FILM · 1955 · USA
Artists and Models
- Directed by
- Frank Tashlin
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Studio
- Hal Wallis Productions, Paramount Pictures
18 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
A struggling painter begins taking inspiration from the dreams of his friend and roommate, a comic book fan who narrates an adventure story while he sleeps, but unbeknownst to the latter, the artist of his favorite comic book lives in the same building as they do with the model for her drawings.
Summary: TMDB
All facts (18)
- #001
The song "Innamorata," written for this film, became a big record for Dean Martin and many other singers.
- #002
Rick Todd's (Dean Martin's) hometown is given as Steubendale. Martin's real-life birthplace was Steubenville, Ohio.
- #003
The spaceship model seen in the foreign experimental laboratory was a miniature left over from Paramount Pictures' Conquest of Space (1955).
- #004
The model made its debut in June 1955 in Playboy as Playmate of the Month Eve Meyer, uncredited in the title role. At the time, Meyer was married to nude photographer and future king of sexploitation films Russ Meyer.
- #005
Dean Martin crossed his eyes while shouting, a signature move Jerry Lewis used in some of his other films.
- #006
As Secret Service agents watch Rick Todd from a window across the street, one of them remarks that it is hard to see from the back window. This is a witty nod to Sir Alfred Hitchcock's Paramount film Rear Window (1954) starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, in which Stewart plays a photographer with a broken leg who watches his neighbors through his window with a camera.
- #007
A heavily reworked remake of the 1937 Jack Benny/Ida Lupino film of the same name (Artists and Models (1937)).
- #008
Although the Bat Lady comic-book heroine is a different version of the popular comic-book hero Batman, Bat Lady's mask/headdress resembles some of the masks worn over the years by the ordinary Batman villain Catwoman.
- #009
The scene in which Eugene, played by Jerry Lewis, tries to escape from the masseuse nurses would be repeated at least twice in other films: in The Disorderly Orderly (1964) with a nurse and adhesive tape, and in The Nutty Professor (1963) with Stella Stevens and a chemical storage cabinet.
- #010
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Swedish actress Anita Ekberg was loaned to Paramount by Batjac Productions for this film, but Batjac subsequently could not take up the option. Ekberg also appeared in the final Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis/Frank Tashlin film, Hollywood or Bust (1956).
- #011
Mr. Murdoch's complaint in his latest story to Abby about the absence of blood or beheadings; Mrs. Stilton's threat of legal action against him over the ruination of her son Richard; and the televised Better America Forum panel of experts declaring the danger of the comic-book industry were all in perfect harmony with the year the film was made. The CCA Code, which banned any horror, sex, drugs or violence in the comic-book industry, went into effect that year. Although Eddie Mayehoff's performance as Mr. Murdoch was in no way an impersonation, his character was clearly inspired by publisher Bill Gaines, who was at the center of the debate.
- #012
The film's copyright was taken out on December 21, 1955 by three claimants: Paramount Pictures Corp., Hal B. Wallis and Joseph H. Hazen. This is the second film for Shirley MacLaine, who made her screen debut with Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry (1955), but the first to let her display the singing and dancing talents that caught producer Wallis's attention when he first saw her on Broadway in The Pajama Game. A report in The Hollywood Reporter stated that Wallis was looking for another Broadway star, Gwen Verdon, for a role in this film, possibly the role of Bessie Sparrowbush, which ultimately went to MacLaine. This is also the first of two Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis films to be directed by Frank Tashlin, who a year later would also direct the comedy team's final film, Hollywood or Bust (1956); he would go on to make six more films with Lewis.
- #013
The first films of Susan Brown, Jeanette Miller and Heidi Duval.
- #014
Although both films feature the annual Artists and Models ball, this film has nothing to do with Artists and Models (1937).
- #015
At around 1:44, when Jerry and Eva Gabor are alone in the room as Bat Lady, they give her a drink to toast with. The gunshot goes toward the 3 men listening outside the door in the hallway. When Jerry asks why he put on his mask, for some reason he clearly switches to the Nutty Professor voice. Not very characteristic for this role.
- #016
"Innamorata" means "lover" (female) or "girlfriend" in English.
- #017
The Hollywood Reporter reported that Terry Rangno was in the cast, but his role in the released film has not yet been confirmed.
- #018
French visa number 17796 was issued on 20-4-1956.
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