His first all Lewis film was “The Bellboy” in 1960, which he also starred in. The production took place in the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami and was produced on a relatively small budget with limited shooting time, but it succeeded anyway.
When Lewis was done with the shooing in the days, he would zip over to the hotel and perform in the evenings.
Raking It In
Lewis wanted to flex those creative muscles, but first, he was going to secure a deal with Paramount Pictures. In 1959 the production company signed a new contract with Jerry Lewis Productions stipulating that he would get $10 million-plus 60% of profits for 14 movies over seven years.
That contract made Lewis the highest-paid Hollywood star at the time. It also gave him complete creative control over the final cut and guaranteed film rights after 30 years of release. This new studio power made him incredibly powerful. Barney Balaban, head of the production at Paramount, even told the media, “If Jerry wants to burn down the studio, I’ll give him the match!”
Strange Habits
Sometimes, with a lot of power comes unusual behavior. Since the comedian was growing accustomed to ultimate creative control, his tendencies seemed to drift into creations that were not his.
The powerful comedian had a habit of re-editing other peoples' films. During his downtime, he would cut out all the parts of films he didn't like and would insist on playing his edited versions for anyone who came to visit his home.
The Bellboy
Paramount was not happy about financing an almost 'silent movie' since that era was long over, but Lewis wanted to play a mostly mute bellboy. The funding was withdrawn, and so the actor fronted the money from his own pocket, all $950,000 of it.
The film also marked the pioneering method of a video assist system, allowing Lewis the ability to see his actions during scenes and thus perfecting the actor/director balancing act.
Revolutionary Filmmaking
The technique involved using cameras, and multiple monitors to instant show the performance immediately. This saved time and allowed him to complete most of his films on time and under budget.
The directing continuing and he released "The Ladies Man" and "The Errand Boy" (both in 1961). Fun fact "The Errand Boy" happened to be one of the earliest films about the movie-making biz and a lot of it was shot in the offices at Paramount.