Mae West: Don't Tell Will

A very long article about MAE WEST and her career in Tinseltown appeared five years ago.  It was written by Paul Phaneuf. Let's enjoy it together. This is Part 21.
• • Mae West: "I'm here to make talkies" or Censor Will vs. Diamond Lil • •
• • Suggested in Actions • •  
• • Paul Phaneuf wrote:   Sidney Kent added, "I cannot understand how your people on the coast let this get by. There is very little any of us can do now. I think the place to have anything done was at the source."
• • Lest there be any doubts, Variety trumpeted: "Nothing much changed except the title, but don't tell that to Will Hays."
• • Note: To say "nothing much changed" is entirely absurd. For one, the entire sex trafficking plot was bleached away. "Rio Rita," who becomes Russian Rita (though played by the same actress) leads a group of counterfeiters instead of tricking run-away girls into white slavery and hiding them in Charlie Fong's basement before their one-way trip to South America. For another, Diamond Lil's prostitute friends do not appear in the movie. And the scenes where Diamond Lil seduces Juarez in the Elizabeth Street apartment of her pal Frances are reduced to high-toned flirting, hand-kissing, and innuendo.  Go read the novel to see what else is missing.
• • Paramount was quick to cash in • •   ...
• • This was Part 21.  Part 22 will appear tomorrow.
• • Source:  Article by Paul Phaneuf in Films of the Golden Age Magazine;  issue dated 5 November 2011. Used with permission.
• • On Monday, 31 January 1927 in Bridgeport • •
• • Despite the public's curiosity about the controversial vaudevillian Mae West, and her latest play "The Drag," Jim Timony could only manage to secure half a week at Poli's Park, which was then in use as a burlesque house in Bridgeport.
• • It was a dreary and wintery Monday on 31 January 1927 when the Morals Production Company hoisted a banner over the trolley cars criss-crossing Main Street. Pedestrians were intrigued by this saucy announcement: "'The Drag' by the author of "Sex" — — more sensational than Rain or The Captive!" It was Mae West’s intention to give gay characters a voice and a spotlight. The police were lying in wait for her.
• • These true events are dramatized in Act I, Scene 2 of the stage play "Courting Mae West" by LindaAnn Loschiavo. Why not bring this astonishing 95-minute play to your theatre?
• • On Tuesday, 31 January 1933 • •
• • Vaudeville star Elsie Janis dated her synopsis for a "Mae West Talking Picture" for Tuesday, 31 January 1933 — — but the project was deemed unsuitable for Mae.
• • On Tuesday, 31 January 1933 • •
• • Variety ran this article "No Good Women in History, Mae West Says, During Hot Sex Selling Talk."  It was published on Tuesday, 31 January 1933.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West in "Goin' to Town" starts a third week at the New York Paramount tomorrow.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:   "And the police said to me, 'These guys is fairies'."
• • Quote, Unquote • •

• • A British theatre troupe mentioned Mae West.
• • From 9 – 13 January 2017 Arcola Queer Collective presents
• • THE X — A radical reimagining of "La Prisonnière" by Edouard Bourdet; Directed by Rubyyy Jones — — and — —
• • THE DRAG By Mae West; Adapted and directed by Peter Darney
• • Arcola Creative Engagement presents new productions of two of the most controversial plays from 1920s America; THE DRAG, written by Mae West and directed by Peter Darney . . .  and THE X, a radical reimagining of "La Prisonnière" by Edouard Bourdet, directed by international cabaret and queerlesque star Rubyyy Jones.
• • Both productions were infamously shut down during their inaugural runs in the USA. They confront historic discrimination with sensual, vibrant, and tender depictions of the people directly facing oppression.  . . .
• • Source: Announcement from 24 Ashwin Street, Dalston, London; posted January 2017
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 12th 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 3,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3629th 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 • • "The Drag" police raid • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC  Mae West