The most recent revelations about the Columbine High School shootings would probably add new fuel to the endless debate about the role of popular media in the increase of youth violence in the USA. This debate, however, is not anything new. Four decades ago, eminent psychologists, religious leaders and politicians were fighting another, yet very similar, crusade against violence in popular entertainment. Their targets were comic books, marked as the prime cause of the rising level of violence and pathological behaviour among American youth. Contemporary Hollywood mostly ignored such debates, which would later establish new standards of self-censorship in the American comic book industry. One of the exceptions was Artists and Models, a 1955 film by Frank Tashlin, which actually used it as a backdrop for one of the silliest and funniest comedies of its time.
The plot deals with two struggling Greenwich Village artists and best childhood friends. Rick Todd (played by Dean Martin) wants to become a famous painter and Eugene Fullstack (played by Jerry Lewis) wants to publish his children’s books. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, Eugene became obsessed with Bat Lady comic books – he spends all his time reading them and, as a result, he cannot keep jobs. Which is even worse for Todd, who shares an apartment with Eugene, because the violent content of these comic books causes Eugene to have very graphic nightmares every night. His dreams, on the other hand, are somewhat close to reality, as Abigail Parker (played by Dorothy Malone), the author of the Bat Lady comic books, lives in the same building, together with Bessie Sparrowbrush (played by Shirley MacLaine), a girl who works as a model for Bat Lady. While Eugene must distinguish his fantasies from reality, Rick is more down‑to‑earth – he finds that Eugene's nightmares could serve as an excellent basis for his own violent comic books. Such comic books become an instant success, but the secret formula mentioned in them brings the attention of the FBI and foreign spies.
At first glance, Artists and Models looks like a disorganised mess of a movie – the plot is weak, almost non‑existent, and serves only as an excuse for a series of gags and musical numbers. Characterisation is also weak – we are to believe that Eugene is sensitive enough to write nothing other than children’s books, yet at the same time he is obsessed with the more violent Bat Lady comic books. Romantic pairings between characters are also predictable. Feminists would probably frown upon Amy, a strong professional woman who is at times portrayed as totally defenceless against Rick’s manly charm. Their anger, on the other hand, would be compensated by Eugene being the passive side in the relationship with Bessie. In the end, the Cold War subplot involving the Space Race and espionage makes the film longer than it should be.
But all those flaws are compensated thanks to the excellent team consisting of three very different talents. Jerry Lewis and his clownish image, suitable for visual humour, is nicely contrasted with his more earthy partner Dean Martin and his verbal cynicism. Their different but symbiotic personalities are used by Frank Tashlin to stage elaborate and very funny gags thanks to his own experience as a cartoonist. All that provides a lot of laughs, with humour still working despite being somewhat tame by today’s standards. And even the song numbers work, thanks to Dean Martin’s singing talent.
Additional laughs in this film come when we take into account future events. A brief Rear Window reference foreshadows Tarantino‑esque film‑buff homages of the 1990s. The Space Race subplot with American generals boasting about their country being the first one to send a man‑made object into the universe was probably not that entertaining after the Sputnik hysteria only two years later. And Shirley MacLaine here plays a character obsessed with astrology, numerology and other parascientific disciplines, not very different from the actress herself two or three decades later. All in all, Artists and Models is one of those brilliant examples of Old Hollywood craftsmanship – a film that has aged like wine, still able to entertain an audience after almost half a century.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on December 21st 1999)
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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/43317-artists-and-models Critic: AAA
