Jerry souffre-douleur

Jerry Lewis directing Jerry Lewis, shouldn't that go wrong? No not really. The Lewis-films nearly always rely on his physical acting, which must be seen as his strongest asset. This is also true in "The Patsy" and it's actually going very well. At least for the first hour of the film. Perhaps it should have been a little shorter.

Jerry plays the bellhop Stanley, who serves at a hotel. Now in that hotel a group of employees of a newly dead comedian are talking about their future. One of them Morgan Heywood (played by Peter Lorre) gets the idea to find a man that they first of all can control, and secondly teach the trade of entertainment. After Stanley have tried to serve the team champagne (with ice, wet ice!) They find that he well be the perfect new man. Now this starts the most fun part of the film, he tries his luck at singing recording and what else he needs to know. Along the way the secretary of the team Ellen (Ina Balin) and Stanley falls in love. All that takes about an hour, sadly the last 40 minutes doesn't live up to the good start. The solution to, if Stanley will be successful and if he and Ellen will be a pair. Guess yourselves our even better see the film.

There isn't a big star that you can name who doesn't have an entourage. These folks have their careers rise and fall with the stars that time and circumstance has attached them to. But what does happen to these people if the star is taken out of the picture. Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley were known for their large entourages and I daresay right at this moment there any number of people trying to figure out what the future holds for them with Michael Jackson's demise.

The Patsy examines one such entourage who when its star, a popular comedian is killed in a plane crash, they will not just disperse. They function as a team and all they need is another star. Where to find one however.

And that's where Jerry Lewis comes in, an innocent schlep of a bellboy who comes in with an ice tray wreaking havoc in the typical Lewis manner. The rest of the film is devoted to how well they succeed in their objective.

As one of the last players under studio contract, Paramount kept in the black pretty much during the Fifties and Sixties because of Jerry Lewis. Either with Dino or later as a solo, Jerry's films made money and gradually he got creative control over them. In this one he directs as well.

It's not his best work, but it's still pretty good with some really hilarious performances. Jerry Lewis has a reputation as an egotist, but you would not know it in The Patsy, he was quite generous in giving time to the fine cast he assembled. The entourage consists of Everett Sloane, Phil Harris, Ina Balin, John Carradine, Keenan Wynn, and in his last film Peter Lorre. You're not going to hold too tight a rein on this group of scene stealers and Lewis doesn't even try.

Best scene in the film however is with Hans Conreid as a voice teacher the entourage hires for Lewis. It involves Jerry with a snooty Hans who is also an antique collector. Let's just say the laughs are equally for Hans as they are for Jerry.

And the ending is something that Mel Brooks could have used. In fact I'm not sure Brooks didn't appropriate an idea or two for some of his films.

The Patsy is a great introduction to Jerry Lewis and I know his fans count it among his best.

THE PATSY (1964) ** Jerry again a bell-hop, again mistakenly hired - this time as a new star-to-be who has no talent whatsoever.

If your a big Jerry Lewis fan, and I am, you will enjoy The Patsy. It's not his funniest, at least on a consistent basis, but it does have it's share of big laughs. The premise is that a big music star perishes in a plane crash and his associates, including Claude Raines and John Carradine, need to find a replacement. In steps bumbling Jerry as a hotel employee who must be turned into the next big music star. Some hilarious scenes such as Jerry being groomed in a beauty salon, being "taught" how to sing by the always dependable Hans Conried and Jerry's attempt at lip-synching his hit song on TV. again, not his best but enjoyable and funny enough for me!

A fun 1964 film that combines Jerry Lewis's talents in directing, screenwriting, and comedy, offering a critical look at the American entertainment world. It features well-known names in supporting roles, such as Ina Balin, Everett Sloane, Phil Harris, Keenan Wynn, and Peter Lorre.

The film begins with the unexpected death of a much-loved comedian in a plane crash. The comedian's management team (producer, writer, press agent, etc.) panics, fearing unemployment now that they've lost their "golden goose." To overcome this situation, they decide to find someone completely talentless but naive and easily manipulated to replace the deceased comedian and turn him into a new star. This person is Stanley Belt (Jerry Lewis), the clumsy bellboy at the hotel where they work. As the team tries to reinvent Stanley and open the doors of fame for him, comedic events ensue. However, Stanley's natural lack of talent complicates matters. During this process, Ellen (Ina Balin) from the team develops sympathy for Stanley and genuinely tries to help him.

The film satirically addresses and criticizes the artificial nature of fame in Hollywood, how a star is "manufactured," and the behind-the-scenes workings of show business. Additionally, there are plenty of scenes where Lewis makes nods to Chaplin-esque physical comedy.

Overall, it's a typical/standard Jerry Lewis film and a good entry point into Lewis's cinema for first-time viewers. This is because it contains many of his thematic and stylistic traits and is a production where Lewis boldly puts his persona front and center.