"The Errand Boy"

We get off to a promising start in the in the Jerry Lewis film "The Errand Boy" (Paramount, 1961) with some nice Hollywood aerial photography before the credits. Here in the lower left is part of the Music Box. At center is the Pantages and, between the Pantages and the Capitol Records building, is the Hollywood Playhouse on Vine St.

See the Los Angeles Theatres pages on the Pantages, the Music Box (now called the Fonda) and the Hollywood Playhouse (now known as the Avalon) for more about these historic theatres.

Another shot before the credits looks west along Sunset Blvd. and gives us the Earl Carroll on the left (here renamed the Moulin Rouge) and, across the street, the Hollywood Palladium.

See the LA Theatres website sections on the Earl Carroll Theatre and the Palladium for more about these two venues.

Jerry is working for Paramutual Pictures and is being used as an unwitting spy to find out why the studio is hemorrhaging so much money. He learns nothing and just manages to create messes wherever he goes.  But he ends up a star, of course. Written by Lewis (with Bill Richmond), directed by Lewis, starring Jerry Lewis (of course). Other performers include Brian Donlevy and Renée Taylor.  

Here we're at the Fox Westwood Village Theatre for a preview that goes very wrong -- Lewis got into the sound studio and overdubbed the singing of the film's leading lady. Thanks to veteran L.A. projectionist Mike Schleigel for the tip about the appearance of the theatre's marquee in the film..

When we go inside the Fox Westwood Village for the preview we get a view of the studio execs in the back row and this look toward the screen -- obviously not either the theatre before its Skouras remodel or the way it looked in 1961.

The theatre is still a major first run house now under the direction of Regency Theatres. They call it the Regency Village Theatre. See the page on the Village Theatre for history and many photos.

For another preview we go to the Chinese of the Parimutual Pictures production "So?" -- but it's a studio set.  Note the boxoffice off-center.

 

After the shot above we do get this nice Christmas season vista east on Hollywood Blvd. with the Chinese over on the left. See the Los Angeles Theatres pages on Grauman's Chinese for lots of history and many photos of all areas of the building. 

Another view of the faux-Chinese.

And another -- this time with a look into the set's version of the theatre entrance. For this shot it looks like their boxoffice has been rolled out of the way.

On IMDb: "The Errand Boy"