Product Details

• Actors: Jack Albertson, Norman Alden, Ina Balin, John Carradine, Hans Conried
• Format: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: October 12, 2004
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002NY8WQ
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #68,802 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Patsy" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In THE PATSY, after a star comedian dies his handlers are resolved to find a replacement to take the deceased star's place so their gravy train will continue. They decide to hire a total unknown and find the ultimate Patsy in hotel bellboy Stanley Belt. After realizing that Stanley can't do anything right, the team begins to think they've made a mistake, but the television show's air date approaches and it's too late to hire someone else.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Jerry Lewis Manipulated, Again, June 9, 2005

By	Lonnie E. Holder "The Review's the Thing" (Columbus, Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When a star comedian dies his team decides to replace him. Jerry Lewis is the fortunate, or unfortunate, victim. We see the team, which includes Ellen Betz (Ina Balin), Harry Silver (Keenan Wynn), Morgan Heywood (Peter Lorre), and Bruce Alden (John Carradine), among others, attempt to transform Stanley Belt (Lewis) from a bumbling bellboy to a comedian.

There is a tie-in to another Lewis movie. In 1960 Lewis starred in "The Bellboy," where he played Stanley. However, I thought that the bellboy in the earlier movie was much more confident and capable than the bellboy in this later movie.

There are portions of this movie that I thought were funny. There were even portions that I found touching. However, in comparison to many of Jerry Lewis's other movie; I thought this movie was less funny. Sometimes the attempts at humor fell flat for me. However, I will also note that this movie is quite popular with fans of Jerry Lewis.

If you like only some of Jerry Lewis's movies, you may find this one too tedious to be enjoyable. If you are a fan of Jerry Lewis, likely you will find this movie to be humorous. However, Jerry Lewis had many other films that were better and funnier.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful, reflexive and funny, May 29, 2004

By	Platonism (Montreal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Patsy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The Patsy, Lewis' fifth film as a director and one of his best, can be considered as a semi-sequel to both The Bellboy (his first) and The Errand Boy (his third). Like its two predecessors, it features a confrontation between a complete outsider (always played by Lewis) and a lavish, illusionistic and mercantile milieu. As in all of his films, the interplay between 'Lewis the artist' (a natural performer whose inventiveness knows no bounds) and 'Lewis the star' (has more swagger, aggressiveness and self-confidence but far less freedom) is central here. It takes place in a single character (named Stanley as in The Bellboy) whose road to stardom is as unexpected and multi-layered as Morty's was in The Errand Boy. In many ways, the artist-star conflict is resolved in the postmodern conclusion: Lewis' choice to equal Stanley with himself - and The Patsy's world with 'reality' - implies that the true star-artist is finally made possible. Some of the movie's set pieces - Stanley's first appearance, the singing lesson, the silent flashback, the failed stand-up performance - are among the most effective of Lewis' filmography, seamlessly weaving together the sophisticated and the grotesque. A very impressive film from an underrated filmmaker.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Patsy is certainly one of Lewis' best efforts!, August 15, 2004

By	PATRICK J.POWERS "PAT POWERS" (Duncombe,IA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Patsy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

If you like the humor of Jerry Lewis when it comes to spoofing the entertainment world then this is the VHS to own in your collection. Personally I thought it was one of his best efforts with his years with Paramount. A great cast of Hollywood's past is featured in this 40 year old comedy. It's a rollicking look at creating a big time wannabe from Lewis' own perspective. Enjoy!