Mae West: Moral Progress

A very long article about MAE WEST and her career in Tinseltown appeared five years ago.  It was written by Paul Phaneuf. Let's enjoy it together. This is Part 28.
• • Mae West: "I'm here to make talkies" or Censor Will vs. Diamond Lil • •
• • directly responsible for spiritual and moral progress • •
• • ". . . know that the motion picture within its own field of entertainment may be directly responsible for spiritual and moral progress, for high types of social life, and for much correct thinking."  — — The Hays Code
• • Paul Phaneuf wrote:   The Hays office was coming under increasing pressure to more actively regulate Hollywood. The previous 1927 Hays list of "Don'ts and Be Carefuls" had been instigated by increasingly public Hollywood scandals: Fatty Arbuckle's trial for manslaughter; the murder of director William Desmond Taylor; and the drug or alcohol-related death of actress Jeanne Eagles among others; as well as the coming phenomenon of "talkies", which enabled characters to now use racy dialogue, slang, and double entendres.
• • So in 1930, due to increased pressures from religious and civic organizations, newspapers, and the growing threat of local censor boards, a new code was adopted.
• • What was the new code? • •   . . .  
• • This was Part 28.  Part 29 will appear next week.
• • Source:  Article by Paul Phaneuf in Films of the Golden Age Magazine;  issue dated 5 November 2011. Used with permission.
• • On Friday, 10 February 1933 • •
• • An article on "She Done Him Wrong" was published in The New York Times on Friday, 10 February 1933.
• • Signed with the byline A. D. S., the Times reviewer described Mae's character Lady Lou as a woman "whose heart is bigger than her sense of decorum."
• • On Monday, 10 February 1936 in Hollywood • •
• • Joseph Breen wrote to Paramount Pictures about Mae West and "Klondike Annie" several times before he agreed on Monday, 10 February 1936 to the film's release.
• • On Tuesday, 10 February 2009 • •

• • A book about Mae West "She Always Knew How: Mae West, A Personal Biography" by Charlotte Chandler was published in hardcover.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • The censors said the play “'Diamond Lil," in which Miss West was scheduled to appear next Friday night, was "lewd and obscene" and should not be performed in Atlanta, Georgia.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "I've always been aware of sex, and it's always been aware of me."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A reporter spotted Mae West examining diamonds in London.
• • "Diamond Lil in London" • •
• • Mae West, famous American stage and screen star, was being shown some beautiful diamond treasures, while visiting a jewellery house in Old Bond Street, London.
• • Mae West takes the lead as 'Diamond Lil' in her own play of that name, which opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre, on 24 January 1948.   ...
• • Source: Townsville Daily Bulletin (Australia); published on Tuesday, 3 February 1948
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 12th 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 3,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3637th 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 • • on the cover of "Sex Goddesses" book • •
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