This week, we start with an old friend:

Recently, while watching a bland movie ruined by an actor poorly trained in comedy, direction, diction and stage presence, the thought arose as to how much better that particular film would have been if Jack Lemmon had starred instead of the misguided ham. Lemmon had a spectacular career spanning more than 50 years. He was the first person to win Oscars for both best supporting actor (Mister Roberts) and best actor (Save the Tiger). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment now releases this collection of five Jack Lemmon films, some new to DVD and some never seen in a home entertainment format. In one of the DVD supplements, a 44-minute documentary on Lemmon, renowned writer Larry Gelbart best sums up Lemmon’s versatility and likeability, saying he could smoothly move from Shakespeare’s Puck to Mark Twain’s Huck. Lemmon’s career was varied enough to make it impossible to render a complete portrait with only five films and a disc of bonus materials. But the five do capture him in early triumphs (Phffft), good-natured froth (Good Neighbor Sam) and overlooked nuggets (Operation Mad Ball). In the bonus material, a young Lemmon appears in a 30-minute TV comedy from a 1954 Ford Television Theater episode.

The Notorious Landlady (***1/2) In one of his six films for director Richard Quine, Lemmon plays an American in London who rents a room from a woman (Kim Novak), only to discover that Scotland Yard suspects her of murdering her husband and has her under constant surveillance. Written by comedy mavens Gelbart and Blake Edwards. 1962, 123 minutes.

Operation Mad Ball (***1/2) Lemmon plays an Army private at a military hospital in France a month after the end of World War II. He falls for a lieutenant (Kathryn Grant), while sneakily orchestrating M*A*S*H-like scams and schemes. This surprisingly funny film gets solid supporting help from comedy heavyweights Mickey Rooney and Ernie Kovacs. 1957, 105 minutes.

Phffft (***) Lemmon plays a Manhattan lawyer married to a radio script writer (shooting star Judy Holliday). They divorce only to realize they still love each other. 1954, 91minutes.

Under the Yum Yum Tree (**1/2) In this uncomfortably dated trifle, Lemmon plays a philandering landlord who accidentally rents to a young couple (Dean Jones and Carol Lynley) who have declared their intentions of living together but not sleeping together — until marriage. Superstar comedians Imogene Coca and Paul Lynde are hilarious as a bickering couple who work for the landlord. 1963, 110 minutes.

Good Neighbor Sam (***) This innocuous French-type farce would have faltered under less capable hands, but Lemmon plays an advertising account executive married to Minerva (Dorothy Provine) but — because of mistaken identities and perceived propriety — must pretend to his biggest client (Edward G. Robinson) that he is married to his neighbor (Romy Schneider). 1964, 130 minutes.

*

The Perfect Sleep (**) All the ingredients are here for a good film noir (and that label seems to be the obvious goal), but director Jeremy Alter muddies his final product too much to qualify for noir status, or much of anything else. Anton Pardoe wrote the self-serving script and also plays the main, nameless character, a narrator who relentlessly spouts the ceaseless, increasingly tedious voiceover. He tells a jumbled story about returning to the one woman (Roselyn Sanchez) he has ever loved. But upon arrival, he faces a torturing gang set to emasculate him. Shot in shadows and filled with ominous overtones.

Rated R, 106 minutes.

*

Ghosts of Goldfield (**1/2) This young-people-in-peril horror flick provides a few ghoulish frights before inevitably dissembling into bloodier slasher fare. Kellan Lutz, lately of note for his appearance in Twilight, joins a group of four other college students heading to desolate Goldfield, Nev., where parts of the film were shot. They search for signs of ghostly activity, mainly in the nearby deserted hotel/haunted house. There, it seems a local married woman was murdered in the 1800s because she gave birth to the child of her lover. And — gasp — her ghost still haunts the joint. With Richie Chance, Marnette Patterson, Mandy Amano and Scott Whyte.

Rated R, 90 minutes.

The DVD offers commentary from director Ed Winfield.

*

Ladies or Gentlemen (**1/2) To propel its thesis, this brief documentary from Kevin Burns originally shown on Starz uses clips of gender-bending from Hairspray, She’s the Man, Shakespeare in Love, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Glen or Glenda, Tootsie, White Chicks, Ed Wood, Some Like It Hot, Pink Flamingos and others. Since guys portraying gals seem the most popular (blame the ancient Greeks and their all-male casts), the point comes through that the arts have seen, mostly for comedic effect, plenty of examples of men who like to dress up as women. Interviewees include directors Andy Fickman, John Landis and John Waters, and actors Tony Curtis, Tim Curry and Henry Gibson. When the subject turns to women playing men’s roles, several wizened talking heads, including Camille Paglia, explain why this might cause different reactions.

Not rated, 53 minutes.

*

Z Rock This IFC television series would qualify as a mockumentary if the group it profiles was not real. Instead, the 10 episodes of the first season see the real band of the title (ZO2) as they move through their brave, new world (ANYONE … ANYONE?) of experiences, from playing parties for kids to opening for KISS. Season two begins this week.

Not rated, 242 minutes.

*

Also this month: Dominick Dunne: After the Party, Gran Torino, The International, Nobel Son, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, The Shield — Season 7, Perry Mason — Season 4, Vol. 1.

BOO ALLEN is an award-winning film critic for the Denton Record-Chronicle.