Which Way To The Front

It was common back during Jerry Lewis' solo filmmaking days to trash his efforts more than admitting that they were actually quite good. 1970's "Which Way to the Front" falls in this category. Set during 1943 WW II, Lewis plays (more maturely than usual; he even sports a goattee) multi-millionaire Brendan Byers, who's done it all, and now wants to serve his country...then gets rejected by the army. The line "It's every man's right to die fighting for his country" works smirkingly well in connecting with the then-Vietnam anti-war sentiment. Byers' solution? Create his own army through financing (and recruiting a handful of fellow 4-Fs). What follows is a funny string of gags & jokes as Byers & his troop go into combat training (rafting in the mansion pool; parachuting off a mechanical lift, etc.). Note: This is basically a satire on war films, although Lewis comforts his audience who would like to see a typical Lewis comedy (his reliable shtick of comically reacting to the word "reject" is particularly hilarious).There's many familiar faces throughout: longtime foil Kathleen Freeman, Fritz Feld, Joe Besser, etc. And Lewis' 4-Fs---Jan Murray, Steve Franken, Dack Rambo, John Wood, etc.---memorably round out the cast. Lewis' bunker scene with Hitler (played with scenery-chewing glee by Sidney Miller) is undoubtedly the highlight of the film.Is WWTTF subtle? Hardly. Let's face it: Some viewers may be put off, as the proceedings get quite loud & over the top. But hey, this is Jerry Lewis we're talking about! His stock-in-trade is pure comic disruption. And really, does anyone remember TV's "Hogan's Heroes"? The "Springtime for Hitler" number in Mel Brooks' "The Producers"? They were unapologetically UN-subtle, and drove home the point that Hitler & the Nazis deserved to be made fun of.It's just a shame that Warner Brothers (then) had little faith in adequately promoting this Lewis comedy, for it could've given him the clout to create films into the 70's.Arguably, his funniest comedy since "The Big Mouth"!

The Jerry Lewis production Which Way to the Front? has few laughs and is notable for just a couple of scenes. Watch for veteran comic actor Steve Franken as the henpecked, besieged upon husband answering to both an intolerant wife and mother in the same apartment as well as Jerry's character's unintelligible reaction when told he's been rejected for service during World War II. Pure Lewis shtick that's quite amusing. Otherwise, the remaining stabs at laughs in the production are dreary and muddling. And Sidney Miller proves to be a very unfunny Hitler. It would be nine years before Lewis would attempt another film, Hardly Working, which in itself wasn't too humorous either. A mild distraction, at most.

I was surprised to notice that this DVD was a DVD-ROM containing "Which Way to the Front?", without any menus or subtitles whatsoever. There are 10 chapters in the main feature but the user has to reach them by the Skip buttons on the remote. The movie is contained in a single layer disc, but the picture quality is subpar. It can be played with reasonable quality with an upscaling player.

Not Jerry's best movie but worth watching. The picture and sound quality is very good for the age of the movie.

Okay, this wasn't one of Jerry Lewis' best films but is okay and a must for Lewis collectors and/or the French moviegoers. In glorious black and white and directed by Lewis himself.

I wish Warner Home Video will put this on DVD real soon! This Jerry Lewis gem from 1970 is funny from start to finish. Lewis and a group of armed force rejects set out to get Hitler in this film with a blast of a finish! It got off slow but slowly improved towards the middle of the film. I enjoyed it. Sure wish this will be on DVD!!!

I remembered watching this as a kid, perhaps 9 or 10 years old. That's about the level of comedic sophistication of this movie. The premise is sound but the execution is beyond bad. It was intellectually difficult to even finish this movie and the only reason I did was to see Lewis interact with Hitler. Poorly written and even more poorly cast. The supporting actors are D- grade. Lewis could often pull off being his own straightman, but it just doesn't work here. This is Lewis' worst work. Its really an embarrassment to his storied career.

I love Jerry Lewis. There, I said it. I have most of his films on DVD and Blu Ray. Some are wonderful. Some are just good. Some are simply...blecch. This one is probably the worst. Lewis really overreaches here and while there are some interesting scenes and a couple of laughs...for the most part you can easily forget this one the next day. From the terrible looking black beard on Lewis’ face to the poor Nazi accent and the lame casting...this one should have been buried somewhere in an underground vault.

If you are a Jerry Lewis fan, you will enjoy this film. Not his best, still it is very good and has its fair share of hilarious moments (especially when they are trying to kidnap Kesselring!)Released in 1970, few if any of Lewis's movie's after this one are worth collecting. It virtually spelled the end of an era (1949-1970). Which Way to the Front [DVD] [1970] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC ] Which Way to the Front [DVD] [1970] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC

The movie has not been properly engraved on the support and so it is unreadable on any dvdplayer and unfortunately not on the computer. I just buy another version of this film again but in another country...

love Jerry Lewis.

I bought this nostalgic film as I saw it when it first came out but did not really enjoy it so passed it on to a work colleague maybe he will get it because I did not when I saw it this time round.

Watched this movie years ago and it was great to see it again. Makes a good part of my collection