Jumping Jacks (1952), starring Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis
In Jumping Jacks, Hap Smith (Jerry Lewis), nightclub entertainer, has a new act since his former partner Chick Allen (Dean Martin) joined the army: with lovely new partner Betsy Carter (Mona Freeman), Hap plays a clownish parody of a soldier. Meanwhile, Chick is organizing a soldier show at Fort Benning and finds he needs his old partner’s help. To get onto the base, Hap impersonates a hapless real soldier, Dogface Dolan (Richard Erdman); but circumstances force them to prolong the masquerade, creating an increasingly tangled Army-sized snafu.
Jumping Jacks is available as part of the Martin & Lewis Collection Volume 1.
Funny movie quotes from Jumping Jacks
Sgt. McClusky (Robert Strauss): You know I’m beginning to like you.
Hap Smith (Jerry Lewis): You are? Is that good?
Sgt. McClusky (Robert Strauss): Yeah! And I’m gonna let you in on a little secret.
Hap Smith (Jerry Lewis): What?
Sgt. McClusky (Robert Strauss): I’m not half as tough as I sound.
Hap Smith (Jerry Lewis): You’re not?
Sgt. McClusky: Nah! It’s just something that comes over me. Sometimes I think I’m my own worst enemy.
Hap Smith (Jerry Lewis): No, you’re not, Sarge. Not as long as I’m alive.
Chick Allen (Dean Martin): There’s nothing to it. You get on a plane, you go up 20,000 feet, jump out, and your chute opens automatically.
Hap Smith (Jerry Lewis): Yeah? What if it doesn’t open?
Chick Allen (Dean Martin): Then you pull your reserve parachute.
Hap Smith (Jerry Lewis): What if that doesn’t open?
Chick Allen (Dean Martin): Well, we haven’t had a complaint yet… from a guy whose shoot didn’t open. [Laughs]
Cast of characters
- Dean Martin (Rio Bravo) … Cpl. Chick Allen
- Jerry Lewis (The Nutty Professor) … Hap Smith
- Mona Freeman (Mother Wore Tights) … Betsy Carter
- Don DeFore (It Happened on 5th Avenue) … Lt. Kelsey
- Robert Strauss (Stalag 17, Sailor Beware) … Sgt. McClusky
- Richard Erdman (The Stooge) … Pvt. Dogface Dolan (as Dick Erdman)
- Ray Teal (Judgement at Nuremberg) … Brig. Gen. W.W. Timmons
- Marcy McGuire (It Happened in Brooklyn) … Julia Loring
- Danny Arnold … Pvt. Evans