Mae West: Film Commentaries

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 67 of 68.
• • Mae West in Hollywood 1932 – 1943 • •
• • Mae West: Two special features • •

• • Andy Goulding wrote: The copious special features in the boxset include numerous commentaries from historians and critics, original trailers, interviews, and documentaries.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: Two special features especially worth flagging up: Three Walter Lantz cartoons of the era, including the Oscar-nominated "The Merry Old Soul," featuring Hollywood caricatures and parodies of Mae West films.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: And also the feature length 1982 TV movie Mae West, a multiple Emmy-nominated production starring Ann Jillian as West and co-starring Piper Laurie, Roddy McDowell, and very handsome James Brolin as the decidedly unprepossessing James Timony.
• • Mae West: Highlights from the boxset • • ...
• • This long article will be concluded on the next post, which is # 68.
• • Source: Blueprint Reviews U.K.; posted on Friday, 3 December 2021.
• • On Tuesday, 2 January 1934 in Chicago • •
• • On 2 January 1934, when Mae's sister Beverly applied for a marriage license in Chicago, it was hoped that her second Russian-born husband would be a better companion than her ex-husband Sergei Treshatny. The groom Vladimir Baikoff made Beverly's acquaintance when both were booked on a radio program. Beverly was doing her famous Mae West impersonation for a broadcast — — and Vlad was eager to conjugate some sultry Slavic verbs with her in private, after the show.
• • On her marriage license, Beverly gave her age as 27, meaning that she had been born in 1907.
• • Note: This was consistent with Mae's calculations; in 1934, Mae West was giving her birthyear as 1900 and the siblings were seven years apart.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •

• • Mae West simply managed to entertain Americans and make them laugh at the peak of the Great Depression.
• • As a gesture of gratitude, supposedly Paramount Pictures even named a building at their lot after Mae West.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I'll never believe the worst about anybody without complete proof, nor will I believe it's useless to struggle against so called Fate."
• • Mae West said: "My advice to those who think they have to take off their clothes to be a star is, once you're boned, what's left to create the illusion? Let 'em wonder. I never believed in giving them too much of me."
• • Mae West said: "Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?''
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A foreign newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • The headline was: "I've Come to Find out, Says Mae."
• • The Singapore Free Press wrote: Mae West invited goggle-eyed British reporters to "come up and see me sometime" when she ran the first gauntlet of them on her arrival at Southampton at two o'clock on Wednesday morning.  
• • Just to keep everything above board, Mae asked them all to a press reception at the Savoy Hotel, explained the Singapore-based reporter.  …
• • Source: The Singapore Free Press; published on Tuesday, 23 September 1947
• • 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 5,147th 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 1943 and in 1934 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: A Damp Squib

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 65 of 68.
• • Mae West in Hollywood 1932 – 1943 • •
• • Mae West: A high point in a damp squib • •

• • Andy Goulding wrote: It’s a high point amongst what is, unfortunately, a damp squib of a film.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: While “The Heat’s On” might feel like a limp ending to Mae West’s glory days, it was only the end of her screen years (not counting the roundly-panned duo of films she made in the 70s, later reclaimed by some as artefacts of high camp).
• • Andy Goulding wrote: Though her popularity as a screen attraction had waned, she was not recognised as an institution thoroughly embedded in the culture and her return to her stage roots, including lucrative stints in Las Vegas, proved wildly popular.
• • Mae West: Resisted a return to the screen for 27 years • • …
• • Note: Drawing of Walter Plunkett's beautiful gown for Mae West.
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Blueprint Reviews U.K.; posted on Friday, 3 December 2021.
• • On 28 December 1919 on Broadway • •
• • It was 28 December 1919 and Mae West was very busy in Manhattan — — double-booked, in fact.
• • The 26-year-old "firefly of vaudeville" was appearing that night at the Lyric Theatre [on 42nd Street, west of Broadway]. Sharing the Lyric bill with her were these entertainers: Eugene and Willie, the Howard Brothers; Carl McCullough; the 4 Haley Sisters; and "8 other favorite acts."
• • On the same night, Mae West performed at the 44th Street Theatre [near Broadway]. On the program was the top-billed act — — Sophie Tucker and Her Kings of Syncopation — — along with Ames and Winthrop, Mae West, Riggs and Witchie, and "8 other favorite acts."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Though Mae West staked her claim on the shimmy-shewabble, alas, so did Gilda Gray, who was eight years younger, lithe, lean, and long-legged — — and inclined to shake her chemise.
• • In Her Own Words • •

• • Mae West said: "Personality is the glitter that sends your little gleam across the footlights and the orchestra pit into that big, black space where the audience is."
• • Mae West said: "But above all, you've gotta have a certain something."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Film Bulletin mentioned Mae West.
• • “Every Day’s a Holiday” Is One of Mae West’s Best Paramount [80 Minutes] • •
• • Where Mae West has always been popular, the recent publicity about her radio role will hardly be an adverse factor. This will get good grosses.
• • In the smaller family communities she has probably been hurt but, then, her pictures probably meant little there before.
• • The story is laid in 1899, with Mae portraying the part of a shrewd confidence woman who sells Brooklyn Bridge to a tourist played by Herman Bing.  …
• • Source: Film Bulletin; published on Saturday, 1 January 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 5,145th 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 1943 and in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: For Completists

