How Hail, Caesar! channels the screwy industry… | Little White Lies

Under the Influence

How Hail, Caesar! channels the screwy industry satire of The Errand Boy

Published 07 Mar 2016

Words by Little White Lies

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Jerry Lewis’ classic 1961 comedy provided inspiration for the Coen brothers’ peek inside the Hollywood machine.

Under the Influence is a video series that traces the themes, inspirations, or other connections from a new release to a great film of the past. Hail, Caesar! is the latest sardonic work from the Coen brothers, and it joins a long lineage of movies made within Hollywood about Hollywood that stretches back to the silent era.

One of the most delightful and most peculiar of these films is Jerry Lewis’ anarchic 1961 comedy The Errand Boy. In a succession of outlandish gags, the eccentric Lewis sends up and pays tribute to the movie industry.

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Hail, Caesar! is in cinemas now. Read our five-star review.

LWLies 107: The Sinners issue – Out now!

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