Rock-a-Bye Baby

Plot synopsis:
Clayton Poole (Jerry Lewis) is a small-town TV repairman whose former sweetheart, Carla Naples (Marilyn Maxwell), is now a famous movie star. Carla marries a Mexican bullfighter and becomes pregnant; her husband dies the day after the wedding. Her agent, Harold Herman (Reginald Gardiner) tries to avoid a scandal by sending Carla back to the town where she grew up. The cover story is that she is going into seclusion to prepare for her next role, the lead in the religious epic The White Virgin of the Nile. Carla turns to Clayton for help, and he agrees to care for the child once it is born.
Carla gives birth to triplets, and Clayton discovers that he has to be married before he can adopt them. He marries Carla's younger sister, Sandy (Connie Stevens), who is in love with him. The press learns that the triplets are Carla's, and Carla tells reporters that she and Clayton are secretly married. Now suspected of bigamy, Clayton goes into hiding with the triplets.
Nine months later, Sandy gives birth to quintuplets. A statue of Clayton and his five babies is erected in front of the town courthouse.

Tags: flashback

Review:
I've read the preceding comments and they pretty much tell the story of why this is a classic Jerry Lewis film.
However, I think one of the reasons I love this one so much is that it also captures a feel for what life was like growing up in the fifties (as I did).
Watching Rock a Bye Baby, which is authentically of the era confirms that.
(In fact, the court house and town square in both of these films appear to have a striking similarity to one another.)Although the story owes a lot to The Miracle of Morgan's Creek as inspiration (and even gives Preston Sturges credit), it really has its own unique flavor as well.
The subplot with the sister and its resolution are wonderful additions.Over all I think it is a great film and can't wait till it's available on DVD (Is anybody listening?)..
Jerry Lewis shows what could have been, might have been, with this gem.
Believe it or not, before he became the king of overindulgent egomania in many of his later films, Lewis did manage to put a few good films on celluloid.
These films were not only funny, but gave us charming, sympathetic characters, a good script, and good supporting casts.
Of his early solo efforts, Rock-A-Bye Baby is the one that has stuck with me the longest, so it is the Lewis film I have chosen to talk about here.Lewis plays Clayton Poole, a television repairman, who has gone through life carrying a torch for the beautiful Carla Naples (Marilyn Maxwell).
Because of advice that Clayton gave Carla, she left town to become an actress, and ends up becoming a big film star.
Carla's father, Gigi Naples (Salvatore Baccaloni) blames Clayton for his daughter going away.
Then there is Carla's younger sister, Sandra (Connie Stevens), who is carrying the torch for Clayton.
Later, just when she finds out she is to star in a film called (believe it or not) White Virgin of the Nile, she also finds out she is pregnant.
Believing that she will not be able to do the movie if people find out she has had a baby (not to mention the way morality was looked at back then, see what happened to Ingrid Berman), Carla contacts Clayton to see if he will temporarily take care of the baby till the film is finished.
What Carla doesn't tell Clayton is that there is not one baby, but three as she has had triplets.What happens after that, well I set it up for you it's up to you to find the movie and watch it.
Jerry as Clayton is funny throughout, without resorting too much to mugging while keeping the slapstick toned down to where it fits well into the picture.
Marilyn Maxwell plays Carla, and though in todays climate it would hard to understand her motives, in this movie we are reasonably able to understand her motives, and despite the fact that she is using Clayton, we are sure she wouldn't if she had another way out.
Connie Stevens as Sandra, is sweet and funny, especially when she gets frustrated at Clayton for refusing her advances.
Salvatore Baccaloni as Papa Naples, shows a rough mean exterior, yet we know inside he is a loving, carring, father.
There is an early scene in this movie, where Clayton sings a song with himself as a child, played by Lewis's own son Gary.
I'll not tell that, as it is one of the funniest endings of not only a Jerry Lewis movie, but of any movie.
I only wish Jerry had made more films like this one.
