The Patsy

“You German writers, directors and actors, go and see this (...) cheerful feature film, so weightless and graceful, so light-hearted and briskly entertaining,” a Berlin critic wrote in Welt am Abend on 8 April 1929. The film revolves around Pat, a shy girl who is madly in love with her arrogant sister’s boyfriend and constantly bullied by her mother. Marion Davies turns this Cinderella story into a dazzlingly funny one-woman show, directed with wit and lots of pace by King Vidor. Davies takes particular pleasure in parodying other stars: “Marion Davies wins all along the line. She adorably copies Lilian Gish, Pola Negri and Mae Murray. It is not too much to call her one of the most capable and intelligent comediennes in American cinema”, the Berlin journal Lichtbild-Bühne noted on 4 April 1929.

The Patsy is accompanied by Ekkehard Wölk (piano), Kristoff Becker (cello) and Andrea Marcelli (percussion, clarinet). Ekkehard Wölk (Berlin) is an award-winning jazz pianist, arranger and composer who has been performing at numerous international festivals. Kristoff Becker (Berlin) is a cellist and instrument maker and known for his work with the ensemble “Trioglyzerin”. Andrea Marcelli (Rome) is a drummer, clarinet player, composer, producer and arranger who has been performing with jazz veterans such as Wayne Shorter and has recorded award-winning albums.