Mae West: “No Angels” Trio

MAE WEST was the genesis of the Berlin Film Festival’s 27-movie tribute to Mae West, Rosalind Russell, and Carole Lombard. Let’s hear more from the German coordinators.
• • Berlin’s Mae West, Rosalind Russell and Carole Lombard Retro Delivers Sparkling Pics for Unsparkling Times • •
• • Berlin: Jessica Kiang wrote: The “No Angels” Film Retrospective, which co-ordinator Annika Haupts says had been conceived as “mood-lightening” counter-programming during Germany’s first corona lockdown, comprises comedies that were themselves developed during America’s Great Depression. ...

• • Jessica Kiang wrote: Mae West was the genesis of the program, says curator Rainer Rother. Carole Lombard quickly followed, as West’s “opposite extreme,” with Russell chosen as a “bridge” between them. But what comes through is the actresses’ individuality and the delightful contrast between — respectively — the brassy, classy and sassy modes of pre-war femininity they represent.
• • Jessica Kiang wrote: Even in a sample group of three, however, hands on hips, smirk on lips, Mae West stands apart.
• • Mae West was a matronly sex symbol persona no one dared attempt thereafter • •

• • Jessica Kiang wrote: Basically her own weather system since she gate-crashed Hollywood aged 39 with a matronly sex symbol persona no one dared attempt thereafter, she is repped here by her first nine features.
• • Jessica Kiang wrote: Most of them, admittedly, bleed into one another with Mae West a showgirl/ circus performer/ movie star/ nightclub singer about whom men talk in tumescent terms and who purrs her dialogue (usually penned by West) so heavily that any double meanings get squished down to single entendres.
• • Jessica Kiang wrote: But there are standouts: “She Done Him Wrong” and “I’m No Angel” are fun for spotting her catchphrases as they debut and also for a game, if not wholly assured, the British actor Cary Grant at an early stage in his self-creation.
• • Jessica Kiang wrote: Best of all, there’s “My Little Chickadee,” a terrific early example of crossover IP as the Mae West and WC Fields Cinematic Universes vie for supremacy (the stars co-wrote the screenplay), with verbose and very funny results. ...
• • Source: Variety; published on Thursday, 10 February 2022
• • On Sunday, 22 April 1928 in The N.Y. Times • •
• • On Sunday, 22 April 1928, The New York Times was purring about Mae West. On the theatre page was an announcement that "Diamond Lil" was the most prosperous of all the recent stage productions. Broadway backers paid attention, noticing that Mae had given the Royale Theatre its first hit — — a non-musical, no less.
• • The New York Times wrote: Seldom, if ever, does an actress spring suddenly into the New York arena panoplied in the outward accouterments of stardom as did the singing comedienne Mae West in "Sex" two years ago come next Thursday …
• • On Tuesday, 22 April 2008 • •
• • It was on Tuesday, 22 April 2008, that the DVD "Mae West — The Glamour Collection" was released for sale.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Shortest quest for inspiration: Mae West's announcement that she would go to bed and there write a new screen play for herself. The title: "Not Bad."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "It's what they see in my eyes that counts."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The N.Y. Times mentioned Mae West.
• • "Just a Maid in Movies, But Not Forgotten" • •
• • Manohla Dargis writes: These were the other women in women’s pictures: the black cooks, nurses and maids, maids, maids who, breaking out of the margins if only a little, joked with Mae West, fretted about Claudette Colbert, and they stood by white woman after white woman, scolding them and appealing to their better selves if every so often, like Chico, also playing their laughing co-conspirator. Sometimes these women did not have names, and they didn’t necessarily make it into the credits. Still, they were there. ...
• • Source: The New York Times; posted on Thursday, 21 April 2011
• • 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 4,978th 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 1934 • •
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Mae West: Carole Lombard

