Marion Davies in The Patsy

 While I am not a huge fan of silent films, I do find one now and then that I love. This time it's The Patsy from 1928. Starring Marion Davies, with Orville Caldwell and veteran actress Marie Dressler, and director King Vidor at the helm.

Pat is the younger sister to Grace played by Jane Winton. Grace is beautiful and elegant, while Pat is young and innocent. One thing they do have in common is they both have the hots for Tony (Caldwell). Naturally he loves Grace. On top of this misfortune for Pat, her mother (Dressler) is a beast to her youngest daughter, and gives her grief for everything, including how she feels about her sister's beau. She is yelled at, forced to do chores, and even given the worst part of chicken at dinner. Her father, played by Dell Henderson, has compassion for Pat, and although he is too timid to stand up to his bossy wife, he supports her. 

On the night of a fancy outing, Grace steals Pat's new coat, and once at dinner, she is stuck watching her sister and Tony together while her mother insists she leave them alone. Along comes playboy Billy (Lawrence Gray) and quickly Grace is smitten.

Pat has Tony all alone and tries to make small talk. She is ready to dance. Her cute antics remind me of Charlie Chaplin in Gold Rush when he plays with dinner rolls. 

Tony is not amused, but dances with Pat so he can spy on Grace, who eventually leaves the party on Billy's boat. Pat will take any dance she can get with Tony, even if he isn't even paying attention to her.

With some quirky antics, she realizes her mother and sister are afraid of her, and they ease up. Billy comes over and he and Grace start canoodling, which makes Pat angry knowing what she is doing to Tony.

As soon as they take off to who knows where, Tony comes looking to show Grace his building plans. Pat covers for Grace, and convinces Tony to show her what he is working on instead. They end up spending some time together, and Tony starts to consider Pat as more than just a kid sister. They sneak a kiss, but mother sees and is mad. Only Grace should have what she wants!

Pat's mother forbids her to see Tony, and tells her she must never let him know that Grace is a two-timer. Grace overhears Pat and father talking about how she feels. Grace isn't interested in Tony anymore, but convinces Tony to give her a lift to the yacht club, where Pat finds out.  Pat gets the bright idea to go over to Billy's house, but when she gets there,  he is passed out. She tries to get his attention by impersonating some well known ladies, but to no avail. Tony gets word and tells Pat he would not want any girl who finds herself at Billy's house. Pat's plan has backfired. 

At home, father has had enough and for once stands up for himself and his daughter. An argument ensues and Pat's mother has to beg for forgiveness. While Pat is happy her parents have reconciled, she is still sad about her love for Tony, when sure enough, he turns up asking if she wants him or Billy. The choice is clear, and Pat finally wins in the end.

This was the first of three pairings for Marion Davies and King Vidor. Vidor holds the record for the longest directorial career, spanning 67 years. His body of work includes The Crowd, Hallelujah, Comrade X, Northwest Passage, The Fountainhead, and War and Peace to name a few. He also was uncredited for directing the tornado and Somewhere Over the Rainbow scenes in The Wizard of Oz. 

Marion, notorious for her decades-long affair with William Randolph Hearst, had a fruitful career of her own. Hearst would support her career emotionally and financially, but her talent was apparent nonetheless. She was  known for being incredibly kind to work with, even to go as far as paying for crew members medical bills if they got sick. She would go on to marry Horace Brown after Hearst's death, and was a philanthropist until she died in 1961 at the age of 64.  Marie Dressler was on the downward end of her career until signing up to act in The Patsy. The success of this film brought her career back, and she worked on 20 films following, including Anna Christie with Greta Garbo, and was part of the all-star cast of Dinner At Eight.

King Creole 1958

Today is Elvis Presley's birthday! I am not a huge Elvis fan, but I am a fan of his work in 1958's King Creole. Shot in black and white in New Orleans (and Paramount, naturally), this film shows Elvis as a true actor. With Michael Curtiz directing and Hal B. Wallis producing you can't go wrong.  

Elvis plays Danny, a high school student who just can't seem to graduate due to his "bad attitude". He tries hard but finds work more important than school due to the fact that his mom passed away and his dad can't seem to hold a job. Working at a night club, he finds himself helping Ronnie, played by Carolyn Jones. You might know her as Morticia from the original Addam's Family. Shes being pushed around and Danny steps in. Before they part she drops him off at school and demands a kiss. 

