Jack Lemmon Film Collection (Phffft, Operation Mad Ball, The Notorious Landlady, Under The Yum Yum Tree, Good Neighbor Sam) (DVD)

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If I could pick my own five-film Jack Lemmon Collection, it would contain "Mr. Roberts" (1955), for which Lemmon won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor; "Some Like It Hot" (1959), one of the all-time great comedies; "The Apartment" (1962), which earned him another nomination; "Days of Wine and Roses" (1962), a dramatic tour de force; and "Save the Tiger" (1973), the film that finally brought him the Best Actor Oscar he deserved. And my alternates? They'd be "The Odd Couple" (1968), "My Sister Eileen" (1955), "The China Syndrome" (1979), "Tribute" (1980), and "Missing" (1982)--all good films with great performances by Lemmon.

Which is to say, I would not have selected this group if I had to choose. But what's here is consistent in tone and quality, hovering somewhere in the 6 to 7 out of 10 range--decent entertainment, though none of the films represent Lemmon's best work or best projects. All five are light comedies from 1956-64 in which the talented actor plays the same sort of Everyman that he did on scores of TV comedy-drama episodes on such shows as "Studio One," "Kraft Television Theatre," "Alcoa Theatre," "Goodyear Theatre," "Playhouse 90," "Zane Grey Theater," "Ford Television Theatre, "Armstrong Circle Theatre," and "Campbell Playhouse." In his early days, Lemmon's Everyman was everywhere, and for Lemmon fans the big positive about "The Jack Lemmon Film Collection" is that it includes one of the two feature films with Judy Holliday that launched his big-screen career. Another bonus is that several of them now function as period pieces, rich with colorful details of suburban life in the Fifties and early Sixties-even the offices, which have things like dictographs and the same kind of uni-look that "Mad Men" popularized. Watch these vintage films and you realize, Hey, it's NOT an exaggeration." This was daily life. And in the film world in which Lemmon played the Everyman, daily life was often an impersonal grind that dehumanized people, limited their choices, or just plain bored the pants off of them.

All five films are escapist fare, with three out of five winners: "Phffft" (his second film with Holliday), "The Notorious Landlady," and "Good Neighbor Sam." "Under the Yum Yum Tree" and "Operation Mad Ball" are one-joke wonders that start strong enough but then grow a little tiresome because of the thin script. What saves them are the performances, not the least of which is Lemmon's.

"PHFFFT" (1954, black-and-white) derives partly from screwball comedies and partly from bedroom farces of the sort that defined the Doris Day and Rock Hudson romps. It was the second film released in 1954 that paired Lemmon and comedienne Judy Holliday, following the well-received "It Should Happen to You," and audiences loved this one too. Lemmon and Holliday play a divorced couple who begin to realize that they were better off before their marriage went "phffft." Lemmon, who played white-collar work-a-days throughout this period, plays Robert Tracey, an accountant who falls in love with the woman he's been doing taxes for, and the screenplay follows their courtship and marriage. Even after they split, he keeps filing her returns for her, and it's that contact that brings them full circle. Contemporary viewers might find it a little slow going, but this is one of the time-capsule films in this collection that are fun to watch just for the clothing and sets. And, of course, Lemmon's exasperation, which is already becoming a trademark of the actor's.

"Operation Mad Ball" (1957, black-and-white) is watchable mostly because of the talents involved. Lemmon plays Private Hogan, whose captain (Ernie Kovacs) has forbidden enlisted men and non-coms to mix with the nurses. The two of them play off of each other well, and Kathryn Grant (who would become Mrs. Bing Crosby) does a decent job as the woman each man has set his sights on. But the whole thing is like "White Christmas" without the music. Just as that film was all about planning a big shindig, that's the single driving narrative here as Private Hogan wheels and deals and flim-flams his way to stage a forbidden ball that would be a fitting end to everyone's service. Look for Dick York ("Bewitched") as a goofball with facial expressions that will be repeated later when he marries a TV witch, and comedian Mickey Rooney, who turns up at the end. Character actor Arthur O'Connell also appears as the base commander, while teen idol James Darren appears as another private. But this one pales compared to "Mr. Roberts" (1955) and "The Wackiest Ship in the Army" (1960), two military hijinks films with stronger scripts and more complexity.

"The Notorious Landlady" (1962, black-and-white) may be the surprise of the bunch for Lemmon fans who haven't seen this one. It blends the early Sixties' spy craze with a murder mystery and romantic comedy. Big surprise, though, since the writers are Blake Edwards ("The Pink Panther") and Larry Gelbart ("M*A*S*H," "Tootsie"). There's a noir feel to this film about an American diplomat (Lemmon, as Bill Gridley) in London who rents a room from Mrs. Carly Hardwicke (Kim Novak), an American woman whom neighbors suspect of killing her husband and hiding the body. She's under investigation by a Scotland Yard inspector (Lionel Jeffires as Inspector Oliphant), and she so charms Gridley that he's convinced she's innocent and gets involved. Fred Astaire appears as Gridley's superior, who'd just as soon have him steer clear of any possible controversy, and it's his rather self-conscious performance that seems like the only real casting misstep. But it's one of the best films in this collection and a fascinating mixture of genres that has enough complexity to reward mystery fans.