''The Caddy'' is a 1953 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

sports film A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport or a sports-related topic is prominently featured or is a focus of the plot. D ...

starring the comedy team of

Martin and Lewis Martin and Lewis were an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They met in 1944 and debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946; the team lasted ten years to the day. Before they teamed up, Martin ...

. It is noteworthy for

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

introducing the hit song " That's Amore".

Plot

Harvey Miller, whose father was a famous golf pro, is expected to follow in his footsteps, but Harvey is afraid of crowds. Instead, at the advice of his fiancée Lisa, Harvey becomes a golf instructor. Lisa's brother Joe becomes Harvey's first client and becomes good enough to start playing in tournaments, with Harvey tagging along as his

caddie In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is a companion to the player, providing both practical support and strategic guidance on the course. Caddies are responsible for carrying the player’s bag, managing clubs, and assisting with basic course maintena ...

. They encounter Kathy, a wealthy

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

, who is helping to organise one of the tournaments and there is an immediate attraction between her and Joe. Joe's success goes to his head and he begins to treat Harvey as a hindrance. They begin to quarrel and cause a disruption at a tournament, causing Joe to be disqualified. However, a

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various entertainm ...

witnesses the comical spectacle and advises that they go into show business. Harvey conquers his fear and they become successful entertainers. At the end, Harvey and Joe meet up with another comedy team who look just like them: the real

Cast

as Joe Anthony *

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

as Harvey Miller Jr. * Donna Reed as Kathy Taylor * Barbara Bates as Lisa Anthony *

Joseph Calleia Joseph Calleia ( ; born Joseph Alexander Caesar Herstall Vincent Calleja, August 4, 1897 – October 31, 1975) was a Maltese-born American actor and singer on the stage and in films, radio and television. After serving in the Merchant Navy (Un ...

as Papa Anthony *

Fred Clark Frederick Leonard Clark (March 19, 1914 – December 5, 1968) was an American movie and television character actor, often playing in authoritative roles. Early years Born in Lincoln, California, Clark was the son of Fred Clark Sr. He attended S ...

as Mr. Baxter aka Old Skinhead *

Clinton Sundberg Clinton Charles Sundberg (December 7, 1903 ome sources say 1906– December 14, 1987) was an American character actor in film and on stage. Early years Sundberg was born in Appleton, Minnesota. He graduated from Hamline University in St. Pa ...

as Charles, Butler * Howard Smith as Golf Official * Marshall Thompson as Bruce Reeber *

Marjorie Gateson Marjorie Augusta Gateson (January 17, 1891 – April 17, 1977) was an American stage and film actress. Biography Gateson was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Augusta and Daniel Gateson. Her maternal grandfather and brother were clergymen; Some s ...

as Mrs. Grace Taylor *

Frank Puglia Francesco Giuseppe "Frank" Puglia (9 March 1892 – 25 October 1975) was an Italian actor. He had small, but memorable roles in films including ''Casablanca'' (a Moroccan rug merchant), ''Now, Voyager'' and ''The Jungle Book''. Biography Born ...

as Mr. Spezzato * Lewis Martin as Mr. Taylor *

Argentina Brunetti Argentina Brunetti (born Argentina Josefina Ángela Ferraù; August 31, 1907 – December 20, 2005) was an Argentine stage and film actress and writer. Biography Brunetti was born Argentina Ferraù in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Italian p ...

as Mama Anthony * John Gallaudet as Jonathan Bell * William Edmunds as Caminello * Henry Brandon as Mr. Preen *

Tom Harmon Thomas Dudley Harmon (September 28, 1919 – March 15, 1990), nicknamed "Old 98", was an American football player, military pilot, actor, and sports broadcaster. Harmon played college football as a halfback for the Michigan Wolverines from ...

as himself (Golf Announcer) *

Nancy Kulp Nancy Jane Kulp (August 28, 1921 – February 3, 1991) was an American character actress, character actor, writer and comedian best known as The Beverly Hillbillies#Jane Hathaway, Miss Jane Hathaway on the CBS television series ''The Beverly Hill ...

as Emma, Drunk's Wife This movie is notable for

cameo appearances A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking one ...

by some of the leading professional golfers of the era (all playing themselves), including

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory, hi ...

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (; May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four decades (having won PGA of America and Senior PGA Tour events over six decades) an ...

Byron Nelson John Byron Nelson Jr. (February 4, 1912 – September 26, 2006) was an American professional golfer between 1935 and 1946, widely considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. Nelson and two other legendary champions of the time, Ben Hog ...

, and

Julius Boros Julius Nicolas Boros (March 3, 1920 – May 28, 1994) was an American professional golfer noted for his effortless-looking swing and strong record on difficult golf courses, particularly at the U.S. Open. Early life and amateur career Born in ...

Production

Filming

It was filmed from November 24, 1952 through February 23, 1953 and was released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

on August 10, 1953. It was later re-released in 1964 on a double bill with another

and

picture, '' You're Never Too Young'' (1955). This was the team's first film since '' At War with the Army'' (1950) to be produced by their own production company, York Pictures Corporation. During shooting, on January 8, 1953 production was suspended for 23 days when Lewis entered

Cedars of Lebanon Hospital Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, tertiary, 915-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital has a staff of over 2,00 ...

with a fever. The movie became Martin and Lewis' most expensive to date.

Music

The score for the film includes the hit " That's Amore", sung by Dean Martin. It was nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

for Best Original Song, but lost to " Secret Love" from ''

Calamity Jane Martha Jane Canary (May 1, 1856 – August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American American frontier, frontierswoman, Exhibition shooting, sharpshooter, sex worker, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits, she was known f ...

''.

Promotion

The team made a promotional radio message for the movie. Several outtakes, available on ''The Golden Age of Comedy: Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis'' CD, feature Dean and Jerry trying to get through five lines of dialogue. When either one of them messed up a line, they exchanged several lines of profanity.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an 83% rating from six reviews, with an average score of 5.8/10.

Home media

The film was included on an eight-film DVD set, the ''Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Collection: Volume One'', released on October 31, 2006.

Impact

The career of Donna Reed began a huge upswing following the release of ''The Caddy''. Five days prior to the film's release,

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

released ''

From Here to Eternity ''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American romantic Drama (film and television)#War drama, war drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 From Here to Eternity (novel), novel of the same name by J ...

'', which won Reed an

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performanc ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caddy, The 1953 films 1950s sports comedy films American sports comedy films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Norman Taurog American golf films Paramount Pictures films 1953 comedy films 1950s American films Films scored by Joseph J. Lilley English-language sports comedy films