''Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River'' is a 1968 British

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Jerry Paris William Gerald Paris (July 25, 1925 – March 31, 1986) was an American actor and director best known for playing Jerry Helper, the dentist and next-door neighbor of Rob and Laura Petrie, on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', and for directing the majo ...

and starring

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 1911 – 8 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members ...

and Jacqueline Pearce. It was written by Max Wilk based on his 1961 novel of the same title, with the original

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

locale moved to

Swinging London The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London denoted as its centre. It saw a flourishing in ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. It was produced by Walter Shenson and released on 12 July 1968 by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

Plot

George Lester is an American living in Britain. His passion is

get-rich-quick scheme A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to obtain high rates of return for a small investment. Most schemes create an impression that participants can obtain this high rate of return with little risk, skill, effort, or time. The term "get rich qui ...

s, and they have caused financial and personal grief for him and his wife, Pamela, who is considering divorce if he continues with them. Willy Homer is a conman who plans to help George raise some quick cash by selling plans for a drill to a group of Arabs. The plans, which were stolen, are smuggled to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

with help from his accomplice, Fred Davies. As they are about to trade the plans, they realise that they are being double-crossed. A series of chases follows, and eventually the plans are revealed to be worthless to everyone. Distraught, George finds comfort in his wife and promises to never embark on any more schemes, but Willy shows up at his door with another one.

Cast

as George Lester *

as H. William Homer * Jacqueline Pearce as Pamela Lester *

Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over eight decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Ground" ...

as Fred Davies *

Patricia Routledge Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge ( ; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress and singer, best known for her comedy role as Hyacinth Bucket in the popular BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), for which she was nominated for ...

as Lucille Beatty *

Nicholas Parsons Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show ''Just a Minute'' and hosted the game show '' S ...

as Dudley Heath * Michael Bates as Dr. Spink *

Colin Gordon Colin Gordon (27 April 1911 – 4 October 1972) was a British actor. Although primarily a stage actor he made numerous appearances on television and in cinema films, generally in comedies. His stage career was mainly in the West End, but he w ...

as Mr. Hartford *

John Bluthal John Bluthal (born Isaac Bluthal; 12 August 1929 – 15 November 2018) was a Polish-born Australian actor and comedian, noted for his six-decade career internationally in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He started his care ...

as Dr. Pinto * Sandra Caron as Pinto's nurse * Pippa Benedict as Fern Averback * Margaret Nolan as Spink's nurse * Harold Goodwin as Six-Eyes Wiener * John Barrard as Zebra man * Niké Arrighi as Portuguese waitress * Al Mancini as Portuguese chauffeur * Alexandra Dane as masseuse * Molly Peters as Heath's secretary * Colin Douglas as barman * Francesca Tu as Chinese telephonist

Production

Filming took place between 15 May and 30 June 1967. The director, Jerry Paris, has a cameo as the umpire at a baseball game.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "Even the most diehard Jerry Lewis enthusiasts would be hard put to find anything to please them in this disastrous muddle of a film. Quite apart from the fact that Lewis and director Jerry Paris seem to have been at odds with each other throughout the film, there is scarcely a single gag which doesn't misfire; and the result is an embarrassingly unfunny farrago of comedy styles, ranging from the more asinine antics of the '' Carry On'' series (a predatory Girl Guide leader collapsing into highpitched giggles at the mere sight of a man) to Lewis at his twittering worst, and petering out in a feeble slapstick finale. Left to himself, Lewis occasionally almost pulls off a gag (the one idea that does work is a purely visual joke in which he appears to be playing draughts with a black-gloved German until the camera pulls back to reveal the two hands at opposite ends of the board as his own); but elsewhere he looks sadly lost in the midst of a number of British comedy stalwarts, and his tired impersonations of half a dozen nationalities fall very flat." ''

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' wrote: "What might have been an entertaining comedy has been made into a raging farce, which is, of course, entirely suited to the comic style of Jerry Lewis. He is, however, far more subdued than usual and uses hardly any of his famous grimaces. The result is a farce that is curiously sparing of real laughter." '' Variety'' wrote: "An initial lack of clarity in plot premise, followed by routine and not very exciting episodic treatment add up to a generally flat result. Terry-Thomas heads a good supporting cast."

Leslie Halliwell Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fi ...

said: "Dreary comedy apparently intent on proving that its star can be just as unfunny abroad as at home." ''The

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

Guide to Films'' gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Jerry Lewis is quite hopelessly adrift and desperately unfunny in an awkward UK adaptation of humorist Max Wilk's novel. It's ham-fistedly directed by former actor Jerry Paris, and concerns Lewis's plans to steal a high-speed oil drill and peddle the plans to oil-rich Arabs. The Brits acquit themselves well, yet both pace and tone are uncertain, and Lewis's performance is embarrassingly undirected."

Home media

The film has been released twice on

Region 1 DVD DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to t ...

, on 8 July 2003 and again in a ''Jerry Lewis Triple Feature'' collection with '' Three on a Couch'' (1966) and '' Hook, Line & Sinker'' (1969) on 16 January 2018.

References

External links

* *
Review of Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the Water at Jerry-Lewis.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River 1968 films 1968 comedy films British comedy films Columbia Pictures films Films based on American novels Films set in London Films set in Lisbon Films directed by Jerry Paris 1968 directorial debut films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films