Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

s a lifelong Jerry Lewis fan I felt a review was necessary for this film which is so commonly maligned by people and I'll never understand why they detest it so. 1st of all after Dean and Jerry split in 1956 Jerry Lewis spawned some excellent comedies on his own from 1957-1970 - Which Way to the Front being the final one in his 14 year run after the split. Non Lewis fans and critics only seem to notice Nutty Professor as being any good --- They are so wrong it disgusts me. Everyone of Jerry's Paramount movies from 57-65 were financial successes not just in Europe but in the USA - some reviewer claimed Jerry had failures at the box office during this period in the USA but again they are very wrong. There were only 2 Lewis films that didn't make bank from this era and none of them were Paramount they were Don't Raise the Bridge and This film - not that they weren't good films but Columbia and Warners never distributed them correctly but out of 30 films only 2 is a pretty good run in his home country the USA.Now to this film, yes the first 20 minutes or so are very slow and tedious with all the little stories Jan Murray and the other 2 4Fs shpill --- but as soon as the credits are done (20 minutes in) it is as funny as any WW2 comedy made during that period.Jerry's impersonation of the German Field Marshal with the high pitched accented voice is funny as all get out - it makes for true genius in sound and film --- his presentation of awards to 3 Nazi soldiers is truly slapstick at its very best ---His getting through the checkpoint with a Black German soldier driver (played by Dodgers star Willie Davis) is hilarious ---Echoes of Mel Brooks The Producers Dick Shawn are brought to mind and Hogans Heroes ---Truly a time capsule classic --- NO you don't have to be a Jerry only fan to like this film but you must have patience as the 20 minute lead in is quite tedious...I say 10 out of 10 because the foolish reviews giving it 1 out of 10 are truly misguided and just wrong. A MUST SEE yes --- watch it and pay attention and you'll agree a Classic --- If you don't like Jerry Lewis loud voice then why are you watching any Jerry Lewis movie to begin with ???The supporting cast is superb - Jan Murray leads it --- Appearances by great comedians Kaye Ballard, Fritz Feld and Benny Rubin are just some of the highlights of this one of my favorite Jerry Lewis movies ever ...

"Which Way to the Front?" is a hugely disappointing films...even for die-hard Jerry Lewis fans. I personally WANTED to like the movie, as ever since I got to see Lewis in person a few years ago, I have really come to respect and enjoy his films. But no matter what I think of the guy, I cannot in good conscience give this film a positive review because it makes the biggest mistake of any comedy...it's simply not funny. Additionally, the film is set in WWII and looks as if Lewis didn't even bother trying to make the film look as if it was set in the 1940s. The hair, clothing and sets look straight from 1970!The film COULD have been funny. It seems that the richest man in the world, Brendan Byers (Lewis) wants to fight in WWII but has been declared 4-F. So, he decides to create his own tiny commando unit and he and his men plan on kidnapping a German Field Marshall who looks exactly like Byers. Each member of the team seem about as manly and menacing as a cannoli and one guy (played by baseball star Willie Davis) is black...and they go behind enemy lines dressed as German soldiers. I mention that it COULD have been funny. The biggest supposed laughs are when Jerry pretends to be the German Field Marshall---and this mostly just consists of him screaming. It looks like a 7 year-old's idea of what a German SHOULD sound like. As for the Japanese, late in the film Jerry dons big teeth and does an impression that is not only racially offensive but cheap and unfunny. But with no real laughs and the men dressed in what look like 1970 Armani uniforms of orange and bright blue, it just comes off as bizarre and ill-conceived. Even Lewis' worst comedy, "Cracking Up" has ONE hilarious scene (aboard the discount airline)..."Which Way to the Front" has nothing...absolutely nothing that will elicit a laugh in anyone. I truly think that if the audience had no idea who Lewis was, they'd think this movie wasn't even supposed to be a comedy! A film best skipped...especially by Lewis fans. It's so unfunny I can understand why Jerry didn't make another starring vehicle for a decade following this one (aside from the never released and reportedly god-awful, "The Day the Clown Cried").

I had watched this as a kid but, not being much of a Jerry Lewis fan, I had completely forgotten it (not that it's in any way memorable). The film revolves around impersonation (which seems to be in the curriculum of every comic star!) - in this case a German officer - and, while not as bad as Leonard Maltin claims (awarding it a BOMB rating), it's not exactly classic stuff either - certainly leagues behind Chaplin's THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940), even if comparably narcissistic! Ironically, the scenes prior to the appearance of the would-be wacky General offer more felicities than the rather forced humor at Nazi expense! The film was really Lewis' last gasp during his heyday; in fact, this proved to be his last vehicle to be released for 10 years (it's painfully apparent here that his particular brand of foolishness wouldn't pass muster in the age of Mel Brooks and Woody Allen)!

Jerry Lewis was marginally funny when he didn't write his own material and had a good director like Frank Tashlin. When he started writing and directing his own films what little talent he possessed was overshadowed by his egomania. Whenever his films would fail (and deservedly so) in the American market (they made money in France) Lewis always blamed everyone and everything but himself; for example, he blamed the failure of this film on the fact that it was, according to Lewis, released on a double-bill with the porno feature "Deep Throat". If anyone should have complained about that situation, it should have been the producers of "Deep Throat." This is an absolutely idiotic "comedy" about the world's richest man (Lewis) who is rejected for military service during WW2 and decides to outfit a special "squad" to go to Germany and capture Hitler himself. Besides the many faults this film has (the script is mind-numbingly unfunny, Lewis' "direction" is nonexistent, the film has the look of a cheap home movie), Lewis apparently thought that surrounding himself with no-talent, over-the-hill Borscht Belt comics like Jan Murray and Sidney Miller was a good idea; he must have figured that they would be so bad, they would make him look good. He was half-right; they are embarrassingly bad, but he comes out even worse than they do. For a "comedy", Lewis' character is sullen, angry and pushy; the way he heaps abuse on his underlings makes you wonder why they would ever follow a bullying jerk like this on a dangerous mission like trying to capture Hitler. The fact that this movie took in any money at all is astounding. It is by far the worst Jerry Lewis movie I have ever seen--I've heard that "Slapstick" is even more pathetic, but I can't bring myself to see if that's true or not--and is to be avoided at all possible costs.