Jerry Lewis is not everyone’s favorite comedian. His abrasive laugh, nasally voice and loud, hammy impressions either rub you the wrong way or send you to the floor laughing. But love him or hate him, Jerry Lewis was a pioneer of physical comedy and also directed his most famous films. During an eight year streak he directed and starred in THE BELLBOY (1960), THE LADIES MAN (1961), THE ERRAND BOY (1961), THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1963), THE PATSY (1964), THE FAMILY JEWELS (1965), THREE ON A COUCH (1966) AND THE BIG MOUTH (1967).

Starting November 12th, The Anthology Film Archives “addresses one of the questions that has challenged thinkers throughout the ages: could the French have gotten Jerry Lewis right?” That’s certainly one of the questions writer Chris Fujiwara addresses in his upcoming biography of Lewis (Fujiwara has written about Jacques Tourneur and Otto Preminger), but if you’re one of the many Americans who have for so long written Lewis off as little more than a stooge, maybe it’s time to give him a second chance. And what better way to see these films than on archival 35mm?