Rock-A-Bye Baby

Ostensibly a reworking of the great 1944 comedy The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, this Jerry Lewis remake vehicle—written and directed by Frank Tashlin—spins an entirely new story from the premise. Lewis plays Clayton Poole, a likable small-town goof whose unrequited love for local girl turned Hollywood superstar Carla Naples (Marilyn Maxwell) makes him the perfect babysitter when she unexpectedly births triplets. Poole becomes the doting guardian of the three more or less orphaned girls, with a little help from the babies' grandfather, Gigi (Salvatore Baccaloni, as the hot-tempered yet sentimental Italian immigrant father of two independent daughters), and young aunt Sandra (Connie Stevens in her first major role), a lively all-American girl with a crush on goofy child-man Poole. Rock-A-Bye Baby introduces a complication revolving around the state's intention of taking the infants away, but mostly the film is a set-up for Lewis to do his schtick (from loose-limbed physical comedy to strange impressions), while Tashlin (a former animator) makes fun of TV culture and Hollywood epics with cartoonish gags and a bevy of musical sequences. A minor film that will mostly be of interest to Lewis fans, this is a strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)