Mae West: Not Clear Cut

MAE WEST came to the attention of Tinseltown ninety years ago in 1932. Step into the Time Machine with me for a long, leisurely ride. This is Part 10.
• • Mae West in Hollywood 1932 – 1943 • •
• • Mae West: “Night After Night” is not clear cut in its morals • •
• • Andy Goulding wrote: “Night After Night” does have its shortcomings.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: Though the brief runtime makes for a refreshingly breezy picture, it doesn’t allow much time to properly develop the relationship between George Raft and Constance Cummings.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: The basis of their attraction is well set up but the climax of their romance has to be forced through with an abrupt scene in which Joe’s insistent advances cross the line of what we’d now deem sexual assault.

• • Andy Goulding wrote: Still, “Night After Night” is not as clear cut in its morals as many would think and Joe is often portrayed as an unpleasant character.
• • Mae West: Her presence is the key to the film’s longevity • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Blueprint Reviews U.K.; posted on Friday, 3 December 2021.
• • On Tuesday, 23 September 1941 • •
• • "Ex-Husband Loses Mae West Suit — Monthly Maintenance Has Been Denied to Frank Wallace" • •
• • San Bernadino, Calif., Sept. 23  [U.P.] — — Frank Wallace lost his $1,000 a month temporary separate maintenance suit against Mae West today in a ruling that questioned his good faith in bringing the action against his actress-wife.
• • There is nothing in this case that would convince the court that the plaintiff is not motivated by sheer profit in filing this action, said Superior Judge Charles L. Allison. …  
• • Source: United Press; published on Tuesday, 23 September 1941
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • James Wingate of the Hays Office in Los Angeles sent a Western Union telegram to a colleague on the East Coast.
• • "Just saw the 'Angel' picture," James Wingate wrote. "We think it is satisfactory with exception very few lines still under discussion." He added, "Much better than we expected."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I thought myself to think only of Mae West and then I got so busy I couldn't think of anything else.  You don't leave things to chance in this business."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in The Guardian mentioned a visit to Mae West in Hollywood.
• • “Mae West” • •
• • "There's nothing better in life than diamonds . . ."
• • Charlotte Chandler recalled an interview with Mae West in Ravenswood Apartments, Los Angeles, California, for London's newspaper The Guardian.
• • Charlotte Chandler told it like this: Mae West held out her hand to me. As I took it, I scratched my palm on one of her diamond rings. All of her fingers were covered with diamonds. These, she explained, were just her "daytime diamonds." Holding out her hands, she said, "They're all real. They were given to me by admirers." Her gaze settled on my unadorned hands. "Oh, you poor kid! You don't have any!" For a moment she regarded me with pity. Then she brightened. "But you have some at home?" I shook my head. She studied me, then said encouragingly, "You could, honey. But you've gotta try, and you've gotta know how to try. Knowing what you want is the first step toward getting it. There's nothing better in life than diamonds." ...
• • Source: The Guardian [U.K.]; posted on Friday, 21 September 2007
• • 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 18th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eighteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,088th 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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Mae West: Park Avenue Princess

