The Nutty Professor (1963)

To improve his social life, a nerdish professor drinks a potion that temporarily turns him into the handsome, but obnoxious, Buddy Love.

Director:

Jerry Lewis

Writers:

Jerry Lewis, Bill Richmond

Stars:

Jerry Lewis, Stella Stevens, Del Moore

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jerry Lewis	...	Prof. Julius Kelp / Buddy Love
Stella Stevens	...	Stella Purdy
Del Moore	...	Dr. Mortimer S. Warfield
Kathleen Freeman	...	Millie Lemmon
Med Flory	...	Warzewski
Norman Alden	...	Football Player / Student
Howard Morris	...	Elmer Kelp
Elvia Allman	...	Edwina Kelp
Milton Frome	...	Dr. M. Sheppard Leevee
Buddy Lester	...	Bartender
Marvin Kaplan	...	English Student
David Landfield	...	College Student
Skip Ward	...	Football Player
Julie Parrish	...	College Student
Henry Gibson	...	Gibson - College Student

Storyline

Nerd. Milquetoast. Klutz. These are just three of the many undesirable words that can be used to describe Professor Julius Kelp. But all that changes when the chemistry expert invents a potion that transforms him into a suave, sexy chick magnet, whom Julius aptly names Buddy Love. Unfortunately, there's one side effect: Buddy can't control when he'll change back into Julius, an event that always happens at inopportune times. How will Julius/Buddy resolve his Jekyll-and-Hyde dilemma?

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Plot Keywords:

chemistry | professor | potion | nerd | jekyll and hyde | 

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Taglines:

Please do not reveal the middle of this picture! Jerry's a mousey chemistry prof who invents the greatest drink since Dracula discovered bloody marys.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 July 1963 (Japan)

Also Known As:

El profesor chiflado

Filming Locations:

Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$7,630,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures,Jerry Lewis Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stella Stevens' character's name was first Stella Paine, but Stevens asked Jerry Lewis to change it to Stella Purdy.

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Goofs

At the Purple Pit the house band consists of a piano, bass, drums, and flute. Yet at various times in the film we hear a vibraphone, sax, trumpet, trombone, and congas all playing during Buddy's performances.

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Quotes

Buddy Love: I know what you're thinking: Where's he been all my life? Right?
Stella Purdy: No, not exactly.
Buddy Love: And that you're happy with the way I handled those three goons, right? Well, normally I would've belted them, but I didn't want to muss myself all up and have you dance with a sloppy guy. Dig?
Stella Purdy: Well then, you restrained yourself just for little old me.
Buddy Love: I knew you'd appreciate it. I do a lot of nice things.
Stella Purdy: Well, is that really the case or is this line 27-a for young college girls?
Buddy Love: Aww, now you see? You went and ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

False ending which first displays, "That's all, folks!!" then inserts a NOT in between "that's" and "all," then a 5-minute story epilogue goes to the actual ending, which is credited as "The beginning." The actor credits are done as curtain calls, with each performer bowing behind their name.

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Connections

Referenced in Big Fat Liar (2002)

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Soundtracks

The Marine Hymn
(uncredited)
Music by Jacques Offenbach from "Geneviève de Brabant"
Played whenever Professor Kelp opens his watch

User Reviews

"That Old Black Magic"!

Further to my earlier review, I would wholeheartedly endorse the opinion of other reviewers that the original Lewis movie is superior - vastly superior - to the crass Eddie Murphy re-make. Lewis's subtle points about Buddy Love (whom, I am unsurprised to learn, he loathed) are utterly lost in the Murphy version. If Lewis's movie fails as popular entertainment, it is because it makes extraordinary intellectual demands on its audience, requiring them to see beyond the surface glamour of Buddy Love to the moral rottenness and egotism within. Strangely enough, however, Buddy Love is not without pathos. There is enough of Kelp in him, together with the shakiness of his chemically-induced persona, to lend a faint suggestion of vulnerability. Perhaps even this is part of his satanic charm (he literally charms the pants off the college Principal). It is no coincidence that his calling-card number is "That Old Black Magic"!