Visit to a Small Planet

Plot synopsis:
Kreton (Jerry Lewis) is an alien from outer space who is fascinated by human beings. Against the wishes of his teacher, he repeatedly visits Earth. During his latest visit, his teacher reluctantly agrees to allow him to stay and study the humans. Kreton becomes friends with a suburban family and stays with them after they agree to keep his alien status a secret. Along the way, he falls in love with their daughter (Joan Blackman). However, there is a force field around him that prevents any physical contact. His race has abolished any form of affection.
After repeatedly breaking his teacher's rule against never getting involved in humans' lives, all of Kreton's powers are stripped away. This so that he can discover for himself that being human comes with other, less desired, emotions like pain, sadness, and jealousy. Once his cover is blown on Earth, and he is reported to the police, Kreton decides that those emotions are not worth the trouble, so he returns to his own planet.

Tags: romantic

Review:
The idea of Jerry Lewis popping in from 8 million light years away in his saucer to help Gen. Lee's troops fight the "damn yankees" should be enough incentive for anyone to make time for this and it doesnt disappoint.
Unfortunately Jerry miscalculated and landed on Earth 100 years later-he's a student, not a very smart one but he is majoring in the "Earth" so his natural curiosity brought him down for a short stay, much to the frustration and eventual amusement of his mentor Mr. Delton on his home planet where his every move is monitored on the first 60" wide screen I can remember seeing.
I thought I was going to fall out of my chair watching Jerry take his first glass of whiskey and then walk up the wall and stand on the ceiling to have a conversation with his host.
Earl Holliman is very funny in an early role and Joan Blackman is scrumptious as Holliman's love interest that he can never seem to keep his hands off of.
Just a great movie and I think ranks in Lewis' top three with The Bellboy and The Errand Boy. Don't miss it.
A bumbling, clowning alien visitor named Kreton observes the ways of humans here on Earth.
Arriving in Richmond, Virginia in Civil War costume in 1960, he believes he is just in time to witness the beginnings of the Civil War, but is off by 100 years.
He then decides to observe the customs of 20th Century American life, including such things as lovemaking rituals and what people do for entertainment: he watches two people romantically involved with each other (Holliman & Blackman), billing and cooing at one another, and ends up getting between them; he goes to a Beatnik nightclub, and realizes that the Beatniks are more like the aliens he knows than humans.
Lots of hilarious Jerry Lewis mugging, sight-gags and comedy routines, terrific special effects work by the master John P.
Terrific counterpoint with Lewis' Kreton and his professor back home, Mr. Delton, played by the distinguished English actor John Williams; a few Lewis gems: "Keep your nose out of other people's planets", even if you think "the grass is greener on the other side of the galaxy"!
Too bad it wasn't filmed in Technicolor; that's really the only flaw I find in it - it was made in b&w.
Great fun for the whole family, with a terrific cast.
This was Lewis' last studio picture under his old Paramount contract before he formed his own independent production company; he made "The Bellboy" in six weeks completely on his own, right after completing work on this movie, and sold it to Paramount.
Delightful for Jerry Lewis fans, and a delightful music score by Leigh Harline.
Curious Jerry Lewis enterprise is better than most....
Goofy alien Jerry Lewis lands on Earth, decides to try the suburban way of life for awhile, angering his superior officers in space.
Screenwriter Edmund Beloin adapted Gore Vidal's play, but it doesn't seem directly tailored for Lewis' mugging talents--which is a blessing.
The material is actually quite sophisticated, with a fair amount of witty lines and good supporting performances by Joan Blackman, Earl Holliman and Gale Gordon.
Jerry Lewis himself isn't bad; he had yet to be reeled-in by a strong director, but he isn't grating or overtly offensive here.
Film version of Gore Vidal's stage hit was later re-made as TV's Mork and Mindy.
UFO movies in the 50's and early 60's usually dealt with unfriendly, intellectually superior aliens out to kill helpless and somewhat naive humans.
Then comes Jerry Lewis as a friendly, intellectually lacking alien who is out to study the "human condition."  Most of the gags have been used and reused again on countless sitcoms but they are done well.
Great character actors give hilarious supporting performances.
Supposedly Gore Vidal was not happy with this version of his play.
I've seen Vidal on TV many times over the years and never once ever seen him laugh or smile so maybe he has a different definition of comedy than the rest of the planet..
Jerry at his best working for someone else.
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.
This film also had a good supporting cast and had a "stagy" look befitting its origins as a play.