MAE WEST was signed by Paramount Pictures in 1932.
• • Carole Lombard, who was under contract to the same studio, came into this world on this date: October 6th. Born as Jane Alice Peters, the slim blonde was particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. After a successful appearance in “The Arizona Kid” (1930), Paramount Pictures brought her into the fold and cast her as a leading lady.
• • Carole Lombard [6 October 1908 — 16 January 1942] • •
• • Carole Lombard's figure was attended to by James Davies, “the sturdy Welshman who ministers to Paramount's figure needs.” Davies was also assigned to Mae West. Let's enjoy this article from 1939.
• • Sure, Movie Legs Are Beautiful; See the Work That Goes Into Them • •

• • Associated Press Writer Robbin Coons wrote: HOLLYWOOD. Most of the lovely legs that trip across the movie screens didn't just happen. Sculptors-in-flesh made them that way. It's the job of masseurs real-life Pygmalions to shape the feminine body more nearly to the camera's desire.
• • A.P. Writer Robbin Coons wrote: Because "When the figure's gone, so is the star" as Louis Hippe, the Warner masseur who has been shaping movie figures for 27 years, puts it stars and starlets need little persuasion to hew to their prescribed regimens. . . .
• • MONTHS FOR ANKLES • •
• • A.P. Writer Robbin Coons wrote: James Davies, the sturdy Welshman who ministers to Paramount's figure needs, says the only "perfect as-was" figure in his experience belonged to Betty Grable.
• • A.P. Writer Robbin Coons wrote: Other facts on famous figures: Irene Dunne reports to Jim Davies two weeks before starting a picture, and is relieved of 2 — 5 pounds. Carole Lombard has kept that figure consistently for years, a James Davies patient.
• • NEVER NEEDED HELP • •
• • A.P. Writer Robbin Coons wrote: Mae West, because of the gay-nineties roles she played, was no client for hip-reducing. Davies "pulled" her waist down, "pushed" her bust up, left her hips as they were.
• • Note: This is a fascinating 2-page feature to read in full. We’ve only used a brief excerpt.
• • Source: Article by Robbin Coons, Associated Press, rpt by San Bernadino Daily Sun; published on   Sunday, 23 July 1939.
• • On Sunday, 6 October 1918 • •
• • On Sunday, 6 October 1918 the New York Herald Tribune wrote about Mae's superb performance as Mayme Dean in "Sometime," noting "Mae West gave a capital characterization of a chorus girl in search of temptation, but never finding it, ..."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •

• • "My studio," Roger Pryor continued, "has played me in some straight leads, as well as  characterizations, but I was much pleased to do a 'tough guy' with Mae West in 'The Belle of the Nineties' and soon after to do a cultured gentleman with Carole Lombard in 'Lady by Choice.' It helped at least to keep me from being typed as either one or the other."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Of course, I had to have experiences to understand life.  I had to know all about life to give people what they wanted on the stage."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A Hollywood site mentioned Mae West and Carole Lombard.
• • Wesley Ruggles was an American film director.
• • He was born in Los Angeles, a younger brother of actor Charles Ruggles. He began his career in 1915 as an actor, appearing in a dozen or so silent films, on occasion with Charles Chaplin.  ...
• • Although Wesley Ruggles followed this success with the light comedy "No Man of Her Own"with Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, the comedy "I'm No Angel" with Mae West and Cary Grant, "College Humor"with Bing Crosby, and "Bolero" with George Raft and Carole Lombard, few of his later films were in any way memorable.  ...
• • Source: Hollywood Walk of Fame; published on (undated)
• • 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 16th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,576th 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 • • Mae West and Carole Lombard • •
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Mae West: Chico's Mercedes-Benz

