Monday, May 01, 2017

Mae West: Under-Rated

A very long article about MAE WEST and her career in Tinseltown appeared five years ago.  It was written by Paul Phaneuf. Let's pick this up again and enjoy it together. This is Part 76.
• • Mae West: "I'm here to make talkies" or Censor Will vs. Diamond Lil • •
• • "Paramount Rushing Mae West Release Rather Than Wait for Cool Off" — — Variety, Dec. 1937
• • Paramount Was Not Waiting for a Cool-Off Period • •
• • Paul Phaneuf wrote:   It was into this maelstrom that Mae West's newest and least controversial picture tried to find its audience. However, it was going to be the first time that one of her films lost money. She and Cohen had followed the Hays rules, and the New York Herald called it "clean and dull." The New York Times critic Frank Nugent opined, "Sex ain't what it used to be, or maybe Miss West isn't." He gives her credit however for the "old Westian try." 
• • Paul Phaneuf wrote:  Personally, I find it to be her most under-rated film, and much more enjoyable than her next (and most famous) movie.
• • After the fall-out from the radio appearance and the lackluster reviews and attendance for "Every Day," Paramount again parted ways with Mae and Emanuel Cohen, this time permanently.
• • W.C. Fields made a proposal to Mae • •   . . .
• • This was Part 76.  Part 77 will appear  tomorrow.
• • Source:  Article by Paul Phaneuf in Films of the Golden Age Magazine;  issue dated 5  November 2011. Used with permission.
• • On Friday, 1 May 1936 in Hollywood • •
• • It was on Friday, 1 May 1936, that Claude Shull, San Francisco Motion Picture Council, wrote to Paramount Pictures and sent a copy of his dissatisfaction to Mae West.
• • Claude Shull explained his viewpoint: "Any picture that presents its heroine as a mistress to an Oriental, then as a murderess, then as a cheap imitator of a missionary — — jazzing up religion — — is not in harmony with the other educational forces of our social set-up. And these elements are particularly objectionable when they are interspersed with smutty wise-cracks." Uh-oh.
• • On Tuesday, 1 May 1956 • •
• • "Mae West Says Every Man Has Sex Appeal," trumpeted the headlines around the country in Tuesday newspapers on 1 May 1956.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West, ill at home, spoke to visitors over the telephone, her voice amplified by loud speakers.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "Although your conscience depends on what's found out, there is no husband on my conscience."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Jack Alicoate, publisher of The Film Daily, mentioned Mae West.
• • "Exposing the morals of Hollywood" • •
• • Jack Alicoate wrote:  Beau Brummel Sam Dembow of Publix and points west gets me in a corner and, after having the Chinese waiter shield us with a Japanese screen, whispers with raised eyebrows that on Sunday afternoon we are to have cocktails with Mae West. Mae West, oh boy! Here it comes.
• • Mae West herself. Buckle up and remember you are an Alicoate. We arrive. Believe it or not, tea and crumpets. A violin virtuoso to entertain. Tea and crumpets with Mae West in her apartment. She is charming, soft spoken, gracious, polite every minute. We play guessing games and that new Hollywood craze, cut-out puzzles.  . . .
• • Source: Item in The Film Daily; published on Tuesday, 17 April 1934 
• • 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 3693rd
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 1936

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