MAE WEST co-starred in the 1932 "speakeasy" film "Night After Night" with several interesting actresses.
• • Constance Cummings, who was 22 when she played the socialite Jerry Healy in the motion picture, was born in Seattle, Washington on 15 May 1910.
• • Constance's blueblood persona was based on the heiress Barbara Hutton (who inherited the Woolworth fortune), who had once lived in a rowhouse on West 56th Street – – before it was turned into a ginmill operated by gangster Larry Fay.
• • Inspired by her mother, a concert soprano, in 1926 Constance Cummings made her show business debut in regional stock theater. By 1928, when she was on Broadway, she was attracting the attention of powerful people such as movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn, who lured her to Hollywood. In 1931 she appeared in her first screen role. By 1932 she was cast as a Park Avenue princess and George Raft's dominant love interest.
• • Although she played in 34 films, and then much later on she was seen in TV movies about a dozen times, the five-foot-four beauty was never thrilled about the parts she was getting. In 1934, she left for England. Though she won a Tony [in 1979] and other awards for her roles onstage, her fame in Britain did not polish her reputation stateside. All the same, she was awarded the C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1974 Queen's Honours List for her services to drama.
• • At age 95, the actress died in Oxfordshire, England in November — — on 23 November 2005.
• • In November, Remember Barry Benton Bonds [1925 — 2007] • •
• • According to his family members, Barry Benton Bonds was born on 25 October 1925. He had a long and happy marriage and fathered two children: Alexis Greer and Gregor. His grandchildren described him as a proud WWII veteran, an avid sailor, and a skillful fisherman. Mr. Bonds performed in original national tours of ''On Your Toes'' and ''High Button Shoes'' — — and toured with Mae West. Theatre was in his blood and, after his performing days were over, he worked on Broadway in the box office for over 50 years. He died in the month of November — — on 23 November 2007.
• • On 23 November 1980 in The N.Y. Times • •
• • An excerpt from The N.Y. Times 31 years ago today: Mae West and diamonds were almost synonymous even before the creation of her most memorable character: Diamond Lil. ''I hadn't started out to collect diamonds, '' she said, ''but somehow they piled up on me.'' The onstage Diamond Lil was a singer in a Bowery saloon of the 1890's — — a bad girl with a good heart, who murdered her girlfriend, wrecked a Salvation Army hall, and sang ''Frankie and Johnny,'' wrote The New York Times [on 23 November 1980].
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I got my own individual style. You know you can always tell Eugene O'Neill — — and you can always tell Mae West."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An excerpt from "Celebrity, Inc: How Famous People Make Money" by Jo Piazza mentioned Mae West as the first celebrity who influenced the fragrance industry.
• • Jo Piazza writes: Celebrity fragrances can be an ATM for famous people — — paying high dividends for very little investment of time or money. ... The marriage between fame and fragrance also goes back decades, to the 1930s, when the fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli designed a curvy perfume bottle modeled after the actress Mae West’s figure.
• • Jo Piazza continues: In the 1950s, Givenchy created a scent for film star Audrey Hepburn that was musky and powdery, and in the early 1980s, Dynasty stars Joan Collins and Linda Evans promoted fragrances linked to their primetime soap opera. Elizabeth Taylor’s scent, White Diamonds, has been an Elizabeth Arden top seller since it launched in 1991, grossing more than $1 billion in sales and providing a nice revenue stream for an actress who was no longer spending much time in front of the cameras. ...
• • Source: reposted by Rack.com on Monday, 21 November 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2124th 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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Mae West: Constance Cummings

MAE WEST co-starred in the 1932 "speakeasy" film "Night After Night" with an actress who left us during late November.
• • Constance Cummings, who was 22 when she played a socialite Jerry Healy in the movie, was born in Seattle, Washington on 15 May 1910. At age 95, the actress died in Oxfordshire, England in November – – on 23 November 2005.
• • Constance's blueblood persona in "Night After Night" was based on the heiress Barbara Hutton (who inherited the Woolworth fortune), who had once lived in a rowhouse on West 56th Street – – before it was turned into a ginmill operated by gangster Larry Fay.
• • Critiquing the film's debut, Variety (for once) was full of praise for Mae West, who overshadowed her younger and trimmer castmates.
• • Reviewer Bige wrote: Bootlegger stuff and some gangster atmosphere climaxed by and off screen shooting finish are played down to run secondary to the feminine interest. Raft is mixed up in both. The women are: a past flame (West), recently discarded sweetheart (Gibson), present head woman and "nice" girl (Cummings) and a middle-aged school teacher employed to give the mugg English lessons. When the Misses Skipworth and West are on view, together or separately, the laughs come often, and in the brief period assigned them as a team the comedy pace is even speedier. They do a virtual cross-fire two-act when doubling. Miss West's dialog is always unmistakably her own. It is doubtful if anyone else could write it just that way.
• • The way the West — Skipworth moments stand out suggests the picture could have stood more of them, but the obvious intent is to nurse Miss West along. She's tossed into this one rather abruptly and without bearing on the plot, much in the manner that Jimmy Durante has been handled by Metro. That's okay if they don't do it too often. As long as this film proves the former legit name has something for pictures it wouldn't be taking a chance to shoot the works on her from now on.
• • Miss Skipworth's intelligent painting of a cultured lady having her first taste of hotcha is a gem. Misses Cummings and Gibson are more restricted than their elders, holding down ingenue-like roles that call for looks mostly. But they deliver in every way. No leading man has been more ably supported.
• • Story is merely that of a mugg who yearns to toss off the mugg staff after falling in love at a distance with a Lady. That he winds up with his goal attained doesn't matter much, although the happy ending changes the tone that runs through the story up to them. He's told midway by one of the girls he is more likable when he's himself. . . . [Source: Variety Magazine; columnist Bige; an excerpt from a lengthy review originally published on 1 November 1932.]
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Archie Mayo

