quiet_curiosity (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
quiet_curiosity) wrote2009-05-01 11:20 am
quiet_curiosity) wrote2009-05-01 11:20 am
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The Patsy (1928)
Summary: Patricia Harrington (Marion Davies) was used to getting the short end of the stick from her domineering mother (Marie Dressler) and older sister (Jane Winton). But when her sister tries to balance a romance between two men, Pat sees her chance to win the affections of one of them, a man she has been mooning over from afar (Orville Caldwell).
Director: King Vidor
Viewed Via: TCM/VCR
Current Commercial Availability: Part of Warner Archive DVD-R program
This is the first of Marion Davies' comedies with director King Vidor.
1) Davies is a delight as the put upon Pat. She put out a great mixture of genuine "ha-ha" comedy with something that was both a bit sad and a bit manic. At this point, Pat had lived her whole life under her mother's thumb and in her sister's shadow. She just couldn't sublimate it anymore and she really lets loose during the moments where Pat truly acts out (ex: the "finding her personality" scenes).
2) Marie Dressler is absolutely fabulous as Pat's mother. She's almost always the formidable presence in all of her scenes. She's funny, touching, outrageous and yet very real.
3) I'm a bit ho-hum about Caldwell as the romantic interest. He seemed abit too straight to truly match up with Davies.
4) While funny, the movie has a sad-ish haze that often creeps in. Pat really is marginalized in her family and, at times, this can be abit upsetting. Her crush on Tony is played for real and not for laughs. Her pain is evident when she believes that her sister has taken him back. These things don't overwhelm or push the movie into some dramedy status, but it's very noticeable.
5) Once again, Davies' Murray, Gish, and Negri impersonations. The more I see them, the more I laugh. The only one I am a bit fuzzy on the "accurateness" of is with Pola Negri. But that's only incentive to look up her films and see if I can toss any into the Netflix queue.
Overall, I'm not as in love with this as I was with Show People, but great performances from Davies and Dressler make it well worth viewing. Here's to hoping that it becomes part of the Warner Archive releases. (Post First Post ETA: and it obviously was! Hopefully more people will take a chance and see it!)
Director: King Vidor
Viewed Via: TCM/VCR
Current Commercial Availability: Part of Warner Archive DVD-R program
This is the first of Marion Davies' comedies with director King Vidor.
1) Davies is a delight as the put upon Pat. She put out a great mixture of genuine "ha-ha" comedy with something that was both a bit sad and a bit manic. At this point, Pat had lived her whole life under her mother's thumb and in her sister's shadow. She just couldn't sublimate it anymore and she really lets loose during the moments where Pat truly acts out (ex: the "finding her personality" scenes).
2) Marie Dressler is absolutely fabulous as Pat's mother. She's almost always the formidable presence in all of her scenes. She's funny, touching, outrageous and yet very real.
3) I'm a bit ho-hum about Caldwell as the romantic interest. He seemed abit too straight to truly match up with Davies.
4) While funny, the movie has a sad-ish haze that often creeps in. Pat really is marginalized in her family and, at times, this can be abit upsetting. Her crush on Tony is played for real and not for laughs. Her pain is evident when she believes that her sister has taken him back. These things don't overwhelm or push the movie into some dramedy status, but it's very noticeable.
5) Once again, Davies' Murray, Gish, and Negri impersonations. The more I see them, the more I laugh. The only one I am a bit fuzzy on the "accurateness" of is with Pola Negri. But that's only incentive to look up her films and see if I can toss any into the Netflix queue.
Overall, I'm not as in love with this as I was with Show People, but great performances from Davies and Dressler make it well worth viewing. Here's to hoping that it becomes part of the Warner Archive releases. (Post First Post ETA: and it obviously was! Hopefully more people will take a chance and see it!)