What makes this movie a Lewis gem is his terrific direction behind the lens.Jerry breaks the boundaries between fiction and reality,audience and story.The ending of the film shows that Stanley is actually Jerry,and his falling off the building leads to a shot of camera and crew.Jerry then states,"The people in the theater know i ain't gonna die;I'm gonna make more movies,so i couldn't die" while walking off the set with Ina Balin calling him a nut.So the ending is not a closing of a fictional tale but a revealing of reality in the form of Jerry exiting stage left off to make another movie.This can be maddening to some but what makes Lewis revolutionary to me. His opening of the film with Stanley falling out a window and falling with credits running only to hit a diving board and landing back in the room is terrific in form.The use of the mirror when Stanley is being fit for a suit wanting to look like is idol George Raft,Raft appearing in the shot as a reflection of Stanley.The Director is the star,brilliant.
Review of The Patsy
