Mae West: Object of Desire

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 49 of a lengthy piece.
• • Laughing off the “Fatness” ― Mae West’s Body Image and Female Spectators in the Early 1930s • •
• • Mae West: When a woman’s legs were confidential • •
• • Mio Hatokai wrote: Moreover, by telling us that the film takes place in the age when “legs were confidential,” it prepares us for bosomy figures with tight bodice and ankle-length skirt to come up on the screen.

• • Mio Hatokai wrote: In the opening sequence after the credits, we see men in a busy saloon, drinking and talking, and they soon start discussing the nude portrait of Lady Lou hanging over the bar.
• • Mio Hatokai wrote: Steve Seidman argues that this fixed image presents Lady Lou [Mae West] as an object of desire.
• • Mae West: Turns the table on the men • • ...      
• • Mio Hatokai’s lengthy article excerpt will continue on the next post.
• • Source: Academic anthology on film stars released by Waseda University, 2015.
• • On Monday, 27 December 1937 • •

• • "Every Day's a Holiday" starring Mae West was reviewed (on page 8) for Film Daily on Monday, 27 December 1937.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Colonel Parker, who managed Elvis, dispatched a few telegrams to Mae West in Hollywood.
• • A Western Union telegram from him (dated Monday, 17 August 1964) reads “Dear Miss West, All best wishes to you on your birthday. And for many more on behalf of Elvis and myself.  Sincerely, The Colonel."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “If Kinsey is right, then I have only done what comes naturally, what the average American does secretly, drenching himself in guilt fixations and phobias because of his sense of sinning. I have never felt myself a sinner or committed what I would call a sin.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Cheat Sheet featured an article on Mae West.
• • Why Did Mae West Turn Down a Role in a Movie with Elvis Presley? • •
• • Laura Dorwart wrote: She was asked to take on a supporting role alongside Elvis Presley in ‘Roustabout.’
• • Laura Dorwart wrote: But Mae West was known for maintaining a high degree of creative control over her roles. She didn’t give in to pushback easily. …
• • Source: Showbiz Cheat Sheet; published on Sunday, 24 January 2021
• • 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 4,895th 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 the movies • •
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