The Patsy (1928)

The Patsy
Directed by King Vidor
Written by Ralph Spence from a story and play by Barry Conners
1928/USCosmopolitan Productions for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube

Patricia Harrington: [dreamily gazing up at the sky] Isn’t that a marvelous moon?
Tony Anderson: Not bad, for a town this size.

Marion Davies is adorable in this silent comedy.  Throw in Marie Dressler and you’ve got a winner.

The Harrington family consists of Pa (Dell Henderson), Ma (Dressler), older daughter Grace (Jane Winston) and teenager Pat (Davies). Ma and Grace are mercenary snobs.  They both browbeat poor Pat and Pa.  Pat is a lovable but awkward goofball.  In addition, she has a giant crush on Grace’s beau Tony (Orville Caldwell), who hardly knows she exists.  Pat goes to Tony for romantic advice and is told to get a personality.  Her attempts make her look slightly insane. But …

I don’t associate King Vidor with comedies but this one is quite fun.  Davies is a talented comedienne.  Dressler is more severe than the usual but very good.  Some of the gags go on for too long near the end but I was thoroughly entertained.  Well worth a try.

According to IMDb, this film gave Dressler, who was in a career slump, a much needed boost.

Marion Davies impersonates Mae Murray, Lllian Gish and Pola Negri