Mae West: Censors Objected

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 13.
• • Mae West in Hollywood 1932 – 1943 • •
• • Mae West: Censors objected • •
• • “SHE DONE HIM WRONG” (66 mins., 1933) • •
• • Mae West’s role was Lady Lou • •
• • Note: Mae West’s 3-hour melodrama “Diamond Lil” gets about 15 minutes of screen time here.

• • Andy Goulding wrote: Mae West’s triumphant debut in “Night After Night” practically guaranteed her a starring role in her next film and it was fitting that this role be one of her own creation.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: “She Done Him Wrong” is based on West’s successful, controversial Broadway hit "Diamond Lil" and while it is very much a pre-Code film, censors still demanded many changes to reduce elements of West’s liberated take on female sexuality.
• • Mae West: “Diamond” was banned from the suggested titles • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Blueprint Reviews U.K.; posted on Friday, 3 December 2021.
• • On Saturday, 28 September 1974 • •
• • The colorful Mae West room in Dalí Theatre and Museum opened on Saturday, 28 September 1974.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •

• • It was in early September 1933 that Paramount’s film crew had called it a wrap for "I'm No Angel" starring Mae West and co-starring Cary Grant.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Charlie Chaplin, by the way, has sex appeal. That may seem far-fetched but think it over. He has it, which is one of the secrets of how he remains in favor.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A reviewer in Time covered a play by Mae West.
• • "The Theatre: New Plays in Manhattan" • •
• • "The Constant Sinner" • •
• • Time's critic wrote: Three seasons ago Mae West's lusty singing of "Frankie and Johnnie" and the nostalgic flavor of bar and brothel scenes made "Diamond Lil" a Broadway hit. In "The Constant Sinner," which Mae West wrote from her own novel, the bars and brothels are Harlem in 1931, and Mae West does not sing. But "The Constant Sinner" is no tame play, nor is it a dull play.  ...
• • Source: Time Magazine; published on Monday, 28 September 1931
• • 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 5,091st 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • onscreen in 1933 • •
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Mae West: Free Beer

Malcolm H. Oettinger profiled MAE WEST for Screenland. Since this interview has rarely been seen, let us enjoy it together. This is part 6 of 13.
• • “Going West” • •   
• • Mae West: "Diamond Lil" offered free beer between the acts • •
• • Malcolm H. Oettinger wrote: No one took heed of her [sic] until the night "Diamond Lil" was born, with free beer between the acts.  

• • Note: Prohibition was in force in 1927. Imagine being able to drink beer in public in 1927 — during a Broadway play.
• • Malcolm H. Oettinger wrote: "Diamond Lil" was an old-fashioned melodrama with the new freedom from inhibitions and it clicked from the start. 
• • Note: Vaudevillian Frank Wallace, who wed Mae West in April 1911, was given a minor role as a waiter in Gus Jordan's Bowery saloon. In the paperback novel version, Mae called it "Suicide Hall," although the saloon so named was by Houston Street — not off the Bowery. See Frank Wallace behind Mae West in the photo.
• • Malcolm H. Oettinger wrote: Standing room only was the rule at all performances. At every performance Mae West panicked 'em.
• • Malcolm H. Oettinger wrote: Then there was "Sex," a less than scientific approach to the subject, and later Mae West began touring the provinces as Diamond Lil.  
• • Mae West: Her movie was phenomenally successful, "She Done Him Wrong" • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Screenland; published in the issue dated for June 1933.
• • On Sunday, 2 May 1982 • •
• • In the United States the bio-pic "Mae West" was shown on TV on Sunday, 2 May 1982. Actress Ann Jillian was cast in the title role.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West told a hidden chapter of her life story to buttress her repeated assertions that she was never married [sic].
• • A Hollywood reporter quoted Mae, who affirmed this: "I had obligations to my mother," Mae said. "I couldn't let anything interfere with them while she was alive, and I never discussed them. Well, she's gone now."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “The curve is the loveliest distance between two points.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in The Orlando Sentinel mentioned Mae West.
• • "In Days Before Dolly, There Was Mae West" • •
• • "I met her, Mae West, not Catherine the Great, very briefly" • •
• • Allen Rose of The Sentinel Staff wrote: Mae West’s response was right in character. Poking an index finger into Dick Gordon's shoulder, she said: "You bet I was, buster." And went on her way. Alone, for once. ...
• • Source: The Orlando Sentinel; published on Wednesday, 20 April 1988
• • 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 4,900 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seventeen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,984th 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1928 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Was Upstaged

