I have now re-watched all of the Martin & Lewis films and one thing I have noticed is how often Dean had to play characters who were complete louses. I can honestly see how this helped to break up the team as who would want to constantly play jerks in order to make their partner look more sympathetic?! This one finds Dean to be a bit of a jerk--though fortunately it's not nearly as bad in this one as in some of their other films and as a result it works a bit better.Jerry plays Harvey, the son of a pro golfer who is ALSO a heck of a player. However, Harvey cannot go pro because he chokes up horribly when folks watch him play. But when he meets his fiancée's brother, Joe (Dean), Harvey sees that Joe could be a pro himself--and with his help, Joe enters his first tournament. But there is a problem...Joe wins the tourney and his ego becomes a bit inflated. He soon is taking his new friend for granted. Can Joe pull it together or are the two destined to go their separate ways? What do you think?!?!One of the best things about this film is the music. Often I find the musical interludes distracting...but here Dean sings one of his greatest hits. "That's Amore" is the PERFECT tune for Dean's talents and you cannot help but love the song. Additionally, the humor is decent and Joe's not nearly so rotten as he could have been! Pleasant viewing.

In some Martin/Lewis movies, Jerry is the one that is hard to take but in this one - it is Dean. Dean Martin is a total schmuck through MOST of it. *Spoiler* Jerry is his future brother-in-law and friend, acting as caddy. He is the son of a famous golfer and knows the game but can't play in front of people. He is supposed to help Dean win and then the winnings, when they appear, will benefit the whole family (Jerry then being a part) but Dean meets Donna Reed (AKA money). He appears smitten by the 'good life' and doesn't want to admit to her that he isn't rich, like most of the golfer set, and admit to her too that Jerry is his friend. Jerry, the caddy, is then treated horribly by EVERYONE (even fellow caddies). Dean, when he sees it, allows it and even contributes towards it. To me, this part of the movie is very hard to sit through - though all is well in the end. Donna Reed is not just 'the rich b----' but turns out to be okay. I 'still' don't understand why Dean is so upset towards the end, when he stalks off. Jerry is the one who should be angry. And oh, the reviewer who complained about Jerry's horning in on Dean's songs ... come on - do you really think he was the one to make that call? The studio did. Their movies were, after all, made to make money and Jerry's shenanigans were very popular. Jerry Lewis does have huge ego (to this very day and I am, by no means, a fan) but it really was Dean's idea to end the partnership and there are always two sides to every story.

Before I review The Caddy proper, let me just say that as a big fan of It's a Wonderful Life, I like to mention whenever players of that movie are in others I review. First, there's leading lady Donna Reed who of course was Mary Hatch there. Next, there's Argentina Brunetti-Mrs. Martini there-who's Dean Martin's mother here. Then, there's Bill Edmonds-Mr. Martini there-who's another of the Italian relatives (though I have to admit I didn't recognize him here). Finally, though I also didn't recognize her here, there's Mary Treen who even IMDb couldn't identify by role. Okay, with that out of the way, I'll just say that with Dean & Jerry playing entertainers who were once golfer and caddy, respectively, there's some hilarious scenes of Lewis wrecking havoc at a department store, of impersonating an Important Rich Man, and of disrupting some famous golfers' games. And Martin has an iconic moment when he sings a song that would be permanently identified with him: "That's Amore". And not just him but Jerry and the whole family sings along to one of the most entertaining numbers on film ever. What I didn't like was the way they have Dean treating Jerry like dirt in the middle of the movie and how dramatic that becomes at the expense of the mostly funny business that came before that. But it's worth it just to see how the whole thing ends especially when a couple of surprises happen there. Oh, and it was also hilarious whenever Jerry's boss Fred Clark-best known to me for his part in "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show"-is on screen. And the leading lady Jerry has here is played by the stunning Barbara Bates. So appealing is she here that I was stunned when I read of how tragic her life turned out. So on that note, The Caddy, despite its unevenness, gets a recommendation from me.

this was the first film of the famed martin and lewis team that i've seen. in fact so far it's the only one i've seen. and right now i'm wondering how in the hell did thse two guys build a franchise with this junk? i love the marx bros, the honeymooners, chaplin, keaton, abbott and costello even the stooges, so it's not like i don't like screball antics it's just that 'the caddy' is a really bad film thats even more poorly directed and produced. i hope the next film of theirs i see makes me want to watch a third but right now these two have swung and missed.