Mae West: Clap for Curvy

MAE WEST’s plump, curvaceous body was a vital element in her comedy. Academics have emphasized that “excessive body is one of the qualities of female unruliness, suggesting that she is unwilling or unable to control her physical appetites.” Japanese film historian Mio Hatokai discusses how Hollywood publicists and fan zines responded to this “fatness” in 1933. This is Part 25 of a lengthy piece.
• • Laughing off the “Fatness” ― Mae West’s Body Image and Female Spectators in the Early 1930s • •
• • Mae West: “Curves! Hollywood Wants ‘em!” • •

• • Mio Hatokai wrote: The article is entitled “Curves! Hollywood Wants ‘em ― and So Will You!” and the first paragraph goes as follows:
• • Motion Picture wrote: “The advent of beer, the influence of Mae West, and the newest creations of the dress designer all seem directed toward increasing the avoirdupois ― and  curviness ― of beauty on  the screen.  [...]  And as Hollywood goes, so goes the world, according to the fashion experts.”
• • Mio Hatokai wrote: The article is about how the actresses in Hollywood were now beginning to put on some weight, partially owing to the success of Mae West.
• • The starved look is out! Curves are in! • •
• • Note: Ruth Tildesley wrote this article for the July 1933 issue of Motion Picture.
• • Mae West: Curvy gets applause while being fat is vilified • •  ...   
• • Mio Hatokai’s lengthy article will continue on the next post.
• • Source: Academic anthology on film stars released by Waseda University, 2015.
• • On Wednesday, 23 November 1927 • •
• • On Wednesday, 23 November 1927, Variety poked fun at Mae West's attempts at funding her production of "The Wicked Age" via corporate sponsorship. Mocking the apparel labels her character deliberately mentions in the dialogue (such as Sam Mayo negligees) and the long list of designers in the Program credits, Variety was as gleeful as if they were doing serious G-men undercover work. Between the acts, Variety informed their readers, postcards were distributed by the ushers explaining that "Cammeyer shoe creations have a leading role in my wardrobe."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Step into the automatic elevator in Mae West's apartment house and, if a stiff odor of "Christmas Night" beats you to your knees, you'll know that the voluptuous Mae has just arrived. Or departed.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I've spent a lot of money. I used to play the horses pretty bad. And then I owned a string of horses. I've got a lot of property, but I don't like to talk about my investments in public."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in The N.Y. Observer discussed Mae West.
• • "Come Up and Signify Me: Mae West Meets Academia" • •
• • Robert Gottlieb explained: Colette put it with her customary acuity: “[Mae West] alone, out of an enormous and dull catalogue of heroines, does not get married at the end of the film, does not die, does not take the road to exile, does not gaze sadly at her declining youth in a silver-framed mirror …. She alone has no parents, no children, no husband. This impudent woman is, in her style, as solitary as Chaplin used to be.” ...
• • Source: The New York Observer; posted on Sunday, 4 November 2001
• • 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 17th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past seventeen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,800 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seventeen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,871st 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 • • Motion Picture, issue dated July 1933 • •
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