I used to love Jerry Lewis films as a kid, and although I prefer the Lewis/Martin combos to his solo efforts, this would have to be one of my favorites.
Although the first 15-30 minutes aren't great, once Lewis is looking after the triplets there is a lot of fun to be had here, and Lewis plays his character with great pathos, in fact some parts of his performance are enough to bring tears, the way he portrays Claytons unrequited love for Carla.
The film also includes some lovely songs, particularly the Italian lullaby he sings with Papa Naples.
I have to admit I've never been a rabid Jerry Lewis fan (even with a French last name, I can't join some of my relatives on the Continent in idolizing him), but, in looking back, I've seen more of his movies than I might have preferred.
This one, though, was a lot of fun, possibly because it was a delightfully vulgar remake of a Preston Sturges classic.The VistaVision/Technicolor production values are first-class; the supporting cast is able to withstand Jerry's frantic goofiness (especially Marilyn Maxwell, who gets to perform the wacked-out production number, "White Virgin of the Nile," and Ida Moore as Jerry's elderly landlady, avidly and simultaneously consuming every product being advertised on the TV she is constantly watching); and Frank Tashlin's direction pilots Jerry through the plot's crazy machinations with just the right touch of cartoon-like unreality.If you're a Lewis fan, it's a must-see; if you aren't you may still find it an enjoyable way to spend a mindless 103 minutes..
It might be redundant to say that Jerry Lewis did his best work with Frank Tashlin as director, either by himself or with Dino.
He was a comic genius, but it took another genius to bring out the best in him.Paramount dusted off the Preston Sturges classic The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek for Lewis in his early years as a solo entertainer.
It took a lot of rewriting because Lewis's raucous type of comedy is far different than Eddie Bracken's more gentle schnook like character.
Still Jerry does generate a lot of whimsy and pathos in his character of Clayton Poole.It seems years ago Lewis had a big old torch for Marilyn Maxwell who left town and became a Hollywood Star.
Maxwell's younger sister Connie Stevens is also crushing out on Lewis, but he can't see for the glare in Maxwell's spotlight.Marilyn is now in a family way expecting triplets as a result of a marriage to a bullfighter who died in the arena after the honeymoon.
It was all a blur and she can't remember where she got married, only that she did.Her agent Reginald Gardiner fixes up the answer, have her go away to quietly give birth, then send them to her old friend Lewis to take care of.
Of course Jerry gets fond of the three and goes to extraordinary lengths to tend to the kids.
His scenes with the infants are both Tashlin and Lewis at their best.
The only real criticism I have is Lewis's best comic moment is unfortunately right at the beginning where he gets involved with a some loose chimney bricks, a runaway firehose, and a great deal of chimney soot, wreaking havoc for the whole neighborhood.
Something that good should have been saved for last.Rockabye Baby is not quite the classic of Miracle Of Morgan's Creek, but it's right up there with some of Jerry's best..
I am a fan of Jerry Lewis' early movies so when I shared this movie with my 11 and 5 year old grandsons, I was tickled to death when they laughed themselves silly watching it!
They loved it from the first scenes with the runaway fire hose to the ending where Jerry makes those wild and crazy faces!
I wish there were movies like this today (other than animated ones) that you could go see as a family.
We owe it to our children and grandchildren to share as many movies like this with them as we can, because otherwise they won't get the chance to see genuine hilarity.
This is one of my favorite Lewis movies..
Jerry Lewis and three babies.
A famous movie star has triplets, but doesn't want the public to find out.So she leaves the babies to Clayton Poole (Lewis) to babysit.Bad mistake?I think not.I think he does a pretty good job if you ask me.Rock-a-Bye Baby is a great Jerry Lewis movie from 1958.It has that Jerry's well known slapstick comedy and it's also a warm and touching movie at the same time.
It is beautiful to watch Jerry and Salvatore Baccaloni singing Dormi-Dormi-Dormi.This is a movie that makes you laugh and a movie that may make you cry.I didn't cry.I rather laugh when I'm watching a movie.Especially a Jerry Lewis movie.I'm funny that way.
