The Patsy (1928)

In my continuing attempt to add to my knowledge of silent films, I went to the NFT to catch this King Vidor-directed, Marion Davis starrer.  It is something of a pity that she is now remembered only as William Randolph Hearst's bit of fluff and the possessor of the original "rosebud" or as characterized in "Citizen Kane" as a talentless wannabe.  She was in fact an excellent light comedienne as evidenced in this film.  Her character, Pat, was the patsy of her aspiring family, where all the stops were pulled out for her older vamp sister by their socially-bumbling mother, played by the inimitable Marie Dressler.  Parenthetically here, Dressler who died circa 1934 left a number of indelible roles in the early talkies, capped by her double-take at Jean Harlow's chassis in "Dinner at Eight".   But going back to Davies, the plot of trying to land her sister's spare boyfriend may not have made a lot of sense, but it did allow for her trying to develop a personality by quoting nutty aphorisms from self-help books and to even at one stage doing spot-on imitations of three other actresses from the period, including a simpering Lillian Gish.

To add to the fun of the evening, the above film was preceded by a 1913 French short hilarity entitled "Onesime et le coeur de Tzigane" in which a honeymoon couple are unable to stop dancing when serenaded by a restaurant gypsy- violinist and how this dancing hysteria spreads to the kitchen staff at their hotel and even a pair of acrobatic dogs.  A remarkable demonstration of early trick photography as well and a perfect appetizer for the main course.