Which Way to the Front?
| Which Way to the Front? | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jerry Lewis |
| Produced by | Jerry Lewis |
| Written by |
Gerald Gardner Dee Caruso |
| Starring |
Jerry Lewis Jan Murray Willie Davis Joe Besser Kathleen Freeman Paul Winchell Neil Hamilton |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | 1,474,881 admissions (France)[1] |
Which Way to the Front? is a 1970 film starring Jerry Lewis. It would be Lewis' last released film for eleven years, until 1981's Hardly Working. The unreleased The Day the Clown Cried was filmed in the years between. Which Way to the Front? was released in July 1970 by Warner Bros.
Plot
Brendan Byers III (Jerry Lewis) is a rich playboy who enlists to fight in the war against the Axis powers, but is classified 4-F. He really wants to fight, so he enlists other 4-Fs and some loyal volunteers from his own service staff and forms his own army. He finances their training and equipment. Once completed, they travel to the front in Italy, with Byers impersonating a Nazi general named Eric Kesselring. [2]
The plan is to pull back the German lines, since the front has remained static for too long, enabling the Allies to push forward again. The mission does not go smoothly and they must overcome several obstacles, including the fiery wife of the local mayor who is the real Kesselring's lover, and the real Kesselring's involvement in an assassination attempt on Hitler. Afterwards, they face their next mission: infiltrating the Imperial Japanese command to influence the outcome of the Battle of Kwajalein.
Production
Which Way to the Front? was filmed from November 30, 1969 through February 1, 1970 and received a G rating from the MPAA.[3]
Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Willie Davis appeared as Lincoln, Brendan's driver. Actor Dick Miller, who also wrote the film's story (credited as "Richard Miller"), has a brief speaking cameo as a lost car driver whose vehicle is shot up by Byers' crew during their training.[4]
Cast
- Jerry Lewis as Brendan Byers
- Jan Murray as Sid
- Steve Franken as Bland
- Kaye Ballard as Senora Messina
- Paul Winchell as Schroeder
- Kathleen Freeman as Byers' Mother
- Harold J. Stone as General Buck
- John Wood as Finkel
Reception
Critical response
The film received a "BOMB" rating in Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide.
Home media
Warner Archive released the film on made to order DVD in the United States on May 18, 2010.