The Disorderly Orderly (1964)

Director: Frank Tashlin

Starring: Jerry Lewis, Glenda Farrell, Susan Oliver, Karen Sharpe, Kathleen Freeman, Everett Sloane

More info: IMDb

Tagline: NOTE: This picture was made entirely without the co-operation of any medical association!

Plot: When he flunks out of med school, Jerome Littlefield goes to work as an orderly in a private rest home where he wreaks havoc for everyone concerned. Dr. Jean Howard is the exasperated head of the sanitarium who almost becomes a patient after the antics of the frantic employee. When talkative patient Mrs. Fuzzibee happily and continuously relates her maladies to Jerome, he hilariously has psychosomatic symptoms that mirror those of the nutty woman. He discovers that his high school girl of his dreams, Susan Andrews has been brought to the sanitarium after a suicide attempt. He secretly pays for the destitute young woman's stay while helping to restore her confidence and self respect, much to the jealousy of his girlfriend, Julie Blair, a young and pretty nurse who has high hopes of becoming the future Mrs. Littlefield.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Yeah.

That's friggin' hilarious. You know they did that on purpose!

I've only seen a couple (I think) of Jerry Lewis pictures as an adult. I liked them. While they are silly slapstick comedies, there are some truly brilliant bits to be found. Lewis is at times ridiculous and at times a marvel to watch. This movie is pretty damn funny from Lewis and his great supporting cast (a lot has to be said about the people you surround yourself with) and writing to the camerawork and tight editing during the car chase at the final. I found myself in stitches on a few occasions.


Hahahahahaha. The faces that man makes are priceless. There's nothing ground-breaking here but there are a lot of laughs and some genuinely big ones. It's one of the better Lewis pictures I've seen and I'm keen to see more. The DVD comes with a trailer and about 9 minutes of incredibly funny outtakes.