C'est une gamine charmante

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.

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.

I had never seen Marion Davies in a movie until now.What a treat.Such a pretty,talented,funny,expressive ability she had.Charisma with a capital "C",a doll for sure.No wonder Hearst loved her so.Marie Dressler I have seen before,and she usually is the dominant mother,head of the household.She is stern, but comes through as caring in the end.I love everything about silents,the quirky,shaky movements,the old phones,the hairdo's and clothes.This movie transported me back in time to the twenties.I also liked marion's sister jane in this movie.She had a sexuality and charm that was rather advanced.Very flirtatious and fickle.Loved the scene where marion show's off different hats and those faces,priceless.

Davies stars as the put upon sister in this delightful comedy with a soul. The first screwball comedienne, Davies reinvented herself in 1928 in this and her other comic gem, Show People. Davies then launched into sound with Marianne (also excellent). Freed from the stagy costume dramas Hearst loved, Davies found her own voice in these late silent comedies. Davies stars here with Marie Dressler (in a comeback vehicle) as well as Lawrence Gray, Jane Winton, Dell Henderson and the rather dull Orville Caldwell. The family bickering is fun, with Dame Marie lording it over the household and favoring the beautiful daughter (Winton) to make a good marriage.

When Davies, as the Patsy, decides to "get some personality," the house comes down in laughter. As stated elsewhere here, her impressions of Mae Murray, Lillian Gish, and Pola Negri are dead on funny and amazingly accurate. You have GOT to see Marion Davies transform herself into Lillian Gish! Amazing. Her impressions of Murray and Negri are hilarious. Davies was well known for her acid impressions of Hollywood's grand ladies. One wonders what this trio of stars thought about Davies' take on them.

Fun all the way and interesting to see handsome Lawrence Gray in a secondary role as the rich playboy. He was Davies' singing co-star in Marianne in 1929, her starring talkie debut. You gotta see this and Show People.......

A hillarious movie from director King Vidor, with Marion Davies AND Marie Dresler! As the perpetually feuding mother and daughter, Dresler and Davies are not only side-splittingly funny, they are actually quite touching. The rest of the film delivers on all these levels as well.

If anybody believes that Susan Alexander Kane was an actual representation of Marion Davies, they aught to watch this film. Marion is a delight to watch, always full of warmth and energy, always beautiful and charming, and constantly surprising. Take for instance a scene in which she spies on her sister and the sister's boyfriend. Marion, or Pat rather, walks back and forth through the doorway, changing hats and characters, stopping at one point to remark "When in Bagdad, do as the Bagdaddies do!" Or there's the scene where she barges into an intended conquest's house and finds him in a state of drunken delirium. In an (unsuccessful) attempt to rouse him (or at least his attention), she goes about the room impersonating a series of popular film stars. First she's Mae Murray, then Lillian Gish, then Pola Negri. Gloria Swanson's Chaplin imitation is no match for the brilliance of this scene.

Viewed with a modern audience, this film transcends the generations. Though so much has changed in the many years since it's conception, so much is still the same. The Patsy is one of the greatest silent comedies, and one of the best comedies to boot, and one of the best silents, that I think I have ever seen.