In 1932 Chico Marx issued a challenge and MAE WEST, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, and Gary Cooper were among silver screen luminaries who turned out in four busloads to watch the showdown at Muroc Dry Lake in the Mojave desert, north of Los Angeles, according to N.Y. Times reporter Jerry Garrett. Six years later, Muroc Dry Lake, now known as NASA's Edwards Air Force Base, was also the site of hot-roddings first major lakes professional event that took place back in 1938.
• • Test-driving the Marx Brothers' splendid 1928 Mercedes-Benz S 26/180 Boattail Speedster on a California speedway recently, Jerry Garrett explained: "The Mercedes-Benz is expected to be one of the stars of the auction blocks. It is largely in the same trim it was in 1932 when Chico Marx, the oldest of the comedic siblings, issued a challenge for a high-stakes match race against a Model J Duesenberg owned by a prominent Hollywood agent. ... The cars are to be offered for sale after the Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance on August 15th." [Source: "Art to Go: Driving 3 Masterpieces" by Jerry Garrett, The N.Y. Times on 6 August 2010].
• • It was in New York City during the 1920s that Mae West applied for her first driver's license. She gave her birth year as 1900.
• • During this week, the MAE WEST BLOG will savor some more revealing commemorations of the screen queen by her long-time fans and collectors of Westiana.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Glamour in Bangor

A collection of classic MAE WEST motion pictures received high marks from an enthusiastic critic in Bangor, Maine.
• • Reviewer Christopher Smith writes: “The Glamour Collections”: From Universal, three women, three collections, 15 movies — ”The Marlene Dietrich Glamour Collection,” “The Mae West Glamour Collection,” “The Carole Lombard Glamour Collection.” So, yes, that should be enough glamour for anyone — and each is a must.
• • In “Dietrich,” fine films are assembled, including “Morocco,” “Blonde Venus,” “The Devil is a Woman,” “Flame of New Orleans” and “Golden Earrings.”
• • For Mae West, look for “Go West Young Man,” “Goin’ to Town,” "I’m No Angel,” “My Little Chickadee,” and “Night After Night.”
• • Slapstick rules in the Lombard movies . . . .
• • All three of these women were dancing — — sometimes literally, often metaphorically — — and some scenes in these collections are more than memorable — they’re iconic. In “Morocco,” for example, Dietrich dons a tux with tails and bends to kiss a woman, which caused a sensation . . . .
• • For Mae West, all she has to do is put a hand on her hip, flash her eyes and screw up her face, and she gets a laugh. It’s the surprise that comes out of her mouth, however, that sends you over the edge. Grade: A
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Column: DVD Corner: “The Glamour Collections”
• • Byline: Christopher Smith | Special to the NEWS
• • Published in: The Bangor Daily News — — www.bangordailynews.com/
• • Published on: 4 July 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Pre-Code