Archie Mayo directed MAE WEST in 1932 — — and we are thinking of him in January because his birthday just passed.
• • Born in New York City, Archie Mayo [29 January 1891 — 4 December 1968] was a stage actor who relocated to the West Coast in 1915 and soon began working as a film director.
• • Mayo directed the speakeasy motion picture "Night After Night" [1932] — — a George Raft vehicle that did more for Mae's career than for the tough guy actor known best for "Scarface."
• • Critiquing the film's debut, Variety (for once) was full of praise for Mae West.
• • Reviewer Bige wrote: Bootlegger stuff and some gangster atmosphere climaxed by and off screen shooting finish are played down to run secondary to the feminine interest. Raft is mixed up in both. The women are: a past flame (West), recently discarded sweetheart (Gibson), present head woman and "nice" girl (Cummings) and a middle-aged school teacher employed to give the mugg English lessons. When the Misses Skipworth and West are on view, together or separately, the laughs come often, and in the brief period assigned them as a team the comedy pace is even speedier. They do a virtual cross-fire two-act when doubling. Miss West's dialog is always unmistakably her own. It is doubtful if anyone else could write it just that way.
• • The way the West—Skipworth moments stand out suggests the picture could have stood more of them, but the obvious intent is to nurse Miss West along. She's tossed into this one rather abruptly and without bearing on the plot, much in the manner that Jimmy Durante has been handled by Metro. That's okay if they don't do it too often. As long as this film proves the former legit name has something for pictures it wouldn't be taking a chance to shoot the works on her from now on.
• • Miss Skipworth's intelligent painting of a cultured lady having her first taste of hotcha is a gem. Misses Cummings and Gibson are more restricted than their elders, holding down ingenue-like roles that call for looks mostly. But they deliver in every way. No leading man has been more ably supported.
• • Story is merely that of a mugg who yearns to toss off the mugg staff after falling in love at a distance with a Lady. That he winds up with his goal attained doesn't matter much, although the happy ending changes the tone that runs through the story up to them. He's told midway by one of the girls he is more likable when he's himself. . . . [Source: Variety Magazine; columnist Bige; an excerpt from a lengthy review originally published on 1 November 1932.]
• • In addition to "Night After Night," Archie Mayo's directorial credits include Is Everybody Happy? (1929) with Ted Lewis, The Petrified Forest (1936) with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, and The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) with Gary Cooper.
• • Mayo retired in 1946 — — shortly after completing A Night in Casablanca with the Marx Brothers and Angel on My Shoulder with Paul Muni, Anne Baxter, and Claude Rains.
• • Mayo has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: "Number 55"

MAE WEST made her screen debut in "Night After Night" (1932) in a cameo that stole the picture. Though the film's screenplay was adapted from Louis Bromfield's Cosmopolitan Magazine story, "Single Night," this motion picture was originally titled "Number 55." Has anyone ever thought of that title in numerical terms as "May the 5th"?
• • Curiously, the fifth month played a large role in the birthdates (and, occasionally, the death dates) of the cinematographer and the cast — — five people in all.
• • Louis Calhern, who portrayed Dick Bolton [and was born on 19 February 1895 in Brooklyn, NY], died in Tokyo, Japan in May — — on 12 May 1956.
• • Constance Cummings, who portrayed the socialite Miss Jerry Healy, was born in Seattle in May — — 15 May 1910 [and died in the UK on 23 November 2005].
• • Wynne Gibson, who portrayed Joe's low-class gal pal Iris Dawn [and was born in NYC on 3 July 1903], died in California in May — — on 15 May 1987.
• • Marty Martyn, who had a bit part as Malloy, was born in May — — on 19 May 1905 [and died in Beverly Hills on 25 December 1964].
• • Cinematographer Ernest Haller was born in Los Angeles in May — — 31 May 1896. A few years after working on this movie, Ernest Haller won an Oscar in 1940 for "Best Cinematography, Color" for Gone with the Wind (1939). He died in a California road accident on 21 October 1970.
• • Mae West did her best to dress up a bland bit part with her witty lines, industrial strength charisma, and rapid-fire energy. Paramount Pictures realized that it was "love at first sight" between the studio and this box-office baby.
• • Mrs. Jellyman: Do you believe in love at first sight?
• • Maudie Triplett: I dunno, but it saves an awful lot of time.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1932 • •
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Mae West: 1932

MAE WEST co-starred in the 1932 "speakeasy" film "Night After Night" with two actresses who are linked to the month of May.
• • Constance Cummings, who was 22 when she played a socialite Jerry Healy in the movie, was born in Seattle, Washington on 15 May 1910. At age 95, the actress died in Oxfordshire, England on 23 November 2005.
• • Constance's blueblood persona was based on the heiress Barbara Hutton (who inherited the Woolworth fortune), who had once lived in a rowhouse on West 56th Street – – before it was turned into a ginmill operated by gangster Larry Fay.
• • Wynne Gibson, who played the "tough" cookie Iris Dawn [the dame George Raft's character Joe Anton is getting tired of], died on 15 May 1987 of cerebral thrombosis.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West's co-star • • 1932 • •
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