Directorial debut for writer-producer-star Jerry Lewis is a funny collection of skits centering around a put-upon bellhop at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. Having just completed "Cinderfella" for a mid-year release, Lewis suggested to Paramount Pictures they hold off showing that film until Christmas and gave them this one in its place (put together in near-record time). Short and relatively painless, the movie benefits from Haskell Boggs' sharp black-and-white cinematography, Walter Scharf's bright score and, of course, the snazzy locale. Lewis smoothly segues from one sight-gag to the next, his mugging relatively restrained. **1/2 from ****
Review of The Bellboy
