''The Family Jewels'' is a 1965 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

. It was filmed from January 18 to April 2, 1965, and was released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

on July 1, 1965. The film was co-written, directed, and produced by

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

who also played seven roles in the film. Lewis' co-star,

Donna Butterworth Donna Lee Butterworth (February 23, 1956 – March 6, 2018) was an American actress and singer, best known for starring opposite Elvis Presley in the 1966 musical comedy '' Paradise, Hawaiian Style'', when she was 10 years old. Butterworth's c ...

, made only one other film, ''

Paradise, Hawaiian Style ''Paradise, Hawaiian Style'' is a 1966 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley. It was the third and final motion picture that Presley filmed in Hawaii. The film reached #40 on the ''Variety'' weekly box office chart, earning $2.5 mill ...

'', with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. Gary Lewis & The Playboys have a cameo in which they sing "Little Miss Go-Go"; their hit song "

This Diamond Ring "This Diamond Ring" is a 1965 song written by Al Kooper, Bob Brass and Irwin Levine. The original demo was sung by Jimmy Radcliffe. It was first released as a single by Sammy Ambrose on Musicor #1061, then by Gary Lewis & the Playboys on Liberty ...

" is also featured.

Plot

Donna Peyton is a ten-year-old girl who inherits a $30,000,000 fortune from her millionaire industrialist father. Per terms of his will, Donna must choose one of her six uncles to become her new "father". Willard Woodward, the family

chauffeur A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine. Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to speciali ...

, takes Donna to all of her uncles to stay with them for two weeks. Donna's uncles are: ''* James Peyton'', a ferryboat captain, her father's oldest brother who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. ''* Everett Peyton'', a famous circus clown who hates kids and has moved to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

to avoid U. S. taxes. ''* Julius Peyton,'' a professional photographer who photographs female models. ''* Captain Edward "Eddie" Peyton'', a pilot based in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

who owns his own airline ("Eddie's Airways, the Airline for the Birds") consisting of one plane, a

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It w ...

. ''* Skylock Peyton'', a

Holmesian Sherlock Holmes fandom is an international, informal community of fans of the stories by Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. The fans are known as Sherlockians or Holmesians. Many fans of Sherlock Holmes particip ...

detective who loves tea and lived in England until he lost his passport and moved back to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He is accompanied by his faithful companion, Dr. Matson, but Skylock pays more attention to a pool game in Robert Strauss's pool parlour than to Donna. ''* Bugsy Peyton'', a gangster whom everyone believes was killed by the mob. Only interested in Donna's inheritance, he kidnaps her. Willard rescues her by tricking the gangsters into believing they are surrounded by armed soldiers. The more time she spends with her uncles, the more Donna realizes that Willard should be her father: he was always a father to her even when her real father was still alive, because her father was too busy to spend time with her. Unfortunately the family lawyers will not allow her to choose Willard, insisting that she must choose one of her uncles. At the last minute, Uncle Everett shows up unexpectedly, asking Donna to choose him. To everyone's surprise, Donna agrees, and the two leave together. As they walk down the hallway, Donna reveals that she knows the truth: "Uncle Everett" is actually Willard in disguise. She recognized him because, as always, his shoes were on the wrong feet.

Cast

as Willard Woodward / James Peyton / Everett Peyton / Julius Peyton / Capt. Eddie Peyton / Skylock Peyton / Bugsy Peyton *

as Donna Peyton * Sebastian Cabot as Dr. Matson * Neil Hamilton as Attorney *

Jay Adler Jay Adler (August 4, 1896 – September 24, 1978) was an American actor in theater, television, and film. Early life Born in New York City, he was the eldest son of actors Jacob and Sara Adler, and the brother of five actor siblings, including st ...

as Mr. Lyman, Attorney

Production

Everett Peyton's clown make-up was devised by Jerry Lewis for '' 3 Ring Circus''. It was reused by Lewis a second time in '' Hardly Working''. The character of Julius Peyton is similar to the character of Julius Kelp in Jerry Lewis' earlier film ''

The Nutty Professor The Nutty Professor may refer to: * ''The Nutty Professor'' (1963 film), directed by and starring Jerry Lewis * ''The Nutty Professor'' (1996 film), directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Eddie Murphy ** ''The Nutty Professor'' (soundtrack), sound ...

'' (1963).

Home media

The film was released three times on DVD. Paramount released it on October 12, 2004 and January 5, 2021 and Warner Archive released the film on made-to-order DVD on June 20, 2013.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an 80% rating based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 6.62/10.

Legacy

Several of the film's characters were caricatured in ''

Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down ''Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down'' is a 1970 animated showcase for various caricatured Jerry Lewis characters, all based on characters from the 1965 film '' The Family Jewels'', and styled in a fashion similar to ''Archie's TV Funnies' ...

'', an animated series.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Family Jewels, The 1965 films 1965 comedy films 1960s English-language films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Jerry Lewis Films with screenplays by Jerry Lewis Films with screenplays by Bill Richmond (writer) Films produced by Jerry Lewis American comedy films 1960s American films