Danny learns his dad got a job at the pharmacy. Later that night, Danny is working the club when he runs into Ronnie and learns she's the arm candy of big wig club owner Maxie Fields played splendidly by Walter Matthau. Maxie insists Danny sing for the club and he does, wowing the crowd. Rival club owner Charlie (Paul Stewart) hears Danny and offers him a job at his club, the King Creole. Danny accepts and is soon the hit of the town. 

The opening act for Danny on his first night shows a cute number performed by French actress Liliane Montevecchi. She wears a banana costume very reminiscent of Josephine Baker and struts around with bananas hanging from her suit and palm tree props. 

           

Wanting to make some extra cash, Danny meets the local scrappy gang who work for Maxie. They ask Danny to serenade the Five and Dime while they go in and steal. The plan works and Danny meets counter girl Nellie (played by Dolores Hart). She is as sweet as they come and has no problem telling Danny how she feels about him. She feels a lot.

Soon Danny finds him self seeing Nellie and Ronnie, and playing nightly at The King Creole. Maxie doesn't like the hype and forces Danny to work for him. In the mean time, Danny's dad is getting pushed around at work and the gang decides to mug the boss and steal his cash. Danny is in on the gig too, but things go wrong and Danny's dad is the one hurt. 

Danny needs to get away. The pressure from Maxie is too heavy and Nellie wants to get more serious. He ends up Ronnie's beach house and they plan a future away from Maxie. Will their plan work? What about Nellie? You'll have to watch to see what happens next.

The soundtrack to this film is great, with Elvis singing many numbers like "New Orleans", "Dixieland Rock", and "Hard-Headed Woman" along with an opening song, "Crawfish" sung with Kitty White that starts the movie out strong.  Some thought he would be nominated for an Oscar for his roll but that didn't pan out. Ten days after the film wrapped, Elvis entered the army and started basic training. Nellie played by Dolores Hart left Hollywood several years after this film was made and became a nun, and is the Reverend Mother at a Monastery in Connecticut.  In a documentary about her life, she was asked why she left her acting career of 16 years for the church. She responded, "God is bigger than Elvis". 

James Dean was supposed to snag this role but Hal B. Wallis wanted Elvis for his musical abilities. Elvis's manager, the Colonel Tom Parker, was very against him playing Danny, but eventually he got the role. Elvis was known to spend more time with the crew and extras hanging out an playing music than sitting in his dressing room. Walter Mathau was the "veteran" actor on set and was told by Michael Curtiz that he was a high priced actor but to act like a low priced actor. Elvis asked him for advice on the set which Walter obliged.  Filming proved to be tricky with rain delays and the daily mob that formed outside the Roosevelt Hotel where Elvis and others were staying. Shooting proved difficult too to due to the large onlooking crowds. Elvis was document as saying this was the favorite of all his films. 

Box Office Poison

Ready for your daily trivia: what do Kay Francis, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, and Mae West all have in common?  If you were going to say that these gals, including Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich were all at one time tagged as box office poison, you are correct! While MGM had a stellar year in 1939 with films such as Gone With the Wind, Wizard of Oz, and The Women to name a few, just a year prior the industry was not as stable. The war was looming, and studios were dumping loads of cash into stars hoping to get a huge return, and some just weren't. Katharine Hepburn had success with Holiday co-starting Cary Grant, but other films such as Break of Hearts, and A Woman Rebels flopped. Mae West had made loads of dough for Paramount and wanted $300,000 a film, but they weren't drawing in the crowds like they used to. 

                                       

  On May 3, 1938, the Independent Theater Owners Association published an ad in the Hollywood Reporter naming names and letting all of Hollywood know just what they felt about big stars with big salaries who's movies were "drawing in nil". Harry Brandt was responsible for the ad and didn't stop there. He went on to add to his star list in an article for the Independent Film Journal including Norma Shearer and Delores Del Rio, and even added some men to the list, John Barrymore and strangely Fred Astaire. While it's true Barrymore was having a hard time with alcohol and could not read his lines without cue cards, Fred Astaire had a relevant career that would see more highs than lows. 

                                                                               

When the ITOA published in the Hollywood Reporter, it took the industry little time to notice. Before long the news was everywhere and started affecting contract negotiations and salaries. Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons even got in the mix. But in the end it didn't make much difference to some stars who continued to have lasting solid careers in Hollywood. It was just momentary ruckus that got Hollywood in a tizzy. Looking back decades later and who was "box office poison" it might be a bit comical as Katharine Hepburn, Fred Astaire, and Joan Crawford won Oscars later in their career, with Katharine winning 4 and being nominated 12 times. Way to pull out of the trenches!