Over more than a dozen films, the comic duo of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis established a bromantic relationship the likes of which Hollywood has rarely seen since. As TIME critic Richard Corliss writes, “The intimacy they shared was intense and startling in the ’50s and remains so today.”
Just take a look at this clip from their first film together, 1949′s My Friend Irma. Skip ahead to about the two-and-a-half minute mark, when Lewis comes on to join Martin in a song. We’re not sure why Lewis starts pawing at Martin before tousling his own hair and licking his hand, but it’s the wacky start to a beautiful (too beautiful?) cinematic friendship.
Jules: “So you won the war, you louse.”
Jim: “I’d rather have won this.”
Two guys (Jules and Jim) in love with the same woman (Catherine). A common plot, but in the hands of young French New Wave director Francois Truffaut, it’s a poignant one.
Notice that the film isn’t titled Jules et Jim et Catherine. That shows you where the story lies. In this scene, the two men — who essentially carried out a platonic three-way relationship with Catherine (Jeanne Moreau) before heading off to WWI to fight on separate sides — have returned from the front. Jules is married to Catherine. His side has lost the Great War, but he’s emerged victorious over his pal. It’s a brief comfort, though, as Catherine proceeds to bounce between the two for the rest of the film. Still, Jules and Jim remains friends for life, the love of a girl pushing them apart and bringing them together, each in its own time.
