Thursday, September 24, 2015

Mae West: Harlan Thompson

At Paramount Pictures, MAE WEST worked with Harlan Thompson who was born this month on September 24th.
• • Harlan Thompson [24 September 1890 — 29 October 1966] • •
• • Born in Hannibal, Missouri on Wednesday, 24 September 1890, Harlan Thompson wrote for newspapers. By 1923, he was writing for Broadway.  He transitioned to working in the film industry as thy tried to adapt musicals to the screen. Eventually, he wound up at 20th Century Fox.
• • After moving to Paramount, Thompson collaborated with several people on screenplays for this major studio.
• • Harlan Thompson was assigned as a "continuity writer" to the Mae West vehicle that became "I'm No Angel" (Paramount, 6 October 1933).   Though Mae had fired two writers who had been assigned by Paramount Pictures, it is said that she accepted help from Thompson, who wrote a lot of the script and some of Mae West's dialog. According to Thompson's wife, "How much she contributed I don't know, but she moved in, as she always moved in on anything, and got credit for the story, the screenplay and the dialogue."
• • Harlan Thompson died in New York City Sunday, 29 October 1966. He was 76.
• • Starting on Monday, 24 September 1928 • •
• • "Pleasure Man" written by Mae West was shown at the Bronx Opera House from 17 September until 22 September 1928.  Then the play moved to the Boulevard Theatre in Queens for a single week starting on Monday, 24 September 1928.  Then Mae's provocative piece opened at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway on 1 October 1928, at which point the police padlocked it, despite its heavy advance sale.
• • The stage play "Courting Mae West" dramatizes the police raid and the aftermath.
• • On Monday, 24 September 1934 • •
• • After a long battle with the Hays Office, "Belle of the Nineties" won its approval. Despite that, several state censor boards deemed certain portions of the motion picture objectionable. They went on to take the scissors to some of Mae West's songs and snipped bits of dialogue, reported the Boston Herald in their issue dated for Monday, 24 September 1934.  Sigh.
• • On Wednesday, 24 September 1941 • •
• • "Ex-Husband Loses Mae West Suit — Monthly Maintenance Denied Wallace" • •
• • United Press informed the world on Wednesday, 24 September 1941, that fortune-hunter Frank Wallace lost his $ 1,000 a month temporary separate maintenance suit against Mae West in a ruling that questioned his good faith in bringing the action against his actress-wife. Their article was widely syndicated.
• • On Tuesday, 24 September 1946 • •
• • Playing a sultry, irresistible detective, Mae West took the starring role of clever Carliss Dale in the stage play "Come On Up (Ring Twice)," which toured during 1946 in California and elsewhere. This comedy was written by Miles Mander, Fred Schiller, and Thomas Dunphy.
• • A local drama critic had written a review. The title was: "Come on up to Suite B-3, Bellflower Apartments, and ask for Carliss." This was published on Tuesday, 24 September 1946.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Well, anyway, Mae West took all their names and addresses and sent all of the Midget Village folks a present the next day, and to the little Mae West midget she sent a diamond ring. 
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "She who laughs lasts."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Screenland Magazine mentioned Mae West.
• • Out at Warner Brothers, little Sybil Jason, her sister Anita, and her uncle Harry Jacobson and I had lunch together in the Green Room.  . . .
• • She'll do a sophisticated impersonation of Mae West one minute, and the next she'll be crying for her dolly like any baby girl. She'll talk like an adult one minute, and the next she'll be a little girl that you can't resist cuddling. I'm afraid she's what I've always avoided — a child prodigy. But so help me, I'm crazy about her.
• • Sybil Jason was born in Capetown, South Africa [23 November 1927 — 23 August 2011], and at the early age of two began to startle South Africa by her vocal accomplishments, her ability to play the piano and sing, and to mimic celebrities such as the "come up and see me" star.   . . .
• • Source: Article on child actresses in Screenland; published in the issue dated for September 1935
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 11th anniversary • •    
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eleven years. The other day we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,200 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3274th 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 1935

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