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Hollywood or Bust

Hollywood or Bust

Comedy · 1956

The last movie with Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin together, is a satire of the life in Hollywood. Steve Wiley is a deceiver who cheats Malcolm Smith when he wins a car, claiming that he won it too. Trying to steal the car, Steve tells Malcolm that he lives in Hollywood, next to Anita Ekberg's. When Malcom hears that, they both set out for Hollywood and the adventure begins...

Movie details

Hollywood or Bust

“A COAST TO COAST FUN TOOT!”

1956 Comedy 1h 35m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

The last movie with Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin together, is a satire of the life in Hollywood. Steve Wiley is a deceiver who cheats Malcolm Smith when he wins a car, claiming that he won it too. Trying to steal the car, Steve tells Malcolm that he lives in Hollywood, next to Anita Ekberg's. When Malcom hears that, they both set out for Hollywood and the adventure begins...

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Hollywood or Bust?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Frank Tashlin

Written by

Erna Lazarus

Dean Martin

Dean Martin

Steve Wiley

Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis

Malcolm Smith

Pat Crowley

Pat Crowley

Terry Roberts

Maxie Rosenbloom

Maxie Rosenbloom

Bookie Benny

Anita Ekberg

Anita Ekberg

Actress Anita

Willard Waterman

Willard Waterman

Manager Neville

Richard Karlan

Richard Karlan

Sammy Ross

Court is in session

Put Hollywood or Bust on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Big-Idea Head

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.