Mae West: Met Her Match

MAE WEST didn’t like working with W.C. Fields. But fans continue to appreciate the “Old West” comedy they made together in 1940. This is Part 1 of 2.
• • DVD Review: Mae West: The Glamour Collection on Universal Home Video • •
• • Five fine Mae West films thrown together in a shoddy white plastic package • •
• • Dan Callahan wrote: The DVD set concludes with the semi-classic “My Little Chickadee,” where Mae West met her match, W.C. Fields, another resolutely uningratiating, egocentric vaudevillian.

• • Dan Callahan wrote: They shared a love for mysterious, black-humored non sequiturs, and they both refused to make contact with others.
• • Dan Callahan wrote: “Is it possible for us to be lonesome together?” asks the Great Man, and West smiles with appreciation at his wintry, cynical solitude.
• • Dan Callahan wrote: This is the only time she really pays attention to someone else in her movies, and it makes the somewhat flat Chickadee an endlessly watchable source of delight, a pre-WWII Theater of the Absurd.
• • Mae West: Sex with Harpo Marx • • . . .   
• • Dan Callahan’s amusing piece will be concluded on our next post.
• • Source: Slant Magazine; published on Thursday, 30 March 2006.
• • On Tuesday, 8 September 1914 • •
• • In early September 1914, accordionist Guido Deiro was booked at the Majestic Theatre, San Antonio, as a headliner.  On Tuesday, 8 September 1914 the San Antonio Light announced the featured entertainment, noting that another variety artist was Mae West, "the Eva Tanguay of vaudeville" — — including her name (with no fanfare) among six other acts.
• • On Friday, 8 September 1922 in Variety • •
• • "Mae West, author, loses her pianist," noted Variety in their issue dated for Friday, 8 September 1922.
• • Harry Richman — — an unknown in 1922 when Mae West gave him a chance — —  ditched her to join singer Nora Bayes [1880 — 1928] in her vaudeville act.  Awww.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • All in all, the "Mae West Revue" is a show that is playing to capacity audiences every performance.  It is a show that is being acclaimed as the finest on any night club stage.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “Well, I knew W.C. Fields was a clever man, a comedian. Universal wanted me to use him. I said fine. We started workin' together but he started gettin' envious because I wrote the thing. He asked if I'd mind him writing a few of his own scenes, and I said no as long as he didn't go write anything for me. He was plottin' though.  He'd hold up the shooting on the scenes he'd written and you see they'd be vital to the story. Among other things he wanted the billing to read, ‘Mae West and W.C. Fields’ instead of ‘Mae West with W.C. Fields’."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A foreign newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • Grand Theatre — Second Week for Mae West • •
• • Film World wrote: Only films that prove more than usually popular are permitted to occupy the screen for two weeks at the Grand Theatre and, naturally, the Mae West success, "I'm No Angel," falls into this class. It will enter on its second and final week today, giving way to the fine Claudette Colbert comedy, "Three-Cornered Moon" (Paramount), next Friday.
• • Film World added: There may be different opinions about Mae West, but there is no doubt of her popularity today.  …
• • Source: The West Australian; published on Friday, 7 September 1934
• • 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 17th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past seventeen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,800 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,817th 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 • • onscreen in 1940 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: March 1913

It was early in March 1913 when Willie Hammerstein assembled variety artists for his mid-winter festival week — — and engaged MAE WEST for this saucy extravaganza.
• • In 1912 and 1913, Hammerstein booked the teenager for eleven week-long engagements at his vaudeville attraction situated in Longacre [later Times] Square. The location was popularly known by New Yorkers as "the corner."
• • In 1899, Oscar Hammerstein built his fifth showplace — — the Victoria Theatre — — at the corner of West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue. Stars like Mae West, Will Rogers, W.C. Fields, Charlie Chaplin, Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, Buster Keaton, Harry Houdini, Evelyn Nesbit, and Eva Tanguay were among the thousands of performers who made Hammerstein's Victoria the vaudeville "nut house" of Times Square.
• • Heading the bill for this mid-winter festival week was Fay Templeton [1865—1939], an accomplished singer on the light opera circuit.
• • Hammerstein also premiered "The Squealer," a dramatic sketch by William C. DeMille and Charley Case's newest monologue.
• • There will be moving pictures of the Scott South Pole Expedition, promised Willie Hammerstein. Other acts on the bill were Mae West, Genaro and Bailey, The Bird Millman Trio, The Bison City Four, Sharp and Turek, Marlin and a Pack of Cards, The Jack Dakota Trio, Violinsky, Bud & Nellie Helm, and several others.
• • How many bon-bons did a ticket-holder need to buy in Longacre Square in order to sit through such a staggering stagebill in March 1913?
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West venue • • Hammerstein's • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Marion, Ohio

