Thursday, December 11, 2014

Mae West: Barbara Pym

Whether or not people liked MAE WEST, they often included her in their diary entries.
• • Barbara Mary Crampton Pym [2 June 1913 — 11 January 1980] was an English novelist.
• • This is how the 20-year-old fashion-conscious Barbara Pym starts her diary entry for Monday, 11 December 1933:
• • 11 December. London, Hatch End. Betse, Aunt Nellie and I went into town at about 11. I wore my fur coat, navy blue skirt and fez  ...  
• • We went to the Carlton and saw Mae West in "I'm No Angel." She is said to be the rage of everywhere. Fat and not attractive — — at least I didn't think so — — a purely physical appeal and crude technique. Her clothes were too fluffy and feathery on the whole. The shops are full of the most tempting things. I saw the divinest black velvet dresses in one shop which makes me determined to have one.   . . .
• • Source: "A Very Private Eye: An Autobiography in Diaries and Letters" by Barbara Pym edited by Pan Macmillan [self-published on 21 November 2013].
• • On Monday, 11 December 1939 in Hollywood • •
• • W.C. Fields sent Mae notes and script suggestions. Often these musings did not make it into the "My Little Chickadee" script.
• • In a note dated Monday, 11 December 1939 — — Dressing Room, Fields wrote:
• • Dear Mae, Eddie [Sutherland] told me that you asked him if I had any suggestions for the finish. This is it. The finish leaves us just the two of us at the end of the picture with no attempts at comedy or wise cracks from either of us. I think it will leave a nice human, homey feeling in the audience's mind. . . .
• • However, this vague, unfunny conclusion Fields sketched out was rather toothless and too wispy to be used. Wiser heads prevailed.
• • On Saturday, 11 December 1943 • •
• • The hard-working soldiers of the 63rd Infantry were treated to American entertainment in the evenings. The film screened for the military men and women on Saturday evening, 11 December 1943 at 18:45 (6:45 pm) was "The Heat's On" starring Mae West. Va-voom.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • The house where Mae was born and where she spent her childhood has been torn down. A church has been erected on the site, Mae told us.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “When I was eleven years old, there was a break. I wasn't one of those curly, cute, theatricals kids any longer."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The New York Age mentioned Mae West who "enplaned" with Ethel Sissle.
• • Ethel Sissle was the wife of Noble Sissle.
• • That was a gala dinner party tossed by Ethel Sissle [7 November 1915 — December 1984] in honor of Louise Beavers [8 March 1902 — 26 October 1962] last Sunday, before she enplaned for California and Las Vegas with the irrepressible Mae West.
• • Source: Item "With the Celebs" in The New York Age; published on Saturday, 11 December 1954  
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 10th anniversary • •    
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during this past decade. Yesterday we entertained 1,430 visitors. 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3068th 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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• • Photo:
• • Mae West in 1933

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1 comment:

  1. If one watches "The Heat's On" closely during Mae West's far too few scenes, it is very obvious that she never looked better. Rigorous training left her in top shape for a 50 year old. Mae's updated hairdo gave her a very contemporary look as well. I so wish the banned musical number "Lure" which in which only still photographs exist had survived. She wore a stunning Walter Plunkett designed costume with a sequinned snake headpiece. So "HOT" was the musical sequence that it was banned and cut from the final print. One can only image......

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