Mae West: May 1982

It was on 2 May 1982 that the TV drama "MAE WEST" had its small screen premiere starring actress Ann Jillian in the title role. The two-hour program was re-broadcast on ABC television at 9:00 PM on 14 August 1984 (following the excitement of the U.S. Olympics).
• • Remembering the May 1982 production, New York Times critic Richard F. Shepard had these comments two years later. Shepard wrote: ''Mae West'' was originally seen in 1982, long enough ago in these fast- moving times to almost qualify the show as a revival rather than as another summer re-run. It is reasonable programming, a show about a torrid actress in matching weather. It is also a drama that is satisfactory television, not earth-shaking, but one that is particularly admirable because it gives us a chance to see Ann Jillian portray the immortal Miss West.
• • Miss Jillian is not only good to look at, she is also a formidable actress who catches the essence of Miss West: not only the swaying hips but also the precise intonations that could load a phrase with the sort of innuendo that drove censors to blue-pencil conclusions.
• • Actually, E. Arthur Keen's screenplay, directed by Lee Philips, is reminiscent of one of those Alice Faye — Don Ameche — Tyrone Power movies in which the stars age ever so slightly over 30 years. This is not an objection, because it doesn't really matter. When things go through a somewhat tedious and mawkish period, they are perked up by a song and a crisis.
• • Miss Jillian generally resembles Miss West in this undertaking, but she is too pretty and not quite as pasty-faced as the original came across in her films. No matter. We know she is the unflappable Miss West when she delivers those great lines that are the heart of the piece. As, when a judge finds her guilty of corrupting the morals of youth in her 1927 show, ''Sex,'' she retorts, ''That's what they got Socrates for, ain't it?'' Or when the checkroom attendant, in a Mae West film, exclaims,''Goodness, what beautiful diamonds!'' and Miss West rolls hips and eyes and says, ''Goodness had nothing to do with it.''
• • The settings range in costume and prop from early 1900's to late 1940's, from vaudeville to stage, from Broadway to Hollywood and back again. The continuing thread is her love affair with her manager [Jim Timony], played in a noble vein by James Brolin. It is very sad, but don't take it to heart. Roddy McDowall is persuasive as a female impersonator who puts Miss West on the path to stardom by fixing her stage personality and appearance; he is almost scholarly and calm, the lifelong friend and confidant. . . .
Source: The New York Times [14 August 1984]
Byline: Richard F. Shepard
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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NYC
Mae West.