The Patsy ** (1964, Jerry Lewis, Everett Sloane, Peter Lorre, John Carradine, Phil Harris) – Classic Movie Review 5950

Jerry Lewis stars in the 1964 comedy The Patsy as a silly clodhopping bellboy called Stanley Belt, who is recruited to step into the shoes of a famous comic, who has died in an air accident, and to star in his place in a big TV show.

Naturally it does not go well, and thus Lewis becomes a fall-guy (the patsy) in this typically frantic 1964 film mixture of slapstick and sentiment from Lewis, who also co-writes, co-produces and directs.

Luckily, Lewis has assembled a sweet cast, including Peter Lorre in his last film as Morgan Heywood, Everett Sloane as Caryl Fergusson, John Carradine as Bruce Alden, Phil Harris as Chic Wymore, Hans Conried, Ina Balin as as Ellen Betz, Nancy Kulp, Keenan Wynn as Harry Silver, Richard Deacon, Scatman Crothers, Del Moore, Neil Hamilton, Buddy Lester and Lloyd Thaxton, and The Four Step Brothers as Themselves.

The cast members playing the greedy show business managers grooming the star are particularly fun to watch, and Lewis fans will be happy enough, though it is not up to the standard of his best work.

The Patsy boasts cameos from a variety of Hollywood personalities including George Raft, Hedda Hopper, Ed Sullivan, Ed Wynn, Mel Tormé, Rhonda Fleming, Scatman Crothers, Phil Foster, Billy Beck, Hans Conried, Richard Deacon, Del Moore, Neil Hamilton, Buddy Lester, Nancy Kulp, Norman Alden, Jack Albertson, Richard Bakalyan, Jerry Dunphy, Kathleen Freeman, Norman Leavitt, Eddie Ryder, Lloyd Thaxton and Fritz Feld.

Bill Richmond, who co-writes the screenplay, makes a cameo appearance as a piano player. It was intended as a sequel to Lewis’s 1960 The Bellboy and originally called Son of Bellboy. Lewis’s characters in the two films are bellboys named Stanley.

It was filmed from 6 January to 28 February 1964 and released on 12 August 1964 by Paramount Pictures. Peter Lorre had already died in March 1964.

RIP Jerry Lewis, who died on 20 August 2017, aged 91.

 © Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5950

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