{ "id": "ep3ce7c2af", "slug": "the-caddy", "title": "The Caddy", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1950s", "label": "Comedies of the 1950s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1950s" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1950s", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: Comedies of the 1950s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1950s", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1950s", "label": "Comedies of the 1950s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1950s" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Caddy (1953) is a Norman Taurog comedy starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis as golfers driven into show business, the first York Pictures release, and the film that introduced Martin's Oscar-nominated signature song That's Amore.", "snippet": "The Caddy (1953) is a Norman Taurog comedy starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis as golfers driven into show business, the first York Pictures release, and the film that introduced Martin's Oscar-nominated signature song That's Amore.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1950s", "markdown": "# The Caddy\n\n**The Caddy** is a 1953 American black-and-white comedy directed by Norman Taurog, starring the comedy team of [Dean Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/dean-martin) and [Jerry Lewis](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-lewis) as two golfers who are driven out of professional golf and into show business, with [Donna Reed](https://www.edgepedia.org/donna-reed) as the love interest.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY) It was the first release of York Pictures, Martin and Lewis's own production company, since their 1951 hit *At War with the Army*, and it introduced \"That's Amore,\" the Harry Warren and Jack Brooks song that became Martin's long-standing signature tune and was nominated for an Academy Award.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | United States, August 10, 1953 (Los Angeles opening 26 Aug; New York opening 17 Sep); 95 minutes, black and white, Western Electric sound[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045589/releaseinfo/) |\n| Director and writers | Norman Taurog; screenplay by Edmund L. Hartmann and Danny Arnold, additional dialogue by Ken Englund, story by Danny Arnold[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY) |\n| Cast | Dean Martin (Joe Anthony), Jerry Lewis (Harvey Miller, Jr.), Donna Reed (Kathy Taylor), Barbara Bates (Lisa Anthony), Joseph Calleia (Papa Anthony)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY) |\n| Production | York Pictures Corp. with Paramount Pictures Corp., which also distributed; produced by Paul Jones[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY) |\n| Signature song | \"That's Amore,\" words and music by Harry Warren and Jack Brooks; Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY) |\n| Golf cameos | Professional champions including Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Julius Boros, and Harry Cooper appear as themselves[3](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/93464--the-caddy/) |\n| Reception | 83% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (6 reviews) and 75% audience score; Metascore 60 on Metacritic[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caddy) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-caddy/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nThe film is told in flashback from a nightclub stage. Harvey Miller (Jerry Lewis) is the son of a professional golfer and an excellent player himself, but stage fright keeps him from competing in front of crowds. Joe Anthony (Dean Martin) is the son of a San Francisco fisherman who wants his son to follow him into the family trade. After Harvey loses his department-store job, his fiancée Lisa (Barbara Bates), Joe's sister, suggests he open a golf school, and Harvey instead teaches Joe everything he knows about the game.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY) • [6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92603/the-caddy)\n\nWith Harvey serving as caddy, the pair enter tournaments, beginning with the Santa Barbara Open, where they encounter snobbery from fellow players and Joe meets the socialite Kathy Taylor (Donna Reed). When Joe is cajoled into singing at a local nightclub, Harvey joins him onstage and the two display their comic chemistry; later, at the PGA tour, a theatrical producer convinces them that their proper place is the nightclub stage rather than the golf course.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92603/the-caddy) The opening scenes show [Martin and Lewis](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-and-lewis) playing themselves, renamed Joe Anthony and Harvey Miller, a musical-comedy duo headlining the Paramount Theater in [Times Square](https://www.edgepedia.org/times-square), and the film ends with the characters meeting the real Lewis and Martin, who are appearing there that night.[7](https://www.tcm.com/watchtcm/titles/70010) • [6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92603/the-caddy)\n\n## Production\n\n**Origins.** The idea came from a sketch the duo had performed on television's *The Colgate Comedy Hour* in 1951, and Lewis suggested a plot centered on golf because Martin loved the game.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92603/the-caddy) The working title was *So Where's the Money?*[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY)\n\n**Independence.** *The Caddy* was the first release of York Pictures, Martin and Lewis's production company, since their early 1951 hit *At War with the Army*. Modern sources cited by the AFI Catalog state that, before making the film, Martin and Lewis spent $850,000 to buy their way out of their Screen Associates agreement, under which York's involvement in the earlier picture had been financed. TCM's account adds that the picture was the first entirely independent York release, backed by the money of playboy millionaire and mob associate Ray Ryan.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY) • [6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92603/the-caddy) The duo went on to make three more pictures under the York banner: *Living It Up* (1954), *Pardners* (1956), and *The Delicate Delinquent* (1957).[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92603/the-caddy)\n\n**Shooting.** Production ran from late November to late December 1952 and again from February 2 to late February 1953; IMDb lists the span as November 24, 1952 to February 23, 1953.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045589/locations/) According to Paramount publicity held in the film's file at the AMPAS Library, three weeks of location shooting took place at the [Riviera Country Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/riviera-country-club) in Los Angeles, where the golf-course scenes were filmed.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY) • [6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92603/the-caddy) A January 1953 Hollywood Reporter news item stated that Lewis was to wear specially designed knee braces during the filming of some scenes, and the Hollywood Reporter production charts listed Don Porter in the cast, though he did not appear in the final film.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY) The opening scenes were shot at the Times Square Paramount Theater and included footage of the duo's actual stage routine.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92603/the-caddy)\n\n**Crew and golfers.