“Oh, sweetie, don’t cry—you can’t help it. It’s just that nature gave some girls talent and brains…and with you, it slipped you a mickey.” – Jane Stacy (Diana Lynn), My Friend Irma (Paramount/1949)
One of postwar radio’s biggest comedy hits was My Friend Irma, a sitcom created by producer Cy Howard about the misadventures of two women in New York City: level-headed, cynical Jane Stacy (Cathy Lewis) and sweet, naïve (and completely scatterbrained) Irma Peterson (Marie Wilson). Parke Levy, a veteran comedy writer who wrote most of Irma’s scripts throughout the show’s lengthy radio run (1947-54), commented in Jordan R. Young’s The Laugh Crafters that Irma was essentially a rip-off of the stage success (and later box-office movie hit) My Sister Eileen; but be that as it may, the radio comedy convulsed audiences and garnered high ratings for the Tiffany network (the fact that it followed the successful Lux Radio Theater on Monday nights didn’t hurt, either).
Impressed with the show’s ratings, Paramount decided to bring Irma to the big screen in 1949—naturally, the studio decided that it wasn’t necessary to spend a great deal of money on the project, believing that the novelty of seeing one of the country’s beloved sitcoms in theaters would guarantee robust ticket sales. Still, Paramount decided to hedge their bets and instead of awarding the part of Jane Stacy to actress Lewis (Marie Wilson was going to play Irma onscreen…there was simply no getting around that) they cast contract player Diana Lynn in the role, thinking that Lynn’s box-office appeal would add a little heft to the take. Radio actor John Brown (who played the part of Irma’s shiftless fiancé, Al) was also nixed in favor of actor John Lund, and future Hazel co-star Don DeFore was cast as Jane’s boss (and the man she was determined to march down the altar) Richard Rhinelander III, edging out Leif Erickson. The only two Irma regulars besides Marie Wilson who manage to land the movie gig were Gloria Gordon (Gale’s ma) as landlady Mrs. O’Reilly and Hans Conried as Professor Kropotkin. And Conried only got to reprise his radio role because the original Kropotkin, actor Felix Bressart, died shortly after shooting got underway.
But if My Friend Irma is remembered by movie fans today, it’s only because Paramount decided to shoehorn a comedy team—who were, at that time, wowing nightclub audiences on the East Coast—into the film’s proceedings…said funsters being Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The first onscreen appearance of Dean and Jer is really the only reason to watch Irma today; it’s not a particularly great comedy (though it’s miles and away better than the radio show) but seeing the famous duo clown around is worth the price of admission. The film’s threadbare plot has Martin playing the part of a would-be singer who falls for Lynn (and she for him), which complicates her plan to snare her new boss (DeFore) in holy matrimony. (Jane: “Why couldn’t I be Mrs. Richard Rhinelander the Third?” Irma: “The Third? What good is that if he has two other wives?”) Lewis is Martin’s sidekick (of course), but although the two of them get a nice chunk of screen time their patented musical shtick (Dean tries to sing while Jerry cuts up with the band) gets short shrift here. Wilson is great, and DeFore works well with what he’s got (his drunk scene will provide a few laughs if you think about the prospect of George Baxter getting schnockered) but I’m not particularly sold on Lynn (she comes across as a bit of a gold-digger) or Lund (he just can’t put across the Runyonesque qualities of Al in the way that John Brown could). The songs are pretty forgettable (they were written by tunesmiths Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, who also composed Que Sera Sera and the Mister Ed theme) save for “Here’s to Love,” but the direction (by veteran comedy director George Marshall, who also directed the M&L vehicles Scared Stiff and Money From Home) is competent and it’s a painless way to kill an hour-and-forty-five-minutes.
I’m sure I’m probably in the minority on this, but I actually believe that Irma’s 1950 follow-up, My Friend Irma Goes West, is an improvement on the original—only because Dean and Jerry get more screen time to do their clowning. In West, both Lynn and Wilson are still unmarried, and Martin and Lewis are still toiling away at their orange juice stand; Lund’s Al gets Martin’s Steve a break on a television program and the comedy team quit their job only to find that their financial reward consists of twelve cans of spaghetti, the sponsor’s product. (Sponsor: “You know, television is not in a position to pay off money—television is still in its birth.” Seymour: “I got some news for you—I don’t want to be a midwife.”) Steve is about to chuck his musician dreams out the window and settle for average married life with Jane when a Hollywood film producer (Charles Evans) signs him to a picture contract, prompting Irma & Company to travel West by train. (Unbeknownst to the main players, the “producer” is actually an escaped mental patient.) Matters become further complicated when a French tart named Yvonne Yvonne (Corinne Calvet) sets her cap for Steve by insisting he play her leading man in her next picture.
You sort of have to feel bad for Marie Wilson in Irma Goes West, seeing as how the spotlight has shifted to her co-stars (it’s so bad, she now gets fifth billing—in the first film, she was fourth); but again, it’s Martin & Lewis all the way—their Vagabond Song bit (performed with Dick Stabile and his orchestra) is one of my favorite sequences from their motion pictures. Fortunately for Marie, Dean & Jerry did not follow her into the TV sitcom adapted from the radio show (though this was not a roaring success, lasting little more than two years). Handling the direction in this film is Hal Walker, who also did one of my favorite Martin & Lewis pictures, Sailor Beware (1951), as well as my personal pick for the best of the Hope-Crosby vehicles, Road to Utopia (1945). The supporting cast in West also shines, with character actors Lloyd Corrigan, Don Porter, Harold Huber and Kenneth Tobey livening up the proceedings.
Both Irma and Irma Goes West are available on a double feature DVD released by Paramount Home Video back in October, but my good friend Laughing Gravy informs me that Paramount will be releasing a box set of Martin & Lewis films (and it’s about doggone time) on June 13th that not only include the two Irma flicks but also The Caddy, Jumping Jacks, Money from Home, Sailor Beware, Scared Stiff and That’s My Boy. Had I known this earlier, I would have waited…
Monday, May 15, 2006
- Posted by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr. - 8:17:04 AM - comment []