Pre-Code pictures that featured MAE WEST were her best loved films. These policeman surrounding Lady Lou [in "She Done Him Wrong"] were harmless. But the "purity police" who soon arrived on the scene slowly ruined the cinema.
• • The essence of pre-Code and its freedom inspired these remarks by Mick LaSalle, Movie Critic for the San Francisco Chronicle.
• • Mick LaSalle writes: When we're talking about "pre-Code," we're talking about a period roughly from the middle of 1929 until July 1, 1934, in which American movies were pretty much uncensored. If you think of old movies as corny, chances are you're thinking of the movies made after censorship took hold in the middle of 1934. Before then, movies were sexy. They were political. They were surprisingly feminist and they were adult.
• • I spent many years obsessed with these films. Their appeal is that, through them, you get to hear a long-ago era speak with its own voice, unimpeded by censorship. That voice is surprisingly modern. You come to realize how much of human nature remains consistent from one era to the next — — and also how all that phony virtue stuff, in the late '30s and '40s films, was nothing but propaganda. Human beings have always been more or less the same, and these movies are your proof.
• • In the early 1930s, there were seven major studios cranking out product: MGM, Warner Bros., RKO, Paramount, Columbia, Universal, and Fox. All of them have significance, but some are more essential than others. As far as pre-Codes go, Columbia is not too important. Fox was probably the lewdest of the studios, but it made the worst movies. Universal specialized in horror films. That leaves MGM, Warner Bros., RKO, and Paramount.
• • MGM, contrary to its staid reputation (gained during the late 1930s and 1940s), was one of the most risque studios, mainly because it specialized in female stars (Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, Madge Evans), and actress vehicles of the day dealt mainly with sex and feminism.
• • Warner Bros., which didn't have many female stars, dealt mainly with politics, business, crime, and current events. It was the most politically liberal of the studios and developed its own hard-hitting, fast-paced style. As for RKO, it was the least of the three, but it had Constance Bennett and Ann Harding, and it turned out some fine movies (including "King Kong").
• • MGM, Warner Bros., and RKO films are owned by Warner Bros. They can be seen on Turner Classic Movies, and they've been the most readily available on home video for many years. But Paramount's pre-Codes, which are owned by Universal, have been missing in action. And Paramount was a huge studio, on a par with Warner Bros. and MGM.
• • How huge? Just look at its roster of stars. For either part or all of the pre-Code era, Paramount had Mae West, Carole Lombard, Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins, Marlene Dietrich, Tallulah Bankhead, Gary Cooper, Ruth Chatterton, William Powell, Maurice Chevalier, Kay Francis, Fredric March, and Jeanette MacDonald (in her "lingerie queen" years) under contract. They also had some of Hollywood's finest directors: Josef von Sternberg, Rouben Mamoulian, Cecil B. DeMille, and Ernst Lubitsch. . . .
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: “Pre-Code films: The way we really were"
• • Byline: Mick LaSalle, Chronicle Movie Critic
• • Published in: The San Francisco Chronicle — — www.sfgate.com
• • Published on: 27 March 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1932 • •
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Mae West: On March 2nd

Two actors who co-starred with MAE WEST in "Go West Young Man" died on the second day of March.
• • Born in Virginia, Randolph Scott [23 January 1898 — 2 March 1987] was a motion picture actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. He played the part of meek and mild Bud Norton in Paramount Pictures release "Go West Young Man" [1936] when he was 38 years old.
• • Randolph Scott died in Beverly Hills at age 89 on March 2nd in 1987.
• • Born in Pittsburgh and raised in Nebraska, Lyle Talbot [8 February 1902 — 2 March 1996] was an actor best known for playing Joe Randolph on TV's harmless time-waster "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" as well as his lengthy film career. Lyle Talbot began his movie career under contract to Warner Brothers in the early days of "the talkies" and went on to appear in more than 150 films, first as a young matinée idol and later as a character actor and star of assorted B movies. He was a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and later served on the board.
• • He portrayed the amusing Irish Catholic politician Francis X. Harrigan who pursues blonde vixen Mavis Arden in "Go West Young Man" when he was 34 years old. Talbot also appeared onscreen opposite many famous actresses including Carole Lombard, Barbara Stanwyck, Mary Astor, Ginger Rogers, and Shirley Temple.
• • Interesting coincidence: three of his four children went into journalism. Stephen Talbot (who also played Gilbert Bates on "Leave it to Beaver") is a documentary producer for the PBS series "Frontline"; David Talbot is the founder and editor of Salon.com; and Margaret Talbot is a staff writer for The New Yorker.
• • Lyle Talbot died in San Francisco, California at age 94 on March 2nd in 1996.
• • In "Go West Young Man" — — released on 18 November 1936 — — Mae West stepped into a role created as a Broadway comedy that poked fun at "Hollywood dementia" and featured Gladys George [1900 — 1954] in the role of a sultry jezebel. The long-running stage hit told the story of a movie star and diva, Carole Arden, who is on a tour giving personal appearances to promote her latest film, "Drifting Lady." Her car breaks down, which leads to her amorous encounter with a young, handsome gas station attendant, Chester "Bud" Norton.
• • This Mae West vehicle made the East Coast playwright Lawrence Riley [1896 — 1974] an accidental screenwriter when he revised his Broadway play for Paramount Pictures. And at last he got his chance to experience "Hollywood dementia" first-hand.
• • The cast of "Go West Young Man" included:
• • Mae West — — Mavis Arden
• • Warren William — — Morgan
• • Randolph Scott — — Bud Norton
• • Alice Brady — — Mrs. Struthers
• • Elizabeth Patterson — — Aunt Kate Barnaby
• • Lyle Talbot — — Francis X. Harrigan
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1936 • •
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Mae West: Selected

