Jerry Scores A Paramount Bullseye

His Best May Be The Patsy (1964) ... Or Not

Jerry Lewis' masterpiece, if I may use the word. It followed The Nutty Professor in terms of Jerry directing and writing (with Bill Richmond). If you want inside Jerry's skull, here's the entrance. He was still potent enough at Paramount to spend free on lush setting --- there are doozies here --- and JL's camera is always up to interesting things. The bloom was coming off the rose, however, The Patsy at two million in domestic rentals being way down from Professor's $3.3 million, and in-between Who's Minding The Store with $2.5. Rentals were thus dipping as Lewis profligacy increased. Was The Patsy too sophisticated for Jerry's increasingly youthful crowd?

There's leisure (plenty) in an opener reel all but labeled "Place Exposition Here" before JL even enters, but who's complaining when it's rogue gallery of Everett Sloane, John Carradine, Keenan Wynn, Phil Harris, and Peter Lorre (just prior to his death, and looking it). The girl is Ina Balin; she's supposed to find Jerry adorable, which calls for acting a Garbo or Gish couldn't manage, what with JL in spastic mode intermitting with suave offscreen Lewis, a weird parlay increasingly woven into his act after Buddy Love parted curtains. There are "star" cameos --- George Raft, with whom Hollywood was long done, though not Vegas (greeter) --- did Jerry buddy up with needy George at casinos? Then there's Rhonda Fleming being asked how her "new picture" is going. What new picture? She hadn't done a US feature since 1960's The Crowded Sky. But that's The Patsy's charm, Jerry operating as if it's still the 40's with show business in a twenty-year ago groove.

Maurice Chevalier Is A Guest To The Patsy Set

But go back even further to the barber trimming "Stanley Bolt's" (Lewis) hair ... Griffith veteran Neil Hamilton from silent days. Then there's Gavin Gordon on a golf course, he of earliest talkies and, I'm sure, thrilled for a day's work back at Paramount. Plus comes Mantan Moreland, Billy Bletcher, Fritz Feld, Benny Rubin --- I should follow each of these names with exclamation marks, as that's how pleased we are at seeing them. Lewis would make a great Cinecon guest just to talk about all of survivor greats to whom he gave work. Jerry's stock company is also in evidence: Buddy Lester, Del Moore, my favorite Dave Willock. So what of the comedy --- indeed, so what? Well, I think it's Jerry's best, whatever one thinks that amounts to. An extended routine with Hans Conried is certifiably a howl. Lewis obviously took dim-view of rock and roll, his thing being swing, so he sends up the big beat mercilessly (having done that before). This time it's I Lost My Heart In A Drive-In Movie, which Jerry lip-syncs to insult of recording pretenders I'd bet he loathed. Memo to 1964 Jerry: The music war was over, and your side lost.