In Marion, Ohio, they fondly remember MAE WEST.
• • On August 30th and 31st, 2008, Ohio theater-goers will get a chance to party like it's 1928 at the kick-off event to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Palace Theatre — — and reminisce about the Brooklyn bombshell, too.
• • Elaine Merchant, executive director of the Palace, said she and other staff have done considerable research to re-enact the opening night in 1928, as closely as possible. Merchant calls this weekend's event a rewind to the entertainment the first Palace Theatre patrons would have seen in back then.
• • Performances will include some local folks who will bring a nostalgic flavor through tumbling, comedy, and vaudeville acts suggestive of such acts at Mae West, W.C. Fields, Al Jolson, Jimmy Durante, Ethel Walters, Groucho Marx, Eddie Foy and the Seven Little Foys, and more.
• • The anniversary event will open with the silent film "Sherlock Jr." starring Buster Keaton, accompanied by music on the Palace's Mighty Wurlitzer organ played by Dennis James.
• • The Palace Theatre [276 W. Center Street, Marion, Ohio 43302] can be phoned at (740) 383-2101 and they will tell you more about their 80th Jubilee.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1927 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Hammerstein's

In June 1914 Willie Hammerstein died — — and, oh, what an angel he had been to MAE WEST. In 1912 and 1913, Hammerstein booked the teenager for eleven week-long engagements at his vaudeville attraction situated in Longacre [later Times] Square. The location was popularly known by New Yorkers as "the corner."
• • In 1899, Oscar Hammerstein built his fifth showplace — the Victoria Theatre — at the corner of West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue. Stars like MAE WEST, Will Rogers, W.C. Fields, Charlie Chaplin, Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, Buster Keaton, Harry Houdini, Evelyn Nesbit, and Eva Tanguay were among the thousands of performers who made Hammerstein's Victoria the vaudeville "nut house" of Times Square.
• • Mainly, it was Oscar's son Willie Hammerstein who deserves credit for the playhouse's 17-year successful run. Willie had the knack for booking crowd-pleasing stagebills along with a peacock's genius for public relations.
• • In 1900, Oscar Hammerstein built his sixth theatre — the Republic Theatre — next door to his Victoria Theatre on West 42nd Street and leased it to the immensely successful producer, David Belasco. Retaining roof rights of both buildings, Oscar opened Hammerstein's Roof Garden above both theatres. Mae West often played at "the Roof" as well.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West venue • • Hammerstein's Victoria • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Jack Sparrow

MAE WEST and other vaudevillians who created a unique character — and, often, a memorable tag line and signature look — paved the way for Johnny Depp's "Jack Sparrow," notes a recent column in a Pennsylvania newspaper.
• • According to columnist Sharon Eberson, "Jack Sparrow joins a unique line of iconic characters." Eberson elaborates: From The Marx Brothers to John "Die Hard" McClane, actors have created characters who burst onto the scene, grab a foothold in pop culture and are instantly recognizable ever-after.
• • Without benefit of a book, play, TV show, or any other medium to start them on their way, these iconic characters are created with a unique look and often, a signature line. And best of all for the actor and the studio who collaborate on a popular character, along with adoration comes a sequel or two — or more.
• • About those zany Marx Brothers: Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo took their insane brand of humor to the screen from hit plays (George S. Kaufman wrote some of their vehicles). And other early film characters arrived from vaudeville stages: MAE WEST, W.C. Fields, Al Jolson, Burns & Allen, etc.
• • These vaudevillians paved the way for the iconic characters of today, who are instantly recognizable by the steely stare, a beatific smile or the slant of a three-corner hat.
• • Take, for instance, Captain Jack Sparrow and the "Pirates of the Caribbean."
• • Previous summer blockbusters telling the further stories of Spider-Man(comic book) and the animated Shrek (children's book) came with ready-made backgrounds for talented actors Tobey Maguire and Mike Myers.
• • For Depp and director Gore Verbinski, there was a Disneyland ride about generic pirates, period. . . .
- - excerpt - -
• • Source: Pittsburgh Post Gazette
• • Byline: Sharon Eberson
• • Published: 24 May 2007
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Margaret Hamilton

