User reviews

This movie came to debut when I was ten. It was the rabbit that made me want to go and see it several times. I find this one of Jerry Lewis' better movies, minus Dean Martin. While most of his movies are just stupid, this one had some heart and soul. It is a great movie for children and if it were made to day could only be improved with maybe some special effects. Baseball fans will love it for the scene involving the Los Angeles Dodgers who had just come west from Brooklyn.

A sentimental Jerry Lewis comedy about a down and out magician who takes a job entertaining the troops in Japan and meets a young mother and her son who hasn't laughed since his father died.

So I've had this one here for years and avoided it because of the title. Even for a Jerry Lewis movie it sounded too dumb or offensive. While it didn't have the genius routines of The Bellboy, but it was entertaining, funny in a few places, but most surprisingly it was likable. Jerry was likable, the supporting cast were likable, and I had a good time.

3/5

Cute little comedy that I like. Too bad for Suzanne Pleshette, but Jerry stick to love has no boarder motto.

This and Marlon Brando's "Sayonara" surprises me in the friendly attitude the producers has towards the Japanese just 11 years after WWII. Also, the depiction of the Japanese culture is pretty accurate, although it's clear that the movie is not shot in Japan.

This movie was made 2 years after Jerry broke up with Dean, and he shows that he can well hold it on his own.

Shot beautifully, probably in Los Angeles, and few footage from Japan, this movie wouldn't bore you.

This is one of the Jerry Lewis movie that I like.

Gilbert Wooley (Jerry Lewis) is a magician who goes to entertain the troops in Asia with his rabbit.There he meets a beautiful Japanese girl and a small orphan boy.The Geisha Boy (1958) is directed by Frank Tashlin and it's another hilarious Jerry Lewis movie.It's not quite the best but it still offers many funny scenes.Mr Lewis is one of the best comedians of all time and in the 50's and 60's he ruled the world of comedy.Nowadays there are only a few comedians if any who can reach to his level.This comic who will turn 76 years old next month has made many people laugh for decades.He isn't as popular in USA as he is in Europe, especially in France, which is a shame.I think everybody should notice what a great talent he is.Just watch this movie and I bet you can't stop laughing.And there's only one man to blame for that;Jerry Lewis

Hollywood bombshell diva Lola Livingston (Marie McDonald) is going to Japan on a USO tour. Struggling second rate magician Gilbert Wooley (Jerry Lewis) is one of the lesser acts joining her. They do not get along right from the start. Sgt. Pearson (Suzanne Pleshette) is a WAC overseeing the tour.

This is mostly slapstick and mugging from Jerry Lewis who has a rabbit and a kid. So, he's breaking the cardinal rule. He is still the most chaotic of them all. This also has a young Suzanne Pleshette in her first movie role. Mostly, she gets to look pretty and side-eye at Jerry Lewis' craziness. It's not much more than a good excuse for Jerry's brand of tomfoolery. It's light silly fun with a lot of sentimentality.

Sad to be one the most unknown picture from this true comedy's genius I'm a bit suspicious to talk about him due to be my favorite comedian who became my childhood more pleasant, have several fine moments along the picture and the most remarkable achievement is when he meets Sessue Hayakawa building a small replica of the bridge of river Kway, a true preceptive mind, a soppy oriented comedy mixed with funny gags, including at staircase's airplane when he strips Marie Mcdonald or pushing the Major Maclane onto her bed, another outrageous moments by this criative thinking never unsurpassed in movie's hystory!!!

Resume:

First watch: 1995 / How many: 3 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7.25

The ever-zany Jerry Lewis is down-on-his-luck Wooley the Magician, who signs up for a USO gig to try to get more bookings. Of course his rabbit Harry steals the show. Marie MacDonald is the mean, selfish movie star Lola Livingston. Suzanne Pleshette (in her first film role) is Sgt. Pearson, in charge of the show. About the first half of the film is spent watching Lewis trip over suitcases as he tries to find the rabbit. Goes on waaaay too long. Then he trips over Lola and her dress, and causes another scene. I guess we knew there would be a lot of falling and tripping in a Jerry Lewis film. One funny scene with the rabbit wearing an ice pack after a rough day. Pretty good. Enjoy the laughs, but don't try to make too much out of it. Another great scene where Harry the rabbit slides down the banister. Secondary plot where Wooley befriends a child. Directed by Frank Tashlin who did it all! He wrote, animated cartoons (funny story about Bing...), directed, and knew a thing or two about what works in comedy. Geisha Boy is pretty fun... and Lewis keeps use of his high pitched voice to a minimum. Showing on an over-the-air daytime movie channel.

