Mae West: Moral Ambiguity

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 51 of 68.
• • Mae West in Hollywood 1932 – 1943 • •
• • Mae West: Moral ambiguity still abounds • •

• • Andy Goulding wrote: Moral ambiguity still abounds, with West’s character Peaches O’Day being a con artist and small-time thief who, it is implied, is still better than the corrupt politicians whose less-obvious misdemeanours infect the very fibre of New York.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: One such politician, the odious police captain John Quade, becomes Peaches O'Day’s adversary as he first attempts to arrest her and then unwittingly to romance her when she re-emerges as temperamental French alter ego Fifi.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: “Every Day’s a Holiday” is generally dismissed as another minor Mae West effort but I just loved it.

• • Mae West: Wit and rowdy energy • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Blueprint Reviews U.K.; posted on Friday, 3 December 2021.
• • On Tuesday, 5 December1933 • •
• • Excitement reigned in sunny California on Tuesday, 5 December 1933, the date Prohibition was repealed. Mae West was photographed in a Hollywood speakeasy with Gary Cooper, posing with a huge glass of beer.
• • Numerous pictures were snapped that night showing Mae, wearing a dark, long dress with a large glittering brooch and a server's cap, standing behind the bar pulling a draft; or standing next to "the Coop" holding a Bavarian pretzel, etc. I hope they had a chance to have a tall cold one themselves.
• • Mae's friend, speakeasy hostess Texas Guinan, had died the month before.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Known as the “Hitler of Hollywood, Joseph Breen died at age 75 — on Sunday, 5 December 1965. It is doubtful that Mae West attended his funeral (nor went into mourning).
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I walk with men, dearie, not dogs."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An automobile website mentioned Mae West.
• • Vicious 1956 Lincoln Continental Is Long and Low, Has Mystery Mae West Signature • •
• • Daniel Patrascu wrote: Incredible as this car may be visually and mechanically, the thing that strikes the most is the signature on the underside of the trunk (sadly not pictured in the just three photos made available at the time of writing). It belongs to Mae West, one of the biggest and most controversial names in entertainment in the early decades of the 1900s.
• • A significant discovery • •
• • Daniel Patrascu wrote: As per the available info, the signature was discovered during restoration work, but nobody knows how, when, or why the star signed her name on this particular car.
• • Daniel Patrascu wrote: The signature of Mae West was preserved, of course, and is included now in the custom 1956 Lincoln Continental. …
• • Source: Auto Evolution; published on Friday, 11 November 2022
• • 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 5,100 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,130th 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: https://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1937 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Boisterous Satire

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 50 of 68.
• • Mae West in Hollywood 1932 – 1943 • •
• • Mae West: It’s something more boisterous • •
• • "EVERY DAY’S A HOLIDAY" (80 mins., 1937) • •

• • Mae West’s role was Peaches O’Day and Mlle. Fifi • •
• • Andy Goulding wrote: After the neutered and only mildly amusing “Go West, Young Man,” the 1937 motion picture “Every Day’s a Holiday” is a welcome return to something far more boisterous from Mae West.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: But this isn’t just a return to the innuendo-heavy early style, which the Hays Code had made increasingly impossible.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: Instead Mae West has created a lightly satirical, fast-paced farce with a terrific ensemble cast which leans more towards the zany than the salacious.

• • Mae West: Moral ambiguity still abounds • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Blueprint Reviews U.K.; posted on Friday, 3 December 2021.
• • Wednesday, 1 December 1976 in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West starred in "Sextette" [1978], and the cinematography was done by James Crabe.
• • Shooting began in December — — on 1 December 1976 — — and was wrapped up during March 1977. James Crabe captured his leading lady in medium shots. There would be no close-ups in "Sextette" of Mae West.
• • James Crabe missed this little goof and so did the film editor. The boom microphone is visible when Mae West and Dom DeLuise are leaving the hotel gymnasium. Did you spot this?
• • In 1994, Christie's auctioned off a most intriguing bit of memorabilia: a bound copy of the stage play "Sextette" [1927] by the actress and dramatist Charlotte Francis.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Asked about how she happened to be mixed up in a delicate situation, Mae West replied, “Like an olive in a dry Martini.”
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I never think about age."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A newspaper in England discussed Mae West.
• • “The Saucy Look that Said It All” • •
• • British journalist Clancy Sigal fondly recalled the inflatable, durable, and anti-hypocritical genius of the late Mae West in London's Guardian. A lovely tribute. …
• • Source: The Guardian; published on Monday, 24 November 1980
• • 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 5,100 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,129th 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: https://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1937 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Edgar Dearing

