1956's "Pardners" showed how the partnership of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis was not only fraying at the edges, it was beginning to crumble, with only "Hollywood or Bust" ahead before they finally split. Here they finally turn to a Western spoof, and gather together an impressive cast of veteran heavies, such as Lon Chaney, Bob Steele, Lee Van Cleef, Douglas Spencer, and Jack Elam (relegated to a single line), all of whom are grievously wasted with virtually nothing to do but watch the gyrations of the tiresome Jerry Lewis. A straight prologue depicting the demise of Dean and Jerry certainly sets a grim tone for the dreary remainder, as poor Dean has to try to save Jerry's hide whenever he gets into trouble, eventually made sheriff by the main bad guy, out to steal the heroine's ranch by marrying her as a last straw. By the time the duo arrive out west to the ranch where their fathers died the picture is already half over, though not soon enough for this viewer. With really no character to play, Chaney's Whitey occasionally strokes his chin as he did opposite Bob Steele in 1939, surely a long way from "Of Mice and Men."
Review of Pardners
