“A Winter Romance” starts off the album with a lush arrangement; Dean sounds great as he croons this awesome number. I also like how the backup vocalists harmonize to perfection; and Dean is able to make his voice sound as romantic as ever. “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” features Dean singing a more traditional ballad related to wintertime; and Dean’s excellent diction bolsters his performance. The flute sounds great and Dean never misses a note! Moreover, listen for “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm.” Awesome! Dean sings this wonderfully; in fact he sings this so well I wish the musical accompaniment had been simpler to highlight Dean’s singing even more.

“Winter Wonderland” is another classic wintertime ballad and Dean’s interpretation of this fine wintertime tune is quite fine. The backup vocalists again harmonize well and Dean makes “Winter Wonderland” an especially adorable tune as he sings it. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” shines like gold as Dean delivers this to perfection; and the women backup vocalists play the role of the woman Dean romances in this song. Again the flute is used very well.

“White Christmas” gets the royal treatment from Dean Martin as he performs this classic melancholy number that almost sounds upbeat when you hear this arrangement. I like how Dean and the musicians are able to put a positive, upbeat flavor onto this somewhat sad number–it’s very creative and it works very well. “Sogni D’oro” is another fantastic ballad that Dean croons like the pro he always was; and the CD ends with “Buttercup Of Golden Hair.” This upbeat number makes you smile when you hear it and it will also leave you wanting to listen to this album over and over again.

Another reviewer writes that the last three songs on this album do not fit in with the wintertime theme–and they are right. This new album also omits the song entitled “Christmas Blues.” Oops! However, which version of this album you choose is up to you. If you want a few extra numbers and it doesn’t bother you that Dean strays from the wintertime theme, then go for this album. However, wintertime and Christmas music purists will probably be more comfortable with the older version from 1994 that is also for sale on this website.

I’ll take off a star for the fact that the last three songs on this CD simply don’t fit in at all with the wintertime theme. However, they are excellent songs performed wonderfully by Dean Martin. You may like this over the 1994 version of this album. At any rate, I hope you get this or the older version and just enjoy it!

Rating: 4 / 5

“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” features Dean Martin squarely in the spotlight; he swings brightly to make this number shine and it works! The brass is fine and that piano arrangement is magnificent. Dean’s voice is rich and full of masculine warmth; it’s like listening to pure silk and it proves that Dean Martin was one of the best male vocalists of the entire twentieth century. “Only Forever” has Dean crooning this to perfection–and beyond! The musical arrangement fits in perfectly with Dean’s vocals; and the horn solo is really amazing even if it’s a bit short in the overall melody. “Sleepy Time Gal” also shines; Dean bats this straight out of the ballpark and this impresses me. “Sleepy Time Gal” explores the feelings of a man who wants to work hard to support his wife and many men can identify with this–even though these days both man and wife have to work so often in order to put that bread on the table! For this reason “Sleepy Time Gal” is also a nostalgic number that fondly reminisces about simpler times.

“I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do)” gets a different arrangement than I’m used to; but Dean pulls this off beautifully and it sounds great. They used a background chorus–not that Dean needed it; but it was the style at the time. “Pretty Baby,” the title track of this album, again showcases Dean Martin’s excellent ability to deliver a ballad flawlessly.

“Once In A While” gets the royal treatment from Dean Martin; he delivers this masterfully and I really like “Once In A While.” Again, there is a needless chorus in the background; but I forgive them their error because they were human, too, and they certainly didn’t think this through very well. Dean Martin should have been handling this tune independently; he needed no help from a chorus. “It’s Easy To Remember” is another tender ballad that Dean handles with panache; and he swings ever so gently to make this a major highlight of this album. In addition, “Nevertheless (I’m In Love With You)” is another shining number that is a highlight, too, of this album. “Nevertheless (I’m In Love With You)” just sounds wonderful–and everything fits perfectly.

“I Know Your Mother Loves You” has a good, swinging arrangement that allows Dean to really open up and perform this number with all his positive energy–it holds its own very well. The album also ends nicely with Dean Martin performing “The Lady With The Big Umbrella.” I never heard this song before now but that Latin beat is pleasant to my ears and it makes a strong ending for this album.

Dean Martin fans can rejoice that this is now on CD. People who are just discovering the artistry of Dean Martin could also consider this a starter CD as they get to know Dean Martin and his talents.

Rating: 5 / 5

This is required viewing since it is Martin and Lewis’ first movie. As a comedy, it’s not that great. It’s not very funny, there’s a lot of time wasted on generic dialog, and Dean’s character isn’t likeable since he mostly shouts, bullies, womanizes, and lies throughout. The movie is based on a play and it seems that some portions that may have played well in a live setting don’t work on the screen. I can’t be too sure since I don’t know what is new to this movie and didn’t appear in the play, or what did work in 1950 but doesn’t work in 2005.

I got a good nostalgic feeling watching the movie. It gave me a feeling of sitting in a playhouse in 1940 with that era of audience and laughing at silly running gags like the half open door. Now that the bar has been raised so many times with comedy superstars like Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, and Jerry Lewis himself, it’s fun to watch material from a simpler time.

Dean comes across well. His singing is great, he dances, and does an excellent impersonation of Bing Crosby. This is a good showcase of his talent.

Jerry also comes across well, as expected, with all of his trademarks. Bumbling clowning, funny faces, pouting, mime. His singing was better than I expected. He switches off between various singing voices like his zany voice, mock romantic, sarcastic, etc. He can hit the high notes and he sounds good.

The plot is pretty good. The various subplots involving Jerry, his wife and baby, his former friendship with Dean, Dean’s two girlfriends and his military career, Dean’s romantic rival, and the captain and his wife make for a somewhat complex plot. The movie builds up to the climax where all of the misunderstandings (and intentional subterfuges by Dean’s character) come together with seven actors onscreen at the same time fighting each other to work things out. We’re lucky that all seven made it into the TV frame!

I was touched by the ending in the same way that I remember always being touched by Martin and Lewis’ movies: as though they are really good friends and that’s heartwarming.

I was surprised to see so much polish on Martin and Lewis for their first movie, but you have to remember that they had been doing a live act before this, so that explains it.

I can imagine that a lot of the physical comedy gags, like running in and out of doors, throwing things around the room, jumping in another’s arms, running around the room turning off lights, fighting with the drink machine, etc, would have worked in a play where the actors are actually doing that stuff live right in front of you. That would have added a lot of action to this play, where plays can sometimes be boring. On screen it doesn’t work for me. It seems silly but nothing more.

Martin and Lewis’ act is something like the Smothers Brothers’ act. Martin scolds Lewis and Lewis gets meek and pouts.

I think most of the value in this movie comes from the performance pieces. The feature songs, dances, impersonations, and large comedy bits like the drink machine scene and Jerry as a woman are good stuff. I’m sorry to say that the rest of the material, which is probably the original play, doesn’t quite cut it

Rating: 4 / 5