''Hollywood or Bust'' is a 1956 American semi- musical

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 o ...

starring the

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

and

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 ...

. The picture was filmed from April 16 to June 19, 1956, and released on December 6, 1956, 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 ...

, almost five months after the

Martin and Lewis Martin and Lewis were an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They met in 1945 and debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946; the team lasted ten years to the day. Before they teamed up, Martin w ...

partnership split up.

Plot

Malcolm Smith wins a brand new automobile (a 1956

Chrysler New Yorker The Chrysler New Yorker is an automobile model that was produced by Chrysler from 1940 until 1996, serving for several decades as the brand's flagship model, or as a junior sedan to the Chrysler Imperial luxury brand. A trim level named the "New ...

convertible) at a movie theatre raffle. Steve Wiley, a gambler from New York, obtains a counterfeit of the winning ticket and also claims that the car is his. The theatre manager declares them both winners and that they can split the car any way that they want. Steve needs to sell the car to pay off a gambling debt, but Malcolm wants to drive it to Hollywood to meet actress

Anita Ekberg Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg (; 29 September 193111 January 2015) was a Swedish actress active in American and European films, known for her beauty and stunning figure. She became prominent in her iconic role as Sylvia in the Federico Fellini ...

. Steve claims to know Ekberg, and agrees to drive to Hollywood with Malcolm, secretly planning to steal the car. Malcolm brings along his dog, a huge Great Dane named Mr. Bascomb who foils Steve in his many attempts to make off with the car. Along the way they pick up Terry, an aspiring dancer, who has a job waiting for her in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

. Once there, Malcolm gets his "lucky feeling" and wins $10,000 ($ today) at a casino. In addition, the woman of his dreams, Anita Ekberg, is also at the hotel and Malcolm finally gets to meet her, with hilarious results. Steve begins to show a change of heart. He not only agrees to go along with Malcolm to Hollywood without stealing the car, but he also proposes to Terry. Malcolm spoils the mood by telling them that he no longer has any of his casino winnings, having used it on a gift for Anita. Steve decides to retrieve the gift and they head to

to locate her. After some back-lot adventures, they find Anita, who agrees to return the gift in exchange for the services of Mr. Bascomb in her next movie.

Cast

as Steve Wiley *

as Malcolm Smith * Pat Crowley as Terry Roberts * Maxie Rosenbloom as Bookie Benny *

as Herself * Richard Alexander as Western actor * Adelle August as Dancer *

Chet Brandenburg James Chester Brandenburg (October 15, 1897 – July 17, 1974) was an American actor and stuntman. He appeared in 436 films and television programs between 1924 and 1968. Brandenburg was born in Peoria, Illinois and died in Woodland Hills, ...

as Stagehand * Kathryn Card as Elderly lady * Franklyn Farnum as Audience member * Joe Gray as Gambler *

Richard Karlan Richard Karlan (April 24, 1919 – September 10, 2004) was an American actor. He appeared in the films ''Snow Dog'', ''Union Station'', '' Between Midnight and Dawn'', ''The Lemon Drop Kid'', '' Love Is Better Than Ever'', '' The Racket'', '' Wa ...

as Sammy Ross *

Deana Martin Deana Martin is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer Dean Martin. Film and television Martin was born in Manhattan to Dean Martin and his first wife, Elizabeth Anne "Betty" McDonald. She moved to Beverly Hills, Californ ...

as 7-year-old girl * Torben Meyer as Waiter * Wendell Niles as Himself *

Suzanne Ridgway Suzanne Ridgeway (born Suzanne Parsons; January 27, 1918May 6, 1996) was an American film actress who appeared in approximately 115 films between 1933 and 1959. She was most often credited as Suzanne Ridgway. Other billings included Suzy Marquett ...

as Woman at craps table * Charles Sullivan as Audience member * Willard Waterman as Manager Neville * Ben Welden as Boss * Frank Wilcox as Director *

Chief Yowlachie Chief Yowlachie (August 15, 1890 – March 7, 1966), also known as Daniel Simmons; was a Native American actor from the Yakama tribe in the U.S. state of Washington, known for playing supporting roles and bit parts in numerous films. He is p ...

as Chief Running Water * Beach Dickerson as Bellboy (uncredited) * Minta Durfee as Miss Pettywood (uncredited)

Production

Filming

This was the last film that Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin appeared in together. According to Lewis in his autobiography ''Dean and Me'', he and Martin did not speak to each other off-camera during the entire film shoot. In addition, Lewis claimed that this was the only one of his films that he had never seen, citing it as too painful to watch. The service station scenes were filmed on Live Oak Street in

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tr ...

.Bidwell, Carol A. (1989). ''The Conejo Valley: Old and New Frontiers''. Windsor Publications. Page 112. .

Home media

The film was included on a five-film DVD set, the ''Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Collection: Volume Two'', released on June 5, 2007.

Legacy

In Paramount's film ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caa ...

'' (1972), a scene of the Las Vegas strip, including a shot of the Sands Hotel marquee showing an appearance by

, was taken from this film. In Paramount's musical film '' Grease'' (1978), during the drive-in theater scene, a clip of the theatrical trailer for the film is shown, as projected on the drive-in's screen.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollywood Or Bust 1956 films 1956 comedy films American buddy films American comedy road movies 1950s comedy road movies 1950s buddy comedy films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Frank Tashlin Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Films scored by Walter Scharf Films set in the Las Vegas Valley Films set in Los Angeles Paramount Pictures films 1950s American films