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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.

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.

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.

TCM will be showing this gem on April, 29th 2007. So be sure not to miss it!

This little silent film is very dear to my heart. When ever I am feeling down or crying over some problems at school; I always pop in The Patsy. It never fails to erase all the sorrows from my heart and I feel as good as new. This film is the perfect medicine.

The story is simple enough: Marion Davies plays Patricia Harrington who lives in an average, modest house with her normal everyday family. She crushes really bad on her sister's boyfriend Tony (Orville Caldwell) and she will stop at nothing to get him. Along with Pat's quest for her man, there is another side to the plot. Pat is sadly mistreated by her mother (Marie Dressler) who seems to prefer her sister (Jane Winton). Even though Pat has the sure love of her wonderful and sensitive father (Dell Henderson) she craves for her mother's love as well. So, as always, Pat picks a hilarious and clever way to finally get her mother's attention....

The Patsy's print looks brilliant and it has a flawless soundtrack by Vivek Maddala. His score for this film is even better than his score for Wild Oranges. Lots of the title cards are really funny and witty - I have so much fun reading them!

If you want to introduce somebody to silent films, show them this one, especially if they're a lady. Everybody loves comedy, the print is in good shape, the story is still common today, and there are no "over-the-top" acting styles that have turned people off silent films before in the past.

... He directed this film and "Show People", IMHO her two best silent films, and they both are such because they show off her talent for mimicry. She and Vidor practically invent the screwball heroine here.

Patsy (Marion Davies) is the youngest of two sisters. The older sister Grace, is doted upon by her mother, Ma Harrington (Marie Dressler), who always blames Patsy for every argument the sisters have. Pa Harrington takes up for Patsy, mainly because of the unfairness of the situation when Grace and Ma team up against her, but also because he and Patsy have a special rapport.

The family seems to be nouveau riche, because their habits, particularly at mealtime are strictly working class. However, they are mentioned as going to the Yacht Club dance, which is mentioned as being rather exclusive.

I wouldn't say Grace is prettier than Patsy, but she is more glamorous in a roaring 20s kind of way, and knows how to apply her feminine wiles to get her way. Grace is dating a rather dull businessman, Tony Hunter, who always wants to show Grace the blueprints for his business plans. Grace seems interested, but the guy she actually finds exciting is rich playboy Billy Caldwell (Lawrence Gray). Grace says she intends to marry Tony, dull as dishwater or not, but you get the feeling that is because Tony is husband material and a good provider, and that she probably intends to cotinue to play the field after marriage with guys like Billy. And that's too bad because younger sister Patsy really loves Tony, but he doesn't seem to notice Patsy is alive when Grace is in the room. Complications ensue.

The story is really no great shakes as far as originality goes. The entertainment is almost exclusively in Marion Davies and her comedic pantomime and especially when she impersonates silent actresses Mae Murray of the "bee stung lips", Lillian Gish of "The Scarlet Letter", and finally Pola Negri. That last impersonation almost scares a very drunk Billy Caldwell to death.

Marie Dressler got a comeback of sorts here as the hypochondriac mother. However she would have to wait for sound to come in to fully catapult to fame.