Reviewing their picks for "The Top 100+ Funniest Movies of All Time," the Reader's Digest selected a sexy MAE WEST motion picture as number six.
• • Correspondent Stefan Kanfer asked: What's your all-time favorite funny movie? Having trouble picking just one? So did we! So we narrowed the field down to the top 100+ side-splitters of all time. Please stay tuned for the upcoming results.
• • Number 1: THE GOLD RUSH (1925) By common agreement (including Charlie's), this is Chaplin's greatest silent film. Alternating between heads-on slapstick and poetic mime, the famous Little Tramp pans for nuggets in Alaska — — and winds up broke. In a classic scene, he and his customary foil, Big Jim (Mack Swain), get so hungry that Charlie cooks a boot for dinner, carving it like a steak, then delicately twirls the shoelaces around his fork pasta-style. Chaplin's comic techniques were to set the standard for the next 50 years.
• • Number 2: THE FRESHMAN (1925) The third of the great silent film trio (the other two were Chaplin and Keaton), Harold Lloyd did all his own stunts, many of them dangerous, with skill and humor. Here he's a frosh trying to ingratiate himself with fellow students.
• • Number 3: THE GENERAL (1927) Celebrated as the Great Stone Face because he so rarely cracked a smile, Buster Keaton is remembered as an adroit stunt man and knockabout comedian. But he was far more than that, as demonstrated by this extraordinary silent comedy of the Civil War. As a train engineer who recaptures some hijacked rolling stock, Keaton is audacious, poetic and explosively amusing. As the film's director, he scintillates.
• • Number 4: DUCK SOUP (1933) Perhaps the purest film farce ever made. Directed con brio by Leo McCarey, the film offers no love story or subplots, just Harpo, Chico and Groucho Marx at their manic peak. En route to a slam-bang finale they satirize war and the country's leading politicians. (Groucho: "It's too late to [prevent a war]. I just paid a month's rent on the battlefield.")
• • Number 5: DINNER AT EIGHT (1933) The "talkies" grew up with this adaptation of a Broadway hit by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. Under George Cukor's canny direction John and Lionel Barrymore, sex goddess Jean Harlow, and comedians Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery enliven the sophisticated dialogue, revolving around the lives of financial predators, actors on the rocks, hatcheck girls on the way up and millionaires on the way down, all set against the background of a glittering Manhattan dinner party.
• • Number 6: SHE DONE HIM WRONG (1933) Mae West became something of a joke in later life, but as her films prove, she was one of the best comedy writers in 1930s Hollywood. Here, she plays a Gay Nineties saloon singer in trouble with the law — — impersonated by Cary Grant in an early role. "When a woman goes wrong, the men go right after her." "Why don't you come up and see me sometime?" The great lines are here, and Mae wrote 'em all. Lowell Sherman directed unobtrusively.
• • Also included in the "Top Ten" were: SONS OF THE DESERT (1933) with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy; THE THIN MAN (1934) co-starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Dashiell Hammett's married sleuths, Nick and Nora Charles — — and their dog Asta; IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) featuring a cynical newspaperman (Clark Gable) and a pampered heiress (Claudette Colbert) who meet cute on an overcrowded bus headed from Miami to New York; MY MAN GODFREY (1936) a screwball farce starring Carole Lombard as a temperamental heiress who hires a down-at-the-heels bum (William Powell), ably directed by Gregory La Cava.
— — Source: — —
• • Article: The Top 100+ Funniest Movies of All Time
• • Byline: Stefan Kanfer
• • Published in: Reader's Digest — — www.rd.com
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Sexual Clowning

