zasupittsfan Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Questions? Comments? Reactions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinceSaliano Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I like Patsy Kelly. And I love that she turned up in ROSEMARY'S BABY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phroso Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I thought she was funny, like a down-and-dirty Eve Arden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traceyk65 Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 > {quote:title=PrinceSaliano wrote:}{quote} > I like Patsy Kelly. And I love that she turned up in ROSEMARY'S BABY. She and Ruth Gordon are the only reason I would watch that movie twice. I love the crazy Satanists down the hall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SansFin Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 It is very possible she is not funny. She makes me laugh but I have been known to laugh at many things that are not truly funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyFavoriteFilms Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I love Patsy Kelly...she's a hoot. I'm a big, big fan of hers. And not to bash the original poster, but I hope this does not become a polarizing thread. It seems like it could pit the Patsy and the ZaSu fans against each other. It is possible, after all, to enjoy the technique of both these ladies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zasupittsfan Posted August 31, 2010 Author Share Posted August 31, 2010 This is an all-out war. ZaSu 4-eva! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poinciana Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Patsy was so choice as Laura-Louise in Rosemary's Baby. I'm afraid that a whole generation probably only knows her from that role. Didn't she walk out on her part as the housekeeper in The Thrill of It All? I mean she's still there but they replaced her with that big German lady. They had to rewrite part of the script to make it seem the character left because she thought Garner was trying to sleep with her. In Debbie Reynolds' autobio she speaks of Kelly as "Dear Patsy Kelly," loved her but had to deal with her drinking during the stage run of Irene. A side note: Notice Hope Summers (prissy, bossy Clara Edwards on the Andy Griffith Show) as a member of the coven in RB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markbeckuaf Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 I found both Patsy and Zasu funny in the Thelma shorts (haven't seen them all yet though, from yesterday). They are different in style, but both seemed to have great chemistry with Thelma! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnm001 Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 I worked with her, briefly, right before she went into *Irene*. I have very fond memories of her, and the audiences found her, extremely funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGMMayer Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Hoo-boy, I was AFRAID this was going to happen.....especially since TCM chose to show all of the "Zasu Pitts" shorts together and then all of the "Patsy Kelly" shorts together. Perhaps they should have alternated them....a Zasu, then a Patsy, then a Zasu, etc. A big problem is that Patsy Kelly is best enjoyed in small doses. She doesn't lend herself to long "marathon" programming the way that versatile Thelma Todd does. Personally, I enjoy the teams of Todd-Pitts and Todd-Kelly for different reasons. The team of Todd-Pitts has a certain sweetness to it....largely because Thelma and Zasu were close friends in real life, even before they started working together as a team, and this genuine fondness for each other shows in their shorts. Thelma may get nervous or even angry with Zasu, but in the end you know that she really loves her like a sister. This is beautifully seen in the final scene of "Asleep In The Feet". The team of Todd-Kelly has a somewhat different dynamic to it. In those shorts, Patsy's loud toughness is a constant embarrassment to Thelma. Thelma tries to act very refined and classy to make up for her friend's crudeness, and the contrast can be very funny....but no matter how dignified Thelma acts, she's always humorously humiliated by Patsy. I wouldn't say that one team is BETTER than the other, but they definitely are different, and each team has its own particular charm and appeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zasupittsfan Posted September 1, 2010 Author Share Posted September 1, 2010 I seem to recall a little film entitled "Greed"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 I particularly like Patsy in *Topper Returns*, the funniest of all the Topper films, filled with wonderful characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicalnovelty Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Fans of both "Pittsy" and Patsy can see both together in the 1941 Hal Roach feature BROADWAY LIMITED. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033435/combined I wonder if they were friends and if during the making of this movie they ever talked about working with Thelma Todd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGMMayer Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 > {quote:title=musicalnovelty wrote:}{quote} > Fans of both "Pittsy" and Patsy can see both together in the 1941 Hal Roach feature BROADWAY LIMITED. > > http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033435/combined > > I wonder if they were friends and if during the making of this movie they ever talked about working with Thelma Todd. Being that the film was made at the Roach studios, and both women were once part of a "Todd & ...." team, I'm sure that Thelma was remembered and discussed......at least I like to think so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggyelman Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Gee, I'm sorry, I like Patsy Kelly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloydDBarber Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Maybe I have no sense of humor, but I have a problem watching comedy shorts from the 30's and 40's. They are mostly all slapstick and extremely violent. Seeing a beautiful woman like Thelma Todd being knocked over, and having a vase fall on her head, is not my idea of funny. Give me the Marx Brothers and WC Fields. They were not completely free of violence, but also demonstrated verbal humor. Thelma Todd was a looker and deserved better in her short life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinceSaliano Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Patsy Kelly was stunned when she learned of Thelma's death. Upon realizing it was true, she collapsed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGMMayer Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 > {quote:title=FloydDBarber wrote:}{quote} > Maybe I have no sense of humor, but I have a problem watching comedy shorts from the 30's and 40's. They are mostly all slapstick and extremely violent. Seeing a beautiful woman like Thelma Todd being knocked over, and having a vase fall on her head, is not my idea of funny. Give me the Marx Brothers and WC Fields. They were not completely free of violence, but also demonstrated verbal humor. Thelma Todd was a looker and deserved better in her short life. I understand your feelings on this, but a lot of the "slapstick and violence" business depended on the studio producing the comedy shorts. Columbia was known for fast-paced, violent, almost cartoonish slapstick, while RKO shorts (Leon Errol, Edgar Kennedy, etc.) were more dialogue and situation-oriented. Sure, there are slapstick gags in the RKO's, but as a rule you don't feel the physical pain for the characters the way that you do in a Columbia. Hal Roach shorts can be a mixed bag. While there are a LOT of Roach shorts which rely on heavy, violent slapstick, there are also some (usually Charley Chase shorts) which have a "kinder, gentler" tone to them, but are still very funny. Hang in there and remember that not ALL comedy shorts from the 1930s and 40s have the "in your face" slapstick and violence that you dislike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryLong Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 *I seem to recall a little film entitled "Greed"...* An agreeable short subject. buit your point is...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloydDBarber Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Thank you, I know there are some great comedies out there but you must sift through the crap to find them. There is a Three Stooges short where their mortal enemy ends up as their drill sergent in WWI. There is a pretty grim scene where the boys are beating the crap out of him with everything under the sun. Curly finds a 2x4 with a bunch of rusty nails sticking out and procedes to pummel the guy with the 2x4. And the Shemp comedies were even more violent. Maybe we should blame Jules White, he apparentl had a very twisted sense of humor. At least the Stooges received as many punches as they dished out to others. Maybe poetic justice is the key to the Stooges appeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Faiola Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Patsy had great delivery and superb timing. She was wonderful in the "One Angry Man" episode of THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW. After demeaning comedy writer Rob Petrie for being the lone holdout in a jury trial, Patsy cracks "I don't even like his show!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zasupittsfan Posted September 1, 2010 Author Share Posted September 1, 2010 Patsy Kelly was the anti-Wally Cox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Im4movies2 Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Oh I don't think so. I think Patsy Kelly was funny in her own wacky way. When she appeared on Broadway in the revivals of No No Nannette and Irene the audiance stopped the show to give her a warm round of applause of recognition the moment she stepped on stage. She was very happy and gratified to have had a "second" chance at the end of her career and life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGMMayer Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 > {quote:title=Im4movies2 wrote:}{quote} > Oh I don't think so. I think Patsy Kelly was funny in her own wacky way. When she appeared on Broadway in the revivals of No No Nannette and Irene the audiance stopped the show to give her a warm round of applause of recognition the moment she stepped on stage. She was very happy and gratified to have had a "second" chance at the end of her career and life. I wasn't lucky enough to be in the theatre audience for Patsy's appearances in "No, No, Nanette" and "Irene", but I'm sure that I would have gone completely NUTS with wild applause when I saw Patsy come out on stage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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