Artists and Models

Artists and Models centres on Rick Todd, a painter who earns a living drawing comics while sharing an apartment with Eugene Fullstack, an aspiring children's author and devoted reader of a horror comic about a mysterious bat-themed heroine. Eugene suffers from vivid nightmares, and Rick begins using the material from those dreams for his own comic work without Eugene's knowledge. The situation grows more complicated when the two men meet neighbours who turn out to be connected to the comic Eugene admires: one draws it, and the other served as the model for its heroine.

The film was directed by Frank Tashlin, his second feature in the chronological list of his directing credits after Son of Paleface, and he also co-wrote the screenplay with Hal Kanter and Herbert Baker. Hal B. Wallis produced. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis star as Rick and Eugene, with Shirley MacLaine and Dorothy Malone as the two neighbours, alongside Eddie Mayehoff and Eva Gabor in supporting roles. It runs 110 minutes.

Released in November 1955, the comedy had a budget of 2 million dollars and took 4 million dollars at the worldwide box office, roughly doubling its production cost. Audience reception is modest and similar across platforms: on IMDb it holds 6.4 out of 10 from about 4,900 votes, and on TMDB 6.6 out of 10 from 144 votes. A critics' rating of 6.1 out of 10 from 13 reviews places it slightly below the audience scores.