Monday, April 17, 2017

Mae West: A Nymphomaniac?

A very long article about MAE WEST and her career in Tinseltown appeared five years ago.  It was written by Paul Phaneuf. Let's pick this up again and enjoy it together. This is Part 66.
• • Mae West: "I'm here to make talkies" or Censor Will vs. Diamond Lil • •
• • None of her old fire shows • • 
• • Paul Phaneuf wrote:   Other than the opening, it's a film she seems to walk through with none of her old fire. The pace of the movie is slow and laboured, and laughs are few.
• • Cohen had struck a deal with Columbia to distribute his pictures but surprisingly found a better deal back with Paramount, so Mae and Paramount found themselves yoked again. And if Cohen and company thought they had bought some time with the Hays office by selecting a popular Broadway hit, they were quickly disappointed.
• • the film was basically about "a nymphomaniac" • •
• • When Joe Breen read the movie script, he sent word to Major Pictures pointing out that the film was basically about "a nymphomaniac, treated as comedy, and has to do with her attempts to seduce a fine, clean boy" [Bud was played by Randolph Scott] and as such was completely unacceptable. Breen included a dirty-laundry list of changes he insisted upon, one scene being "very dangerous, with all this business of Bud (Scott) panting."
• • Selecting a hit Broadway play backfired • •  . . .
• • This was Part 66.  Part 67 will appear  tomorrow.
• • Source:  Article by Paul Phaneuf in Films of the Golden Age Magazine;  issue dated 5  November 2011. Used with permission.
• • On Saturday, 17 April 1937 • •
• • "Mae West Disappears — Star in Retreat" • •
• • From London, the snippy, snooty British gossip columnist Greville Bain wrote: It cannot have escaped the notice of the film public that it is a long while since we had any news or even rumors of Mae West.
• • Greville Bain stated his own opinion on this: Even her greatest admirers had to admit that Miss West's more recent pictures were not calculated to enhance her reputation. Not so long ago she was said to vie with Shirley Temple as the greatest film attraction in the United States.  ...
• • Source: Article: "Mae West Disappears" by Greville Bain in The Advertiser (Adelaide); published on Saturday, 17 April 1937.
• • On Thursday, 17 April 2014 in Germany • •
• • "Hollywood is here" featuring Mae West
• • Where: LUMI LUIS Foto Studio Atelier and Art Gallery (Eisenacherstr. 11, Berlin, Germany)
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Any film with Mae West is fantastic.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:   "A guy in Iowa wanted me to send him $500 to start a barber shop. Says he has invented a special Mae West haircut. I told him I'm sorry, but $500 is too much to pay for a haircut."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Drama Critic Leonard Hall discussed Mae West.
• • "Flamin' Mae Hits Broadway" • •
• • Leonard Hall wrote: Now detonates "Diamond Lil," latest in the Mae West lethal line.  The new opera is of the brand that only Mae writes and acts in, Diamond Lil, girl friend of the King of the Bowery. All the characters are wild, wise-cracking, and no better than they should be.
• • Among the songs are a revival of "She's Only a Bird in a Gilded Cage" and a pale pink version of the immortal folksong "Frankie and Johnnie."  . . .
• • Source: Syndicated review (Page 12) "Flamin' Mae Hits Broadway" written by Leonard Hall rpt in The Scranton Republican (Scranton, PA); published on Monday, 16 April 1928
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 12th 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 3,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3683rd
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 • in 1928

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