Mae West: Brainy Beauty

MAE WEST talked to a Hollywood reporter on November 12th. This is the first portion of a very lengthy conversation.
• • "All a Girl Needs Is Brains Declares Mae West" • •
• • An Exclusive Interview with Alice L. Tildesley,  AP • •

• • This girl is the biggest box-office attraction in pictures. The only screen star who ever set the styles for Paris. The only woman on D. W. Griffith's list of the twelve most interesting New Yorkers. She doesn't smoke or drink. She threw her first Hollywood party for 200 guests, and not a heart was broken, a cocktail poured, a cigarette lighted or a home wrecked. She's Mae West. The set on the motion-picture lot was a gray and silver penthouse, complete with terrace and New York skyline. A couch in salmon and chartreuse made a bold splash of color beside her hourglass figure in darker green net. The net was ruffled and ended in a spreading train below; above the extreme decollete neckline, milk- white portions of Mae emerged from flaring ruffles. She held a green telephone in coral-tipped fingers and her platinum head tilted back, provocatively, as she murmured into the receiver: "Why don't you come up and see me some time?"
• • Libby, her maid, who plays in all of Mae's pictures, pointed her out to me, somewhat unnecessarily. "That's Mae, that is. What do you think of her?  I tell you, she's marvelous! I love her to death. This whole studio loves her. You can't help it. If ever I hear of anybody don't love Mae, I'm — — well, I'm just going to see about it!"
• • You Must Be Clever • •            
• • Mae snapped her eyes at me, dangerously. "They didn't know what they'd got at first — — the studio didn't."
• • They had her come to Hollywood In somebody else's film. And what did she do? Just naturally ran off with the picture! So she starred in her own, and people liked her so much they went to see her a dozen times. "She's different. She's got what it takes!" But how did she get that way?
• • "That's easy!" smiled Mae West when she had undulated over to share the gray satin divan with me. "All a girl needs is brains. Beautiful and dumb girls have had their day. They're out. If you're clever, you win. Of course, you don't let men know you're clever, understand. You might as well be dumb if you do. No, you needn't be beautiful; you just make the men think you're beautiful, and that's not hard. In the first place, you have to know all about yourself — — your good points and your not-so-good ones. When I was little, I remember I was always posing in front of a mirror, trying on my mother's hats, trailing around In her dresses, holding myself so — — and so."  Mae illustrated with imaginary draperies, looking over a creamy shoulder, stoking her soft chin down so that her long, thick-lashed gray eyes looked out and up, seductively, raising her head proudly, so that the imaginary robe fell back.   
• • "Relatives and friends of my mother used to say: 'Look at that child! Why don't you stop her? She'll be the vainest creature on earth. Come away from that mirror, you bad girl!' But my mother said: 'Let her alone. She's enjoying herself.' My mother always understood me. I found out all there was to know about me. Then when I grew up, I changed the things I didn't like and spotlighted the things I admired."   . . .
• • This is Part 1. Next installment of this interview will be continued tomorrow.
• • Source: Associated Press exclusive rpt by The Charleston Daily Mail (Charleston, West Virginia); published on Sunday, 12 November 1933.
• • On Monday, 13 November 1933 • •
• • "I'm No Angel" starring Mae West and featuring Cary Grant was at the Strand Theatre in Ithaca, NY.  An article on this new release appeared in the section "The Screen." It was published in The Cornell Daily Sun, Volume 54, Number 43, on Monday, 13 November 1933.
• • On Friday, 13 November 1936 • •
• • "Mae West will go to Egypt to make a harem picture if she accepts the offer of a fez-wearing movie director from Cairo, who has been interviewing her for the past week," wrote a publicist from Paramount Pictures. It was sent out on Friday the 13th (13 November 1936).
• • On Thursday, 13 November 1975 • •
• • The book "Films of Mae West" written by Jon Tuska was published  by Citadel Press in the USA on Thursday, 13 November 1975. An excellent title to own.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Emanuel Cohen gave a party in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Gary Cooper. Cohen, you know, is head of Paramount. Everybody from the Paramount studio was there.
• • Frances Drake came with Randy Scott, Mae West with James Timony, Gail Patrick with Lanny Ross, George Raft with Virginia Pine, Toby Wing with Jack Oakie.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  Mae West said: "If I had ever depended on what other people were going to do with me, there would never have been a Mae West."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The news media got a quirky update about Mae West.
• • Mae West will go to Egypt to make a harem picture if she accepts the offer of a fez-wearing movie director from Cairo, who has been interviewing her for the past week.  
• • Source: Press Release from Paramount Pictures; released on Friday, 13 November 1936
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 10th anniversary • •    
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during this past decade. The other day we entertained 1,223 visitors. 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3047th 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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