HOLLYWOOD OR BUST REVIEW

"Well, Mr Bascomb can’t drive. He doesn't have a license!"

Land of stardust and land of glamour, Vistavision and cinerama. I would consider it a must to watch Hollywood or Bust! All puns aside, the pure joy this film gave me was like no other. I have never laughed so much in a seriously long time and I owe it all to the fabulous duo known as Martin and Lewis (Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis). I’ll have to confess my ignorance in saying I’d never seen a Martin & Lewis film up until this point. I must say, it’s not something I’m proud of.

Hollywood or Bust was sadly the last film that Dean and Jerry collaborated on, where the partnership of the two performers went their separate ways five months later. So unfortunately, this was almost a farewell film between the comedy duo. Nevertheless, definitely one of the most amusing of the filmography.

The whole synopsis is based around a road trip between Malcolm and Steve who believe it or not, are both headed to Hollywood. After a scam falling through where Steve tries to counterfeit the ticket to a brand new red Chrysler, Malcolm being the gambler with the lucky twitch, officially wins the car. Therefore they are made to share it. With Steve (Martin) being the somewhat sensible balance to Malcolm’s (Lewis) tomfoolery (which let’s face it, is what we all love him for) they come to a dilemma. Steve wants to sell the car while Malcolm wants to take it to Hollywood to meet the ever enchanting Swedish bombshell Anita Ekberg. So Steve still being the scheming gambler he is, he allows Malcolm to travel with him with the intention of still selling the car.

Colourful, vigorous and vibrant scenes are apparent throughout the feature. There are many bright sunny-like songs that appear constantly through the film. ‘Hollywood or Bust’ is the catchy theme tune and is also present in the pairs road trip. Comically and wonderfully sung by the very talented Jerry Lewis who happens to sing frequently in the movie, singing ‘ A Day In The Country’ which was one of my personal favourite scenes. Martin and Lewis sing while passing the most glorious, straight out of a painting scenery where they wave to villagers and drive through the several exquisite states of America. It gives the tone of the film a truly pretty atmosphere and almost a gooey warm feeling that allows you to watch it over and over again, whilst obviously laughing hysterically.

But what really makes ‘Hollywood or Bust’, is the greatest, funniest and brilliantly humorous character of all, Mr Bascomb. The lovable Great Dane who makes his most honourable acting role playing Malcolm’s canine companion who makes the best scene for the entire film! Malcolm and Steve stop the car to get a cigarette and decide how they’ll carry out their venture to Hollywood, while Mr Bascomb rides the car down the long and winding roads to the dog or the car’s conceivable death. Malcolm spots it instantly and him and Steve run at turbo speed to catch up with Mr B. I genuinely laughed out loud watching Malcolm run through fields of vegetables while Steve chases the pup through endless fields, for him to only drive straight over a train track. Tensely, the pair pull back and forth to only rescue the vehicle at the last minute and the audience take a sigh of relief. Cinematic greatness!! The more I talk about it, the more I love this movie.

 However, the film really picks up when exceptional American actress Pat Crowley enters the chaos. Driving an old rustic mobile down the road Steve and Malcolm are headed down, it seems like the perfect time for them to get some help and for Steve to find his main love interest for the motion picture, in a crucially charming Dean Martin way. The duo find themselves without gas after an evil old lady car jacks them with a gun then leaves the car on the side of the road with an empty tank!

 The movie never fails to get more wackier as each scene passes. Anyways, Terry (Crowley) finds herself also with a faulty car but with a tank full of gas. So it seems only right that she joins the pair on their turbulent road trip. Since Terry is a dancer working in Hollywood, it’s seems almost fate for her to accompany them. Here, we see them all engage in the next merry tune of ‘The Wild and Wooly West’.

To save me ranting on about the plot which I’d happily do so, the next events are pretty simple. They stop over at numerous romantic settings where we see Terry and Steve get closer, Malcolm gets chased by a bull where Steve eventually saves for him from yet another fateful death and when they get to Hollywood, Mr Bascomb finds a love interest of his own, Anita Ekberg’s dog!

We next enter the casino where we get to see Malcolm’s infamous lucky twitch. While Steve’s having none of it, Malcolm tries his luck on a slot machine and wins a tonne of money. So with his luming debts in mind, Steve finds this the perfect opportunity to go big on the gaming table where Malcolm’s lucky twitch wins again and they secure enough money to pay Steve’s debt off. 

However, Malcolm being as besotted with Anita as he is, he spends all the money on diamonds for the actress and the pair are back to square one. They then sell the car for a ridiculously low price and try their luck visiting Paramount Pictures where Anita is shooting her new movie. Searching for Ekberg, Malcolm leans over the balcony and subsequently lands himself right on the set of where the actress is filming. But to the viewers surprise, it turns out Anita was thankful for the diamonds and wants to hand them back to Malcolm and she realises she may actually like him.

Ultimately the film ends with Steve, Terry, Anita and Malcolm leaving the theatre hand in hand as Mr Bascomb wins the overall prize of becoming the star of ‘The Lady and The Great Dane’!  I was left with a filled and happy heart after watching this movie. It was charming, funny and heart-warmingly splendid. It's such a sad shame to see both the pair have now passed on, however their legacy of entertaining cinematic excellence remains for many to watch and enjoy many years after. My next pick is ‘The Caddy’ where Jerry Lewis seems to already be in trouble… By Holly Turner