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{{short description|1967 film by Jerry Lewis}}
{{refimprove|date=February 2008}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
| name = The Big Mouth
| name = The Big Mouth
| image = bigmouth.jpg
| image = bigmouth.jpg
| director = [[Jerry Lewis]]
| director = [[Jerry Lewis]]
| producer = Jerry Lewis
| writer = [[Jerry Lewis]]<br>[[Bill Richmond (writer)|Bill Richmond]]
| starring = [[Jerry Lewis]]<br>[[Harold J. Stone]]<br>[[Susan Bay]]<br>[[Buddy Lester]]<br>[[Del Moore]]
| screenplay = Jerry Lewis<br>[[Bill Richmond (writer)|Bill Richmond]]
| story = Bill Richmond
| narrator = [[Frank De Vol]]
| producer = [[Jerry Lewis]]
| starring = Jerry Lewis
| music = [[Harry Betts]]
| narrator = [[Frank De Vol]]
| distributor = [[Columbia Pictures]]
| music = [[Harry Betts]]
| cinematography = [[W. Wallace Kelley]]
⚫
| released = {{Film date|1967|07|12}}
| editing = Russel Wiles
⚫
| runtime = 107 minutes
| color_process = (as color by Pathé)
⚫
| country = United States
| studio = Jerry Lewis Productions
⚫
| language = English
| distributor = [[Columbia Pictures]]
⚫
| gross = $2,000,000 (US/Canada)<ref>{{Cite news |title=Big Rental Films of 1967 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=3 January 1968 |page=25 |url=http://www.varietyultimate.com/archive/issue/WV-01-03-1968-25}} {{subscription needed}} Please note these figures refer to [[Gross rental|rentals accruing to the distributors]].</ref><br>588,356 admissions (France)<ref name="jerry">{{Cite web |first=Renaud |last=Soyer |date=8 June 2013 |title=Jerry Lewis Box Office |url=http://www.boxofficestory.com/jerry-lewis-box-office-a92285619 |publisher=Box Office Story |language=French |access-date=August 23, 2015}}</ref>
⚫
| released = {{Film date|1967|07|12}}
⚫
| runtime = 107 minutes
⚫
| country = United States
⚫
| language = English
⚫
| gross = $2,000,000 (US/Canada)<ref>{{Cite news |title=Big Rental Films of 1967 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=3 January 1968 |page=25 |url=http://www.varietyultimate.com/archive/issue/WV-01-03-1968-25}} {{subscription required}} Please note these figures refer to [[Gross rental|rentals accruing to the distributors]].</ref><br>588,356 admissions (France)<ref name="jerry">{{Cite web |first=Renaud |last=Soyer |date=8 June 2013 |title=Jerry Lewis Box Office |url=http://www.boxofficestory.com/jerry-lewis-box-office-a92285619 |publisher=Box Office Story |language=French |access-date=August 23, 2015}}</ref>
}}
}}


'''''The Big Mouth''''' is a 1967 [[comedy film]] produced, directed, co-written, and starring [[Jerry Lewis]] released on July 12, 1967 by [[Columbia Pictures]]. It was filmed in [[San Diego]] and features [[Frank De Vol]] as an onscreen narrator.
'''''The Big Mouth''''' is a 1967 American [[comedy film]] produced, directed, co-written, and starring [[Jerry Lewis]]. It was filmed in [[San Diego]] and features [[Frank De Vol]] as an onscreen narrator.


==Plot==
==Plot==
Gerald Clamson (Lewis) is a bank examiner who loves fishing on his annual two week holiday. Unfortunately one day at the ocean he reels in an injured gangster in a scuba diving suit named Syd Valentine (also played by Lewis). Syd tells Gerald about diamonds he has stolen from the other gangsters and hands him a map. Gerald escapes as frogmen from a yacht machine gun the beach. They swim ashore and locate Syd where they machine gun him. Their leader Thor ([[Harold J. Stone]]) ensures Syd's demise by firing a torpedo from his yacht that goes ashore, blowing a crater into the beach.
Gerald Clamson is a bank examiner who loves fishing on his annual two-week holiday. Unfortunately, one day at the ocean he reels in Syd Valentine, an injured gangster in a scuba diving suit. Syd tells Gerald about diamonds he has stolen from the other gangsters and hands him a map. Gerald escapes as frogmen from a yacht machine-gun the beach. They swim ashore, locate Syd and gun him down. Their leader Thor ensures Syd's demise by firing a torpedo from his yacht that goes ashore, blowing a crater into the beach.


