Thursday, March 07, 2013

Mae West: Interruptions

Starring MAE WEST, the movie "Klondike Annie" was reviewed in Motion Picture Herald (on page 19) on Saturday, 7 March 1936.
• • The articles in Quigley's trade magazine included William Randolph Hearst's editorial that raged against the Mae West film "Klondike Annie" and also "The Case of Block Booking Argued Before Senators."
• • Paramount Pictures, for instance, had forced movie house managers to agree to screen certain films in order to be granted the privilege of also having a Mae West film, which would result in many profitable sold-out showings.
• • No matter what the editor of Motion Picture Herald felt about decency, Martin Quigley often accepted back page ads that would publicize the latest Mae West release. In contrast, the front cover (orange stock with thick black type) was a bland affair with neither portraits nor graphics.
• • Will Hays [5 November 1879 — 7 March 1954] • •
• • Will Hays did battle with Mae West, bleaching her scripts of fun and friskiness, and earning his title as the Hitler of Hollywood.
• • The first president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA), Will Hays began his new job, at a $100,000 annual salary, in the month of March — — on Monday, 6 March 1922.
• • After his retirement in 1945, Will H. Hays returned to his hometown in Indiana where he died in the month of March — — on Sunday, 7 March 1954. He was 74.
• • On Wednesday, 7 March 1934 in The Hollywood Reporter • •
• • The Hollywood Reporter's issue dated for Wednesday, 7 March 1934 reported that there were sixteen stories in the March 1934 Movie Mirror "and they all, individually, are worth the price of the magazine." Mae West appeared on the front cover of Movie Mirror. Inside, Harry Lang, the Boswell of Tinseltown, concluded his three-part series of the life story of Mae West. This fan magazine was 96 pages and cost a dime.
• • On Wednesday, 7 March 2007 • •
• • The Southeastern Theatre Conference devoted a session to "Interrupted Theatre" and the panel's topics included Mae West, The Living Theatre, and The Laramie Project at 4:00 pm on Wednesday, 7 March 2007.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "They talk about me being married. Would any woman in danger of a husband dare get furniture like that? It's ladylike and would be plain ruined if some man put his big shoes on it. I don't waste money that way."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An internal memo from the MPPDA discussed Mae West.
• • "Problem Created by Mae West Pictures" • •
• • Ray Norr, Public Relations Counsel, wrote this memo to Will Hays: This memorandum is submitted in the effort to further a public relations policy directed to the following primary purposes: a. To protects Paramount's asset resulting from the extraordinary popularity of the Mae West pictures; b. To meet the serious problem that threatens the industry as a whole, unless a careful policy of followed in the production of further Mae West pictures. Investigation of church and social service criticism of the current Mae West pictures indicates the possibility of a problem before the industry somewhat analogous to the Fatty Arbuckle case. The argument runs thus: Here is a woman whose efforts to commercialize bawdy house entertainment have made her a sensational figure and finally resulted in her imprisonment. She stands legally and morally convicted for indecent performance on the stage — — a vastly more selective forum than the movie house, which appeals for the patronage of men, women and children alike. Despite this record, the movies have taken up Mae West ...
• • Source:  MPPDA; letter written on Wednesday, 18 October 1933 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2598th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Mae West 1936
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