Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Mae West: Robert Fryer

"Myra Breckinridge" [1970] starring MAE WEST, and directed by Michael Sarne, was a curious 94 minute adaptation of Gore Vidal's novel.  Robert Fryer was one of the producers.
• • Robert Fryer [18 November 1920 — 28 May 2000] • •
• • Born in Washington, District of Columbia on 18 November 1920 was Robert Fryer, who developed an interest in the dramatic arts.
• • When he was 31, he had a show on The Great White Way, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"; staged as a musical it enjoyed eight months of good box office during 1951.
• • When he was 33, he produced the enduringly popular "Wonderful Town" [25 February  1953 — 3 July 1954], which won the 1953 Tony Award® for Best Musical.
• • In addition to years of significant achievements onstage, Robert Fryer has a dozen credits for producing projects onscreen from 1958 — 1980.
• • "Myra Breckinridge" [1970] was brought into being by James Cresson, Associate Producer; Robert Fryer, Producer; and David Giler, Producer. Fryer was 49 years old at the time.
• • Robert Fryer died in Los Angeles, California on Sunday, 28 May 2000 . He was 79.
• • On Monday, 28 May 1934 • •
• • The Australian audience embraced "the new star" in their midst when their movie houses showed "She Done Him Wrong" down under. But their local critics did not have the same reaction to "I'm No Angel."
• • On Monday, 28 May 1934, a lengthy article in The Argus emphasized that the second comedy "shows Mae West as a type rather than an actress."  The Argus found other faults but we'll only mention their viewpoint on this: "In her first film she had a good story and the support of a brilliant cast.  In 'I'm No Angel' she has an ordinary story and a commonplace cast.  Her own part is much the same as it was in 'She Done Him Wrong,' but the setting is very different.  . . ."  [Source: The Argus, on page 5, Monday, 28 May 1934.]
• • Nevertheless, the film did good box office and Mae's stock rose even higher in Tinseltown after two successes in the States. What is your opinion? Which Mae West film is your favorite?
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Men, in fact, are generally regarded as my weakness. It is instinctive for a woman to want a man to protect her."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Australian Women's Weekly discussed Mae's return to the screen in 1970.
• • Don Prince wrote: It was for a very large sum of money that Miss West decided to return to films after an absence of a quarter of a century, and play in Gore Vidal's transsexual story.
• • Don Prince continued: When producer Robert Fryer first approached her she was quite convinced that she was being invited to play the title role of Myra Breckinridge.
• • Don Prince added: The explanation that the generation gap meant she wouldn't be playing the role didn't weigh with Mae. When she learned that Myra was actually a sex-changed character who, before an operation, was a 'man named Myron Breckinridge,' she was no longer interested in it.
• • "I like my sexes stable," she remarked.  ...
• • Source: Article: "Mae Gets Top Billing" written by Don Prince for The Australian Women's Weekly; published on Wednesday, 1 July 1970
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2658th 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 1970 in Hollywood

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