My Friend Irma Goes West
Encyclopedia
My Friend Irma Goes West is a 1950 film based on the radio show My Friend Irma and featuring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis
(Dean Martin
and Jerry Lewis
). This sequel to My Friend Irma
(1949) was released May 31, 1950 by Paramount Pictures
.
) is still trying to promote Steve's (Dean Martin
) career. Eventually, he gets booked to a local TV station and is spotted by a movie producer. He is offered a contract and Steve, as well as the rest of the gang, Irma (Marie Wilson
), Jane (Diana Lynn
) and Seymour (Jerry Lewis
), all head to Hollywood.
The trip ends suddenly when the producer is discovered to be an escaped lunatic. Al tries to set things straight by taking the gang to Las Vegas to work at a casino, but things aren't as they seem. Irma causes havoc by wrecking a rigged roulette wheel, and she gets kidnapped and held for ransom until Al can raise $50,000.
Meanwhile, Seymour, dressed as an Indian brave, locates Irma and rescues her. The publicity received during the entire incident brings another movie offer... this time for Irma and Seymour.
was made before this film it was not released until December 1950, making My Friend Irma Goes West the second Martin and Lewis
film released.
Martin and Lewis
Martin and Lewis were an American comedy team, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis as the comedic "foil". The pair first met in 1945; their debut as a duo occurred at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 24/25, 1946....
(Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
and Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
). This sequel to My Friend Irma
My Friend Irma (film)
My Friend Irma is a comedy film directed by George Marshall and is most notable as the film debut of comedy team Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis...
(1949) was released May 31, 1950 by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
.
Plot
The movie picks up where My Friend Irma left off, Al (John LundJohn Lund
John Lund was an American film actor who is probably best remembered for his role in the film A Foreign Affair , directed by Billy Wilder.-Background:...
) is still trying to promote Steve's (Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
) career. Eventually, he gets booked to a local TV station and is spotted by a movie producer. He is offered a contract and Steve, as well as the rest of the gang, Irma (Marie Wilson
Marie Wilson (American actress)
Katherine Elisabeth Wilson , better known by her stage name, Marie Wilson, was an American radio, film, and television actress. She may be best remembered as the title character in My Friend Irma.-Career:...
), Jane (Diana Lynn
Diana Lynn
Diana Lynn was an American actress.Born Dolores Marie Loehr in Los Angeles, California, Lynn was considered a child prodigy because of her exceptional abilities as a pianist at an early age, and by the age of 12 was playing with the Los Angeles Junior Symphony Orchestra.-Film career:Dolores Loehr...
) and Seymour (Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
), all head to Hollywood.
The trip ends suddenly when the producer is discovered to be an escaped lunatic. Al tries to set things straight by taking the gang to Las Vegas to work at a casino, but things aren't as they seem. Irma causes havoc by wrecking a rigged roulette wheel, and she gets kidnapped and held for ransom until Al can raise $50,000.
Meanwhile, Seymour, dressed as an Indian brave, locates Irma and rescues her. The publicity received during the entire incident brings another movie offer... this time for Irma and Seymour.
Production
My Friend Irma Goes West was filmed from January 31 through March 18, 1950. Although At War with the ArmyAt War With The Army
At War with the Army is a 1950 musical comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It was filmed from July through August 1949, and released on December 30, 1950 by Paramount...
was made before this film it was not released until December 1950, making My Friend Irma Goes West the second Martin and Lewis
Martin and Lewis
Martin and Lewis were an American comedy team, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis as the comedic "foil". The pair first met in 1945; their debut as a duo occurred at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 24/25, 1946....
film released.
Cast
- John LundJohn LundJohn Lund was an American film actor who is probably best remembered for his role in the film A Foreign Affair , directed by Billy Wilder.-Background:...
... Al - Marie WilsonMarie Wilson (American actress)Katherine Elisabeth Wilson , better known by her stage name, Marie Wilson, was an American radio, film, and television actress. She may be best remembered as the title character in My Friend Irma.-Career:...
... Irma Peterson - Diana LynnDiana LynnDiana Lynn was an American actress.Born Dolores Marie Loehr in Los Angeles, California, Lynn was considered a child prodigy because of her exceptional abilities as a pianist at an early age, and by the age of 12 was playing with the Los Angeles Junior Symphony Orchestra.-Film career:Dolores Loehr...
... Jane Stacy - Dean MartinDean MartinDean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
... Steve Laird - Jerry LewisJerry LewisJerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
... Seymour - Corinne CalvetCorinne CalvetCorinne Calvet was a French actress who appeared mostly in American films.Born Corinne Dibos in Paris, Calvet studied criminal law at the Sorbonne and made her debut in French radio, stage plays and cinema in the 1940s before being brought to Hollywood in the 1940s by producer Hal B. Wallis...
... Yvonne Yvonne - Lloyd CorriganLloyd CorriganLloyd Corrigan was an American film actor, producer, screenwriter and director who began working in films in the 1920s...
... Sharpie Corrigan - Gregg PalmerGregg PalmerGregg Palmer, originally Palmer Lee is an American actor, known primarily for his prolific work in television westerns...
... Ambulance attendant - Don PorterDon PorterDonald Porter was an American actor who appeared in a number of films in the 1940s, including Top Sergeant and Eagle Squadron, but is perhaps best known for his role as Russell Lawrence, the widowed father of 15-year old Frances "Gidget" Lawrence in the 1965 ABC television series...
... Mr. Brent
DVD releases
My Friend Irma Goes West has been released twice on DVD. It was originally released on a two-film collection with My Friend Irma on October 25, 2005. A year later it was included on an eight-film DVD set, the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Collection: Volume One, released October 31, 2006.External links
- Jerry Lewis interview for the Archive of American TelevisionArchive of American TelevisionThe Archive of American Television is a division of the non-profit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation that films interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry....