Mae West: Cruelest Cuts

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 4 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: The cruelest cuts in the original opening scenes • •
• • Barry Chapman wrote: For Mae, the censor’s cruelest cuts came during the film’s opening scenes.  Mae takes her boxer boyfriend up to her apartment. 
• • Mae West as Ruby Carter • •

• • Barry Chapman wrote: Censored! “Tiger” is in training but he can’t resist Mae. Her idea was to get laughs by implying that Tiger not only spent the night but actually went for Mae’s specialized kind of “training” for a period of several days. “Lap dissolves” were used to show the passage of time and Mae thought it added up to great laughs. Unfortunately, she reports, “the censor didn’t laugh and he cut.” A few other amusing innuendoes were also deleted and are, sadly, lost forever.
• • Mae West: Amount of censorship • •  ...
• • To be continued.
• • Source: Toronto Film Society; reprinted on Sunday, 15 November 2020.
• • On Monday, 17 March 1930 • •
• • It was on Monday, 17 March 1930 when Mae West's "Pleasure Man" trial before Judge Amadeo Bertini began, and the New York District Attorney charged that Mae violated Section 1140-a by writing another gay play and he also charged her with the crime of maintaining a public nuisance, an insulting charge typically levied at speakeasies and skidrow saloons not playwrights.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • The soundtrack to the motion picture "Belle of the Nineties" was recorded at Hollywood Paramount Studios in L.A. In 1934, Mae West did the vocals for "Memphis Blues" backed by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Gold goes up and down. So does everything else. But there'll always be dames wanting diamonds and guys to buy them."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Hollywood Reporter discussed Mae West.
• • "Mae West Set for Modern 'Du Barry'" • •
• • The Hollywood Reporter wrote: Mae West is to do a modernized version of "Du Barry," from a story now being developed by the William Le Baron unit. The story will not conflict in any way with the Warner Brothers production of "Du Barry," starring Dolores Del Rio. The idea is to have Miss West play her famous character of "Diamond Lil," who has visions of herself as the famous French woman. ...
• • Source: The Hollywood Reporter; published on Friday, 9 March 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 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 4,692nd 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 1934 • •
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