Cineaste printed a tribute to MAE WEST, erroneously posting a teenage photo of Clara Bow [1905–1965] taken in 1921 by Nickolas Muray and labeling Clara as “young Mae.” The piece is fully available to subscribers (who, I hope are pointing out the incorrect picture). Since Cineaste called Mae “a ghost in the room,” their selection of a wrong picture is even more ironic. This excerpt is Part 2 of 5.
• • Playing Her Script Their Way: A Reconsideration of Mae West • •
• • Mae West: Over the top charm • •
• • J. E. Smyth wrote: Mae West’s brand of charm may always have been over the top, a parody of lush female sexuality, but by 1941, and facing Ms. Stanwyck, she had definitely been upstaged and consigned to the past.
• • J. E. Smyth wrote: Mae West had gone out of style.
• • J. E. Smyth wrote: That was rough, particularly coming from a Paramount production.
• • J. E. Smyth wrote: Back in the early 1930s, it was West’s films that saved the studio from going under during the Great Depression. They regularly made ten times their production cost in their first run in theaters.
• • Mae West: Only Shirley Temple’s films came close in ticket sales • • …
• • This will continue on the next post with Part 3.   
• • Source: Cineaste, Vol. XLVII, No. 1; published in Fall 2021.
• • On Saturday, 12 January 1929 • •

• • "Diamond Lil" was staged at the Royale Theatre in New York City on 9 April 1928 and closed on Saturday night, 12 January 1929 after 323 performances.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West waged war with the gossip-mongers of her time. Her relationship with Louella Parsons was tenuous at first since the columnist brashly called Mae “fair, fat, and forty” in print.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I wrote scenes for them to cut. These scenes were so rough I’d never have used them, but they worked as a decoy. They cut them and left the stuff I wanted. I had these scenes in there about a man’s fly and all that, and the censors would be sittin’ in the projection room laughin’ themselves silly. Then they’d say ‘Cut it’ and not notice the rest.."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Photoplay Magazine mentioned Mae West.
• • In the background you see the crowd straining for a look at Mae West as she graciously posed for photographers at the premiere of  "I'm No Angel."
• • Then along came "The West" — burning up our theaters, and such like. Whooie! How Mae did move in on Hollywood! Says she, "I'm No Angel."  
• • Says we, "It’s all right, Mae. We're convinced!" …
• • Source: Photoplay Magazine; published in the issue dated for January 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 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 4,907th 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1928 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Bothered Her

PBS wrote an article on MAE WEST.
• • “Mae West: Dirty Blonde” is the unoriginal title, copied from a stage play. This is Part 3 of 3 segments.
• • The Time Mae West Spent Eight Days in Jail • •
• • Mae West: My Time Spent in Jail Was Worth It • •
• • PBS wrote: Mae served her sentence on Welfare Island (now Roosevelt Island in New York City) where she allegedly dined with the warden. West was released two days early for good behavior. According to her, the time spent in jail was worth every ounce of the publicity, and the media attention boosted her career significantly. She later said that the only thing that bothered her about it was that she had to wear cotton underwear.
• • PBS wrote: “Mae West knows that when she steps onto the stage she is stepping onto the stage not just as a character but as Mae West, the celebrated pornographer [sic] who spent eight days in jail for an obscene play,” said cultural historian Marybeth Hamilton, interviewed in the film “Mae West: Dirty Blonde.” “She was a very, very canny reader of her audiences and a very canny reader of her own publicity.”
• • This was the third and final excerpt. Let us know if you learned anything new.
• • Source: PBS; posted on Friday, 12 June  2020.
• • On Tuesday, 2 July 1935 • •
• • It was a long, hot summer wrestling with the Hays Office over the script for "Klondike Annie." Mae West and Paramount got more bad news from the censors on Tuesday, 2 July 1935.
• • The Hays Office wrote: "We judge from your letter that during part of this picture, Miss West will be masquerading as an exponent of religion or a religious worker. ..."
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •

• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for 17 years now?
• • We’re here to keep Mae mavens up to date, correct errors, celebrate each revival of a play she wrote, post the latest Westian stage and book reviews. And answer our fan mail!
• • The light’s still on. Come up and see Mae every day.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West, who added a dash of hip-swinging when she revived the Lillian Russell era, is coming back to the screen after a two-year respite.
• • Associated Press wrote:  And if you should go up to see her sometime, you'd learn our "Diamond Lil" is going tropical.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "You can never say that I refused to meet somebody half way."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about Blu-Ray releases of 1930s films mentioned Mae West.
• • Rachel Bellwoar wrote: In Lowell Sherman’s She Done Him Wrong, Mae West gets to play the lead this time in a film based on one of her plays, Diamond Lil. Basically, the film follows Lady Lou’s love life and the many close calls she has as a result.
• • Rachel Bellwoar wrote: Cary Grant plays one of the men who catches her eye, and West was a big proponent for his casting.
• • Night After Night, I’m No Angel, and She Done Him Wrong are available on Blu-Ray starting June 29th from Kino Lorber. ...
• • Source: Comicon; posted on Thursday, 24 June 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 4,700 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,769th 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1928 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: 300 Times

A charming article on MAE WEST appeared in Vintage News in 2017. Let’s enjoy it together.
• • Mae West did not begin her film career until she was almost 40 years old • •
• • Diamond Lil cemented her path to eternal fame • • 
• • Brad Smithfield wrote: If there is one character, though, who cemented her path to success and eternal fame, that would be Diamond Lil. At first, this was a character that she played in a production staged on Broadway.
• • 300 Times • •
• • Brad Smithfield wrote: It was such a huge success that the show was performed more than 300 times solely on Broadway, with Mae West appearing in lavish clothing from the late 19th century, wearing diamonds and making sure her hair was all golden and wavy.

• • Brad Smithfield wrote: The success of the “Diamond Lil” play lasted for a while along The Great White Way, until fortunes changed for the worst as the Great Depression overwhelmed the United States in the early 1930s. Mae West had to seek better luck elsewhere, away from New York City, so she moved to Los Angeles, California in 1932.
• • uncommon for women her age • • . . .
• • This delightful article will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Article by Brad Smithfield for The Vintage News; published on Saturday, 27 May 2017.
• • On Sunday, 1 January 1967 • •
• • Newspaper readers in D.C. got a brief respite from hearing about the antics of President Lyndon B. Johnson on Sunday morning, 1 January 1967 when the Washington Post printed an article by Kevin Thomas: "Mae West, Like Rock 'n' Roll Music, Is Still Deeply Rooted in Ragtime."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • In “My Little Chickadee,” W.C. Fields is assisted in his hilarious duties by Mae West, who retains her old slinky ways, frank humor, free Invitations, wisecracks, and peculiar style that attracted the public in her first picture.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “Considering what my play ‘Sex’ got me, a few days in the pen ‘n’ a $500 fine ain’t too bad a deal.”
• • Mae West said: “I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about "My Little Chickadee" discussed Mae West.
• • Roger Hurlburt writes: Ah, yes, My Little Chickadee, take a gander at the 1940 western spoof with W.C. Fields and Mae West (midnight, WFLX — Ch. 29). The duo also wrote the screenplay, though one feels the film could have been even funnier. Saloon scenes are the best; so are the performances of hatchet-faced Margaret Hamilton and milquetoast emeritus Donald Meek as a corrupt "preacher."
• • Source: Entertainment Feature: "Come Up and See This Film" written by Roger Hurlburt, Staff Writer, for the Sun Sentinel [Florida]; published on Thursday, 1 January 1987 
• • 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 14th anniversary • •  

• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fourteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,100 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fourteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4117th 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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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in "Diamond Lil" 1928 • •
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