The Nutty Professor
Encyclopedia
The Nutty Professor is a 1963 Paramount Pictures
science fiction
comedy
feature film produced, directed, co-written (with Bill Richmond
) and starring Jerry Lewis
. The score was composed by Walter Scharf
.
In 2004, The Nutty Professor was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
), is a nerdy, unkempt, buck-toothed, introverted, accident prone, socially inept university professor whose experiments in the classroom laboratory are less than successful...and hilariously destructive. When a football-playing bully humiliates and assaults him, Kelp decides to "beef up" by joining a local gym. Kemp's failure to succeed in the gym prompts him to invent a serum that turns him into the handsome, extremely smooth, cool, and obnoxious girl-chasing hipster, Buddy Love. (Lewis said that the two represented good and evil.)
This new found persona gives him the confidence to pursue one of his students, Stella Purdy (Stella Stevens
). Although she despises Love, she finds herself strangely attracted to him. Buddy wows the crowd with his jazzy, breezy musical delivery and cool demeanor at the Purple Pit, a nightclub where the students hang out. The formula wears off at inopportune times, often to Kelp's embarrassment.
Although Kelp knows that his alternate persona is an arrogant person, he cannot prevent himself from continually taking the formula as he enjoys the attention that Love receives. As Buddy performs at the annual student dance the formula starts to wear off. His real identity now revealed, Kelp gives an impassioned speech, admitting his mistakes and seeking forgiveness. Purdy meets Kelp backstage, and confesses that she prefers Kelp over Buddy Love.
The film ends with Kelp's formerly henpecked father choosing to market the formula (a copy of which Kelp had sent to his parent's home for safekeeping), endorsed by the strait-laced Dean of the college who proclaims, "It's a gasser!" Kelp's father makes a pitch to the chemistry class, and the students all rush forward to buy the new tonic. In the confusion Kelp and Purdy slip out of the class. Armed with a marriage license and two bottles of the formula, they elope.
's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
featured in the film. Buddy Love instructs the bartender (Buddy Lester
) on how to make it: two shots of vodka
, a little rum
, some bitters
, a smidgen of vinegar
, a shot of vermouth
, a shot of gin
, a little brandy
, a lemon peel, orange peel, cherry, some more scotch. At one point during the instructions, the bartender quips "You going to drink this here, or are you going to take it home and rub it on your chest?"
Love instructs the bartender to "mix it nice" and pour it into a tall glass. The bartender asks if he can take a sip; after doing so, he freezes like a statue. While the drink started as fictional, it is now listed among real drinks.
(Tempe, AZ) in 1962.
recognition
starring Jerry Lewis and Drake Bell
was released November 25, 2008. Directed by Paul Taylor, the film involves Julius Kelp's teenage grandson Harold Kelp discovering his grandfather's secret formula and unleashing his alter-ego. Lewis has for decades talked about doing a sequel and until now had to settle for the remake
starring Eddie Murphy
. Murphy did a sequel called Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
.
and lyrics and book by Rupert Holmes
.
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...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
feature film produced, directed, co-written (with Bill Richmond
Bill Richmond (writer)
Bill Richmond is an American film and television comedy writer and producer, as well as a musician, actor and composer. He co-wrote the screenplays to numerous popular films that starred Jerry Lewis. These films included The Nutty Professor, The Errand Boy and The Ladies Man...
) and starring 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...
. The score was composed by Walter Scharf
Walter Scharf
Walter Scharf was an American film composer.Born in New York, he was the son of Yiddish theatre comic Bessie Zwerling...
.
In 2004, The Nutty Professor was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot
Professor Julius Kelp (Jerry LewisJerry 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...
), is a nerdy, unkempt, buck-toothed, introverted, accident prone, socially inept university professor whose experiments in the classroom laboratory are less than successful...and hilariously destructive. When a football-playing bully humiliates and assaults him, Kelp decides to "beef up" by joining a local gym. Kemp's failure to succeed in the gym prompts him to invent a serum that turns him into the handsome, extremely smooth, cool, and obnoxious girl-chasing hipster, Buddy Love. (Lewis said that the two represented good and evil.)
This new found persona gives him the confidence to pursue one of his students, Stella Purdy (Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born October 1, 1938 is an American film, television and stage actress, who began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as The Nutty Professor, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Silencers, The Ballad of Cable Hogue and The...
). Although she despises Love, she finds herself strangely attracted to him. Buddy wows the crowd with his jazzy, breezy musical delivery and cool demeanor at the Purple Pit, a nightclub where the students hang out. The formula wears off at inopportune times, often to Kelp's embarrassment.
Although Kelp knows that his alternate persona is an arrogant person, he cannot prevent himself from continually taking the formula as he enjoys the attention that Love receives. As Buddy performs at the annual student dance the formula starts to wear off. His real identity now revealed, Kelp gives an impassioned speech, admitting his mistakes and seeking forgiveness. Purdy meets Kelp backstage, and confesses that she prefers Kelp over Buddy Love.
The film ends with Kelp's formerly henpecked father choosing to market the formula (a copy of which Kelp had sent to his parent's home for safekeeping), endorsed by the strait-laced Dean of the college who proclaims, "It's a gasser!" Kelp's father makes a pitch to the chemistry class, and the students all rush forward to buy the new tonic. In the confusion Kelp and Purdy slip out of the class. Armed with a marriage license and two bottles of the formula, they elope.
Cast
- 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...
as Professor Julius Kelp/Buddy Love/Baby Kelp - Stella StevensStella StevensStella Stevens Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born October 1, 1938 is an American film, television and stage actress, who began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as The Nutty Professor, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Silencers, The Ballad of Cable Hogue and The...
as Ms. Stella Purdy - Del MooreDel MooreDel Moore was a comedian, a television and movie actor, and a radio announcer.Born Marion Delbridge Moore in Pensacola, Florida, he began his career in radio before moving to television. In 1952, he appeared in the first of several So You Want To . . . Warner Bros. comedy shorts with George O'Hanlon...
as Dr. Hamius R. Warfield - Kathleen FreemanKathleen FreemanKathleen Freeman was an American film, television, and stage actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed tart maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors, almost invariably to comic effect.-Early life:Freeman was born in Chicago, Illinois...
as Ms. Millie Lemmon - Howard MorrisHoward MorrisHoward Morris was an American comic actor and director who was best known for his role as Ernest T. Bass on The Andy Griffith Show.- Life and career :...
as Mr. Elmer Kelp - Elvia AllmanElvia AllmanElvia Allman was a character actress and voice over performer in Hollywood films and television programs for over 50 years. She is best remembered for her semi-regular roles on The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction and for being the voice of Walt Disney's Clarabelle Cow...
as Mrs. Edwina Kelp - Milton FromeMilton FromeMilton Frome was an American character actor. He made approximately 140 television and film appearances between 1934 and 1982.-Career:...
as Dr. M. Sheppard Leevee
Production notes
The Nutty Professor was filmed from October 9-December 17, 1962 and is a parody of Robert Louis StevensonRobert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
- The basic characterisation of Professor Julius Kelp was a Lewis staple, having appeared earlier in 1958's Rock-A-Bye Baby, and basically identical characters would appear in 1965's The Family JewelsThe Family Jewels (film)The Family Jewels is a 1965 American comedy film. It was filmed from January 18-April 2, 1965 and was released by Paramount Pictures on July 1, 1965. The film was co-written, directed, and produced by Jerry Lewis who also played seven roles in the film...
, and 1967's The Big MouthThe Big MouthThe Big Mouth is a 1967 comedy film produced, directed, co-written by and starring Jerry Lewis released on July 12, 1967 by Columbia Pictures. It was filmed in San Diego and features Frank De Vol as an onscreen narrator.-Plot:...
. - Buddy Love is often interpreted as a lampoonParodyA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of Lewis' former show business partner 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?"...
