Mae West: Rough Diamond

In case you missed a fascinating review of a book analyzing MAE WEST, here it is. This is Part 1 of 6 parts.
• • “Mae West, Diamond in the Rough” • •
• • Under review was a [then] new release: "When I'm Bad, I'm Better: Mae West, Sex, and American Entertainment" — — a book written by Marybeth Hamilton [NY: HarperCollins. 307 pp].
• • Reviewing this book, Gerald Weales wrote: Marybeth Hamilton's "When I'm Bad, I'm Better" promises "to unmask Mae West by tracing the history of her public persona" through changing attitudes toward sex and class. That may be one of the few ways of doing a Mae West book these days.
• • Mae West’s private life is obscured intentionally • •

• • Gerald Weales wrote: The actress's private life is so obscured by a fog of her own making that a celebrity scandal biography, except as a congeries of rumor and invention, is out of the question, and even an admirer of her performance in "She Done Him Wrong" is unlikely to feel the need for an in-depth study of the West oeuvre.
• • Gerald Weales wrote: As Hamilton sees it, West and her aesthetic were formed by the working-class Brooklyn neighborhood in which she grew up — — if so elegant a word as aesthetic can stand in for West's conviction that she always knew what her audiences wanted, and her frequently voiced intention of giving it to them.
• • toughness and the self-assurance that precluded victimization formed the stage character that Mae West carried from the cheap theaters • • . . . 
• • This book review by Gerald Weales will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Washington Post; published on Thursday, 11 January 1996.
• • On Sunday, 29 January 1978 in Sunday Express • •
• • Since "Sextette" had a British director, articles discussing what happened on the set in Hollywood popped up in the British tabloids. An article discussing a scene filmed in a mock elevator appeared in Sunday Express on 29 January 1978.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Management of the RKO Palace is being commended on its frankness in advertising.
• • In a large display frame announcing coming attractions, with a permanent line at the bottom, this appears: Mae West in "Belle of the Nineties." Carefully Cooled. 
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “I became convinced that the public was ready to view sex frankly." 
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • Finish Mae West Film • •
• • Hollywood, Aug. 1. — Paramount has completed remaking of the Mae West film and it will be released Aug. 31 as "Belle of the Nineties."  . . .
• • Source: The Motion Picture Daily; published on Thursday, 2 August 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,398th 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 • • ad in 1933 • •
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