Mae West: Never Made It

A very long article about MAE WEST and her career in Tinseltown appeared five years ago.  It was written by Paul Phaneuf. Let's pick this up again and enjoy it together. This is Part 42.
• • Mae West: "I'm here to make talkies" or Censor Will vs. Diamond Lil • •
• • "I had my heart set on having Duke Ellington" • •
• • Paul Phaneuf wrote:  Mae said, "I had my heart set on having Duke Ellington. I knew his music . . . I'd heard him at the Cotton Club." And this was a battle she won, with the result that the film gives us rich versions of "Memphis Blues," "My Old Flame," "When a St. Louis Woman Comes Down to New Orleans," and "He Was Her Man But He Came to See Me Sometime" (including the line "I lived six flights up, and he sure was willin' to climb.")
• • on a tiny puff of reefer • •
• • One song "Creole Man" never made it past the censors, however, and it is easy to see why: "This is where you become King or Queen, on a tiny puff of reefer . . ."
• • New Censor's Scissors in Town • •   . . .
• • This was Part 42.  Part 43 will appear  tomorrow.
• • Source:  Article by Paul Phaneuf in Films of the Golden Age Magazine;  issue dated 5  November 2011. Used with permission.
• • On Saturday, 14 March 1936 • •
• • An article about "Klondike Annie" (and the censorship battles over the film) was featured in Motion Picture Herald in their issue dated for 14 March 1936.
• • On Sunday, 14 March 1937 • •
• • It was Sunday, 14 March 1937 when Mae West signed a check (number 581) from her account at California Bank to Mr. William Mutara for his salary for the week of March 14th, 1937; the amount was $24.75. This check was sold to a collector for $96.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West gets many letters from fans requesting gifts as an endorsement or as a result of excessive appreciation.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "If you select your characters and the atmosphere in which they live with sufficient care, you don't have to use much imagination to make them colorful or their story interesting."
• • Quote, Unquote • •

• • A Michigan daily mentioned Mae West.
• • Coming Sunday — Mae West and W. C. Fields in “My Little Chickadee.” She was looking for new “Fields” to conquer and he was out to tame the wild "West" ...
• • Source: Item in Clare County Cleaver; published on Thursday, 14 March 1940 
• • 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 3659th 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 1940 • •
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