I think this is one Jerry Lewis's best films. Not only is it incredibly funny, but it evokes compassion (Mr.Wooley's relationship with the young boy is touching, and will make you cry) from the audience without being too sentimental. The Japanese setting is beautiful and exotic, and Miss Kimi is lovely and charming. No wonder Mr.Wooley prefers her to the cold American Sergeant Pearson (Suzanne Pleshette)! When Mr.Wooley accidentally knocks a big Hollywood actress down an airplane staircase--that has to be one of the funniest scenes in any Lewis film. This is a great family movie, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants good comedy with a touch of tenderness in it. It ranks right up there with "The Nutty Professor"(1963).

Combination slapstick comedy and sentimental tale of East-West friendship has unemployed magician Jerry Lewis signed for a USO tour of the Orient, opening for a glamorous starlet. He manages to get on everybody's bad side by the time their plane lands--except for somewhat-smitten female Army sergeant Suzanne Pleshette (in her debut)--and winds up performing for the troops in Korea (on the battlefield!) and for Japanese children, one of whom wants Jerry for his daddy. Writer-director Frank Tashlin doesn't know when to kill a gag, and Lewis (also the producer) never wants to be off-camera, resulting in funny sequences which soon become belabored and monotonous. Lewis' mischievous pet rabbit (named "Harry!") is used for a constant series of jokes (topped off by the finale), but the occasional hints of possible romance are never expanded upon (Jerry is too busy laying on the paternal syrup with the fatherless boy). Though glossy and colorful, the film's high comedy palls at the 30-minute mark...with an hour left on the clock. ** from ****

"The Geisha Boy" is one of Jerry Lewis' better films. This is because the film is rather sweet without being maudlin or saccharine. It also places more emphasis on the story as opposed to laughs...though it has a decent number of laughs as well--with the sort of hit or miss laughs you expect from such a movie.

When the film begins, Gilbert Wooley (Lewis) is flying along with his rabbit, Harry, on an Air Force plane bound for a USO tour of Japan. However, along the way, Gilbert (not unexpectedly) makes a total nuisance of himself. It ultimately results in him ripping the dress off an obnoxious but famous actress--and he is to be punished by being sent on a tour of the front lines in Korea. But during his bumbling, he impresses a little Japanese boy who apparently has been depressed. The boy instantly bonds with Gilbert and now there is a problem...how can Gilbert leave Japan following his Korean tour? After all, the kid sees him as his new step-father!

The film has a lot of goofy laughs but at heart is appears to actually be a re-working of the famous Chaplin film, "The Kid", and goes for those same sorts of heartwarming scenes between Jerry and the boy...and these work very well. I also think the film works well because it was neither written nor directed by Lewis and so the pacing was a bit better than some of his later films. Overall, a delightful film.

First, let's list the three good things about this poker faced "comedy":

1) Suzanne Pleshette launching an indelible career

2) Your 1958 Los Angeles Dodgers! (Ist year in my hometown)

3) It's not as racist as I expected.

Otherwise, it's a massive dose of unfunny from Jerry Lewis and Frank Tashlin, both of whom are revered by the French. In Lewis' case you may want to cut them some slack since he did direct at least one near comic masterpiece ("Nutty Professor") but their adoration of Tashlin is really hard to fathom. The guy made just one comedic clunker after another. And comedic directors can't hide behind auteur theory BS like "thematic consistency" or "a strong directorial personality". At some point they have to deliver the yucks. And on that score Tashlin falls woefully short. At his best, say in"Rock Hunter", there are a few moments of genuine hilarity but typically, as here, there are fewer laughs than a random episode of "My Little Margie". And the big, visual comic scenes, like the bunny rabbit schtick, just lie there and rot in the non risible sun. Solid C.

