I typically really like Jerry Lewis movies. I grew up watching them and they were typically always the goofy humor, but followed a theme or plot. This movie has no plot, no real storyline, or theme other than being set in a hotel with a bellboy. There are a lot of stars that pop in and out, to include Jerry Lewis as himself, but there is no rhyme or reason behind this movie. This movie is a bunch of very loosely associated typical Jerry Lewis slap stick, fall down, bumbling, goofy humor scenes/skits that really are very predictable and not very good. This movie follows no coherent story line. And the bellboy says nothing until the end. It was actually boring to watch, something I thought I would never say about a Jerry Lewis movie.

The beginning of the movie is really the first warning the movie is not going to be good. This movie was written, produced and director by Jerry Lewis. This movie has a series of mostly of disjointed slap stick humor. The movie hasn't a plot or even a point to it. One redeeming part in the movie is where the Bellboy walks through the theater and sees a conductors baton. He get's on stage with the baton and begins imagining leading the band. I would not recommend this movie and I can't believe anyone would gives this movie more than one star. There are much better Lewis movies to enjoy, this one is a bomb.

I really enjoyed this film because I could see where a lot of subsequent films may have gotten their inspiration. I like the warning at the beginning that it doesn't really have a plot. I like randomness in it, "a day in the life of". I like the moral at the end. I actually laughed out loud several times. Good, old-fashioned, simple yet clever humor.

Jerry Lewis showcases his gifts for "physical comedy" in The Bellboy.

In the same vein as Charlie Chaplin, the Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, Lewis performs his rip-roaring, hilarious comedy not by saying anything funny, but by his gestures, manners, especially facial expressions, to elicit laughter.

This story takes place at the posh, swanky, flamboyant Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Lewis works as a bellboy along with more than a half-dozen others. He caters to the whims and demands of those rich enough to stay there. Yet this movie is not about a plot, it's about showcasing Lewis and his gifts for comedy. It's about making the audience laugh out loud.

As a homage to the silent motion picture era, Lewis speaks little in this movie. He stays quiet for more than 30 minutes at the beginning relying more on his physical comedy than on words. He finally speaks up in a different role than a bellboy but as a guess of the hotel where he converses with 50s comedy legend Milton Berle.

For 75 minutes, Lewis slapstick, absurdity, clownish antics carries the film. There's no real plot. The movie is about Lewis's comedy antics. That alone makes The Bellboy worth seeing. Lewis is a masterful comedian doing his routines. End result: hysterically funny.

Unlike the comedy where quick one-liners, comebacks, and barbs are exchanged, verbal comedy, this is about juggling five telephones at the same time: physical comedy.

Lewis' brand of humor was at its height during the silent motion picture era. Silence picture stars as Buster Keaton and Stan Laurel each made their claim to fame through "physical comedy." The same brand of comedy Lewis brought to the big screen in 1960, forty years after that style of comedy was the "toast of the town" during the roaring twenties. He pays tribute, homage, and respect to the old masters in his movie.

And to say the least, Lewis is a master himself of "physical comedy." He walks like a comedian, he gestures like a comedian, his manners are of a comedian, and for sure, he's a bona-fide comedian.

Very predictable humor. The outcome of most gags are so obvious I found myself wanting to fast forward to the next bit in the hopes that it would be better. This is a movie that is so convinced it's hilarious its constantly telling the viewer "this is funny. You should laugh here". It's like watching someone else's home movie, where they think everything their showoff children are doing is priceless comedy, but to an outsider is merely talentless posturing and overacting. I got the sense that this film thought I was a moron that needed every funny thing pointed out to me so I would know when to laugh. So it came out decades ago. No excuse. Intelligent comedy has been with us since silent film, followed by such greats as Abbot and Costello who brought vaudeville bits to the screen. Their movies expected the audience to be intelligent and have the wit to understand their humor. It was a complement. The bellboy is a bit of an insult.

I'm so happy they are finally releasing this on DVD. It is one of Jerry Lewis' best films.

Now keep in mind, this is a Jerry Lewis film, and I realize that some people just don't "Get" Jerry Lewis. If you are one of those people, this film is NOT for you. Oddly enough his early films with Dean Martin don't fall into this category, but that's another story.

You could almost compare this film to an episode of Sienfeld. It's a movie about nothing. There is no big plot, and there is no central event. It's essentially a look at life in a fancy hotel through the eyes of a simple minded bellboy.

A true test of an actor's skills is the way they can get a message across without speaking. In this film, the bellboy doesn't speak. It's not a silent movie, everyone else around him speaks and in many cases, shouts, at the bellboy. They bark out orders, order him around but they don't speak WITH him, or seem to care what he has to say.

One of the more interesting things about this film is seeing Jerry Lewis play himself, as a movie star guest of the hotel. You get to see an entirely different character.

There are very few Jerry Lewis DVDs out. I hope this is the first of many.

Movie without a plot and with Lewis almost totally. I won't say the Bellboy was devoid of laughs, but it was hardly a laugh fest. 70 minutes of sight gags get tedious. I did like the on location Florida shooting.

Good, Bad or indifferent - whatever your opinion of Jerry lewis - this is one of the best of his films made at the peak of his solo popularity and creativity. There is no plot - it says so right at the start - but rather a series of well-timed comedy vignettes that bend reality and celebrity in just the right way set at the real-life Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami.
Among the tremendous sight gags, which is perfectly executed, is his is arrival at the hotel (with full entourage) as the "real" Jerry Lewis - in a Limo-themed variation of clowns exiting the car, A similar gag done in the dining room/lunch counter - wherein the joke reveal was forced by an edit is one of the few disappointing moments.
Also, for those not attuned to Mr. Lewis' particular vocal register - he speaks very little in the film - which is the source of much of the comedy.
Have fun, go back in time to a simpler era and enjoy "The Bellboy!"