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 & 1 nomination.

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:

What does he become? What kind of monster?

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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

According to one of the trailers for this film, "We don't care if you blab about the beginning of this picture; nor do we care if you give away the ending; but we do care if you reveal the middle. In fact, Jerry Lewis urges you to see this picture from the beginning, on penalty of losing your popcorn privileges." This spoofs Alfred Hitchcock's dictum that Psycho (1960) had to be seen from the beginning and his insistence that no latecomers be seated ("not even the [theatre] manager's brother").

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Goofs

When Kelp enters Dr. Warfield's office after the explosion his suit coat is cover in dust. But when he is discovered lying in the rubble of the ruined lab, he is wearing a fully buttoned lab coat.

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Quotes

Professor Julius Kelp: [after being helped off the shelf of a closet] Thank you, Miss Purdy.
Stella Purdy: Are you all right, Professor?
Professor Julius Kelp: Oh yes, I... this is very embarrassing, Miss Purdy.
Stella Purdy: Why don't you call me Stella, Professor.
Professor Julius Kelp: Oh, I thought it was Stella Purdy. Oh, you mean to call you Stella. Yes. How stupid of me. Sorry. All right, I will, stupid. Uh, Stella.

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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 Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979)

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Soundtracks

Leap Frog
(uncredited)
Composed by Les Brown
Played by Lou Brown and his Band

User Reviews

Still the best version there is

The original Jerry Lewis version of this movie is still the best one ever. Irregardless of the special effects employed in the Eddie Murphy version, or the novelty of him playing multiple characters at the same time, the original has something the copycat doesn't - Jerry Lewis, still one of the best comedians on the planet. Lewis doesn't need the power of special effects or multiple roles to fully convey the story here. How he transforms from a nerdy professor to a suave and sweet-talking singing/dancing/kissing Romeo is a sight to behold. He employs acting techiques which manage to convince us that these are 2 distinct people with distinct personalities and characters. No one can top Lewis in his prime, and this is one of better movies.