Michael_Elliott Visit to a Small Planet (1960) ** (out of 4)Kreton (Jerry Lewis) is an alien who has always been fascinated by Earth. Whenever he gets a chance he breaks away from his people to take a closer look. Finally, he's allowed to stay on Earth and ends up inside the home of a man who doesn't believe there's anything out in space.Apparently this Gore Vidal script was originally meant for the television and it's easy to see that. VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET is a pretty forgettable film on many levels, although I'm sure die hard fans of Lewis will still want to check it out. Sadly, the interesting premise is pretty much ruined by a film without too many laughs and an overall cheap look.As I said, it's clear that this was meant to be something for television and what really hurts the picture is the fact that it just runs out of gas around the thirty-minute mark and things can never pick up. The film goes on way too long and that's a problem when it clocks in at just 85-minutes. There are a few funny moments with the alien experiences a few things for the first time but this isn't enough to carry the picture.Lewis is fairly bland and boring in the role of the alien. He really keeps it low-key and just never builds up any energy in the role. IT's pretty easy to see why VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET has been forgotten over the years.

JasparLamarCrabb A mildly entertaining film based on a Gore Vidal play. Jerry Lewis is an alien visiting Earth to observe the inhabitants. He causes some mayhem for pompous TV host Fred Clark and gets involved in a romantic triangle with Joan Blackman & Earl Holliman. There's not much more to it...Lewis performs some tricks, mostly involving levitating things. There's a talking dog (and cat!), Gale Gordon as a nosy neighbor and a very funny sequence in a beatnik night-club ("shave my beard and call me normal!") Lewis goons it up in a role that seems to have been tailor made for him, though it wasn't. Directed with a tiny bit of panache by old-timer Norman Taurog (he won the 1931 Oscar for directing SKIPPY), who spent the last fifteen years of his career helming Martin & Lewis films as well as a fair amount of Elvis films.

SanDiego Film version of Gore Vidal's stage hit was later re-made as TV's Mork and Mindy. UFO movies in the 50's and early 60's usually dealt with unfriendly, intellectually superior aliens out to kill helpless and somewhat naive humans. Then comes Jerry Lewis as a friendly, intellectually lacking alien who is out to study the "human condition." Most of the gags have been used and reused again on countless sitcoms but they are done well. Great character actors give hilarious supporting performances. Supposedly Gore Vidal was not happy with this version of his play. I've seen Vidal on TV many times over the years and never once ever seen him laugh or smile so maybe he has a different definition of comedy than the rest of the planet.

Petri Pelkonen Jerry Lewis plays a space man called Kreton, who comes to this small planet called Earth.There he meets these weird Earth people and gets in troubles.Visit to a Small Planet is a nice Jerry Lewis comedy from 1960.It's not his greatest works, but it has some funny parts, as Jerry Lewis comedies usually. Watch the movie if you're a Jerry Lewis fan and even if you're not.Give it a chance.