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.
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.
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.
What must Gore Vidal have thought?.
Back in 1955 Gore Vidal wrote a television play that later went to Broadway for 388 performances and starred Cyril Ritchard and Eddie Mayehoff.
It was meant to be a satire on McCarthyism with an alien miscalculating a visit to Earth's American Civil War and arriving in Virginia a century later.
So what must he have thought when his Broadway play wound up a vehicle for Jerry Lewis.
Not that it's a bad Jerry Lewis, not his best to be sure, but surely not what Vidal intended.Jerry plays a most innocent alien with powers akin to what Ray Walston had in my favorite Martian.
His people like his mentor John Williams are just below the Organians from Star Trek in that they still have corporeal bodies.
Jerry wants to feel some earth like experiences so Williams gives him a chance.He experiences emotions all right, but a little too much for one Visit To A Small Planet.
How he copes with Earth and its Earthlings is for you watch the film for.I can see that the characters that are played by the cynical Fred Clark and the excitable and paranoid Gale Gordon might have made great counterpoints for satire.
But Jerry Lewis never has done satire and I doubt at his age he'll try it.
Carroll's wife in the television version of Topper.It's jealousy that does Jerry in, mainly the jealousy that Earl Holliman feels as his girl and Clark and Patrick's daughter Joan Blackman starts taking an interest in their outer space visitor.
Holliman must have felt ridiculous doing the part.Best sequence in the film is Lewis and Blackman's visit to a beatnik joint and the impression he makes on all those cool cats.
You'll get a chance to see ace drummer Buddy Rich in that scene and that should never be passed up.Visit To A Small Planet is a decent enough Jerry Lewis film, but far from whatever Gore Vidal had in mind..
Silly Fun. This has to be where Robin Williams drew his inspiration from for Mork of Ork. While this movie is by no means the funniest fish out of water film you could see, I think it still rates a look IF you could just find it somewhere....
Jerry Lewis was a big kid.
He believed that all he was doing was fun and that everyone would laugh.
His best film is "Which Way to the Front?" directed by himself.
I think I laughed a little when I've seen "The Ladies Man," but I'm not sure.
This "Visit to a Small Planet" is totally stupid, you have nothing to laugh about at all..
Not bad but the longer the film goes, the more tiring it comes..
"Visit to a Small Planet" is an early Jerry Lewis solo film.
Apparently, it was originally a teleplay and then a very successful Broadway play and I have no idea how close all this is to the film.
However, considering that the author was NOT at all pleased with the casting of Lewis, I assume the projects are very, very different.The planet begins in some sort of far off world across the universe.
A crazy guy (Lewis) makes a nuisance of himself and constantly talks about how fascinated he is by humans that the big boss-man (John Williams) decides to allow him to visit this insignificant place--to get it out of his system.
There, he meets a nice family and hangs out with them--getting into all sorts of adventures.Some of the film is quite funny (such as when Jerry drinks for the first time).
However, the longer the film goes, the less fun it becomes.
It's unusual to see a film fade like this one did, but the final portion lost momentum and had some flat moments that were clearly overdone.
Also, occasionally Lewis mugged a bit too much--something that he had a tendency to do a bit too often in his films.
I'm suspicious to talk about Jerry Lewis he make part of my life in my youthful days,and today a l have almost all movie from this true genius of the comedy whose many actors were inspired by him,like Jim Carrey....this time he came to the Earth as a clumsy friendly alien visitor,who didn't scary nobody except a fearful dog which he talk each other....great acting from veteran actor Fred Clark , the always fine Earl Holliman and John Williams as Alien leader who almost stolen the movie with a funny performance!!Just came out officially in Brazil with dubbed short version and extended subtitled version,sorry for a wrong choice for black and white photograph...as comedy works well in color!!Resume:First watch: 2017 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25.
Jerry as a space man.
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..
A must see for Jerry's fans!.
I didn't know this movie exists, so I'm very surprised, because as a boy I just loved Jerry Lewis.
Once, in my naivety, I even called Paramount Pictures and asked to talk to Jerry.
He wasn't there, they said.Some people commented, Gore Vidal wasn't happy with Jerry Lewis playing the main character.
I totally disagree: Jerry is trying very hard to save a script that simply isn't funny!
Yes, unfortunately this is a very unfunny comedy, but the little funny moments come all from Jerry.
Actually I think it was a mistake that Jerry accepted to play in this movie, because this story is too silly even by Jerry Lewis' standards!
So, watch it as a Jerry's rarity and try to enjoy it as such..
Not one of Jerry Lewis' best.
but don't expect the same quality as other Jerry Lewis movies.
Although there are some really funny scenes, Kreton is not half as funny as that other crazy alien, Mork (played by Robin Williams), and the movie lacks action and moves on very slowly through a thin plot a a lot of standard gags..
Bland Film Without Many Laughs.
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.
IT's pretty easy to see why VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET has been forgotten over the years..
The stage play (expanded by Vidal from his TV script) opened on Broadway at the Booth on 7 February 1957 and ran a most successful 388 performances with Cyril Ritchard (who also directed) in the lead.
COMMENT: When it relies more on the original play and less on the "talents" of Jerry Lewis, Visit to a Small Planet is moderately entertaining.
Lewis fortunately is assisted by far more able comedians in Fred Clark and Gale Gordon who make the most of the risible situations and cynical dialogue.
Miss Blackman is an agreeable heroine, whilst Earl Holliman has one of his meatiest parts as her jealous but not over-bright suitor.
The extraneous incidents tacked on to the play, particularly a tediously long "beatnik" interlude in which Lewis gets to dance with - well not so much "with" as "around" - Barbara Lawson, were better left on the cutting-room floor.
Some of the special effects are quite attractively contrived, though others are constrained by the film's obviously limited budget.
Many of these effects sequences feature John Williams who seems to be acting at half steam.
OTHER VIEWS: By the humble standards of Jerry Lewis, this is a fairly engaging comedy for half its length.
But after a boring and tedious and overlong visit to a beatnik dive, the film loses just about all its steam and resorts to a replay of the romantic situations plus a mild attempt at a slapstick climax which doesn't come off.
The special effects are fairly effective and the support playing is adequate though Miss Blackman is not a particularly attractive heroine either in looks or personality and players like Clark, Gordon and Cowan act in a broad caricature manner which doesn't jell so well with the less animated playing of Blackman and Holliman.
Mr Lewis is a bit more restrained than usual, though director Taurog still allows him a full quota of close-ups in which he mugs away to his heart's content.
Aside from a bit of by-play with a glass screen in front of the camera, the direction is ruthlessly routine.
.. I like Gore Vidal, but in this one, I prefer Jerry Lewis's version..
I remember seeing this move in it's original rum in the Central Square Theatre when I was a kid, but I read the play years later in my high school library in a book of plays from that year.I still remember Fred Clark as the Dad whom I knew from TV shows like The Burns and Allen Show.
There where many sight gags in the movie which made me laugh uproariously at the time, and I remember sharing many scenes to old friends in the projects just afterwards.One I remember particularly was when Kreton (Lewis) played some bongos without touching them as the drummer(Buddy Rich, whom I didn't know THEN) angrily played the drum.I also remember Joan Blackman's boyfriend as Earl Holliman.
He was one of those who I knew better in television on a lot of westerns and an early Twilight Zone episode, and a character part in Forbidden Planet.Many actors I learned about much after the fact from TV versions or reruns.I loved this movie then, and I love it even more now.I still don't understand or get those who hate Jerry Lewis in films, but I certainly understand those who didn't like him as a person.Having met him one time in a local TV Show when I brought him a portrait I had done, he didn't look at me much as he told me his wife took those.
She even introduced me to her son, whom I believe is now working for Jerry's business answering fan mail.I think this is one of his best, and it only gets better with each viewing.
I don't think Gore Vidal's play would work since it was more of a satire of the McCarthy hearings, and wouldn't hold as well as this movie..
Jerry Lewis, Gore Vidal, and a talking dog....
A mildly entertaining film based on a Gore Vidal play.
Jerry Lewis is an alien visiting Earth to observe the inhabitants.
He causes some mayhem for pompous TV host Fred Clark and gets involved in a romantic triangle with Joan Blackman & Earl Holliman.
There's not much more to it...Lewis performs some tricks, mostly involving levitating things.
There's a talking dog (and cat!), Gale Gordon as a nosy neighbor and a very funny sequence in a beatnik night-club ("shave my beard and call me normal!") Lewis goons it up in a role that seems to have been tailor made for him, though it wasn't.
Directed with a tiny bit of panache by old-timer Norman Taurog (he won the 1931 Oscar for directing SKIPPY), who spent the last fifteen years of his career helming Martin & Lewis films as well as a fair amount of Elvis films.