Mae West: Unique Persona

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 68 of 68, the final segment.
• • Mae West in Hollywood 1932 – 1943 • •
• • Mae West: Highlights from the boxset • •

• • Audio commentary on "She Done Him Wrong" with critic and film historian Pamela Hutchinson (2021)
• • "Mae West at UCLA" (1971, 29 mins): archival audio recording of the great performer in conversation at the University of California, Los Angeles
• • "Downtown Girl" (2021, 34 mins): appreciation of Mae West’s unique persona with academic and film historian Lucy Bolton
• • Audio commentary on "Go West Young Man" with writer and film historian Nora Fiore (2021)
• • "The Only Way Is West" (2021, 19 mins): exploration of Mae West’s cultural importance with critic and author Christina Newland
• • "She Done Him Right" (1933, 8 mins): animated short film parody of "She Done Him Wrong" featuring Pooch the Pup and other canine characters
• • "The Merry Old Soul" (1933, 8 mins): Oswald the Rabbit animated short film featuring caricatures of many Hollywood stars, including Mae West
• • "Hollywood Bowl" (1939, 7 mins): Walter Lantz animation featuring many Hollywood caricatures, including W. C. Fields
• • This long article by Mr. Andy Goulding has now been concluded. Did you enjoy it? Tell us.
• • Source: Blueprint Reviews U.K.; posted on Friday, 3 December 2021.
• • On Friday, 3 January 1936 in Australia • •
• • An intriguing article appeared in Perth on Friday, 3 January 1936 with this headline: "Favourite Camera Men of the Stars" (page 2) in the section "Film World" written by a Hollywood correspondent.

• • The West Australian wrote: The recent dispute between Mae West, Raoul Walsh (director), and Paramount executives over the quality of the photography of her new picture, 'Klondike Annie," which caused a four-day production halt while a new cameraman was found has been given much prominence in America.
• • The West Australian wrote: This inspired 'Variety'' to a consideration of screen stars and who was favoured as a camera man. ...
• • Note: Mae West halted production on "Klondike Annie" because her very own Karl Struss was busy with a Bing Crosby vehicle called "Anything Goes" (co-starring Ida Lupino, Charles Ruggles, and Ethel Merman as Reno Sweeney, a charismatic night club singer who is a former evangelist).
• • Source: The West Australian; published on Friday, 3 January 1936.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • In 1932, Mae West's jewel robbery was on the front page.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Hiring someone to write your autobiography is like hiring someone to take a bath for you."
• • Mae West said: "The best way to hold a man is in your arms."
• • Mae West said: "To catch a husband is an art — — to hold him is a job."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Film Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • Mae West Versus Venus • •
• • Ralph Wilks wrote: A two-foot statue of Mae West is in the window of a department store at 6th and Broadway, Los Angeles' busiest corner, has been a traffic stopper.
• • Ralph Wilks wrote: Mae's measurements are being compared with those of Venus de Milo.
• • Ralph Wilks wrote: The stunt was arranged by Victor M. Shapiro in conjunction with Mae's personal appearances at the Paramount, where her newest motion picture, "Every Day's a Holiday" is playing. …
• • Source: Film Daily; published on Tuesday, 1 February 1938
• • 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 5,148th 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 1933 and in 1936 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Pitched to Fans

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 60 of 68.
• • Mae West in Hollywood 1932 – 1943 • •
• • Mae West: A film aimed at existing fans of both icons • •

• • Andy Goulding wrote: “My Little Chickadee” was very much a film aimed at existing fans of both these comic icons and the thrill of the film is in seeing them in the same picture.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: Whether they enhance or detract from each other’s impact is a matter of taste.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: As a recent Mae West convert and a complete W.C. Fields novice, perhaps this is a 1940 motion picture I should revisit after I’ve seen more of the latter’s work.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: For now, “My Little Chickadee” is a not-quite-successful curio.

• • Note: Did you spot this goof? When the 'train' stops to pick up the W.C. Fields character, it consists of the locomotive only. The carriages then reappear in the next scene.
• • Note: The title text, 'The End,’ was superimposed over Mae West's gluteus maximus as she walked away from the camera.
• • Mae West: Her next film was in 1943 • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Blueprint Reviews U.K.; posted on Friday, 3 December 2021.
• • On Monday, 20 December 1926 • •
• • It was on Monday, 20 December 1926 that the controversial tabloid Evening Graphic printed a publicity picture of Mae West onstage, costumed as Margy LaMont, actor Barry O'Neill sprawled out in a chair, under her. In her 1926 Broadway play, Mae wanted to depict a woman who has power over her men, a novel idea at the time for theatrical dramas.
• • On Monday, 20 December 1937 • •
• • On Monday, 20 December 1937, The Hollywood Reporter heaped praise on Mae West and "Every Day's a Holiday," writing that the motion picture was "sumptuous in atmosphere and setting."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Modern Screen wrote: If you can measure prosperity by the length of a person's automobile, then Mae West is the wealthiest gal in the world. Mae must have been saving the money she usually invests in diamonds, for she has just stepped out with a swank Dusenberg that's almost as long as a feature picture.
• • Modern Screen wrote: Mae's pretentious buggy sort of puts Bob Montgomery's imported Bentley Racer in the anti-climax department, but it hasn't taken away any of Mr. M's enthusiasm for his car.
• • Source: Modern Screen; issue dated Vol. 12, No. 1, December 1935.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "My mother always understood me. I found out all there was to know about me. Then when I grew up, I changed the things I didn't like and spotlighted the things I admired."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Motion Picture Herald mentioned Mae West.
• • "Klondike Annie" ― ― Mae  West, Victor McLaglen • •
• • Motion Picture Herald wrote: A report in the paper says that the county attorney of Lancaster  county, Nebraska, has applied for a court order restraining the theatres of Lincoln from showing  Mae West in "Klondike Annie."  
• • Motion Picture Herald wrote: Lincoln, Nebraska always was kinda funny that way. If they will team Mae up in a vaudeville act with Aimee “Scrapie” McPherson, we'll betcha it will draw the spotlight position on every vaudeville show in the land. …
• • Source: Motion Picture Herald; published on Saturday, 4 April 1936
• • 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 5,140th 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 1940 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Dramatic Bent

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 45 of 68.
• • Mae West in Hollywood 1932 – 1943 • •
• • Mae West: The funniest scene • •
• • Andy Goulding wrote: The ending is somewhat abrupt and unsatisfying.

