Monday, April 30, 2018

Mae West: Breaking Rules

On Tuesday, 26 April 2016, a long fascinating article appeared about MAE WEST.
• • “Mae West:  A Visionary in Satin and Lace” was written by movie buff Linda Sandahl. In case you missed this delightful analysis, it will be excerpted here. This is Part 5.
• • Mae’s relations with the black people • •
• • Linda Sandahl wrote: A special word should be said about Mae’s relations with the black people in her movies. She speaks to her maids like a friend and confidante, joking with them about her gentleman friends — — and praises them to others, like the wealthy Jack Clayton (Cary Grant) in “I’m No Angel.” She went out of her way to insist that musicians like Duke Ellington and his Orchestra in “Belle of the Nineties” and Louis Armstrong (leading a parade of city workers and dancing up a storm) in “Every Day’s a Holiday” appear on screen.
• • Linda Sandahl wrote: This was not always done in Hollywood then; the studio executives didn’t see why they shouldn’t hire actors to impersonate musicians for the camera, and then hire some anonymous instrumentalists to play the soundtrack. Mae wasn’t having this. 

• • Mae West — — maverick • •   . . .
• • This was Part 5. Part 6 (the finale) will appear on Tuesday.
• • Source: http://www.lindajsandahl.net; posted on Tuesday, 26 April 2016.
• • On Monday, 30 April 1956 in N.Y. World-Telegram Sun • •
• • It was on Monday, 30 April 1956 that Robert W. Dana's felicitous coverage of "The Mae West Revue" appeared.
• • Robert Dana's popular daily dish "Tips on Tables" was published in the now defunct New York World-Telegram and Sun.
• • His column "Mae West's Show Grows" [dated April 30th] indicated Dana had seen the routine previously.
• • Robert W. Dana wrote: The old belief that everything should be bigger and better — — a thought most forcefully pronounced by Hollywood trailers — — can be applied with forthright honesty to Mae West, who has returned to the Latin Quarter [in New York City on West 48th Street], where she scored heavily in the fall [sic] of 1954.  ...
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • The resemblance of Peggy Livesey's Courtesan to Mae West, for example, did not pass unnoticed.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I don't like bad language. I never tell or listen to dirty stories myself. You can have a lot of fun, and be sexy, too, without being vulgar or plain dirty. Sex is natural and what is natural is not nasty. And dirt should always be cleaned up.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Daily Variety mentioned Mae West.
• • The "Lil " Controversy Sorta Simmers Down • •
• • The Mae West — Jack Linder feud, seething for several weeks, has declared a temporary armistice.  Mr. Linder's charges of insubordination against Miss West, author-star of "Diamond Lil," have been withdrawn at Equity and adjusted on the outside.
• • Linder is reported as having been convinced that the filing of charges was an ill-advised move. If substantiated and rating a suspension penalty on the authorstar, Jack Linder and his associates in the producing corporation sponsoring "Diamond Lil" would lose to win.  . . .
• • Source: Article in Variety; published on Wednesday, 1 August 1928
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • • 
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — — 
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 13th anniversary • •  
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past thirteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,800 blog posts. Wow!  
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started thirteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3948th 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/
________

Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml   

• • Photo:
• • Mae West • in  1937

• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
  Mae West

Friday, April 27, 2018

Mae West: Fresh Viewpoint

On Tuesday, 26 April 2016, a long fascinating article appeared about MAE WEST.
• • “Mae West:  A Visionary in Satin and Lace” was written by movie buff Linda Sandahl. In case you missed this delightful analysis, it will be excerpted here. This is Part 4.
• • The roots of this tolerance and respect • •
• • Linda Sandahl wrote: The roots of this tolerance and respect might have stemmed from her own position in society as a “bad woman” (as my grandmother termed it), which must have caused her some discomfort some time. But to Mae, what mattered wasn’t conformity to some stodgy social convention, but being a stand-up gal (or guy).
• • Linda Sandahl wrote: It’s hard for us to remember now that this was actually a fresh viewpoint in 1932; but even during the depths of the Depression and the upheaval it caused, the social order appeared unscathed in many movies (for example, Dinner at Eight, Jewel Robbery, or A Bill of Divorcement, to name a few).
• • Linda Sandahl wrote: But in Mae’s world, what makes you important isn’t money — — it’s character.
• • Mae’s relations with the black people • •  . . .
• • This was Part 4 of a longer piece. Part 5 will appear on Monday.
• • Source: http://www.lindajsandahl.net; posted on Tuesday, 26 April 2016.
• • 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 • •
• • In the new exploit, Miss Mae West will register in dual capacity of author-producer of "Five-A-Day," saga of the coffee and cake circuit masquerading as valid theatres.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "As to the hippies, we've always had 'em. We used to call them hoboes.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The United Press mentioned Mae West.
• • "Frank Wallace Tells of Mae West Marriage" • •
• • New York, April 24 [United Press] — Frank Wallace, a bald, middle-aged “hoofer,” admitted today that he was the original husband of Mae West. He married her in Milwaukee back in 1911.
• • “Mae wasn’t a blonde in those days,” he said. “The Mae I married in Milwaukee was a classy brunette, and as for those curves, she was more on the lean style.”
• • Source: Page 1 Item by United Press (syndicated); published on Wednesday, 24 April 1935 
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • • 
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — — 
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 13th anniversary • •  
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past thirteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,800 blog posts. Wow!  
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started thirteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3947th 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/
________

Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml   

• • Photo:
• • Mae West • in  1935

• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
  Mae West