In 1937, Paramount Pictures spent a record one million dollars on its MAE WEST vehicle "Every Day's a Holiday" [released in the USA as holiday fare on 18 December 1937].
• • Mae West portrays Peaches O'Day, a turn-of-century con artist who poses as a famous French chanteuse to avoid arrest. Edgar Dearing is seen as a law officer.
• • Edgar Dearing [4 May 1893 — 17 August 1974] • •
• • Born in Ceres, California on Thursday, 4 May 1893 was a future motorcycle cop named Edgar Dearing.

• • From 1924 — 1964, Edgar Dearing was cast in 342 projects for TV and for motion pictures. Justly famous for portraying a police officer (with or without wheels) in silent movies, the burly character actor transitioned to talkies and was often seen in authority and uniformed roles: sheriff, police captain, detective, warden, roadblock police sergeant, desk sergeant, colonel, sailor, state trooper, jailer, henchman, doorman, etc.
• • Fans will recall Edgar Dearing as the "Cop at Store Window" keeping an eye on shifty Peaches O'Day in "Every Day's a Holiday" [1937], another role for Mae West set during the late 1890s.  Dearing also worked with comedians Laurel and Hardy onscreen.
• • In 1951, his brief bit as a patrolman issuing a ticket on "The Amos and Andy Show" marked his small screen debut.  He made over two dozen appearances on TV [1951 —  1964]; his final TV credit was on "The Twilight Zone."
• • Edgar Dearing played a politician in his last full-length feature film "Ada" [1961}. In "Ada" he rubbed shoulders with two actors who had the privilege of working with Mae West: Ralph Brooks and Jack Carr.
• • Edgar Dearing died from lung cancer in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California on 17 August 1974. He was 81. His ashes reside at Chapel of the Pines Crematory, Los Angeles.
• • On Thursday, 3 May 1934 • •
• • On Thursday, 3 May 1934, the headline "Mae West Scouts Talk of Rift" appeared in The Los Angeles Times. The article quotes Mae West's denial of a rift between herself and Jim Timony. The actress emphasized that they were not sweethearts, but he's still her business manager.
• • On Tuesday, 3 May 1938 • •
• • On Tuesday, 3 May 1938, the Hollywood Reporter carried coverage about the Mae West movie "Klondike Annie."
• • On Sunday, 3 May 1959 • •
• • For "The Dean Martin Show," broadcast Sunday night on 3 May 1959, his chosen guest stars were Mae West and Bob Hope.  "Dean's guest ace on May 3rd will be Mae West, normally a reluctant TV participant," said one newspaper columnist. Timex was Dean's sponsor.
• • On Tuesday, 3 May  2011 • •
• • TV lovers who tuned in at 6:30 AM on Tuesday, 3 May  2011 were treated to a re-run of "Mr. Ed." In this episode, Mr. Ed overhears Mae West commissioning Wilbur on creating ultra deluxe stables for her horses. When Ed overhears the conversation, he starts to get discontented with his own surroundings. So much fun.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Guess Empress Catherine had to be smart to take all these different men and find out all they knew. In one scene I'll make her step on to a balcony and survey her regiment, crying 'My men!'  It will be a serious drama."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in Australia mentioned Mae West.
• • "Handling Men — What Mae West Says" • •
• • An Aussie columnist wrote: "Let me have around me men that are fat." said Caesar. "Let me have around me MEN, and let it go, Iet it go at that," says Mae West.  ...
• • Source: News Item in The Cumberland Argus; published on Monday, 22 July 1935 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2641st 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
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1937 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC  Mae West