MAE WEST came to the attention of Tinseltown ninety years ago in 1932. Step into the Time Machine with me for a long, leisurely ride. This is Part 31.
• • Mae West in Hollywood 1932 – 1943 • •
• • Mae West: Leo McCarey eroded the scrappy energy • •
• • Andy Goulding wrote: And Leo McCarey (a wonderful director who was about to embark on one of the greatest runs of films of the classic Hollywood era) brings an element of class to the direction.
• • McCarey’s more polished approach diminished the scrappy charm • •
• • Andy Goulding wrote: But McCarey’s more polished approach ends up eroding the scrappy charm of the earlier West films and this is exacerbated by a slight but noticeable drop in energy from Mae West.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: Perhaps her enthusiasm for the material was worn away as she was forced to cut and re-shoot chunks of the film.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: It must be said though that "Belle of the Nineties" (1934) does have a comparatively dull plot, a fairly conventional traipse through a love triangle that descends into a violent but rather hurried climax.
• • Mae West: The re-shot ending • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Blueprint Reviews U.K.; posted on Friday, 3 December 2021.
• • On Saturday, 27 October 1934 • •
• • On Sunday, 27 October 1935 • •
• • Which actresses would be most popular in 1936? The L.A. Times weighed in on the merits of Mae West, Katharine Hepburn, and Jean Harlow in an article printed on Sunday, 27 October 1935.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Variety couldn't stop printing articles about "I'm No Angel" starring Mae West. "Mae West Opera Wows Newark — Cops House Record, $28,000, and Held Over" ran in Variety during October 1933.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "When you tell people a play is naughty, then they rush to see it. I can't help that, can I?"
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A book chapter on another actress mentioned Mae West.
• • Brian Kellow wrote: Tired of having her achievements overlooked, Ethel got a little testy with the Hollywood press when it was suggested that her performing style owed something to Mae West's. Although they occupied different floors of the Ravenswood, West had not been particularly friendly, and Ethel got even by telling reporters that it was she who had started the Mae West vogue, not the other way around.
• • Brian Kellow wrote: "I was singing 'Eadie Was a Lady' all dressed up with the wiggly hips an' everything before Mae West's first picture, Night After Night, came out," Ethel said, ". . . so I shall always claim Mae sailed to glory on my vogue."
• • Brian Kellow wrote: In fact, Mae West's style was fully evolved by the time of her big stage successes of the 1920s, long before she hit Hollywood. But Ethel's rewriting of history was a good indication of her defensiveness over her treatment in Hollywood. ...
• • Source: "Ethel Merman: A Life" (Chapter 5) by Brian Kellow [Penguin Books; Reprint edition; 28 October 2008; 352 pgs]
• • 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 5,100 blog posts. Wow!
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,109th 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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