Hollywood or Bust

"A COAST TO COAST FUN TOOT!"

1956 1h 35m EN

😐

6.2

MID

🍅

80%

FRESH

⭐

6.4

IMDB

★6.2TMDB · 79🍅80%Rotten Tomatoes★6.4IMDB · 2,419

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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...

“A COAST TO COAST FUN TOOT!”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Dean Martin
Steve Wiley
Jerry Lewis
Malcolm Smith
Pat Crowley
Terry Roberts
Maxie Rosenbloom
Bookie Benny
Anita Ekberg
Actress Anita
Willard Waterman
Manager Neville
Richard Karlan
Sammy Ross
Richard Alexander
Western Actor

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Frank Tashlin
Writers: Erna Lazarus
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

70 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Frank Tashlin, shot by Daniel L. Fapp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Walter Scharf. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Howard A. Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and Pat Crowley carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A COAST TO COAST FUN TOOT!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0049322 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 79 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Frank Tashlin directs. Daniel L. Fapp behind the camera. Walter Scharf scores. Howard A. Smith cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

170 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Frank Tashlin, shot by Daniel L. Fapp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Walter Scharf. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Howard A. Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and Pat Crowley carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "A COAST TO COAST FUN TOOT!".
7IMDB entry: tt0049322 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 79 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Daniel L. Fapp
Original score: Walter Scharf
Editing: Howard A. Smith
Costume design: Edith Head
Makeup / hair: Wally Westmore
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Hollywood or Bust (1956)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.4/10 · 2,419 votes
MPAA: Approved
US box office: $3,300,000

Also by

Frank Tashlin

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-05-12
★ 8/10
The boys sign off with unbridled joy. Malcolm Smith loves the movies and especially Anita Ekberg. Getting one of his lucky feelings, Malcolm buys a ream of raffle tickets to win a car. Sure enough he wins, but so does gigolo gambler Steve Wiley, who, not unsurprisingly has won by less than honourable means. Refusing to give out two cars, the promotion merely tells the men that they will have to share the car. Much to Steve's annoyance as he has debts to pay. So deviously he agrees to drive with Malcolm to Hollywood, planning to ditch him at the first chance he gets. Only he hadn't figured on Mr. Bascom, Malcolm's Great Dane who's along for the ride, and an encounter with the pretty Terry Roberts. Yep, it's safe to say this is not going to be an ordinary road trip. With their relationship deeply fractured at this time (this was their last film together), it's something of a surprise to find that Hollywood Or Bust is one of the finest films that Dean Martin (Steve) and Jerry Lewis (Malcolm) made. Everything that made the duo so massively popular is in here, even into the bargain daring to cast a satirical slant to the whiles and trials of Hollywood itself. A lot of the credit has to go to director Frank Tashlin. Tashlin, who was also at the helm for arguably the boys career high point Artists & Models, keeps the whole thing zippy, steering the duo in a direction to which they simply could not fail. Sure enough the humour is almost juvenile at times, and yes Dean of course croons and tries to bed the girl (a spiky Pat Crowley as Terry), but it's got such a sense of joy to it, the kind of joy that much like Artists & Models, can really lift the blues. Stand out songs from the Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster score are "A Day in the Country" and "It Looks Like Love", whilst it will be tough not to giggle at some of the antics of Mr. Bascom and the irrepressible Lewis, particularly with one particular movie parody. Anita Ekberg comes and joins in the fun later in the piece, just in time for the riotous carnage that you know is around the corner. If the sight of a Great Dane driving a car is not funny to you? Well chances are you should avoid this film completely. But that would be a shame for it's a delightful film, brisk and cheeky, it's most definitely one that's in desperate need of reappraisal from the grumpy brigade because it's a real blues lifter. 8/10

Production companies