** Working on their first production without a studio, Lewis kept on the team from their Paramount days: cameraman Daniel L. Fapp, wardrobe designer [Edith Head](https://www.edgepedia.org/edith-head), production designer Hal Pereira, cutter Warren Low, and Farciot Edouart, the optical effects specialist whose work helped craft the movie's closing gag that winks at itself.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92603/the-caddy) Lewis had a habit of casting his sports heroes, and the film includes golfers [Ben Hogan](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-hogan), Julius Boros, Byron Nelson, and [Sam Snead](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-snead); the onscreen credit reads, \"We gratefully acknowledge the appearance of the following professional golf champions.\"[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92603/the-caddy) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY) Although a tournament in the film takes place in Monterey, no golf scenes were actually filmed there; a brief 50-second scene shows two cars on 17 Mile Drive near Fanshell Beach in Pebble Beach.[9](https://www.montereypeninsula.info/movies/monterey_in_the_movies.pdf)\n\n## \"That's Amore\" and the songs\n\nHarry Warren and Jack Brooks wrote all six songs in the film: \"What Wouldcha Do Without Me?\", \"That's Amore,\" \"You're the Right One,\" \"It's a Whistle-In' Kinda Mornin',\" \"The Gay Continental,\" and \"One Big Love.\"[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY) \"That's Amore\" is first sung by Martin's character Joe at a San Francisco Italian birthday party, with Lewis's Harvey joining in, though Lewis did not appear on the record version.[7](https://www.tcm.com/watchtcm/titles/70010)\n\nDespite Martin's reputed dislike of the song, it became his breakthrough hit, remained on the Hit Parade for almost five months, and received an Academy Award nomination.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92603/the-caddy) In Britain it reached number 2 on the Official Singles Chart, charting for 11 weeks from January 28, 1954, on [Capitol Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/capitol-records).[10](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/dean-martin-thats-amore/) TCM reports that Martin was reportedly irritated when Lewis, previously known only as the comic relief, also performed a musical number, the spoofy \"The Gay Continental,\" in which Harvey masquerades as a rich man to finagle a free breakfast.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92603/the-caddy)\n\n## Reception and legacy\n\nContemporary response was mixed to positive. TIME called the film \"about the best that can be expected these days\" from the duo, praising Jerry's song-and-dance routine as an international-set playboy while faulting the film for not exploiting Lewis's gift for what it called \"gallows laughter.\"[11](https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0%2C33009%2C818950-2%2C00.html) Bosley Crowther of *The New York Times* called it a cut-to-size Martin-Lewis farce and observed that \"Mr. Lewis is slowly taking over. Just give him a couple of more years.\"[12](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-caddy/critic-reviews/) On the review aggregator Metacritic the film holds a Metascore of 60, based on five critic reviews, two positive and three mixed.[12](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-caddy/critic-reviews/) Rotten Tomatoes lists 83% among six critics and 75% among more than 1,000 audience ratings.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caddy)\n\nLater critics have often ranked it among the duo's best films. The film critic Emanuel Levy wrote that the picture, made with Martin and Lewis at the height of their popularity as a team, \"became better known for its Oscar-nominated song That's Amore, Dean's first big hit.\"[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caddy) A 2022 review described it as \"often hailed as the best of the Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis comedy duo films,\" reading the plot as a meta-fictional portrayal of two stars whose real-life rift was already apparent by 1953.[13](https://www.christian-sauve.com/2022/07/the-caddy-1953/) The film's tenth teaming of Martin and Lewis also marked a shift in their screen balance: Lewis, who had always been the comic relief, took on musical numbers as well, and the pair went on to make 16 pictures together before their partnership ended in 1956.[3](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/93464--the-caddy/) • [6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92603/the-caddy)\n\nThe film has also drawn attention beyond comedy history. A 2025 Popular Mechanics account describes *The Caddy* as the site of a CIA effort to have Black background performers appear in the film to improve America's global image during the Cold War.[14](https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/a73581055/fbi-in-hollywood/) Martin, an avid golfer and a member of Riviera Country Club, filmed scenes for the movie there, and the club's later screen appearances include Katherine Hepburn's *Pat and Mike* (1952).[15](https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/10-famous-members-of-riviera-country-club)\n\n## References\n\n1. [The Caddy (1953), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50775-THE-CADDY)\n2. [The Caddy (1953) Release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045589/releaseinfo/)\n3. [The Caddy, ACMI collection](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/93464--the-caddy/)\n4. [The Caddy, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caddy)\n5. [The Caddy Reviews - Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-caddy/)\n6. [The Caddy by Felicia Feaster, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/92603/the-caddy)\n7. [Watch The Caddy, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/watchtcm/titles/70010)\n8. [The Caddy (1953) Filming & production, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045589/locations/)\n9. [Monterey in the Movies, Monterey Peninsula](https://www.montereypeninsula.info/movies/monterey_in_the_movies.pdf)\n10. [That's Amore – Dean Martin, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/dean-martin-thats-amore/)\n11. [Cinema: The New Pictures, TIME, September 28, 1953](https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0%2C33009%2C818950-2%2C00.html)\n12. [The Caddy critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-caddy/critic-reviews/)\n13. [The Caddy (1953), Christian Sauvé](https://www.christian-sauve.com/2022/07/the-caddy-1953/)\n14. [How the CIA Tried to Make Classic Hollywood Look Less Racist, Popular Mechanics](https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/a73581055/fbi-in-hollywood/)\n15. [12 Famous Members Of Riviera Country Club, Golf Monthly](https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/10-famous-members-of-riviera-country-club)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of the 1950s*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-caddy", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-caddy.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Caddy\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-caddy. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Caddy](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-caddy)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-caddy](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-caddy). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Caddy\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-caddy. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Caddy is a Norman Taurog comedy starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis as golfers driven into show business, the first York Pictures release, and the film that introduced Martin's Oscar-nominated signature song That's Amore." }