An anemic and pointless film starring Anna Faris has given The Los Angeles Times a good excuse to revisit the blonde bombshells they really care about such as MAE WEST, Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard, Judy Holliday, Marilyn Monroe, Doris Day, Goldie Hawn, et al.
• • Susan King notes: In her heels and bikini, [Anna] stands in a line that includes platinum-haired performers from Mae West to Cameron Diaz who have tickled audiences' funny bones. Now, we're not putting Faris in that class just yet, but it's a good excuse to recall the supposedly "dumb" blondes who were anything but.
• • Here's Susan King reminiscing about the a-MAE-zing Mae West: With her platinum-blond hair, hourglass figure and hot-to-trot voice, West is considered the first major sexual comedian of the talkies. She was 40 when she made her film debut in 1932's "Night After Night," but she really made her mark with her ribald, risque 1933 comedies "I'm No Angel" and "She Done Him Wrong." Her last hit film was 1940's "My Little Chickadee," in which she co-starred with W.C. Fields. . . .
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "Blondes set comedic gold standard"
• • Byline: Susan King
• • Published in: The Los Angeles Times
• • Published on: 30 August 2008
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Out of the Closet

MAE WEST is coming out of the closet on 4 April 2008.
• • NBC/ Universal have been opening their vaults to release some of their classic library of Paramount and Universal films.
• • DVD Times announced the April 4th releases of three two-disc “Glamour Collections” devoted to three of Paramount’s biggest female stars: Mae West, Marlene Dietrich, and Carole Lombard.
• • Here is the Mae West lineup:
• • Mae’s first film, “Night After Night”
• • Mae’s her pre-code classic “I’m No Angel,” one of her best motion pictures
• • Mae’s “Goin’ to Town”
• • Mae’s “Go West Young Man” with Cary Grant’s roommate Randolph Scott
• • Universal’s “My Little Chickadee” with W.C. Fields (which also appears on the “W.C. Fields Comedy Collection”)
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1932 • •
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Mae West: Travis Banton

Waco, Texas natives figured in the life of MAE WEST. The first was Texas Guinan. The second was Travis Banton [18 August 1894 — 2 February 1958], the chief designer at Paramount Pictures. Banton is considered one of Tinseltown's key wardrobe wizards during the 1920s-1930s.
• • When he was young, Travis Banton's family moved to New York City, where he was schooled at Columbia University and at the Art Students League where he studied art and fashion design. An early apprenticeship with a blue-blooded dressmaker earned him fame. When Mary Pickford selected his gown for her wedding to Douglas Fairbanks, his reputation was established.
• • During the 1920s he created costumes for many leading actresses such as Bebe Daniels, Pola Negri, and Clara Bow. During the 1930s he forged the style of Mae West — — in I'm No Angel, 1933 and Belle of the Nineties, 1934. He also dressed Claudette Colbert, Marlene Dietrich, Kay Francis, Greta Garbo, and Carole Lombard. In 1927, he became Designer in Chief at Paramount and set the hallmark of elegant, sensuous clothes, often cut on the bias. For 12 years his assistant was Edith Head, teaching her everything she knew. Meanwhile, the practical Edith covered up for him, filling in when he disappeared.
• • In the film Belle of the Nineties [1934], Travis Banton went to town on Mae. The film opens with a vaudevillian styled production full of scantily-clad dancers. Set in the 1890s, the famous opening features Ruby Carter [Mae West] appearing in front of various backgrounds such as a rose, a butterfly, a spider, and finally as the Statue of Liberty.
• • During his illustrious film career, Travis Banton designed costumes for 200 or more productions. His last challenge was dressing Rosalind Russell for "Auntie Mame." He died at the age of 63 — — on 2 February 1958.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1934 • •
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Mae West: Stardusted Sidewalk

