Mae West: It Was Glorious

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 89.
• • Mae West: "I'm here to make talkies" or Censor Will vs. Diamond Lil • •
• • critical reviews were withering • • 
• • Paul Phaneuf wrote:   An unforgettable moment in film history is when she sings the lyrics to Walter Pigeon! It's that kind of film.
• • Though critical reviews were withering, and even director Hughes called it a "glorious failure," one writer for Films in Review magazine wondered if the critics would have been so harsh if it had starred male octogenarian George Burns throwing one-liners to young females.
• • However, Variety wrote the epitaph: "The best that can be hoped for Sextette, as far as West's reputation is concerned, is that it will be forgotten soon." The film had a hard time finding distribution and quietly faded from sight.
• • Compared to Myra though, this was about as harmless and light-hearted a film as she ever made.
• • pure fun to watch • •  . . .
• • This was Part 89. Part 90 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, 18 May 1912 • •

• • Frank Bohm bought a generous ad in Variety (issue dated for 18 May 1912) to help publicize his client Mae West as "The Scintillating Singing Comedienne, Late of Ziegfeld's Moulin Rouge." Billboard gave the vaudevillian's act a favorable review the following month.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Costume designer Travis Banton spoke about beauty standards in motion pictures and the measurements of Mae West, Claudette Colbert, and other top actresses.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "It isn't what I do, but how I do it. It isn't what I say, but how I say it, and how I look when I do it and say it."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about a movie mentioned Mae West.
• • Reviewing the new screen comedy "Bridesmaids," Carrie Rickey wrote: Instead, I submit Exhibits A through J as proof of Why Women Are Funny:
• • Exhibit A: Mae West calculating Cary Grant's assets while explaining her hobby in She Done Him Wrong: "It was a toss-up whether I went out for diamonds or sang in the choir. The choir lost." ...
• • Source: Article: "Bridesmaids, why women are funny, and who makes you laugh?" written by Carrie Rickey for Philly.com; posted on Wednesday, 18 May 2011
• • 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 3,700 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3706th 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 1912 • •
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