Thursday, March 10, 2016

Mae West: Full Control

MAE WEST was often interviewed by U.P.I.'s Hollywood columnist Vernon Scott. His lengthy article is concluded with this installment.
• • "Mae West, 84, Still A Siren" • • 
• • By Vernon Scott, Hollywood (UPI) 
• • Vernon Scott wrote:  Mae recalled that her three most famous lines are all quoted the world over:   "Come up and see me some time," "Peel me a grape," and "When I'm good I'm very good and when I'm bad, I'm better."
• • She was one of the few actresses who had full control of her scripts. In the old days the Hays Office went through her scripts searching for blatantly sexy lines.
• • How Mae West Outfoxed Will Hayes • •
• • Mae outfoxed the censors. "I'd put in lines I knew I'd  never use," she said. "I was sure they'd be taken out while the ones I really wanted — — the tamer but funnier ones — — were left in.  That kept the censors happy and didn't ruin the picture. I wrote this script, 'Sextette,' a long time ago and played it in summer stock for 10 weeks back in 1960."
• • Mae added, "Among my leading men in the picture are Ringo Starr, George Hamilton. Keith Moon, and Alice Cooper. Also nine muscle men just to keep things interesting."
• • Why, Mae was asked, has she chosen to return to the strain of movie work? "I owe it to my fans," she said. "I get hundreds and hundreds of letters from people begging me to make another movie. It's not hard work. In fact, I'm enjoying it."
• • When Mae isn't acting she busies herself writing. Her most recent epic, "Sex. Health and ESP," recently was published in England. She's also completed a novel, "The Pleasure Man."
• • This concludes a three-part article we posted on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week.
• • Source: Syndicated Hollywood column written by Vernon Scott and reprinted across the USA during February and March 1977.
• • On Wednesday, 10 March 1926 in Variety • •
• • A news item noted that a new play by "Jane Mast" (Mae West) called "Sex" was coming to Broadway. This announcement ran in Variety's issue dated for Wednesday, 10 March 1926.
• • On Saturday, 10 March 1934 in Spain • •
• • During the 1930s, movie mavens in Spain used to buy Film Selectos Magazine. In their issue dated for Saturday, 10 March 1934, they printed this two-page feature: "Vida y Adventuras de Mae West" ("The Life and Adventures of Mae West") along with terrific photos. Rochelle Hudson was the Film Selectos cover girl in black and white.
• • On Saturday, 10 March 1934 in Australia • •
• • Staring Mae West, "I'm No Angel" had its Sydney opening at the Prince Edward Theatre on Saturday, 10 March 1934. This successful 87-minute comedy (9 reels) ran for eight weeks in Australia.  
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West's novel of interracial sex is "The Constant Sinner."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "Personally, I like two types of men, domestic and foreign."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A New York weekly mentioned Mae West.
• • The Village Voice wrote:  We finish our Watergate eggs and order more Bloody Marys. The waiters stand at attention like typewriter keys waiting to be punched. Diana Rigg and I are the only non-waiters left in the restaurant. Doesn't matter. She's feeling terrific. So am I. She says she adores old movies. Adores Carole Lombard. Adores Mae West. Adored "She Done Him Wrong."
• • The Village Voice quoted Diana Rigg:  "What transpired in that film is that crime does pay. Mae West, you know, was a true original. You look at her physically, and what does she have? A thick body, a face of questionable beauty, but what comes across as an incredibly likable, funny woman."  Suddenly, Diana Rigg is doing her impression of Brooklynite Mae West — — with a British accent.  . . .
• • Source: Article: "The Avengeress as She Is" for The Village Voice; published on Monday, 10 March 1975
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 11th 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 3,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3395th 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 • in 1932

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