This is one of the funniest films, not just in the Jerry Lewis catalog, but ever. Lewis is a clumsy magician, trying to entertain the troops overseas (even in fox holes and under fire). Frank Tashlin's shots of Lewis' white rabbit friend, associate, and confidant are hysterical simply by their brilliant framing (and it's really just a plain old white rabbit!). Of course, there's romance as Lewis befriends a Japanese family with a gorgeous young woman, as well as the kind of sensitive story line with a terribly cute Japanese boy which John Hughes and Steven Spielberg so often fail at. And while we're at it, there's baseball and a Bridge on the River Kwai site gag. Speaking of gags, Lewis being stalked in a Japanese bath and the payoff shot are fabulous. Fun for the whole family and a must see for both Lewis fans and those who've wondered what the fuss was all about.

Only in America would we not see the absolute genius of one of our best talents EVER!! This movie shows some of his brilliance and without vulgarity or sexual innuendos....his nutty professor is a SOLID 10 yet its rated in the 6s. We give garbage like adam sandler, or borat higher scores. The magic of his comedy is world renown especially in France. You want proof watch Jerry's version of the nutty professor then watch Eddie Murphys version its night and day. He only made g rated comedies just using his physical and expressive talents, TRUE comedians know his genius. Billy crystal would be a usher without the influence of Jerry he is SORELY missed and him and Stan laurel will NEVER be matched!!!

My family loved this movie. Jerry Lewis was hilarious at times with his companion rabbit for his magic shows. Jerry Lewis movies usually take things to an extreme with humor and silliness, but this movie has a nice balance between being funny and developing the friendship with the little boy from Japan. Lewis seems to be very confident in either role and this movie is probably one of my favorites from him. Highly recommend it - it makes a great family night movie. It is a bit odd to see the styles back in the 1950s and to see them wondering around the airport out on the tarmac. Some of his funniest scenes occur during his run ins with the star Hollywood Actress - when they were deplaning down the stairs was very funny and was smoothly performed with some "bumps" for the actress as she made her way down the stairs. Also, the seen with Harry, his rabbit, getting into the same bed as the star actress and Jerry Lewis yelling at him without using an audible voice was hilarious - you knew exactly what he was saying and what he was thinking.

Because of its Japanese location somebody at Paramount decided to entitle this film Geisha Boy even though geishas are hardly involved in the story. That was a tradition of B westerns back in the day. But this is hardly a film that is a grind them out B western. Geisha Boy is one of Jerry Lewis's best solo film, he and Frank Tashlin as director work a masterpiece here.

Although some familiar players are in the cast, what drives Geisha Boy is the great chemistry between Lewis and young Robert Hiriano. Lewis plays a magician who sometimes isn't up to the task of magic. He gets himself on a USO tour in the Far East with headliner Marie McDonald. But gets himself thrown off that quick enough. But along the way Hiriano and his aunt Nobu McCarthy make his acquaintance because Nobu is the official interpreter. The little boy who is an orphan is withdrawn, but responds to Jerry. The two develop a real bond that equals that of Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan. Their scenes are real and not maudlin and some of the best direction that Frank Tashlin ever did.

Lewis also had to work real hard for his second co-star to not steal any scenes. His devoted companion and helper in his magic act is a rabbit named Harry Hare. I doubt that a real rabbit could be so well trained so I'm sure Paramount's special effects were called in. Still those scenes are also special.

Marie McDonald known as 'the Body' back in the day is one full figured gal. But as the star of the tour, she has a couple of great scenes with Lewis. In fact her descent from the plane as Lewis tries to apologize to her for an incident on the plane I won't go into will provide tons of laughs. She was a great foil for Jerry, one of the best he ever had.

Though it is firmly established in the Fifties, Geisha Boy has some really timeless comedy and pathos some of the best ever done by Jerry Lewis. Geisha Boy is definitely one of his best films.

i last saw this movie years ago and i couldn't remember the name of it. to try explaining it to others i could only recall the "whistling" part. i would be able to watch this movie over and over. the magic bunny, harry makes this movie sweet.jerry lewis makes it funny all the way through. the little boy who tags after him is very adorable. i wonder was has happened to him? this movie is a classic. the steam bath scene when he is being chased by a sumo wrestler was also a great part. then when he was leaving japan and went to check on harry in baggage and he instead sees the little boy. it was sad when he tried to tell the boy to " go away, go home". i would recommend this movie to any one who wants a laugh and a great black and white movie. even a great movie for kids who have never seen a black and white movie before