Although recent "grown-up" parts had not been hits for him at home, it is a measure of Jerry Lewis's continued adulation by Europeans that the release title for Hook, Line and Sinker (1969) in various countries always contained his name. Like "Charlot" (Charlie Chaplin), simply the mention of "Jerry" was enough to draw international audiences, thus such titles as "Jerry, der Herzpatient" (Germany and Austria), "Carponne-toi, Jerry" (France), "Hæng på, Jerry" (Denmark), or simply "Jerryssimo!" (Italy).

Back in the U.S., however, Lewis's film career was not going so well. His releases in the few years prior to Hook, Line and Sinker didn't connect well with the adult audiences to whom they were targeted. Even the kids who loved his cartoonish earlier comedies were not interested in Lewis's current releases and were themselves growing up in a much-changed world. As a result, the star found himself reined in by his studio, Columbia, who would no longer allow him to direct his own pictures. Forced to hire a director, he chose a veteran, George Marshall, who had helmed earlier films made when Lewis was part of a popular comedy team with Dean Martin. Lewis did not think highly of those movies from the 1950s, but he reasoned that the 78-year-old Marshall would be compliant enough to keep out of his way during production of Hook, Line and Sinker. The studio agreed to his choice since Marshall was a proven comedy director who had made a number of hits with Bob Hope and directed the rousing comic Western Destry Rides Again (1939) with James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich.

In Hook, Line and Sinker, Jerry is cast as a man who learns from his doctor that he has only a little time to live. Convinced by his wife to spend his last days doing what he loves most - fishing, he takes off for a global angling tour. After totaling up a staggering credit card debt for his expedition, he learns that his diagnosis is wrong. His doctor talks him into faking his own death to collect the insurance money, but Jerry soon finds out it's all part of an adulterous plot between his wife and the doctor, and he must cook up his own revenge scheme.

The film was scripted by Rod Amateau, a successful TV sitcom writer-producer-director who had made his name with such shows as The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and Gilligan's Island. Speaking of sitcoms, the set used for Lewis's home in this picture is reportedly the same as the one used as Samantha and Darren's house in Bewitched.

The movie co-stars Peter Lawford, who had also once seen brighter days on screen, as well as in his personal life as brother-in-law of President John F. Kennedy and part of the famous Rat Pack. In the role of the wife was Anne Francis, who around the time of production was embroiled in a lawsuit after her co-starring role in Funny Girl (1968) had been cut to a mere cameo. Francis had also just starred in a short-lived TV series (now a cult favorite) as sexy and deadly female private eye Honey West. She has continued to work frequently in the decades since her appearance here. Lawford, who was divorced from Patricia Kennedy in 1966, followed this movie with one of his best roles in The April Fools (1969), then made guest appearances until his death at the age of 61 in 1984.

Trivia: in Hook, Line and Sinker, Jerry Lewis's character, Peter Ingersoll, is forced to take on a new identity after he fakes his death. The name he chooses is Fred Dobbs who, of course, is a reference to Fred C. Dobbs, the character played by Humphrey Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).

Director: George Marshall
Producer: Jerry Lewis
Screenplay: Rod Amateau
Cinematography: W. Wallace Kelley
Editing: Russel Wiles
Art Direction: John Beckman
Original Music: Dick Stabile
Cast: Jerry Lewis (Peter Ingersoll), Peter Lawford (Dr. Scott Carter), Anne Francis (Nancy Ingersoll), Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez (Perfecto).
C-91m. Letterboxed.

by Rob Nixon