But anyway, watch Rock-a-Bye Baby if you want to see a funny and tender Jerry Lewis comedy..
I have seen most of Jerry Lewis' comedies and I wasn't surprised that I liked this film, as it was made during a period in which most of his best films were made--the late 1950s (don't ask me what I think of the ones from the late 60s and 70s...yick).
However, I must confess that while I liked the film overall, it was very uneven and about as many gags worked as flopped.
As for me, I actually preferred many of the moments when Jerry wasn't trying to be funny-- such as one of the musical numbers where Jerry and the babies' grandfather sing a nice little duet.The plot to this film is kind of weird.
Clayton Poole (Lewis) used to date Carla Naples (Marilyn Maxwell) but now Carla has gone on to better things.
Yet, oddly, Clayton agrees to raise the kids even though they aren't his and he spends most of the rest of the film with the three adorable little girls.
As for the music, Jerry sings a lot of tunes (several of which were poorly chosen, as they were out of his musical range) and his acting is very nice.
Overall, a cute little film that Lewis fans will love and others will at least tolerate..
Typical Jerry Lewis of the day.
I like the film because it allows Jerry to face the situations that make for a movie that is a lot of fun.
He is called upon to watch twin babies of a girl he thinks he is in love with who is a movie star, so while she goes all over the world filming he gets a crash course in baby rearing.
Connie Stevens at her best is also along as a girl who really likes him.
Jerry does it all in this film.
I like this period of his career after he broke up with Dean Martin.
The wonderful Paramount's including this film, Who's Minding the Store, and his best in my opinion The Nutty Professor show him in his heyday.
A Jerry Lewis Musical / Comedy.
This is another typical Jerry Lewis comedy.
Jerry Lewis hits a home run for his typical audience.
Then again, the supporting cast including Marilyn Maxwell, Connie Stevens and Salvatore Baccaloni make it more than just a Jerry Lewis comedy.
She plays the perfect girl next door who is head over heels for Jerry.
The trick is, it is Jerry who is playing hard to get.
This adds to the wonderful genre that Lewis created in his comedies.
Through a series of circumstances he ends up taking care of a set of triplet girls.
Much of the comedy comes, of course, from Lewis's pratfalls and lack of understanding about raising children.
A woman decides to go to court to have the girls taken from him, and we get the classic treatment of a man who knows love in his heart.
It is an excellent movie for the whole family to watch.
A loose remake of Preston Sturges' wonderful The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Rock-a-Bye Baby is safe entertainment for the Jerry Lewis fans.
Here he plays Clayton Poole, a small town guy whose childhood sweetheart, Carla Naples (Marilyn Maxwell) is now a big film star.
When she finds she is pregnant, the problems it will cause her career prompts her to coerce Clayton into looking after what turns out to be triplets!
Narratively outside of Lewis' mad-cap rearing of the babies, there's a running thread of Carla's sister, Sandra (Connie Stevens), being hopelessly in love with Clayton - who of course has no idea, while the sentimental strings are pulled as Clayton fights to not lose the kids to a shifty legal guardian.The musical numbers start to grate on the nerves after a bit, with them feeling like attempts to show off something that isn't there, and the running time is too long to sustain this type of comedy.
But once a Lewis fan then always a Lewis fan, with that in mind Rock-a- Bye Baby still has enough fun and frothery to make it above average entertainment.
Jerry Lewis: Babysitter.
A Jerry Lewis vehicle that delivers exactly what his fans want while pleasing no one still hoping for a surprise from the comedic actor.
Frank Tashlin-directed chaos isn't very funny, and occasionally verges on ludicrous when it tries passing Lewis off as a sensitive soul (this is no stretch for Jerry, as he manages to turn even his baby lullabies into infantile showstoppers).
Pretty Marilyn Maxwell and a teenage Connie Stevens give the movie some pep, but Jerry's performance is full of fake-schmaltz.
Classic Lewis..
