Main Cast: Jerry Lewis, Ina Balin, Everett Sloane, Phil Harris, Keenan Wynn
Release Year: 1964
Country: US
Run Time: 101 minutes
Plot
Toward the end of Jerry Lewis's Paramount studio period, Lewis slapped together this bitter comedy about Hollywood phoniness and fame that has to be the most rancid portrait of the Hollywood star system in the Rat Pack era this side of Clifford Odets. When a famous entertainer suddenly is killed in an airplane crash, his team of flunkies -- producer Caryl Fergusson (Everett Sloane), writer Chic Wymore (Phil Harris), press agent Harry Silver (Keenan Wynn), director Morgan Heywood (Peter Lorre in his final film role), valet Bruce Alden (John Carradine), and secretary Ellen Betz (Ina Balin) -- decide to continue their life style by finding a complete unknown and manufacturing him into a Hollywood star. That unknown turns out to be the nervous and inept bellboy Stanley Belt (Jerry Lewis). They train Stanley to become an over-night singing sensation, and despite a disastrous recording session and a failed nightclub performance, the public relations blitz makes Stanley's recording of "I Lost My Heart in a Drive-In Movie" a smash single. So much so that Stanley is given a shot at appearing on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Expecting the worst, Stanley's management team abandons him right before his performance. But Stanley musters up enough confidence to go on the live program alone and manages to surprise his pessimistic ex-staff. A collection of Hollywood celebrities circa 1964 --George Raft, Ed Wynn, Ed Sullivan, Mel Torme, Rhonda Fleming and Hedda Hopper -- make cameo appearances. High spots include an apocalyptic music lesson with voice teacher Dr. Mule-rrr (Hans Conried), Ed Sullivan performing a bizarre impersonation of himself, and an ending that would make even Jean-Luc Godard blush. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
The films that Jerry Lewis directed could get self-reflexive but few ever took it as far as The Patsy. On the surface, it has a typical Lewis-film premise: a lovable loser gets in over his head but triumphs thanks to his innate decency and a little help from a loving woman. The Patsy also delivers the expected laughs: highlights include a scene where Lewis botches an attempt to lip-synch a terrible pop record on a teen dance show, another moment where he drives two of his minders mad by consistently botching a nightclub routine and a hilarious scene where a music lesson ends in mass destruction of a roomful of antiques. However, The Patsy surprises by modern standards because it also offers a wry, cynical dissection of how the showbiz machine works and how the savvy people who run it will create lousy "stars" just to keep their comfortable jobs. There's a very "meta" feel to the film, complete with real-life entertainment figures like Hedda Hopper and Ed Sullivan satirizing themselves, not to mention a unique ending that tweaks expectations in an ahead-of-its-time postmodern fashion. Lewis delivers the slapstick and the pathos in equal measure as an actor and also benefits from the confident support of an ace supporting cast that includes notables like Peter Lorre, Keenan Wynn and Everett Sloane. Among the support players, the scene stealers are Ina Balin as the quietly sensitive girl Friday who falls for the hero and Hans Conreid as a singing instructor who slowly unravels as he is forced to deal with Lewis. Finally, Lewis's direction is confident and inventive, making excellent use of color and motion to sell the gags and also weaving in unusual surprises like a flashback without dialogue that plays out as a poignant musical interlude. In short, The Patsy works both as a prime example of Jerry Lewis's many skills and also as an unexpectedly incisive satire of show business. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
Peter Lorre - Morgan Heywood; John Carradine - Bruce Alden; Hans Conried - Prof. MuleRRR; Phil Foster - Himself; Richard Deacon - Sy Devore; Neil Hamilton - Barber; Scatman Crothers - Shoeshine Boy; Del Moore - Police Officer; Nancy Kulp - Theatergoer; Fritz Feld - Maitre D'; Jerome Cowan - Executive; Henry Slate - Paul; Jack Albertson - Man; Norman Alden - Bully at Gym; Murray Alper; Phil Arnold - Bartender; Billy Beck - Band Member; Billy Bletcher; Don Brodie; Harry V. Cheshire - Police Sergeant; Fay deWitt; Herbie Faye - Tailor; Joe Finnegan; Kathleen Freeman - Katie; Marianne Gaba; John Gallaudet - Barney; Gavin Gordon - Executive on Golf Course; Jerry Hausner - Floorman; Hedda Hopper - Herself; Bobby Johnson; Byron Kane; Norman Leavitt - Newsboy; Buddy Lester - M.C.; Dave Lipp - Frozen-Stare Man; Darlene Lucht - Checkroom Girl; John Marlowe; Dee Jay Mattis - The Broad; Peggy Mondo - Bowler; Mantan Moreland - Barbershop Porter; Quinn O'Hara - Cigarette Girl; Barbara Pepper; Sherwood Price - Bellboy; George Raft - Himself; Sheila Rogers; Michael Ross - Truck Driver; Eddie Ryder - People at Party; Vernon Scott; Walter Smith; Joan Swift - Girl; Mel Tormé - Himself; William Wellman, Jr.; Dave Willock - Alex; Ed Wynn - Himself; Richard Bakalyan - Boys at Dance; Robert Carson - Table Captains at Italian Cafe; Sam Weston - Man on Phone; John Macchia - Student; Mabel Smaney - Woman in Phone Booth; The Step Brothers - Themselves; Adele Claire; Lorraine Crawford - Manicurist; Isabelle Dwan - Elderly Lady; Bob Harvey - Waiter; Hollis Morrison - Jute Box; June Smaney - Pedicurist; Michael Mahoney - Heckler [uncredited]
Credit
Cary O'Dell - Art Director, Hal Pereira - Art Director, Arthur P. Schmidt - Co-producer, Edith Head - Costume Designer, Ralph Axness - First Assistant Director, Jerry Lewis - Director, John M. Woodcock - Editor, David Raksin - Composer (Music Score), Jack Brooks - Songwriter, Raskin - Songwriter, Wally Westmore - Makeup, W. Wallace Kelley - Cinematographer, Ernest D. Glucksman - Producer, Ray Moyer - Set Designer, Sam Comer - Set Designer, Charles Grenzbach - Sound/Sound Designer, Hugo Grenzbach - Sound/Sound Designer, Jerry Lewis - Screenwriter, Bill Richmond - Screenwriter
A famous comedian perishes in a plane crash. Members of his management team, worried that they will be jobless, decide to find someone to take his place as their "meal ticket." Stanley Belt (Jerry Lewis) is a bellboy at their hotel and they decide he will become their next star.
Stanley has no obvious talent, but his new managers use their power to open doors for him, including an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. However, it quickly appears that Stanley will never develop any talent and the managers fire him just before he goes on stage. However, one of them, Ellen (Ina Balin), has fallen in love with Stanley and stays by his side.
Stanley becomes a hit on the show. The others from the management team come begging for their jobs back, to which Stanley magnanimously agrees.
Production
The film's working title was Son of Bellboy, as it was originally intended to be a sequel to The Bellboy. In fact, Lewis' characters in both films are named Stanley. It was filmed from January 6 to February 28, 1964.