As the police ignore Gerald's story, Gerald heads to the Hilton Inn in San Diego where Syd claimed the diamonds were hidden. There he meets Suzie Cartwright ([[Susan Bay]]), an airline stewardess. While searching for the diamonds, he needs to avoid the hotel staff after inadvertently hurting the manager ([[Del Moore]]). Gerald disguises himself as a character noticeably similar to Professor Julius Kelp from ''[[The Nutty Professor]]'', while trying to stay one step ahead of the other gangsters who are on his tail, as well as the hotel detectives led by the manager—all the while courting Suzie. As each of the gangsters see Gerald, an identical lookalike to the deceased Syd, they have nervous breakdowns; one imagining himself a dog, one turning into a [[Larry Fine]] lookalike, the other ([[Charlie Callas]], in his usual character) becoming a hopeless stutterer. The one man Gerald meets the who believes him, who identifies himself as a [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] special agent, turns out to be an escapee from an insane asylum.
As the police ignore Gerald's story, Gerald heads to the Hilton Inn in San Diego where Syd claimed the diamonds were hidden. There he meets Suzie Cartwright, an airline stewardess. While searching for the diamonds, he needs to avoid the hotel staff after inadvertently hurting the manager. Gerald disguises himself as a character similar to Professor Julius Kelp from ''[[The Nutty Professor (1963 film)|The Nutty Professor]]'', while trying to stay one step ahead of the other gangsters who are on his tail, as well as the hotel detectives led by the manager—all the while courting Suzie. As each of the gangsters see Gerald, an identical lookalike to the deceased Syd, they have nervous breakdowns; one imagining himself a dog, one turning into a [[Larry Fine]] lookalike, the other becoming a stutterer. The one man Gerald meets who believes him, and identifies himself as an [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] special agent, turns out to be an escapee from an insane asylum.


The movie climaxes in a chase through [[Sea World San Diego]], where Gerald is pursued by Thor's gangsters, a rival group of gangsters who had made a deal with Syd to buy his diamonds, and a group of Chinese who smuggle the diamonds disguised as plastic pearls. Gerald disguises himself as a [[Kabuki]] dancer but is pursued until Suzie rescues him by flying by with a helicopter and dropping a rope ladder that Gerald escapes on. They return to the Pacific Ocean, where Syd reappears. The gangsters chase Syd into the ocean, and Gerald and Suzie walk away, deeply in love. The diamonds are never located.
The movie climaxes in a chase through [[Sea World San Diego]], where Gerald is pursued by Thor's mob, a rival group of gangsters who had made a deal with Syd to buy his diamonds, and a group of Chinese who smuggle the diamonds disguised as plastic pearls. Gerald disguises himself as a [[Kabuki]] dancer but is pursued until Suzie rescues him by flying by with a helicopter and dropping a rope ladder that Gerald escapes on. They return to the Pacific Ocean, where Syd reappears. The rival gangsters chase Syd into the ocean, and Gerald and Suzie walk away, deeply in love. The diamonds are never located.


The final scene shows the narrator, Bogart (De Vol), facing the camera and solemnly announcing that the tale is true—then the camera pulls back as De Vol turns and walks away on the breakwater where the beginning and ending action had taken place. De Vol is wearing all of a business suit except trousers, and he is carrying a briefcase.
The final scene shows the narrator, Bogart, facing the camera and solemnly announcing that the tale is true—then the camera pulls back as De Vol turns and walks away on the breakwater where the beginning and ending action had taken place. De Vol is wearing all of a business suit except trousers, and he is carrying a briefcase.


==Cast==
==Cast==
* [[Jerry Lewis]] as Gerald Clamson/Syd Valentine
* [[Jerry Lewis]] as Gerald Clamson / Syd Valentine
* [[Harold J. Stone]] as Thor
* [[Harold J. Stone]] as Thor
* [[Susan Bay]] as Suzie Cartwright
* [[Susan Bay]] as Suzie Cartwright
Line 38: Line 43:
* [[Leonard Stone]] as Fong
* [[Leonard Stone]] as Fong
* [[Charlie Callas]] as Rex
* [[Charlie Callas]] as Rex
* [[Frank De Vol]] as Bogart
* [[Frank De Vol]] as Bogart (as Frank DeVol)
* Vern Rowe as Gunner
* David Lipp as Lizard
* Vincent Van Lynn as Fancher
* Mike Mahoney as Detective #1
* Walter Kray as Detective #2
* John Nolen as F.B.I. Agent
* Eddie Ryder as Specs


==Production==
==Production==
''The Big Mouth'' was filmed from December 5, 1966 to February 28, 1967 in the newly built Hilton San Diego hotel at [[Mission Bay, San Diego|Mission Bay]] and marked the film debut of [[Charlie Callas]] after he met Lewis on a chat show<ref>{{Cite news |first=Dennis |last=Hevesi |date=January 28, 2011 |title=Charlie Callas, Zany Comedian, Dies at 83 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/29/arts/television/29callas.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=August 23, 2015}}</ref> as well as a cameo by [[Colonel Harland Sanders]].
''The Big Mouth'' was filmed from December 5, 1966 to February 28, 1967 in the newly built Hilton San Diego hotel at [[Mission Bay, San Diego|Mission Bay]] and marked the film debut of [[Charlie Callas]] after he met Lewis on a chat show<ref>{{Cite news |first=Dennis |last=Hevesi |date=January 28, 2011 |title=Charlie Callas, Zany Comedian, Dies at 83 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/29/arts/television/29callas.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=August 23, 2015}}</ref> as well as a cameo by [[Colonel Harland Sanders]].

