Living It Up (1954)

Very best movie i ever watch

Please don't spend money on this.

Absolutely the worst movie.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This was arguably the first time an Original Screenplay (Nothing Sacred, 1934) had been adapted into a Broadway Musical (Hazel Flagg, 1952) and then the Broadway Musical had been adapted into a film (Living It Up, 1954) It grew progressively weaker in each incarnation and seen today the movie has little to recommend it. Carole Lombard, the original Hazel, was light years better than Helen Gallagher who in turn eclipsed Jerry Lewis. There are four decent songs, a frenetic dance, Sig Ruman phones in his guttural dokktorr - he did it much better in Billy Wilder's The Fortune Cookie ten years later, Janet Leigh is the love interest, Fred Clark is Fred Clark and that's about it.

As a lover of all things "Martin & Lewis" if i were forced to choose which movie i enjoy the most from the team - i'd have to say this one. Why? While i understand and adore the gimmick of the team (Dean: the straight man, the romantic crooner, the big brother - Jerry: the "all over the place" monkey, the off key bumbler, the kid.) This movie gives us a chance to see Jerry's "other" talents. Yes, Jerry is a brilliant physical comedian, but ....He can dance! OH YES! There is a scene with him and Sheree North in a very exuberant dance number that i can't help but to rewind and watch several times. it's just an awesome routine! the choreography is excellent! and Jerry moves with straight swag! Also there is a delightful number with him and Dean in top hat and tails whereby Jerry clearly dances better than Dean. However, Dean clearly sings better than Jerry, so it evens out (HA!) that said- there is also a rare opportunity (especially in the Martin and Lewis Days) to hear Jerry sing a song straight up-neat, shaken and not stirred. Just his regular singing voice. (no high pitched shrieking that i adore in spite of itself) although it obviously goes without saying it's not as beautifully crooned as when Dean sings the same song-still It's surprisingly pleasant and shows a hint of what makes Jerry capable of being every bit as romantically appealing as Dean if given the chance to switch it up. At least...it worked for me, and i fell IN LOVE with Jerry after having seen this film for the first time as a kid. It's just a great movie. If you've not seen it..give it a view. Chances are you won't regret it.

Just rewatched this Martin & Lewis movie on YouTube. In this one, Jerry thinks he's dying because he drove in a car labeled "radioactive" in the desert town he's lived in all his life though local doctor Dean knows better after examining him. But because the news reached all the way to New York, an ambitious female reporter (Janet Leigh) there wants to grant Homer Flagg (Lewis' character) his last wish: to visit the Big Apple which Dean agrees to since he's attracted to Leigh. Actually, this marks the first time that Dean & Jerry find themselves competing for the same girl. There's plenty of hilarious scenes and some good Martin numbers though it's a nice surprise to see Lewis himself have a good performance of a love song as well. He's also excellent in a Jitterbug dance number with Sheree North. If there's one sequence that's cringe-worthy, it's when Jerry tries to pass himself off as various specialists especially the one from Hong Kong. Among the supporting cast, Fred Clark is especially good as the cynical publisher Oliver Stone (yeah, you read that right) in his second appearance in an M & L flick. Also nice to see familiar faces like Edward Arnold as the mayer and Grady Sutton as a gift store clerk trying to keep Dean from fooling with his items. And the duet of the boys singing the praises of New York is among the best of their numbers. So on that note, I recommend Living It Up.

I saw this film in Albany, NY while taking a 40' yacht up the Hudson River from New York City. I thought it was very funny. coincidently, I was with the songwriter, Bob Hilliard and his wife Jackie, the night before I left New York. Also, Albany is mentioned in the movie and the Albany audience went wild. I had to take a boat and a bus to Albany to experience this. In the first comment about this film, the writer refers to Bob Hilliard as a "Brill Building Writer." Most writers and musicians worked out of that building in the forties and fifties. Bob wrote a number of hits, including; "Our Day Will Come" "Moonlight Gambler" "Be My Life's Companion" "Money Burns A hole In My Pocket" "In the Wee small Hours of the Morning", and many more. I don't think he should be dismissed as just a "Brill Building Song Writer." You can read more about Bob and see a list of all of his songs by running a search for "Bob Hilliard" in one of the major search engines. There is a website with stories and a list of all of his songs.