When his father dies, poor Fella is left at the mercy of his snobbish stepmother and her two no-good sons Maximilian and Rupert. As he slaves away for his nasty step-family, Maximilian and Rupert attempt to find a treasure Fella's father has supposedly hidden on the estate. Hoping to restore her dwindling fortunes, the stepmother plans a fancy ball in honor of the visiting Princess Charmein whom she hopes will marry Rupert. Eventually, Fella's Fairy Godfather shows up to convince him that he has a shot at winning the Princess himself.
Acting
Jerry Lewis at peak physical comedy—every limb is a weapon of mass destruction.
Direction
Frank Tashlin's cartoon sensibility makes live-action feel animated.
Costume
The stepmother's evil glamour deserves its own spin-off.
Director
Frank Tashlin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Jerry Lewis personally financed this film when Paramount refused, making it one of Hollywood's first 'vanity projects' that actually made money.
This flopped in France despite Lewis being beloved there—turns out even they have limits regarding gender-swapped fairy tales with screaming.
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