By Richard Harland Smith
The Disorderly Orderly
Brief Synopsis
An inefficient hospital orderly wreaks havoc when he tries to help the patients.
Cast & Crew
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Frank Tashlin
Director
Jerry Lewis
Jerome Littlefield
Glenda Farrell
Dr. Jean Howard
Susan Oliver
Susan Andrews
Everett Sloane
Mr. Tuffington
Kathleen Freeman
Maggie Higgins
Photos & Videos
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1 Photo
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Release Date
Jan
1964
Premiere Information
Seattle opening: 16 Dec 1964
Production Company
Jerry Lewis Enterprises; York Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Paramount Pictures
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 30m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Technicolor)
Synopsis
Jerome Littlefield becomes a hospital orderly, hoping to become a doctor like his father. Afflicted with a "neurotic identification empathy" which causes him to suffer the pains of his patients, Jerome creates mayhem in his bungling attempts to help. Dr. Jean Howard, once in love with Jerome's father and now head of the hospital, is fond of him, however, and refuses to fire him. Although nurse Julie Blair is in love with Jerome, he falls in love with Susan Andrews, a young patient hospitalized after an attempted suicide. When he takes on extra duties to pay the young woman's bills, she offers him her love out of gratitude; but their first kiss is disappointing, and Jerome concludes that he must really be in love with Julie. Upon learning that the neglected Julie has run away, Jerome chases her in an ambulance. After creating an enormous traffic snarl, he wins back his true love; with his emotions properly oriented, Jerome overcomes his neurosis and makes plans to marry Julie and enter medical school.
Director
Frank Tashlin
Director
Cast
Jerry Lewis
Jerome Littlefield
Glenda Farrell
Dr. Jean Howard
Susan Oliver
Susan Andrews
Everett Sloane
Mr. Tuffington
Kathleen Freeman
Maggie Higgins
Del Moore
Dr. Davenport
Alice Pearce
Talkative patient
Jack E. Leonard
Fat Jack
Barbara Nichols
Actress
Richard Deacon
Mr. Courtney
Danny Costello
Mike Ross
Ambulance drivers
Herbie Faye
Mrs. Welles
Frank Scannell
Mr. McCaby
Mike Mazurki
Murray Alper
William Wellman Jr.
Drivers
Benny Rubin
Milton Frome
John Macchia
Crew
Ralph Axness
Assistant Director
Bud Bashaw
Makeup
Hal Bell
Assistant Director
Buddy Clark
Wardrobe
Dale Coleman
Assistant Director
Sam Comer
Set Decoration
Jim Cottrell
Prop
Ed Crowder
Grip
Robert Dabke
Grip
William C. Davidson
Unit Production Manager
Farciot Edouart
Special Effects
John P. Fulton
Special Effects
Jim George
Wardrobe
Charles Grenzbach
Sound
Hugo Grenzbach
Sound
Ed Haas
Story
Edith Head
Wardrobe Designer
Paul Jones
Producer
W. Wallace Kelley
Director of Photography
Tambi Larsen
Art Director
Paul K. Lerpae
Special Effects
Jerry Lewis
Executive Producer
Norm Liebmann
Story
Joseph J. Lilley
Music Score
Don Merritt
Sound
Jim Miller
Sound
Ray Moyer
Set Decoration
Lorne Netten
Gaffer
Bud Parman
Sound
Martin Pendleton
Prop
Hal Pereira
Art Director
Bill Poole
Assistant Director
Arthur P. Schmidt
Associate Producer
Leonard Smith
Camera Operator
Sterling Smith
Stills
Jack Stone
Makeup
Shirlee Strahm
Wardrobe
Frank Tashlin
Screenwriter
Marvin Weldon
Dial coach
Russel Wiles
Film Editor
John Woodcock
Film Editor
Dewey Wrigley
Camera Assistant
Dorothy Yutzi
Script Supervisor
Photo Collections
1 Photo
The Disorderly Orderly - Movie Poster
The Disorderly Orderly - Movie Poster
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Release Date
Jan
1964
Premiere Information
Seattle opening: 16 Dec 1964
Production Company
Jerry Lewis Enterprises; York Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Paramount Pictures
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 30m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Technicolor)
Articles
The Disorderly Orderly
One of a half dozen movies Jerry Lewis made with long-time director Frank Tashlin after splitting up with performing partner Dean Martin, The Disorderly Orderly (1964) was the last of that bunch, a return to full-on slapstick after his own ambitious directorial effort The Patsy (1964). The film's hospital setting is merely an excuse for Lewis to engage in an exhausting parade of healthcare-related gags, from balancing troubles with a patient bandaged head-to-toe like a mummy to the expected difficulties of getting out of a strait-jacket. Tashlin had begun his career as a director of Warner Brothers animated shorts and The Disorderly Orderly betrays its debt to the elastic Looney Tunes (while Lewis himself channels the manic energy of such masters of cinematic calamity as Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, and Jacques Tati). Suffering from a Zelig-like mental disorder that has him identifying a little too closely with his patients, hospital staffer Lewis juggles women Susan Oliver and Karen Sharpe while trying to fly under the radar of hospital administrators Glenda Farrell and Everett Sloan (in his last feature film role). Doubling for the hospital and grounds is Beverly Hills' Greystone Mansion, former headquarters of the American Film Institute and a longtime movie location, later put to memorable use in The Dirty Dozen (1967), Eraserhead (1977), The Bodyguard (1992), The Big Lebowski (1999), and There Will Be Blood (2007).
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
The Disorderly Orderly
One of a half dozen movies Jerry Lewis made with long-time director Frank Tashlin after splitting up with performing partner Dean Martin, The Disorderly Orderly (1964) was the last of that bunch, a return to full-on slapstick after his own ambitious directorial effort The Patsy (1964). The film's hospital setting is merely an excuse for Lewis to engage in an exhausting parade of healthcare-related gags, from balancing troubles with a patient bandaged head-to-toe like a mummy to the expected difficulties of getting out of a strait-jacket. Tashlin had begun his career as a director of Warner Brothers animated shorts and The Disorderly Orderly betrays its debt to the elastic Looney Tunes (while Lewis himself channels the manic energy of such masters of cinematic calamity as Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, and Jacques Tati). Suffering from a Zelig-like mental disorder that has him identifying a little too closely with his patients, hospital staffer Lewis juggles women Susan Oliver and Karen Sharpe while trying to fly under the radar of hospital administrators Glenda Farrell and Everett Sloan (in his last feature film role). Doubling for the hospital and grounds is Beverly Hills' Greystone Mansion, former headquarters of the American Film Institute and a longtime movie location, later put to memorable use in The Dirty Dozen (1967), Eraserhead (1977), The Bodyguard (1992), The Big Lebowski (1999), and There Will Be Blood (2007).
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
In the travel agency's window is a sign which reads, "TWA movie-in-flight: 'Lewis, Jerry' in 'The Disorderly Orderly.'"
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1964
Released in United States 1964
