Pardners (1956)
*** (out of 4)
Our film starts off with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis playing Slim Moseley and Wade Kingsley who die protecting their ranch. Moseley, Jr. (Martin) stays out West where he eventually tries to save the ranch and he goes out East to track down Wade, Jr. (Lewis) who he discovers is quite the weak nerd. Wade, wanting to become a cowboy, follows Moseley out West and soon they are going up against a crooked gang who wants their land.
I really wasn't sure what to expect from PARDNERS but it turned out to be one of the better Martin & Lewis movies even if it does borrow quite heavily from their film THAT'S MY BOY. This film here benefits greatly from the beautiful Technicolor plus the fact that the two leads are surrounding by a very good supporting cast. Plus, you can't help but enjoy seeing Martin in his first Western and especially when you consider the great things he did for the genre after the duo's split.
As far as this film goes, Martin & Lewis were just built for the Western setting and both of them do a very good job here. I really liked Lewis' character here because he wasn't nearly as whiny or as annoying as the actor would sometime go. This character seemed like a legit one and I thought Lewis did a very good job. One of his highlights deals with him trying to roll a cigarette without much luck. Martin was perfect here as he gets some very good numbers throughout the picture including the title track, which is done with Lewis on a good Western set.
The supporting cast includes fun performances from Lori Nelson, Jackie Loughery, Agnes Moorehead, Jeff Morrow, Lee Van Cleef and Lon Chaney in a small role. You also have Jack Elam and Bob Steele appearing in small roles. The film has a lot of funny moments here including one very good sequence where Martin is having to fill in for Lewis during a fight while making sure the weak one gets the credit for it. As I said, the Technicolor here looks terrific and I liked how the film played well as not only a comedy but also a Western.