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 64 of 68.
• • Mae West in Hollywood 1932 – 1943 • •
• • Mae West: For completists • •

• • Andy Goulding wrote: Though not a disaster, “The Heat’s On” is the epitome of a weak film of its era.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: The comedy, which mostly comes courtesy of Victor Moore rather than Mae West, is unfunny; the plot is perfunctory and the majority of the musical turns are drippily dull.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: The notable exception to this latter point is the wonderful Hazel Scott, a jazz pianist and civil rights activist who completely steals the film with a routine in which she plays two pianos simultaneously. The use of black keys on white keys on one piano and white on black on the other predates the message of ‘Ebony and Ivory’ by decades, and the music’s better too!
• • Mae West: A high point in a damp squib • • …
• • Note: Drawing of Walter Plunkett's beautiful gown for Mae West.
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Blueprint Reviews U.K.; posted on Friday, 3 December 2021.
• • On Monday, 27 December 1937 • •

• • "Every Day's a Holiday" starring Mae West was reviewed (on page 8) for Film Daily on Monday, 27 December 1937.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • At that time there were no sex symbols, said Marlene Dietrich [born on 27 December 1901]. In my opinion this notion first came into being with Marilyn Monroe. Sex was then taboo.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "If you need a face job, why not?"
• • Mae West said: "I speak two languages, Body and English."
• • Mae West said:  "Permissive is just another word for dirty. Sex is not dirty."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Film Bulletin mentioned Mae West.
• • “Every Day’s a Holiday” Is One of Mae West’s Best Paramount ― [80 Minutes] • •
• • Although the buxom star still casts meaningful glances, swings her hips and drops an occasional double entendre, “Every Day’s a Holiday” relies more on directly clever dialogue and fast moving action than any of her prior vehicles.
• • Additionally, she is surrounded by a most competent cast of fun-makers, notably Charles Butterworth, Charles Winninger and Walter Catlett. They get plenty of laughs on their own.
• • Note: Actor Charles Butterworth [26 July 1899 — 14 June 1946] specialized in comedy roles.
• • Charles Butterworth was killed in an automobile accident in Los Angeles in June 1946. Unfortunately, he lost control of his car on Sunset Boulevard and crashed. He was 46. …
• • Source: Film Bulletin; published on Saturday, 1 January 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 5,144th 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 1943 and in 1937 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Continued Interest

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 63 of 68.
• • Mae West in Hollywood 1932 – 1943 • •
• • Mae West: The film strings together showpieces • •

• • Andy Goulding wrote: This kind of musical, in which an afterthought of a plot is used to string together a series of showpieces, was not uncommon in the 1930s and 1940s.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: But they don’t tend to get shown much now because the material has often dated poorly.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: “The Heat’s On” seems to have survived above its contemporaries chiefly because of Mae West’s involvement and the continued interest in her work.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: However, its previous availability had been quite limited.
• • Andy Goulding wrote: Its preservation here then is a cause for celebration for completists, even if it had little to offer the average viewer.

• • Mae West: For completists • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Blueprint Reviews U.K.; posted on Friday, 3 December 2021.
• • On 26 December 1946 in The N.Y. Times • •
• • Bosley Crowther wrote an obit: W.C. Fields, 66, Dies; Famed as Comedian.
• • According to Bosley Crowther's coverage: Pasadena, Calif., Dec. 25 —  W. C. Fields, the comedian whose deadpan gestures, raspy remarks and "never give a sucker an even break" characterizations made him a showman beloved the nation over, died today at the age of 66.

• • During the last ten years, the principal motion pictures of W.C. Fields were "Poppy," "The Big Broadcast of 1938," "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man," "My Little Chickadee," written by Mae West and Mr. Fields and starring both; . . . .
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: There are many things in Mae West’s life you've never even heard about, and that she'd never dream of mentioning.  
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "The idea for 'Every Day's a Holiday' came to me in 56 seconds."
• • Mae West said: "I had been starred but I was glad to go to Hollywood as a nobody."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Film Bulletin mentioned Mae West.
• • “Every Day’s a Holiday” Is One of Mae West’s Best Paramount ― [80 Minutes] • •
• • Mae West, Edmund Lowe, Charles Butterworth, Charles Winninger, Walter Catlett, Lloyd Nolan, Herman Bing, Louis Armstrong.
• • Directed by A. Edward Sutherland.
• • Here is one of Mae West's funniest pictures (probably the best since her first), yet it is the least suggestive.  …
• • Source: Film Bulletin; published on Saturday, 1 January 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 5,143rd 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 1943 and in 1940 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest