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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Martin and Lewis go west, 3 June 2008
Author: Petri Pelkonen (petri_pelkonen@hotmail.com) from Finland

Martin and Lewis are seen as old men in the beginning of the film.They are these ranch partners who are brutally murdered.Their sons ought to revenge for their death.In 1910 their sons are fully grown men, at least Martin's character Slim Mosely Jr. is.Lewis' Wade Kingsley Jr. is a rich momma's boy.But together they head back for the old west where they meet a gang of outlaws called "masked raiders".Norman Taurog is the director and Sidney Sheldon is behind the screenplay of Pardners (1956).It's a western comedy that stars the comedy team Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.Actually this was the second last picture they made together before their break-up.The collaboration between them still works even though this isn't the best picture they did together.But still pretty funny.Just watch Jerry Lewis learn how to be a real cowboy.And how he's in the saloon acting tougher than he actually is.The rest of the cast does good job, too.Lori Nelson plays Carol Kingsley.Agnes Moorehead is Mrs.Matilda Kingsley.Jeff Morrow plays Pete Rio and John Baragrey is Dan/Sam Hollis.Lon Chaney Jr. is Whitey.Lee Van Cleef plays Gus while Jack Elam is Pete.I became an admirer of Jerry Lewis movies, with and without Dean 10 years ago.They showed all these great and funny movies during the summer that made me laugh.Lewis and Martin worked great together.Just like Laurel and Hardy did, or Hope and Crosby and the Marx brothers.What ever happened to great comedy teams?

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
A New Sheriff In Town, 11 September 2008
7/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

It was always interesting to me how the writers at Paramount managed to rework some of the plots of their old classics to fit Martin and Lewis. In this next to last film Pardners, it's taken from the old Bing Crosby classic Rhythm On The Range. They even managed to get the old director of Bing's film Norman Taurog to direct.

Dean and Jerry are the sons of a pair of ranchers who were both killed in a range war. Dean's parents stayed west, but Agnes Moorehead as Jerry's mom, went East, made a ton of money and raised Jerry as the tenderest tenderfoot ever. Dean's now gone east and entered rodeo competition to win money for a prize bull named Cuddles. He meets up with Jerry who 'helps' him out in his usual manner.

Most of Rhythm on the Range involved Bing Crosby on the journey back west with Cuddles the bull and Frances Farmer where some romance develops. Since no one would confuse Frances with Jerry, the love interest has to be supplied elsewhere. Jerry's cousin Lori Nelson does this for Dean. In fact according to the Nick Tosches biography on Dean Martin, the interest was off the screen as well.

Jerry doesn't do too bad in this film either. He gets saloon girl and former Miss USA Jackie Loughrey. By that time Jerry's been made the sheriff and he's gotten the ire roused of one particular bad guy Jeff Morrow who thinks of Loughrey as his own. But in the end all's well and even the intergenerational range war has finally ended. Not without the usual broad comedic gags that are a Martin and Lewis specialty.

Bing made out miles better in his film than Dino did in the song department. Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn wrote the score for Pardners and it's definitely not up to their usual standards. In Rhythm on the Range Bing got to sing, Empty Saddles and introduced I'm An Old Cowhand. Since they owned the rights, why didn't Paramount just let Martin have some of these to do. In fact I'm An Old Cowhand would have been a great comic duet for both Dino and Jerry.

Still the accent was on comedy rather than romance in Pardners and that is what Martin and Lewis do best.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Jerry and Dean are doing things!, 13 July 2002
Author: CharlesCrumb from Lansing, Michigan

This is a great Martin and Lewis Comedy from 1956, which is the same year that they broke up as a Comedic Duo, and this film "Pardners," was the second to their last that was made. Jerry's father and Dean's father were the best of friends, and died together in the hopes of saving their land. And of course, the story picks up with the children fully grown and ready to go back get some justice in the western town in which they were both born. Dean has some great singing numbers in this film, and Jerry's special brand of physical comedy is very effective in a number of saloon fight scenes. A very entertaining comedy!

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1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Excellent Movie, 24 January 2006
10/10
Author: luczak66 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

It is one of the Best ones that Jerry Lewis & Dean Martin ever did. If you can rent or buy a copy do it,(VHS or DVD) you won't be sorry. It's the Best! It's about the west back when your great great great grandfathers were ranchers, and these two Lewis & Martin are so funny in this one. If you get the chance to watch this, do it! Also is: Your never to young. Lewis & Martin are great in this one. It's about Lewis trying to get away from a thug, and in doing so ends up posing as a teenager and going to the school that Martin is a teacher at... then things get crazy! I laugh so hard, I cry. I can't wait for these two movies to come out on DVD so I can buy them! I hope you'll get them too.

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2 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Even Martin & Lewis had to go out west, 22 May 2006
Author: vandino1 from United States

Like every other comedy team, even the decidedly city-fied Martin & Lewis eventually had to put on chaps and kick up the sawdust. And like most of these mergers of western and comedy teams, it doesn't generate much entertainment. Also, it was nearly their last gasp as a partnership and the rot had set in. This is a mirthless comedy clumsily written and directed. Lewis is no longer the squawky scrawny mutant comic force from earlier---here he is chubby and annoying. Of course he plays the doofus, but magically and without cause, he becomes an adept fighter in the final fight scene. That's an example of the clumsiness of this film. Martin goes through the motions looking seriously bored. Lon Chaney Jr. is wasted---in fact he's almost an extra. Lee Van Cleef is also in the cast, but he gets only a few unimportant lines. The ending tag of the film has Martin & Lewis speaking directly to the audience---pleading with their fans to keep coming to their movies (obviously the world knowing at the time that the pair were practically falling apart). No matter: They only made one more movie after this junk, the equally second-rate 'Hollywood or Bust' (in which Martin no longer looks bored but actually angry).

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3 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
outdated, but OK for the kids, 5 February 2002
3/10
Author: PlanecrazyIkarus from Wales, UK

The plot is quite simple: Dean Martin is the rodeo riding, singing cowboy, and foreman of a ranch. Jerry Lewis is a rich kid who wants to become a real cowboy, and hence he becomes the clumsy (unwanted) sidekick of Dean Martin. Oh, and for good measure there's some bad guys trying to take over the ranch, as well...

If you expect "Cat Balou", don't watch this. This is no comedy for adults, as its slapstick humour is horrendously outdated, and the set-pieces are all too cliched. This movie is fun for kids, because it is so naive and harmless, and the violence is never serious. Also, the characters are just as simple as Stan and Ollie, just as loveable if you're a kid.

As adult, I'd recommend to grab a "Cat Balou" tape instead, for a good classic western comedy.

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