Visit to a Small Planet (1960) ** (out of 4)Kreton (Jerry Lewis) is an alien who has always been fascinated by Earth. Whenever he gets a chance he breaks away from his people to take a closer look. Finally, he's allowed to stay on Earth and ends up inside the home of a man who doesn't believe there's anything out in space.Apparently this Gore Vidal script was originally meant for the television and it's easy to see that. VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET is a pretty forgettable film on many levels, although I'm sure die hard fans of Lewis will still want to check it out. Sadly, the interesting premise is pretty much ruined by a film without too many laughs and an overall cheap look.As I said, it's clear that this was meant to be something for television and what really hurts the picture is the fact that it just runs out of gas around the thirty-minute mark and things can never pick up. The film goes on way too long and that's a problem when it clocks in at just 85-minutes. There are a few funny moments with the alien experiences a few things for the first time but this isn't enough to carry the picture.Lewis is fairly bland and boring in the role of the alien. He really keeps it low-key and just never builds up any energy in the role. IT's pretty easy to see why VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET has been forgotten over the years.

Although somewhat funny because of the typical Jerry Lewis antics, it bears very little resemblance to the original TV and Broadway plays which was supposedly the basis for the film. I was lucky enough to see the original TV broadcast and read the play. Personally, I found the TV version to be the best. The premise is that an alien (of superior intelligence) comes to earth and makes rather scathing comments and conclusions from his observations about American (and world) cultures and societies. Most likely rather accurate reflections of the author's (Gore Vidal) thoughts on the subjects and issues. It was a very socially relevant portrayal of the time period. The film version vaguely touched on some and made the alien a very naive buffoon which turned a great satire into a comic farce for laughs only and of little intellectual value.I keep hoping that someday a video version of the TV broadcast will be released. I believe that the UCLA archives does have a kinescope copy on file.JGB in Massachusetts

I was five years old when this movie came out and was intrigued more by the special effects (Jerry floating in air and walking up the wall and onto the ceiling). It was also of not that this was his last film for many years where he had someone else direct the film (the veteran Norman Taurog). From this Jerry went to make his kind of movies. My parents were big Lewis fans and I am to this day. This may not be up there with "The Nutty Professor" but it's close. This film also had a good supporting cast and had a "stagy" look befitting its origins as a play. I mentioned being intrigued by the FX (floating and walking on walls). Being a typical kid I thought I could walk on walls and quickly found out I couldn't. This is definitely something that shouldn't be tried at home-only in the movies.

Jerry Lewis plays a space man called Kreton, who comes to this small planet called Earth.There he meets these weird Earth people and gets in troubles.Visit to a Small Planet is a nice Jerry Lewis comedy from 1960.It's not his greatest works, but it has some funny parts, as Jerry Lewis comedies usually. Watch the movie if you're a Jerry Lewis fan and even if you're not.Give it a chance.