MAE WEST visited and performed in the 48th state, Arizona.
• • Did you know that the Grand Canyon State has its very own copy of Hollywood's star-studded sidewalk? The sidewalk outside Phoenix's historic Hotel San Carlos — — which opened in 1928 as the first air-conditioned hotel in the state — — has its own walk of fame.
• • Celebrities such as MAE WEST, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Carole Lombard, and Marilyn Monroe stayed at the hotel when visiting the desert. To commemorate the hotel's 65th anniversary in 1993, the walk of stars was added outside, on both Central Avenue and Monroe Street.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West Needs You

So far, MAE WEST ranks sixth as The Reader's Digest polls their audience to help choose the most side-splitting screen gems. Reader's Digest Editor Stefan Kanfer, who wrote about this quest to select the top hundred funniest films, listed these as the top ten.
• • THE GOLD RUSH (1925) — — Charlie Chaplin's greatest silent film.
• • THE FRESHMAN (1925) — — The third of the great silent film trio (the other two were Chaplin and Keaton), Harold Lloyd did all his own stunts, many of them dangerous, with skill and humor.
• • THE GENERAL (1927) — — Buster Keaton in an extraordinary silent comedy set during the Civil War.
• • DUCK SOUP (1933) — — Perhaps the purest film farce ever made — — directed con brio by Leo McCarey — — starring Harpo, Chico, and Groucho Marx at their manic peak.
• • DINNER AT EIGHT (1933) — — The "talkies" grew up with this adaptation of a Broadway hit by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. Under George Cukor's canny direction John and Lionel Barrymore, sex goddess Jean Harlow, and comedians Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery enliven the narrative.
• • SHE DONE HIM WRONG (1933) — — Mae West became something of a joke in later life, but as her films prove, she was one of the best comedy writers in 1930s Hollywood. Here, she plays a Gay Nineties saloon singer in trouble with the law — — impersonated by Cary Grant in an early role. "When a woman goes wrong, the men go right after her." "Why don't you come up and see me sometime?" The great lines are here, and Mae wrote 'em all. Lowell Sherman directed unobtrusively.
• • SONS OF THE DESERT (1933) — — Arguably Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's best film.
• • THE THIN MAN (1934) — — William Powell and Myrna Loy play Dashiell Hammett's sophisticated married sleuths, Nick and Nora Charles.
• • IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) — — Clark Gable is a cynical newspaperman who meets a pampered heiress (Claudette Colbert) in director Frank Capra's screwball comedy.
• • MY MAN GODFREY (1936) — — with Carole Lombard as the spoiled-rotten heiress and William Powell as the bum who becomes a butler and a guru in Gregory La Cava's rambunctious screwball farce.
• • As the publication is narrowing the field down to the top 100+ side-splitters of all time, write them and vote for Mae and more Mae.
• • Source: The Reader's Digest — — http://www.rd.com/ — —
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1933 ad • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Comic Capital

Vaudevillian MAE WEST explored her own style along the laugh route. Beginning with amusing novelty songs, often delivered in an ethnic idiom, "Baby Mae" honed her skills based on reactions from a live audience. Over time, Mae coined her own comic capital.
• • These days, college teachers teach courses in funny business to coeds. [This is what has replaced the "core curriculum," apparently.]
• • In a recent interview, Kelley Lynn explained that her male students approach stand-up humor with more assurance than females. "Comedy definitely mirrors the culture," says comedian Kelley Lynn, who is also an adjunct professor and teaches a comedy class at Adelphi University, in Garden City, NY.
• • Writing for the Christian Science Monitor, reporter Gloria Goodale observed: Certain roles have been acceptable for women since the rise of mass media: the sexy vamp (think Mae West) or the ditzy klutz (everyone from Carole Lombard to Lucille Ball and Debra Messing). "These roles are not threatening to men," says actress Jennifer Coolidge who has made a career of crafting cunning but klutzy air-headed females.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
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Mae West.