A girl with speed (1928)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | A girl with speed |
| Original title | The Patsy |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1928 |
| length | 78 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | King Vidor |
| script |
Barry Conners , Ralph Spence |
| production |
Marion Davies , William Randolph Hearst , King Vidor for Cosmopolitan Productions distributed by MGM |
| music | Vivek Maddala (2004) |
| camera | John F. Seitz |
| cut | Hugh Wynn |
| occupation | |
| |
A girl with pace (AKA The Patsy ) is an American silent film - Comedy of King Vidor in 1928 with Marion Davies in the lead role.
action
Shy young Patricia "Pat" Harrington is in love with Tony, her older sister Grace's boyfriend. However, Patricia finds it difficult to attract his attention, especially since others in her family are in charge: Grace, who appears adult, is self-confident and vain, she never lets her sister relax her boyfriend. Grace always has the support of the mother who dominates family life, who, on the other hand, pays little attention to her younger daughter Pat. The father recognizes the unequal treatment of his two daughters by the mother, but is himself under their slipper and therefore usually only supports Pat in secret.
On an outing, the family meets the wealthy and daring playboy Billy Caldwell, who is teasing his girlfriend Grace from the nice but leisurely Tony. Grace agrees to Billy's recruiting and Tony is appalled by what Patricia sees as her chance to finally get his attention. She asks Tony for tips on how to attract men, whereupon Tony gives her the advice to develop "personality" - Tony has no idea that Patricia might be interested in him. In order to develop a "personality", Patricia then reads some guidebooks and then gives truisms such as " Always remember - Nature gives us many of our features, but she lets us pick our teeth ". Her mother believes that Pat has gone mad and blames this on her father's inherited madness.
Tony begins to take notice of Pat for the first time, as she, unlike the rest of the family, shows a serious interest in his feelings and plans as an architect. A relationship could develop between the two, but Grace is interested in Tony again after her brief love affair with Billy and does not want to give him up. In order to get Tony's attention, Pat tries on the advice of her father with a trick: She enters Billy's mansion and wants to get his attention, which should lead to an emergency from which Tony can then rescue her. The completely hungover Billy does not notice Pat at all. Eventually she just locks herself in Billy's bedroom and calls Tony for help. Billy who came to again tries to help the screaming man, but is knocked down by the arriving Tony. Despite his rescue, Tony is no longer taken with Patricia, because he doubts her decency, since she entered the house of the bon vivant Billy voluntarily.
Now Pat seems to have to bury her hopes for Tony. At this moment, however, her father finally prevails and accuses his wife and Grace of their cruel treatment of Pat. He leaves the house with the declaration that he will never return to the family, but only goes into the garden. Nevertheless, his wife and Grace are so taken with the idea of leaving that they finally give in and the family peace is restored. At the end, Tony, whose anger with Pat has now subsided, appears and takes her in his arms.
Production background
The Patsy was the first of three films in which Marion Davies was directed by King Vidor: It was followed by It is happening in Hollywood ( Show People , 1928), which was shot almost immediately after this film, and the early one Sound film Not So Dumb (1930). In particular, The Patsy and Show People were retrospectively rated by film critics time and again as artistic highlights in Marion Davies' film career. Like most of Davies' films , The Patsy was financed primarily by its sponsor and long-time partner William Randolph Hearst. For Marie Dressler , who was a big star in the film business in the 1910s and was to become one again, the role of the domineering mother in The Patsy was decisive for her comeback after an unsuccessful career phase .
The model was based on the play of the same name by Barry Conners , which premiered on Broadway in December 1925 and was there for over six months under the direction of Alan Dinehart .
The sequence in which Patricia tries to attract the attention of playboy Billy in his villa contains allusions to great silent film stars of the 1920s. Patricia finds costumes in an adjoining room and uses various disguises that she uses to imitate three silent movie stars whose pictures are hanging in Billy's house. First she imitates Mae Murray as a seductive lady of the world, then Lillian Gish as a sad and innocent-looking young woman and finally Pola Negri as a dangerous and elegant adventurer. Billy reacts impassively with the first two disguises, with the Pola Negri disguise he suspects an attack and runs away. The imitation of other actresses was considered a specialty of Marion Davies. Murray and Negri reportedly upset about the parodies in The Patsy , while Lillian Gish found them funny.
Reviews
The Patsy also received good reviews outside of the press controlled by William Randolph Hearst. For example, Mordaunt Hall in The New York Times certified the film as "a pleasant distraction" and caused a lot of laughter from the audience. He highlighted the “skillful direction” of King Vidor, the “clever subtitles” and the good performance of the entire cast. Marion Davies managed to get out of her really ancient role of the young woman in love "more fun than one could expect even with a modern conception of these immortal roles". He also found particular praise for Dell Henderson in the role of the family man, in which the audience burst into laughter at some points due to “a natural facial expression” or “a spark of difference in his eyes”.
The All Movie Guide calls The Patsy probably the best silent film by Marion Davies behind Show People . The end of the film is "predictable, but very funny".
Web links
- A girl with pace in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Patsy | A fast-paced girl at the Berlinale. Retrieved March 6, 2020 .
- ^ The Patsy at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ The Patsy (1928) Film Synopsis and Discussion - Obscure Hollywood. Retrieved March 11, 2020 .
- ^ The Patsy (1928) - King Vidor | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related. Retrieved March 11, 2020 (American English).
- ^ The Patsy (1928) Film Synopsis and Discussion - Obscure Hollywood. Retrieved March 11, 2020 .
- ^ The Patsy (1928) - King Vidor | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related. Retrieved March 11, 2020 (American English).