Sunday Night With the Girls

The 13th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival concludes with a pair of gems, from two of Hollywood's sweethearts.

Her Wild Oat (1927)
Sunday July 13, 3:50pm, The Castro Theater, San Francisco

"An English accent and a little French dressing make an American girl a woman of the world."

Silent Era Hollywood successfully offered Colleen Moore as the independent, self-assured, fun-loving working girl that every young woman dreamed of being, and every young man dreamed of having.
In Her Wild Oat (1927), Moore stars as, "Mary Lou Smith, orphan – whose father left her a lunch wagon, a dog, and a lot of ambition." Cute, clever and loved by all, Mary Lou longs for bigger and better things.

Spoiled rich kid Philip Latour (Larry Kent) is mugged when he stumbles from a nightclub. He turns up at the lunch wagon wearing dirty, borrowed overalls and instantly sparks with Mary Lou. She hatches a scheme to vacation at a swanky resort where the boy says he is "working," takes fashion advice from her chorus girl pal, and everything goes horribly, hysterically wrong, almost …

Directed by Marshall Nielan, Her Wild Oat is a wonderful farce of double masquerade and witty words.

Live musical accompaniment for Her Wild Oat will be performed by pianist Michael Mortilla.

The Patsy (1928)

Sunday July 13, 7:00pm, The Castro Theater, San Francisco

"When in Bagdad do as the Bagdaddies do!"

Marion Davies is tearfully funny as the trod upon younger sister in her first film with director King Vidor, The Patsy (1928). As one of the greatest comediennes of the silent era, this is no great surprise. Quite unexpected on the other hand, is the absurd and outrageous performance of Marie Dressler as the girls mother, a vain and socially posturing doyenne.

Patsy literally gets the backside of the chicken in her household. She begrudgingly cooks, cleans, and wears her sister Grace’s (Jane Winton) hand-me-downs. Pat’s only comfort is her dear old Dad (Del Henderson), who is equally put-upon.

Davies’ performance as the youngster, mooning over her sister’s boyfriend Tony (Orville Caldwell), her attempts to take his advice and develop a "personality" in order to win the man of her dreams, (who happens to be Tony himself) followed by everyone’s reactions, and an unforgettable demonstration of mimicry, are utterly priceless.

"After all, a caterpillar is nothing but an upholstered worm."

Live musical accompaniment for The Patsy will be performed on the Castro Theater's 4/21 Wurlitzer by Clark Wilson.