The Patsy

If any has ever doubted that Marion Davies couldn't act or hold her own against the biggest names of the time need go no further than this film. Her talent along with the always wonderful Marie Dressler made a good film a great film!

Her crowning moment is her dead on impressions. Especially her Lillian Gish. Her comic timing along with her beauty is a win win situation.

A must see for Marion Davies fans.

This is an absolutely wonderful film. Everybody is fantastically entertaining and endearing in it, and Marion Davies proves that she is far more than a pretty face. Hearst did not want her to become involved in comedies, believing drama to be far more dignified, and we're fortunate that she went against his wishes.

In this movie, her incredible comedic talent shines through--her acting ability, mimicry, and overall charm and energy make The Patsy lots of fun for everybody, including (it seems) the cast itself! Definitely one of the best silent films I've seen, full of laughs that rely on something other than pure slapstick.

This film shows Marion Davies to her best advantage - not merely the beautiful girlfriend of William Randolph Hearst who got into the movies due to his pull, as I'd always assumed before viewing this film. She is truly hilarious and touching in this, and shows a great talent for mimicry. My only complaint is the music - a man named Vivek Maddala did the music for the 2003 re-release and I find it completely inappropriate to the film. I know silent-film scores quite well and this one just doesn't cut it, as far as I'm concerned. It didn't fit the mood of the movie at all - I've seen this movie at a repertory theater and the score used then (by who, I don't know) was vastly superior and lent much to my enjoyment of the film. Overall, however, this movie is worth seeing.

Judging by most other reviews on this site I'm not going out on much of a limb when I say The Patsy is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. I don't mean just funniest silent films. I mean funniest movies, period.

The plot is simple enough: younger sister (Marion Davies) moons over older sister's boyfriend. That's all anybody needs to know.

After that, it's one hilarious set piece after another. Dinner at the yacht club. Davies spouting gibberish out of a book of inane aphorisms. Davies mimicking her Hollywood contemporaries.

The intertitles are sharply funny. The physical comedy is pure gold.

Yes, Davies has charm and comedic gifts that have been overshadowed by her portrayal on the ponderously dull Citizen Kane. If you can't fall in love with her here, you're colder than New Hampshire granite.

As for Marie Dressler, what a force. It's not an exaggeration to say she might have been the funniest film actress of all time. I'm not sure she even needed dialogue to be funny. On the other hand, if you're familiar with her speaking voice from having watched one of her talkies (e.g., Min and Bill) it makes this performance that much better.

Unless you have some kind of disease that prevents you from watching silent movies, I unreservedly recommend The Patsy.

A kooky younger daughter becomes THE PATSY of a social-climbing family when she falls in love with her older sister's beau.

The delightful Marion Davies gets to exhibit her considerable comedic skills in this very enjoyable silent film from MGM. Often dismissed as merely the pretty mistress of one of the nation's most powerful men, William Randolph Hearst, Davies was actually a very skilled actress. Better known for her stodgy costume dramas, director King Vidor invited her to star in THE PATSY after seeing her personality & talents unbridled whilst a guest at the fabulous home she shared with Hearst at San Simeon. Watching Marion moon over the man she secretly loves, acquire a very peculiar new personality, or attempt a riotous seduction of a notorious Lothario, is to see a very fine artist at her best.

Davies has her work cut out for her: playing her mother is the formidable Marie Dressler, who steals every scene with galumphing grace. With her large shapeless body and a face that probably scared dogs and small children, the marvelous Marie puts her genius for physical comedy into high gear as she grimaces, glares, pouts & flounces her way across the screen. This film is actually credited with saving her life: according to Hollywood legend the out-of-work Dressler was eating her last meal before committing suicide when she was spotted in the restaurant by Alan Dwan and offered the role of Davies' Ma. The rest is history--within a couple of years Dressler would be the movies' most popular star, a status she would hold until her untimely death in 1934.

Dell Henderson plays Davies' lovable, but thoroughly henpecked, father. Glamorous Jane Winton has the role of her spoiled older sister. Orville Caldwell is the earnest fellow Davies adores. Lawrence Gray is hilarious as the lively playboy who gets a late-night visit from Davies he'll never forget.

The three contemporaries which Davies mimics with such precision during the seduction scene are Mae Murray, Lillian Gish (amazing) and Gloria Swanson.

Vivek Maddala has contributed a perky score for the film's restoration.