Mae West: Bound to Win

The purity police dogged the heels of MAE WEST with a Javert-like intensity. Barry Chapman analyzes how the censors affected her film Belle of the Nineties. This is Part 2 of 8 parts.
• • N.B.: When Toronto Film Society presented Belle of the Nineties (1934) and My Gal Sal on Monday, January 8, 1990 as part of their Season 42, this article was first written.  
• • Censorship and Belle of the Nineties (1934) starring Mae West • •
• • Mae West: Plot is not important • •
• • Barry Chapman wrote: It is, above all, a personal vehicle for Mae West, a display of her talent and personality.  The film went through a series of changes, commencing with “That St. Louis Woman” and then “It Ain’t No Sin.”  No matter what it was called, after her previous films it was bound to be a winner. 
• • “It Ain’t No Sin” • •

• • Barry Chapman wrote: The public anxiously awaited and Belle easily combined the atmosphere, ribaldry and glamour of the other films. Compromises had to be made, unfortunately, thanks largely to the Hays Office.
• • Barry Chapman wrote: After I’m No Angel, the censors bore down harder and during the filming of Belle, Mae found the Hays official on the set –“enjoying himself.” In fact, the original script of Belle was totally rejected by the Hays Office and had to be rewritten.  
• • Mae West: Hays Office called the original script a yarn • •  ...
• • To be continued.
• • Source: Toronto Film Society; reprinted on Sunday, 15 November 2020.
• • On Friday, 15 March 1940 in the USA • •
• • The Western-style comedy "My Little Chickadee" went into general release on Friday, 15 March 1940 in the United States.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • "She was a real tough baby," Logan Fleming says of Mae West, whose full story takes up a large part of the book he wrote with co-author Suzanne Sumner Ferry.
• • "When Mae West was 83, she was still wearing a little negligee," said Logan Fleming, who calls himself "the best wax figure maker in the world," and who once sculpted Mae in wax.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I'm very boring in real life. So I made up the walk and the talk."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A column on Hollywood stars mentioned Mae West.
• • Mae West Trades in Diamonds Against Day of Film Fade-out • •
• • Star Has Become Shrewd Bargainer in Gems And Does Own Buying and Selling • •
• • (A.P.) It is also her pleasure, on occasion, said Mae West, to design a brooch, a bar-pin, or even a ring, and then set about to find the diamonds suitable for it.
• • Much of the jewelry pieces her friends receive at Christmas are styled by the actress.
• • She knows diamond trading is a game of skill, but she employs no expert witnesses, has no special counsel. It is entirely a contest between her wits and knowledge of stones and those of the man on the other side of the table.
• • Mae West said, "I guess that's the real fun of it." ...
• • Source: Associated Press; published on Wednesday, 17 February 1937
• • 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 4,690th 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: https://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1934 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest