• • "Go West — — If You're an Adult!" • •
• • Elza Schallert wrote: The fiercest menace that Garbo and Dietrich, Hollywood's choicest exotics, have met thus far is none other than the swivel-hipped, billowy Mae West. She is the lady who threw Hollywood into a panic, the first time she swayed her luxuriant hips underneath a corset of the gay, naughty Nineties and drawled her potent observation, "He can be had!" in that wild extravaganza, "She Done Him Wrong." For all America is taking up her sly invitation to "come 'n' see me sometime!"
• • sultry, languorous, erotic emotions • •
• • Elza Schallert noted: Mae West is the first and real Waterloo of the Garbo and Dietrich schools of sultry, languorous, erotic emotions. Because she has made them appear slightly foolish — as if they didn't know how to get a "kick" out of life. And whether the vivid and voluptuous, electric and elegant Mae is aware of it or not — and I, for one, think she is — her healthy, Amazonian, audacious presentation of the ancient appeal known as sex has made the world-weary, secretive charm of Greta and Marlene appear feeble by comparison. Women may go for Garbo, but how the men go for the bountiful West — her lureful lips, her bold, insinuating eyes, her lusty.
• • As Lady Lou in "She Done Him Wrong," Mae West brought back the Gay Nineties. But she asks: "What d'you mean — I'm old-fashioned?"
• • Elza Schallert added: We think Mae West radiates gusty, wholesome femininity! Any red-blooded he-man can understand Mae. She speaks his language and her figure speaks for itself. He becomes her man, but he can do her no wrong. His lush, full-blooded sister understands her, too — and likewise becomes her pal. That's why America is flocking to see Mae on the screen. The movie audiences have become curves-conscious again — and Mae is leading the way. What a woman! . . .
• • This is Part 1 of a lengthy article written by Elza Schallert. Part 2 appears tomorrow.
• • Source: Article in Motion Picture; issue dated for April 1933.
• • On Thursday, 27 April 1911 • •
• • Ah, the Folies Bergere. Vaudeville mogul Jesse L. Lasky had built his Parisian-style cafe and cabaret on a Louis XIII scale. Located at 206-214 West 46th Street [opened on 27 April 1911], it was in a prime position within kissing distance of two well-known Broadway theatres: the Globe and the Gaiety.
• • Eighteen-year-old brunette Mae West got her first big break when she was cast in the legitimate show "A la Broadway" at New York's Folies Bergere Theatre. Ned Wayburn (Mae's former dancing teacher), who was staging this, pulled her in. The lavish revue premiered on 22 September 1911 — — and lasted for eight performances.
• • On Saturday, 27 April 1935 • •
• • Columnist Louella Parsons mused in the weekend edition of the Los Angeles Examiner on Saturday, 27 April 1935, that maybe this long-lost husband story was a publicity gimmick dreamed up by Paramount Pictures as they released "Goin' to Town" starring Mae West.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • George Raft is sticking with Paramount (his next is "The Trumpet Blows"), and so is Claudette Colbert (who is about to do "Cleopatra" for De Mille). And Mae West is signed up for four years more, and Marlene Dietrich for two.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I'm not really a hotsy-totsy dame — I'm a serious business woman. A lot of women make dough by exposing their torso. But I make more by doing nothing of the sort. I just keep 'em guessing.''
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Dorothy Donnell wrote: Mae West: "Diamond Lil." What'll the club-women do about this lady who wrote and acted in the decade's naughtiest plays? When her jewels were stolen the other week Mae said it could never have happened in N'Yawk. She knows all the boys there! Strangely enough she seems old-fashioned in Hollywood. It's glamour, not sex, that's the rage at the moment. A good sport. Address: Paramount Studios.
• • Source: Item in Movie Classic; issue dated for January 1933
• • Image: Mae West filming "She Done Him Wrong" in 1932 in California
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 11th anniversary • •
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eleven years. The other day we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,400 blog posts. Wow!
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3429th 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 1932 • •
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