• • Andy Goulding wrote: But for all these issues, “Klondike Annie” is a fascinating, often excellent film.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: It mixes in elements of humour while retaining an overall dramatic bent (the funniest scene goes not to Mae West, but to an enterprising young boy who extorts money from everyone around him) and refuses to simplify its broad view of goodness to give the audience an easy time, as was so common in the Hays infested films of the era.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: “Klondike Annie” emerges as further proof of West’s often unsung versatility as both a writer and performer.
• • Mae West: Excessively compromised • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Blueprint Reviews U.K.; posted on Friday, 3 December 2021.

• • On Wednesday, 23 November 1927 • •
• • Variety poked fun at Mae West's attempts at funding her Broadway production of "The Wicked Age" via corporate sponsorship.
• • Mocking the apparel labels her character deliberately mentions in the dialogue (such as Sam Mayo negligees) and the long list of designers in the Program credits, Variety was as gleeful as if they were doing serious undercover detective work about a Broadway producer who was caught defrauding his naive investors.
• • Between the acts, Variety informed their readers, promotional postcards were distributed by the theatre ushers explaining that "Cammeyer shoe creations have a leading role in my wardrobe."
• • Source: Variety (on page 48); published on Wednesday, 23 November 1927.
• • On Sunday, 23 November 1980 in The L.A. Times • •
• • Mae West received a first-rate send-off in The Los Angeles Times by her friend Kevin Thomas.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • After co-starring in "My Little Chickadee," and after an absence of three years, Mae West returned to the screen in the musical comedy "The Heat's On." Her character was Fay Lawrence, a famous Broadway actress. Lloyd Bridges played Andy Walker.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "We must do all that only and exclusively with the eyes."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A United Press series mentioned Mae West.
• • Note: A series of "If" questions circulated around the film colony in November 1934. Here is one that ran on Friday, 23 November 1934.
• • Hollywood, United Press — — If your home were afire and you could save only one thing, what would it be? That’s the latest "If" stickler being brought up at film colony parties almost nightly. The answers given by leading stars and executives are often surprising, many passing up articles of value for sentimental keepsakes.
• • Mae West said she would save an old miniature of her mother Tillie as a girl. …
• • Source: Syndicated Feature (page 2) rpt in The Daily Banner (Indiana); published on Friday, 23 November 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 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 5,124th 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 1936 and in 1927 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Imperfect Film

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 44 of 68.
• • Mae West in Hollywood 1932 – 1943 • •
• • Mae West: By no means a perfect film • •
• • Andy Goulding wrote: “Klondike Annie” is by no means a perfect film.

• • Andy Goulding wrote: There’s an immediate “uh-oh” moment when the opening caption reads “San Francisco Chinatown” and, sure enough, there are some immediate awful stereotypes (American actor Harold Huber was hardly born to play the role of Chan Lo).
• • Andy Goulding wrote: But fortunately this sequence largely serves only to set the plot in motion, albeit after a lavish Mae West-led musical number called ‘I’m an Occidental Woman in an Oriental Mood for Love.’
• • Andy Goulding wrote: There’s also the slight sense that, like “She Done Him Wrong” before it, “Klondike Annie” could’ve benefited from a longer runtime to allow its more complex plot to unfold properly.
• • Mae West: The funniest scene • • …
• • This piece will be continued on Wednesday, 23 November 2022.
• • Tomorrow (on November 22nd) there will be our annual memorial post for Mae West, who left us on Sunday, 22 November 1980 but who has never left our hearts.
• • Source: Blueprint Reviews U.K.; posted on Friday, 3 December 2021.
• • On Sunday, 21 November 1948 • •
• • It was on 30 October 1948 that Mae West signed an Actor's Equity Association Stock Jobbing Contract on Equity's letterhead in New York. The Broadway star of "Diamond Lil" was agreeing to a weekly salary of $2,500, and the play would be opening in Montclair, New Jersey in the month of November — — on Sunday, 21 November 1948.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •

• • There is a scene in "Diamond Lil" and also in "She Done Him Wrong" that shows Mae West's character lounging in bed with an issue of the National Police Gazette. Shortly after the release of the 1933 motion picture, Mae was, in fact, featured on the publication's front page.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "A man in the house is worth two in the street."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in Australia discussed Mae West.
• • "Mae West May Visit Australia" • •
• • Sydney, Tuesday — Negotiations to bring Mae West to Australia for the production of "Catherine Was Great" and "Diamond Lil" may fail because she demands £3,000 a week.
• • Other obstacles include transport.
• • The Director of the Tivoli Circuit (Mr. David Martin) who visited Hollywood recently said Mae West was a lovely person who neither smoked nor drank. If negotiations were satisfactorily completed, she would arrive in Australia about this time next year. …
• • Source: The Canberra Times (page 2); published on Wednesday, 21 November 1945
• • 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 5,122nd 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 1936 and in 1928 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest