Les pieds dans le plat

This film represents the lasts starring theatrical film made by Danny Kaye. Soon, he'd make his mark on TV--with his popular show and a few assorted television movies. And, because it's the last, you'd hope it would be among his best...which it isn't. Is it worth seeing? Read on...

Danny plays a schnook named Ernest Klenk and pretty much everything he does ends up exploding or breaking. It's a shame, as he wants to marry his long-time girlfriend but just when he things he's got enough money and job security to make a go of it, something stupid happens and the wedding is postponed. There also is an evil gangster (Telly Savalas) who wants to fake his own death--and guess who has a weird anomaly which would make him the perfect candidate to murder in place of the gangster?

If you are used to seeing Danny Kaye singing, dancing and doing comedy, you may be in for a little shock. There's no singing nor dancing and the sort of comedy he does is nothing much like the usual Danny Kaye humor. In many ways, it really reminds me of a Jerry Lewis film from the same era--where the leading man is a screw-up, there are lots of sight gags and the comic mugs A LOT for the camera. A great example of this are the scenes where Kaye is around computers--where he twitches and gesticulates like he's having some sort of seizure. Funny? Not in the least. And, after seeing it, I can see why he stuck to television.

Danny Kaye made this movie at age 50, just as he was transitioning into his long-running, successful TV show. It's a shame that the film wasn't better tailored to his talents. He gets to do a few funny facial expressions, but no singing or dancing, and almost no verbal humor (his specialties). Probably the best bit is when he pretends to be a Swedish masseur and does dialect humor while he gets revenge on his oppressive office-mate. Most of the blame can be placed on the weak, dated script by "Bill Blatty" (Mr. Exorcist), which is full of tired office humor from the early 60s. (It makes HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS look slick and sophisticated.) Kaye is paired up romantically with a girl clearly out of his league; why would such a hot number put up with a nerd who keeps putting off the wedding? Telly Savalas and Cara Williams make a nice team as the bumbling villain and his moll; Harry Dean Stanton makes an uncredited appearance as a poetry-spouting beatnik. (Yes, what early 60s film would be complete without a beatnik?) Music by Stu Phillips (Cosby Show) tends toward the Carl Stallings cartoon approach. The cinematography is dull and lifeless. If you want REAL Danny Kaye, turn back the clock a decade or more before this lemon, or hope that someday his great TV show is packaged for DVD.

This may be (I only did a little research) Danny Kaye's final lead role in the movies, yet comes only a few years after our favorite Danny Kaye movie, Me And The Colonel. I enjoyed The Man From the Diner's Club when I first watched it, which must have been whenever it arrived on television after its release in 1962-63 (when I was nine years old).

Seen today, the movie generally moves too slowly, especially in the beginning, as if most of the movie is a set up for the final climax and resolution. Yet the movie never quite catches fire, perhaps held back by the reliance on the familiar Danny Kaye "schtick", which by this point in his career must have been very familiar to theater goers.

We watched it during the Christmas holiday, 2015, as I wanted to share my decades old fondness for the film with my best friend, who gradually warmed to the movie as it developed.

But for me, a dyed in the wool Danny Kaye fan, the film stayed slow until the end.

I have not seen many movies with Danny Kaye, I prefer Jerry Lewis but this one, directed by Lewis' fetish film maker Frank Tashlin, is still funny, not too long, not boring, and announcing the future - for this period - computers system issues. From now, in 2025, of course it sounds old fashioned but the humor is still here. And it's amusing to see Telly Savalas and George Kennedy co starring Danny Kaye as mobsters. In France, such a film, in 1963, could easily have been starred by Bourvil or Fernandel. I did not know this movie at all before the viewing. I don't know if computers machines looked like this in 1963 though. Now, they can be as big as a simple electronic bug.

It's a bit of a silly, over-played comedy, with danny kaye. When ernie approves a diners club charge card for ron pulardos (telly savalas) all hell breaks loose. It turns out that pulardos is a well known mobster, busted for taxes, and wants to disappear in an arranged fire. Of his own gym. So ernie tries to get the card back before pulardos can use it! Ann guilbert (millie, on dick van dyke!) is ella, in the computer room. George kennedy is george, working for pulardos. A funny scene where ernie gets to beat up his boss at work, when he pretends to be the massage therapist. And probably the last film to feature a dumb-waiter as part of the plot! Directed by frank tashlin. Made a ton of films with jerry lewis, but died at 59 of thrombosis. Did you notice the opening song was sung by steve lawrence? Showing on free tubi channel. It's pretty good... a whole lot of slapstick and the usual misunderstandings.