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Martin and Lewis split after 'Hollywood or Bust'

PHANTOM OF THE MOVIES
June 14, 2007

When it comes to vanishing comedy teams, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis may have made the funniest swan song on celluloid with their spirited 1956 show-biz satire Hollywood or Bust, the highlight of the five-film Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Collection Volume Two (three-disc, $34.99), new from Paramount Home Entertainment. It's our...
    DVD pick of the week
    As movie-mad Malcolm Smith, with his encyclopedic knowledge of Tinseltown trivia, Mr. Lewis may well have created the screen's first official film nerd character. Via trickery on the part of gambler Steve Wiley (Mr. Martin), Malcolm is compelled to share a spiffy new convertible he'd won in a theater contest with the slippery con man, who agrees to accompany our hero on a cross-country jaunt to the titular locale.
    Mixing road-movie laughs with post-modern jabs at the culture of celebrity (including deliberately blatant plugs for parent company Paramount Pictures and its then-touted VistaVision widescreen process) and clever, catchy tunes, the candy-colored "Hollywood or Bust" moves at a swift clip.
    The boys receive excellent support from Pat Crowley as a showgirl who tags along for the ride and from an uncredited canine thesp as Malcolm's versatile Great Dane, Mr. Bascomb.
    While "Hollywood or Bust" tops the M&L quintet, the other four films gathered here — "Artists and Models" (1955), "Living It Up" (1954), "Pardners" (1956) and "You're Never Too Young" (1955) — likewise offer bounteous treats for the erstwhile tandem's fans.
    Tele-video
    In the TV-on-DVD mystery arena, Acorn Media imports the British series Blue Murder Set 1 (three-disc, $49.99), starring Caroline Quentin, while Paramount focuses on crime-solving physician Dick Van Dyke in Diagnosis Murder: The Second Season (six-disc, $54.99).
    For more mystery, Universal Studios spotlights teen sleuths in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries: Season Two (five-disc, $39.98), Dylan McDermott toplines in the legal series The Practice: Volume One (20th Century Fox, four-disc, $39.98) and Tom Selleck portrays Robert B. Parker's police chief Jesse Stone in a pair of tele-films, Death in Paradise and Night Passage ($24.96 each).
    In comedy developments, three sitcoms enjoy their digital debuts: Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List: Season 1 (Universal Studios, two-disc, $29.98), Welcome Back, Kotter: The Complete First Season (Warner Home Video, four-disc, $29.98) and What's Happening Now!!: The Complete First Season (Sony Pictures, three-disc, $39.95).
    The Wild West, vintage and modern, has its day in the digital sun via the extras-laden set Deadwood: The Complete Third Season (HBO Video, six-disc, $99.98) and Chuck Norris as Walker, Texas Ranger: The Third Season (seven-disc, $54.99).
    WW II action unfolds in The Rat Patrol: The Complete Second Season (20th Century Fox, three-disc, $39.98).

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