==Reception==
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds a 40% rating based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 4.65/10.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_big_mouth|title = The Big Mouth|website = [[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Mouth, The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Mouth, The}}
[[Category:1967 films]]
[[Category:1967 films]]
[[Category:1960s comedy films]]
[[Category:1967 comedy films]]
[[Category:American comedy films]]
[[Category:American comedy films]]
⚫
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures films]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jerry Lewis]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jerry Lewis]]
[[Category:Films set in San Diego, California]]
[[Category:Films set in San Diego]]
[[Category:Films about organized crime in the United States]]
[[Category:Films about organized crime in the United States]]
[[Category:Screenplays by Jerry Lewis]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Jerry Lewis]]
[[Category:Screenplays by Bill Richmond (writer)]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Bill Richmond (writer)]]
[[Category:Films produced by Jerry Lewis]]
⚫
[[Category:1960s American films]]
[[Category:English-language comedy films]]

Latest revision as of 21:16, 29 July 2024

The Big Mouth
Directed byJerry Lewis
Screenplay byJerry Lewis
Bill Richmond
Story byBill Richmond
Produced byJerry Lewis
StarringJerry Lewis
Narrated byFrank De Vol
CinematographyW. Wallace Kelley
Edited byRussel Wiles
Music byHarry Betts
Color process(as color by Pathé)
Production
company
Jerry Lewis Productions
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • July 12, 1967 (1967-07-12)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2,000,000 (US/Canada)[1]
588,356 admissions (France)[2]

The Big Mouth is a 1967 American comedy film produced, directed, co-written, and starring Jerry Lewis. It was filmed in San Diego and features Frank De Vol as an onscreen narrator.

Plot

[edit]

Gerald Clamson is a bank examiner who loves fishing on his annual two-week holiday. Unfortunately, one day at the ocean he reels in Syd Valentine, an injured gangster in a scuba diving suit. Syd tells Gerald about diamonds he has stolen from the other gangsters and hands him a map. Gerald escapes as frogmen from a yacht machine-gun the beach. They swim ashore, locate Syd and gun him down. Their leader Thor ensures Syd's demise by firing a torpedo from his yacht that goes ashore, blowing a crater into the beach.

As the police ignore Gerald's story, Gerald heads to the Hilton Inn in San Diego where Syd claimed the diamonds were hidden. There he meets Suzie Cartwright, an airline stewardess. While searching for the diamonds, he needs to avoid the hotel staff after inadvertently hurting the manager. Gerald disguises himself as a character similar to Professor Julius Kelp from The Nutty Professor, while trying to stay one step ahead of the other gangsters who are on his tail, as well as the hotel detectives led by the manager—all the while courting Suzie. As each of the gangsters see Gerald, an identical lookalike to the deceased Syd, they have nervous breakdowns; one imagining himself a dog, one turning into a Larry Fine lookalike, the other becoming a stutterer. The one man Gerald meets who believes him, and identifies himself as an FBI special agent, turns out to be an escapee from an insane asylum.

The movie climaxes in a chase through Sea World San Diego, where Gerald is pursued by Thor's mob, a rival group of gangsters who had made a deal with Syd to buy his diamonds, and a group of Chinese who smuggle the diamonds disguised as plastic pearls. Gerald disguises himself as a Kabuki dancer but is pursued until Suzie rescues him by flying by with a helicopter and dropping a rope ladder that Gerald escapes on. They return to the Pacific Ocean, where Syd reappears. The rival gangsters chase Syd into the ocean, and Gerald and Suzie walk away, deeply in love. The diamonds are never located.

The final scene shows the narrator, Bogart, facing the camera and solemnly announcing that the tale is true—then the camera pulls back as De Vol turns and walks away on the breakwater where the beginning and ending action had taken place. De Vol is wearing all of a business suit except trousers, and he is carrying a briefcase.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

The Big Mouth was filmed from December 5, 1966 to February 28, 1967 in the newly built Hilton San Diego hotel at Mission Bay and marked the film debut of Charlie Callas after he met Lewis on a chat show[3] as well as a cameo by Colonel Harland Sanders.

Reception

[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 40% rating based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 4.65/10.[4]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Big Rental Films of 1967". Variety. 3 January 1968. p. 25. (subscription required) Please note these figures refer to rentals accruing to the distributors.
  2. ^ Soyer, Renaud (8 June 2013). "Jerry Lewis Box Office" (in French). Box Office Story. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  3. ^ Hevesi, Dennis (January 28, 2011). "Charlie Callas, Zany Comedian, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  4. ^ "The Big Mouth". Rotten Tomatoes.
[edit]
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