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

07 Mar 2016

Words by Little White Lies

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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Watch the sec­ond episode of Under the Influ­ence above and sub­scribe to our YouTube chan­nel for more.

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

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LWLies 107: The Sin­ners issue – Out now!

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