MAE WEST's film "My Little Chickadee" [1940] featured an American character actress who died in May.
• • Severe looking and sharp featured, Margaret Hamilton was born in Cleveland, Ohio on 9 December 1902. Hamilton played the role of prudish Mrs. Gideon, who faints on the train when Flower Belle Lee, Mae's character, pulls out two guns.
• • Then there is the scene where Cuthbert J. Twillie [W. C. Fields] is told that there is nothing good about Flower Belle Lee by the holier-than-thou Mrs. Gideon [Margaret Hamilton], and he responds: "I can see what's good. Tell me the rest!"
• • Best known for her iconic portrayal of The Wicked Witch of the West, who imprisons the ruby-slippered Dorothy from Kansas [Judy Garland] in The Wizard of Oz, Margaret Hamilton died on 16 May 1985 in Salisbury, Connecticut.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West 's co-stars • • 1940 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: March 1940

Here's an excerpt from a movie review published by The New York Times in March 1940 discussing MAE WEST's latest screen effort which had opened in Manhattan at the Roxy on Seventh Avenue.
• • W. C. Fields and Mae West Are Seen in 'My Little Chickadee' at the Roxy . . .
• • Noel Coward once had a line about two empty paper bags belaboring each other, but we never thought we should one day be scoundrel enough to remember it in connection with a picture harboring W. C. Fields and Mae West.
• • "My Little Chickadee," at the Roxy, in which the two comic soloists are trying to sing a duet, is an effort greatly strained. With the best will in the world, it just isn't funny --not even when the great William Claude ogles Miss West and roguishly invites her to come up and see him some time; not even when La West, commenting on her escape from the "Masked Bandit," explains "It was a tight spot, but I managed to wiggle out of it."
• • And those are the film's high-water marks.
• • The low water mark is more clearly defined, for the film is at low tide most of the time in the quality of its humor, in the broad treatment its players and directors have given it, in the caliber of the audience it seems intended to please and in the generally bad odor it exudes.
• • Miss West's humor, like Miss West herself, appears to be growing broader with the years and begins to turn upon the lady: it's one thing to burlesque sex and quite another to be burlesqued by it.
• • Mr. Fields, largely the innocent victim of some one else's bad taste, inevitably is tempted to juggle a few mud pies himself. It puts a heavy strain on an old admiration to endure the old boy's keyhole-peeping and door-champing at Flower Belle's boudoir, to see him become just another member of the adulant entourage Miss West thoughtfully creates for all her pictures.
• • The story this time is of Flower Belle Lee (guess who) and of Cuthbert J. Twillie, who are united in the bonds of matrimony-in-name-only because Flower Belle needs a consort for legal reasons and because Cuthbert has. . . well, never mind what . . . .
• • excerpt from:
• • Film Review
• • Written By FRANK S. NUGENT
• • published: 16 March 1940 in The New York Times
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Illustration: • • Mae West • • 1940 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Variety

On 11 February 2007 The New York Times Book Review section highlighted a few paperback titles worth reading - - and one bestseller covers MAE WEST during her years in variety.
• • A perennial favorite among theatre historians is NO APPLAUSE — JUST THROW MONEY: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous authored by Trav S.D. - - yes, that's his penname - - published by Faber & Faber.
• • This exuberant cultural history tracks America’s sturdiest entertainment form back to Roman clowns and medieval festivals, then forward to snake-oil salesmen and blackface minstrels, silent jugglers (such as W.C. Fields), magicians (Houdini), strong men (Sandor and "The Mighty Atom"), and ventriloquists; stars like MAE WEST, the Marx Brothers, and W. C. Fields; and “new vaudevillians” like Penn and Teller.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in vaudeville 1916 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: W.C. Fields

Mmm, that birthday is coming up fast, my little chickadee!
• • William Claude Dukenfield was the birth name of actor W.C. Fields [29 January 1880 - - 25 December 1946]. Born in Darby, Pennsylvania at the end of January, the vaudevillian toured the country and began making "flickers" in 1915. That year the comedian made his first silent: "His Lordship's Dilemma."
• • Like MAE WEST, Fields wrote several of his own screenplays. He appeared in over three dozen movies. Near the end of his career, he collaborated with his co-star Mae West on the script of "My Little Chickadee" [1940]. Fields took the role of Cuthbert J. Twillie. Mae West played Flower Belle Lee. Edward F. Cline directed.
• • After years of immoderate drinking, W.C. Fields died on Christmas Day 1946 in Pasadena, California of a stomach hemorrhage.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Drawing: Mae West • • 1940 poster • •
NYC
Mae West.