Mae West: “Cleanest” Film

The MAE WEST starrer "Belle of the Nineties'' was released on Friday, 21 September 1934.
• • "Hollywood Preview: "Belle of the Nineties'' • •
• • One month before its premiere, on Sunday, 19 August 1934, Motion Picture Daily published this picture preview.
• • Hollywood — With shock-proof punches but with haymakers nevertheless, Mae West uncorks a flashy, melodramatic entertainment of the Nineties, trippingly gay and gaudy for the most part but lingering in spots.

• • As with all the Mae West films, her showmanship personality dominates the scene. Her story assembles herself as the American Beauty, a headline actress; Prizefighter Roger Pryor, Villainous Promoter John Miljan and his girl friend, Katherine de Mille, sets them in pleasure-loving New Orleans and lets music, gambling, stolen jewels and prizefight knockout drops work its dire drama, making it clear at the same time that no man outsmarts Mae and gets away with it.
• • While the production is hardly a model of uplift drama, by the same token nothing offends the sensibilities in La West's cleanest film.
• • Her performance, including singing and comedy, is the best she's done.
• • Her wisecracks ripple along in laughing cadence with her curvacious walk and there is no reaching for gags or straining for effects.
• • Mae warbles four numbers, one, "Scandalizin' My Name," counterpointed with Negro spirituals being particularly effective to eye and ear.
• • Leo McCarey's direction has flavor and distinction.
• • Exploited smartly, "Belle of the Nineties" should do Golden West business even though repeat bookings may or may not be so abundant. ...
• • Source: Motion Picture Daily; printed on Sunday, 19 August 1934.
• • On Saturday, 19 August 1939 • •
• • "News of Mae West" • •
• • It is rather difficult to see what Miss West or her advisers could detect in the famous Russian Empress which made her suitable for a Western impersonation. It is true that she was no angel and had a habit of inviting her male favorite for the time being "to come up and see her sometime." Any how, whatever the attraction or illusion may have been, Miss West seems to have abandoned the project. ...
• • Source: The Advertiser (Adelaide); published on Saturday, 19 August 1939.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West’s witty, buxom and bawdy ways paved the way for women to own their sexuality in a way unheard of before. (“Is that a pistol in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?”) Nobody owned Mae West. She was Hollywood’s most independent spirit.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I can't see myself horsing around with hockey players in a business way. It would make me feel unappealing. Any time I show my authority over the male sex, it's got to be 100 percent emotional.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Athens Banner-Herald, a Georgia newspaper, mentioned Mae West.
• • "A Day In The Life of Adolph Zuckor" • •  
• • Andrew Shearer wrote: Influential gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, sex symbol Mae West, and silent film star Gloria Swanson were all still living when the Town and Gown Players theater opened in Athens in 1953. For the theater's latest production, all three women and more have been revived for the stage as well as in a series of videos.
• • Andrew Shearer wrote: Directed by Virginia Simmons, "A Day in The Life of Adolph Zuckor" will run July 8-11, 2022 on the Town and Gown second stage. The play concerns real-life Paramount Pictures producer Zuckor's efforts to secure West for a role in a new movie, and will feature actors portraying a host of figures from the golden age of Hollywood.  …
• • Source: Athens Banner-Herald; published on Tuesday, 5 July 2022
• • 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 18th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eighteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,063rd 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