; however, Lewis has consistently denied this, including in his 1982 autobiography, and in a special documentary produced for the DVD release of the film, entitled The Nutty Professor, Making The Formula. On the DVD commentary Lewis speculates that he perhaps should have made Love more evil — since to his surprise more fan mail came for Love than the professor. Film critic Danny PearyDanny PearyDanny Peary is an American film critic and sports writer. He has written many books on cinema and sports-related topics.-Biography:...
has made the claim in his 1981 book Cult Movies that the character of Love is actually the real counterpart of Jerry Lewis. - The DVD of the film contains a long deleted scene in which Kelp's love interest is portrayed as a sultry siren whose choreographed, jaw-dropping entrance to the Purple Pit, accompanied by jazz music, is quite a contrast to the final edit in which she is portrayed as a smart but fairly unassuming college girl.
- Another deleted scene on the DVD release features Lewis' son GaryGary LewisGary Lewis may refer to:* Gary Lewis , son of Jerry Lewis and lead singer of Gary Lewis & the Playboys* Gary Lewis , Scottish actor...
. - Les BrownLes Brown (bandleader)Les Brown, Sr. and the Band of Renown are a big band that began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils that Brown led while a student at Duke University. He was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences...
and his Band of Renown play themselves in the extended senior prom scenes. - Stella Stevens' colorful, often form-fitting, costumes (and the rest of the casts costumes as well) were designed by Edith HeadEdith HeadEdith Head was an American costume designer who won eight Academy Awards, more than any other woman.-Early life and career:...
. - Kelp has the initials "JFK" on his attache case and Howard MorrisHoward MorrisHoward Morris was an American comic actor and director who was best known for his role as Ernest T. Bass on The Andy Griffith Show.- Life and career :...
makes a remark about the ransom paid to Cuba for the Bay of Pigs InvasionBay of Pigs InvasionThe Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...
survivors. - The Professor Johnathan I. Q. Frink, Jr.Professor FrinkProfessor John Nerdelbaum Frink, Jr., or simply Professor Frink, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria, and first appeared in the 1991 episode "Old Money". Frink is Springfield's nerdy scientist and professor and is extremely...
character from the animated television series The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
loosely borrows much of his mannerisms and technique from Lewis's delivery of the Julius Kelp character, as well as the transition to a "Buddy Love" version of Frink in several episodes. In one episode, the character of Frink's father appears, and was voiced by guest star Lewis. - Lewis was credited as a producer of the 1996 remakeThe Nutty Professor (1996 film)The Nutty Professor is a 1996 science fiction-romantic comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. It is a remake of the 1963 film of the same name, starring Jerry Lewis. The original music score was composed by David Newman. The film won an Academy Award for Makeup.Murphy plays benevolent university...
with Eddie MurphyEddie MurphyEdward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
playing the role of Sherman Klump. - Walter Scharf's score makes extensive use of the Victor YoungVictor YoungVictor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
jazz standard Stella by StarlightStella By Starlight"Stella by Starlight" is a jazz standard written by Victor Young and featured in The Uninvited, a 1944 film released by Paramount Pictures. Originally played in the film as an instrumental theme song without lyrics, it was turned over to Ned Washington, who wrote the lyrics for it in 1946...
including an upbeat version over the film's main titles. Paramount was the copyright holder of the theme from its original appearance in The UninvitedThe Uninvited (1944 film)The Uninvited is a 1944 American supernatural mystery/romance film directed by Lewis Allen. It is based on the Dorothy Macardle novel Uneasy Freehold.Charles Lang was nominated for a 1945 Academy Award for Best Black and White Cinematography.-Plot:...
(1944).
Alaskan Polar Bear Heater
The Alaskan Polar Bear Heater is a cocktailCocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
featured in the film. Buddy Love instructs the bartender (Buddy Lester
Buddy Lester
Buddy Lester was a veteran actor of dozens of character roles of film and television, who regularly appeared in Jerry Lewis features, including The Patsy, The Ladies Man, The Nutty Professor, Three on a Couch, Smorgasbord, Hardly Working" and The Big Mouth.Lester also portrayed Vince Massler, one...