My mother was a Lewis fan, and often watched this with me, the pair of us in fits of giggles.The film centres around Lewis who is taking care of the three children of his childhood sweetheart Carla, much to the frustration of Carla's younger sister Sandy, for reasons that become immediately apparent.Lewis stars as Clayton Poole; a likable loser, and he is as goofy as always.
Connie Stevens as Sandy is sweet, and manages to keep up with the crazy antics of Lewis.
But for me the best part of the film was always Sandy's dear drunken papa played by the wonderfully endearing Salvatore Baccaloni.This is a great film to watch with your children.
They'll get a good laugh from the slapstick, and you'll feel like a kid again by the end of this feel good oldie.A warning: Some of the hum our is quite dated, and there is a racially insensitive scene that might offend some, but it should be taken into consideration the year this film was produced, and the comedic climate of the time.I highly recommend it to those of you who are yet to have the pleasure.
The babies were absolutely adorable, I couldn't stop looking at them throughout especially while the other characters were talking!
My favorite songs in this were: Dormi-Dormi-Dormi (Sleep- Sleep-Sleep), Rock-a-Bye Baby and The Land of La-La-La. They really gave you a good feeling by swaying your head and boogie the night away!
I was surprised to have seen the little boy who played Jerry Lewis' younger self, I actually didn't know that was Gary Lewis aka his son!
I found it funny that he had the ring on his left index finger like Jerry Lewis normally wears.
He was a great little boy and of course, he was just gorgeous!This movie gives you goosebumps, watch it!.
While there is plenty of comedy to keep your funny bone out of joint, the film overall depends on a bunch of idiots to create its plot.
Surprisingly, Jerry Lewis's simpleton is not one of them; His character (if not himself) comes with a lot of heart, taking in three adorable babies which may or may not be his.
Then, there is her older sister (Marilyn Maxwell), a movie star who insinuates that Lewis is the father and leaves the babies with her so she can continue her career.
This musical variation of 1944's "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" keeps the viewer guessing as to who & why the identity of the kiddy's daddy is never revealed until the end.Comically, the film is extremely funny, especially the opening scene involving a fire hose that destroys an entire neighborhood.
The adorable Ida Moore is very funny as Lewis's commercial loving landlady who tries pretty much every product she sees on TV.
Although Salvatore Baccaloni's papa is the real dumbbell of the story, he does get a nice duet with Lewis called "Dormi-Dormi-Dormi (Sleep-Sleep-Sleep)".
Lewis's young son appears as his character in a flashback which is a nice touch, and the courtroom scene at the end has some clever dubbing utilized for comic effect..
Rock-a-Bye Baby is truly Jerry Lewis' first solo effort with no Dean Martin-like role at all.
Before I review this Jerry Lewis movie, let me just mention a couple of players from previous films he made with Dean Martin: Hans Conried plays his boss, Mr. Wright, and Mary Treen plays a nurse.
Okay, with that out of the way, I'll just say this was quite a change of pace for Lewis since for one thing, there's no role that would have been played by Martin since Jer is truly the whole show here.
Also, with him having to take care of babies that happen to be sired by former girlfriend Carla Naples (Marilyn Maxwell), his shtick is not-so-frantic when he's on screen with them.
Helping him is Carla's father (Salvatore Baccaloni) and her sister Sandy (Connie Stevens) who has a crush on Clayton Poole (Jer's character).
Oh, and Carla's a movie star so there's also an agent (Reginald Gardiner) on hand.
And one more thing: Jerry sings some good songs, including a duet with Mr. Baccaloni, in his own normal voice and he's as good as Dean would have been if he warbled them.
He also sings with his son Gary, who's underage here and years from his fame with the Playboys, in a sequence mixing present with flashback as Gary plays his father when his age.
Reportedly, Jerry's father Danny also appears though I didn't recognize anyone with the family resemblance.
Okay, I've said enough so on that note, I highly recommend Rock-a-Bye Baby.
One more thing, you'll be amazed when you see the picture of the bullfighter Carla was married to when she had her triplets!