THE PATSY (1928)

Marion Davies was a fun-loving young woman who had the mixed fortune of having an ongoing love affair with publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, who pushed her into epic productions designed to make her a dramatic great actress. But she was really a naturally skilled comedienne, arguably at her best in three films directed by King Vidor. Their first, THE PATSY, casts her in a Cinderella story as a young woman over-shadowed by her socially ambitious mother (Marie Dressler) and glamorous elder sister (Jane Winton). Davies has a crush on Winton’s boyfriend (Orville Caldwell), and when the older sister dumps him for a playboy, Davies sets out to win him. The film did so well, Hearst and MGM re-teamed Davies and Vidor for Show People (1928), one of her best films, and Not So Dumb (1930), which unfortunately lost money, ending one of the screen’s most delightful actor-director collaborations.

d. King Vidor, 77m, 35mm

Preserved by the Library of Congress.