Which Way to the Front? (1970)

Director:

Jerry Lewis

Writers:

Dee Caruso (screenplay)
Gerald Gardner (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 September 1970 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | War

Tagline:

You vill see "Which Way to the Front?" ... und you vill laugh!

Plot:

Brendan Byers III, one of the richest men in America, has been pronounced 4-F and can't serve his country in it's fight against Hitler...

Plot Keywords:

Negative Asian Stereotype | WWII | Playboy | Millionaire | Hitler Spoof

Cast

Jerry Lewis	...	Brendan Byers III
Jan Murray	...	Sid Hackle
John Wood	...	Finkel
Steve Franken	...	Peter Bland
Dack Rambo	...	Terry Love
Robert Middleton	...	Colonico
Willie Davis	...	Lincoln
Kaye Ballard	...	Mayor's Wife
Harold J. Stone	...	General Buck
Paul Winchell	...	Schroeder
Sidney Miller	...	Adolf Hitler
Joe Besser	...	Dock Master
Gary Crosby	...	SS Guard
Danny Dayton	...	Man in car
Kathleen Freeman	...	Bland's mother

Also Known As:

Ja, ja, mein General! But Which Way to the Front? (UK)

Runtime:

USA:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:U | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | USA:G | Australia:G

Company:

Jerry Lewis Films

Trivia:

Joe Besser's final film.

Quotes:

Adolf Hitler: Did you know that last year more people died from cigarette smoking than from bombings?
Brendan Byers III: What will you do about that, Führer?
Adolf Hitler: Increase the bombings!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)

Quite possibly the worst Jerry Lewis movie (and that's saying a lot)

Jerry Lewis was marginally funny when he didn't write his own material and had a good director like Frank Tashlin. When he started writing and directing his own films what little talent he possessed was overshadowed by his egomania. Whenever his films would fail (and deservedly so) in the American market (they made money in France) Lewis always blamed everyone and everything but himself; for example, he blamed the failure of this film on the fact that it was, according to Lewis, released on a double-bill with the porno feature "Deep Throat". If anyone should have complained about that situation, it should have been the producers of "Deep Throat." This is an absolutely idiotic "comedy" about the world's richest man (Lewis) who is rejected for military service during WW2 and decides to outfit a special "squad" to go to Germany and capture Hitler himself. Besides the many faults this film has (the script is mind-numbingly unfunny, Lewis' "direction" is nonexistent, the film has the look of a cheap home movie), Lewis apparently thought that surrounding himself with no-talent, over-the-hill Borscht Belt comics like Jan Murray and Sidney Miller was a good idea; he must have figured that they would be so bad, they would make him look good. He was half-right; they are embarrassingly bad, but he comes out even worse than they do. For a "comedy", Lewis' character is sullen, angry and pushy; the way he heaps abuse on his underlings makes you wonder why they would ever follow a bullying jerk like this on a dangerous mission like trying to capture Hitler. The fact that this movie took in any money at all is astounding. It is by far the worst Jerry Lewis movie I have ever seen--I've heard that "Slapstick" is even more pathetic, but I can't bring myself to see if that's true or not--and is to be avoided at all possible costs.