Mae West: A Cult Film

In 1967, 73-year-old MAE WEST told Helen Lawrenson (during an interview for Esquire) that “if you didn’t know how old I am, a person’d think I’m twenty-six.”  
• • Eleven years later, in 1978, Mae would play a coquettish bride in "Sextette." Was it a good film or a misfire? Journalist Steve Palace has his own perspective. This is Part 6 of 6 parts.
• • "Sextette" — Mae West’s Last Movie Saw Her Play the Vamp in Her 80s! • •
• • Mae West: An embarrassing attempt at camp • •

• • Critics didn’t hold back, with savage assessments appearing in the press. Variety described "Sextette" as “an embarrassing attempt at camp from the lady who helped invent the word.” The New York Times called it “a poetic, terrifying reminder of how a virtually disembodied ego can survive total physical decay and loss of common sense.”
• • Mae West passed away in 1980, following a stroke. People were quick to laugh at her final foray on the big screen, but ultimately movies like "Go West, Young Man" (1936) and "My Little Chickadee" with W.C. Fields (1940) are what she’ll be remembered for.
• • Steve Palace wrote: She made one last request for audiences to come up and see her some time. They didn’t accept, but the offer is appreciated today by cult film fans…
• • This feature as reached the sixth segment. A critic's appreciation of “Sextette” will follow.
• • Source: The Vintage News; published on Tuesday, 29 September 2020.
• • Cary Grant [1904 — 1986] • •
• • It's a kick to see January birthday boy Cary Grant [18 January 1904 — 29 November 1986] opposite Mae West before his own movie star status rose high on the marquee.
• • Watch their two smash hits on the Criterion Channel.
• • On Sunday, 18 January 1981 in Hollywood • •  
• • "Mae West Left Million, Mostly to Her Sister" • •
• • Los Angeles, Jan. 18th, 1981 — Reuters — Mae West, who died in November at the age of 87, left $1 million, according to her Will filed in court here.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West, being one of the screen's leading luminaries, and something of a national sensation, has been deluged with requests for the use of her name. Occasionally she has been agreeable, but for the most part she has declined with thanks.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "A noted sculptor is doing my figure in marble and says I'd have made a perfect stand-in for Venus. Flattering, of course. But maybe not. That dame was cold, and didn't have any arms."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on “Sextette” discussed Mae West.
• • Nathan Rabin of A.V. Club wrote: In an interview about the film, Ian Whitcomb, who clearly adores Mae West and considers working with her one of the highlights of a busy and eclectic career, shares the tragi-comic story of watching an already-senile Miss West meet with a costumer for the film early in the project and look at an old picture of herself from decades before.
• • Nathan Rabin of A.V. Club wrote: A nostalgic West told the costumer that she wanted a diaphanous gown exactly like the one she wore in the picture. Furthermore, she proclaimed, she wanted the handsome co-star in the picture to star in her new film as well.
• • Nathan Rabin of A.V. Club wrote: As tactfully as possible, the costumer told West that wouldn’t be possible, since the man in the picture had died more than 20 years earlier. ...
• • Source: A.V. Club; published on Wednesday, 29 February 2012
• • 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 16th 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 4,600 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,650th 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 her last film in 1978 • •
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