The Grand
Dame
Short film
provides a couple of laughs
The Grand Dame is
a short subject starring Patsy Kelly as “Miss Peggy
O’Roarke,” a low class gangster’s moll with aspirations of
using her lucky standing to gain entrance into the local
high society.
Kelly is cute as a button and an excellent comedian, but
the writing is a tad obvious at times. Jokes sometimes run
as goofy as her thinking that people are looking ar her
over the radio and mispronouncing the word corsage as
Cor-sa-gee!
The simple plot involves Miss Peggy attending a local
soiree of supposed upper-crusters. Trying to behave as they
behave, she satirizes their stuffiness and self-importance;
would anyone really want to belong to this club? They offer
her an exclusive membership to their society for a mere
$25,000, which she considers a bargain, but before the deal
can be done, there is a surprise in store, and everything
is not as it seems to be.
In a classic example of the ups and downs of show biz,
Kelly spent a life in films, TV and theater in a rather
undistinguished career until winning a Tony for her role in
the 1971 Broadway revival of "No, No Nanette."
All in all, The
Grand Dame is a
good example of the kind of frothy filler that used to be
part of the evening’s program for a night out at the
theater.