) on how to make it: two shots of vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
, a little rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
, some bitters
Bitters
A bitters is an alcoholic beverage that is flavored with herbal essences and has a bitter or bittersweet flavor. There are numerous brands of bitters that were formerly marketed as patent medicines but are now considered to be digestifs, rather than medicines...
, a smidgen of vinegar
Vinegar
Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional...
, a shot of vermouth
Vermouth
Vermouth is a fortified wine flavored with various dry ingredients. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced around the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Italy and France...
, a shot of gin
Gin
Gin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries . Although several different styles of gin have existed since its origins, it is broadly differentiated into two basic legal categories...
, a little brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
, a lemon peel, orange peel, cherry, some more scotch. At one point during the instructions, the bartender quips "You going to drink this here, or are you going to take it home and rub it on your chest?"
Love instructs the bartender to "mix it nice" and pour it into a tall glass. The bartender asks if he can take a sip; after doing so, he freezes like a statue. While the drink started as fictional, it is now listed among real drinks.
Filming locations
The Nutty Professor was filmed mostly on the campus of Arizona State UniversityArizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
(Tempe, AZ) in 1962.
Awards and honors
American Film InstituteAmerican Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
recognition
- 2000: AFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsAFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsPart of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs is a list of the top 100 funniest movies in American cinema. A wide variety of comedies were nominated for the distinction that included slapstick comedy, screwball comedy, romantic comedy, satire, black comedy, musical comedy, comedy of...
#99
Home release
The Nutty Professor was released on DVD in October 2000. In October 2004 a "Special Edition" was released including a commentary by Lewis and Steve Lawrence, a documentary and a short feature. In the commentary Lewis discusses aspects of production, including his creating a real-time, on-camera monitor, which subsequently became standard in the film industry. He mentions that he recut the film for his own home viewing. He notes places where he would like to redo the scene, for example making the professor's watch sound tinny.Sequel
An animated direct-to-video sequel, The Nutty ProfessorThe Nutty Professor (2008 film)
The Nutty Professor is a 2008 computer-animated sequel to the 1963 Jerry Lewis comedy of the same name, produced by The Weinstein Company & Rainmaker Entertainment for Genius Products, LLC. Lewis reprises his role of Julius Kelp and produces the film. Drake Bell plays the voice of Harold Kelp,...
starring Jerry Lewis and Drake Bell
Drake Bell
Jared Drake Bell , better known as Drake Bell, is an American actor, comedian, guitarist, singer/songwriter, producer, and occasional television director. After beginning his career as a child star in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he appeared on The Amanda Show and became well-known among young...
was released November 25, 2008. Directed by Paul Taylor, the film involves Julius Kelp's teenage grandson Harold Kelp discovering his grandfather's secret formula and unleashing his alter-ego. Lewis has for decades talked about doing a sequel and until now had to settle for the remake
The Nutty Professor (1996 film)
The Nutty Professor is a 1996 science fiction-romantic comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. It is a remake of the 1963 film of the same name, starring Jerry Lewis. The original music score was composed by David Newman. The film won an Academy Award for Makeup.Murphy plays benevolent university...
starring Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
. Murphy did a sequel called Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps is a 2000 comedy film directed by Peter Segal. It is the sequel to the 1996 film The Nutty Professor and stars Eddie Murphy and Janet Jackson. Murphy plays not only the inept but brilliant scientist, Sherman Klump, as in the first film, but also most of Sherman's...
.
Broadway musical
On June 29, 2009, the New York Times reported that a Broadway musical version of the movie is planned. Jerry Lewis is set to direct, with music by Marvin HamlischMarvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch is an American composer. He is one of only thirteen people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony . He is also one of only two people to EGOT and also win a Pulitzer Prize...
and lyrics and book by Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes is an American-British composer, singer-songwriter, musician and author of plays, novels and stories. He is best known for his number one pop hit "Escape " and the song "Him", which reached the number 6 position on the Hot 100 U.S. pop chart in 1980...
.
Further reading
- Jerry Lewis: In Person with Herb Gluck. New York: Atheneum, 1982, ISBN 0-689-11290-4