The Delicate Delinquent
The Delicate Delinquent
NR | 06 June 1957 (USA)
The Delicate Delinquent Trailers

Sidney Pythias is a bumbling janitor picked up by cop Mike Damon as a teenage gang member worth saving from delinquency. With Damon's help, Sidney works his way through the Police Academy to become a cop too.

Reviews
Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Motompa Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.
Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.
Jemima It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
kartoon-1 Jerry proves in his first film outing after his infamous parting with his partner Dean Martin that his brand of comedy needs no specific straight man as the whole world is his straight man! Jerry plays a peripheral (read barely in) member of a gang who get into a rumble at his backdoor and he is subsequently arrested along with them. Seeing that he's different from the others, a sympathetic cop (Darren McGavin) takes him under his wing to guide him away from the other gang members and make an upstanding citizen of him. Which of course is a monumental task considering who he has as a charge. Speaking of which, you will get a 'charge' out of this movie.(see my review on Amazon.com)
rosco1947 At age 10, I kept my fingers crossed en route to see this movie. I loved both Martin and Lewis, was shocked at their breakup and truly wished them both happiness and success.The movie did not disappoint me and I sensed that Jerry would be OK. Jerry's next movie, " Sad Sack " was much funnier; I thought - although I do remember having a huge poster of Liliane Montevecchi hanging in my bedroom for at least two years after seeing the movie - and perhaps "that" had something to do with my preference LOL.The rest is history of course. For those in my age bracket, I also think it is worthwhile to mention how many times Jerry Lewis chose Kathleen Freeman to co-star in his movies. She was, of course, one of the two actresses to portray the maid in the 1953 TV series " Topper " which starred Leo G Carroll.
STEVEN DANKO In his first solo run without Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis is wonderful as a bumbling janitor in a tenement building who decides to make something out of himself by becoming a police officer. He finds himself walking a fine line between his friendship with Officer Mike Damon(DARREN McGAVIN), who has taken a personal interest in him and believes in him, and the local gang of neighborhood delinquents headed by Monk(ROBERT IVERS) and his sidekick Artie(RICHARD BAKALYAN). Lewis' exposure to the police academy provides most of the film's humor as he fumbles and stumbles his way through his coursework. The funniest sequence here is when the recruits are given a class in hand-to-hand combat by a Japanese sumo wrestler, who picks Lewis to demonstrate the techniques on. The interpreter tells Lewis he was picked because the wrestler says he looks Japanese! After getting karate-chopped numerous times and twisted into a pretzel, Lewis pleads with the martial artist to let him live- in Japanese! This is what makes the sequence so hilarious- that Lewis would be able to speak Japanese, considering who he was and where he was living. It's a riot to watch these two men walk off the mat with their arms around each other, conversing fluently in Japanese. In one critical scene, Monk and Artie pay a visit to Lewis in his basement apartment. These guys are poster boys for Anti-Social Personality Disorder. Monk tells Lewis that before he leaves this world, he going to make a lot of noise. Lewis tells him that there are lots of good, decent people in the world who are not looking to break anyone's back and that he wants to be one of them. When they leave, Artie asks Monk why he didn't let him rough Lewis up and Monk, clearly affected by what Lewis told him, says "I got confused... He made sense." As part of their final evaluation before being graduated from the academy, the rookie cops are paired with veteran officers to go out on armed street patrol and Lewis gets paired up with his buddy Mike. Called to a burglary in progress, the two buddies and other officers confront Monk and his gang and a free-for-all ensues. A gunshot rings out and Artie falls to the ground, a bullet in his leg. The discharge is quickly traced to Lewis' revolver and Artie accuses him of deliberately shooting him. It looks like Lewis' police career might be over before it even starts, but someone from an unlikely corner comes forward to speak up for him and tell the Precinct Captain(HORACE McMAHON) what really occurred. Someone who had firsthand knowledge of what happened with Lewis's gun and how Artie wound up getting shot. Someone who vindicates Lewis and himself. This is a wonderful film that still holds up 50 years later. I give it a 10 out of 10.
george.schmidt THE DELICATE DELINQUENT (1957) ** Jerry Lewis, Darren McGavin. Rather weak Lewis flick with Jerry as a troubled kid who hooks up with the police force. Noteworthy only because this was his first solo outing after he split with Dean Martin.