewis films. I am sure he's a wonderful human being, but I have never really understood the appeal of his comedies--particularly his solo efforts. Now that does not mean I dislike all his films ("The Delicate Delinquent" and "The Sad Sack" are very good comedies), I just don't have a burning love for his movies like some reviewers. So why am I watching many of his films recently? Well, because I want to be fair--and in recent months I have deliberately chosen some big name stars whose work I am not all that fond of in order to re-assess them--to give them a fair chance. For example, I was never a fan of Marlon Brando, so I recently saw almost all his films and have a greater appreciation for some of his movies. Now, I am working on Jerry Lewis--especially since a good friend felt I was being too hard on the man's work."Who's Minding the Store" begins with a rich lady (Agnes Moorehead) consulting with some of her help. Apparently, she's had them spy on her daughter's boyfriend (Lewis) to see what sort of guy he is. She sees him as an uncultured idiot and feels she must do something to break up the couple--she CAN'T have her daughter marrying THAT! Moorehead decides to try to break them up by proving to her daughter that he is weak and incompetent--and she plans on making his new job at the department store (one she owns) horrible--to make him quit and to humiliate him. So, she gets her manager (Ray Walston) to give him every horrible job he can think of...and the manager thinks of many! As for Lewis, he has no idea his girl (Jill St. John) is wealthy, as she lives simply and he also has no idea he's been under surveillance or that he's being set up to fail on this job.The style of this film is very episodic--and that's not a bad thing. Each time Lewis is given a new job, it's like a separate comedy bit. And, when they don't work so well, they come so often that the momentum is quite nice--and most of these situations are very enjoyable (such as the lady wrestler, his very famous invisible typewriter bit and the ladies sale). In addition, Jerry is much more likable in this one, as he does NOT mug for the camera and is pretty restrained (often a problem in some of his other films)--he's also a very a nice guy. It's also very, very nice seeing his relationship with his future father-in-law (John McGiver)--it's really sweet. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this one--it was restrained, well-acted and had some nice laughs. Even the over the top vacuum bit was worth seeing--even if this one did lack subtlety! Because I enjoyed this so much, perhaps I can look past some of Lewis' duds like "Cracking Up" (ewww....now THAT'S bad) and I look forward to the next.

After THE DISORDERLY ORDERLY, this is Jerry Lewis's best film. Like DD, WMTS is directed by the great Frank Tashlin. The sight gags are hysterical, highlighted by a very funny fight between Lewis and a very aggressive vacuum cleaner. Nancy Kulp, herself a sight gag, is pretty amusing as a great white hunter. Lewis gets a terrific foil in shrewish department store owner Agnes Moorehead. Although Jill St. John is a bit harder to take as her daughter. She's insistent on being with Jerry and that's tough to digest. Lewis usually kept his leading ladies to the Ina Balin type...semi-ingenues who would believably be smitten with him. Nevertheless, the movie is terrific with the now famous typewriter gag.

When I turned 16 or so and began to develop a mature sense of aesthetics, the films of Jerry Lewis became anathema to me. Suddenly I couldn't stand him, and that culturally elitist attitude has persisted to the present day. Yet when asked which of the films I've ever seen are the funniest, I have to mention this one. I don't remember much about it -- I saw it in a drive-in on a misty night in 1963 when I was 12 -- but I still recall the scene in the appliance department of the store, with the vacuum cleaner sucking up everything in sight. I don't think I have laughed that hard since -- it's amazing I survived to see the age of 13!