The Disorderly Orderly

December 11, 2017 tom.raymond Jerry Lewis movies 0

The Disorderly Orderly (1964) starring Jerry Lewis, Susan Oliver, Karen Sharp, Del Moore

The Disorderly Orderly (1964) starring Jerry Lewis, Susan Oliver, Karen Sharp, Del Moore

 In The Disorderly Orderly, Jerry Lewis plays the part of Jerome Littlefield, a would-be medical student who has dropped out of school due to his extreme case of sympathy pains—whenever a patient discusses his or her symptoms, Jerome begins to feel the malady himself.  In addition, he finds himself pining for the girl that he fell in love with in college.  She doesn’t know that he exists (Susan Oliver).  To the distress of one of the nurses (Karen Sharp), who has fallen in love with Jerry Lewis’ character.

Frankly, I was more than pleasantly surprised by Jerry Lewis’ ”The Disorderly Orderly”.  I hadn’t seen the film in nearly 30 years and remembered very little about it.  It was not only funny, it tugged at the heartstrings in just the right amounts.  Not too much to become sappy, and not too much screen time to detract from the comedy.  It also features a very nice social satire in the context of a boardroom meeting, which was both funny and pointed.

Humor in The Disorderly Orderly

Jerry Lewis as The Disorderly Orderly - buy from Amazon.com

The comedy elements are laugh-out-loud funny; some of my favorites include Jerry Lewis’ attempt at collecting dirty laundry and putting it down a laundry shute—it sounds easy, doesn’t it?  Until Jerry Lewis tackles it, that is.  Another funny element is the recurring theme of Jerry’s character, Jerome Littlefield, being the only ‘sane’ character in a world that’s crazy.  For example, trying to fix a patient’s television that has snow—he unscrews the front of the screen, and a snowstorm floods the room.  Also, much of the humor is not only slapstick but visual; for example, in one scene Jerry Lewis has been put into a straight jacket.  He’s trying to crawl back into the building in order to get help—only to have a snail zoom past him.  Other excellent moments include

  • trying to eat spaghetti at an “ethnic” restaurant
  • taking a patient in a body cast outside for some fresh air
  • having a fight with his girlfriend in the “quiet” area of the hospital.
Jerry Lewis using a stethoscope on himself in The Disorderly Orderly - buy from Amazon.com

All of the supporting cast works very well, including Kathleen Freeman, who appears in many of Jerry Lewis’ films, this time as the antagonistic Nurse Higgins, who is being driven to the brink by Jerry Lewis’ character’s well-meaning attempts at hard work, that keeps backfiring on the suffering Nurse Higgins.

The finale deserves special mention:  a chase scene reminiscent of a Looney Tunes cartoon.  It hasn’t been surpassed or equaled since.  The finale alone is worth the price of admission, but the entire show is a gem.  I rate it 4 out of 5 clowns.

Cast of characters in The Disorderly Orderly

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Professional clown for over 25 years - happily married, with 5 children and 1 grandson