I really like Mae West. In prescribed dosages. She's wonderful as a supporting actress, but not as the main actress carrying the whole movie. In that case she's a bit too much. She's still good, but the script has to be very creative to not get tired of her.
"I'm No Angel" could be called "She Done Him Wrong 2." Mae West plays the same exact character as Lady Lou (her character in "She Done Him Wrong") with NO variation. When I say no variation, I mean zero difference. If you were to close your eyes you'd think she was playing Lady Lou or Maudie Triplett ("Night After Night").
In "I'm No Angel" she played Miss Tira (pronounced Tyra), a sassy circus performer. Just like Lady Lou in "She Done Him Wrong," she had men tripping over themselves to be with her. They were forking over whatever money they had to shower her with gifts just to be in her sphere. She was cool, suave, flirtatious, and dismissive to all of them. With just a smile, a purr, and a word she could turn any man into Jello. She turned on the charm and the flirting when they had something she wanted, otherwise they got no play.
Tira moved up in the world when she agreed to do a very dangerous circus stunt. She put her head in the mouth of a lion as a part of her act. The stunt was so extreme it garnered the attention of thousands more than when she was simply shaking her hips. She was receiving so much money and gifts from adoring male fans that she was able to move into a penthouse and hire four maids to wait on her hand and foot.
She met and fell in love with Jack Clayton (Cary Grant) via her relationship with Kirk Lawrence (Kent Taylor). Kirk was engaged to be married, but he was ready to kick his fiance to the curb for Tira. Jack went to Tira to beseech her to leave Kirk alone and fell under her spell like every other man before him.
I like Mae West's swag and moxie, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't get old. She was featured in just the right amount in "Night After Night," while she was a bit too much in the two movies she starred in in 1933. Mae West is iconic, she was a trend setter, and she was definitely something different. She had a lot of zingers that were outright hilarious, although I resented her calling her maid Beulah (Gertrude Howard) "shadow." The name had a double entendre, but given America's history I have no doubt it was meant in a racial context. Other than that Mae West, to me, is like Elvira. She has a certain character that's a hit even if it won't smash the box office or garner her an Oscar.
Free on YouTube.
"I'm No Angel" could be called "She Done Him Wrong 2." Mae West plays the same exact character as Lady Lou (her character in "She Done Him Wrong") with NO variation. When I say no variation, I mean zero difference. If you were to close your eyes you'd think she was playing Lady Lou or Maudie Triplett ("Night After Night").
In "I'm No Angel" she played Miss Tira (pronounced Tyra), a sassy circus performer. Just like Lady Lou in "She Done Him Wrong," she had men tripping over themselves to be with her. They were forking over whatever money they had to shower her with gifts just to be in her sphere. She was cool, suave, flirtatious, and dismissive to all of them. With just a smile, a purr, and a word she could turn any man into Jello. She turned on the charm and the flirting when they had something she wanted, otherwise they got no play.
Tira moved up in the world when she agreed to do a very dangerous circus stunt. She put her head in the mouth of a lion as a part of her act. The stunt was so extreme it garnered the attention of thousands more than when she was simply shaking her hips. She was receiving so much money and gifts from adoring male fans that she was able to move into a penthouse and hire four maids to wait on her hand and foot.
She met and fell in love with Jack Clayton (Cary Grant) via her relationship with Kirk Lawrence (Kent Taylor). Kirk was engaged to be married, but he was ready to kick his fiance to the curb for Tira. Jack went to Tira to beseech her to leave Kirk alone and fell under her spell like every other man before him.
I like Mae West's swag and moxie, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't get old. She was featured in just the right amount in "Night After Night," while she was a bit too much in the two movies she starred in in 1933. Mae West is iconic, she was a trend setter, and she was definitely something different. She had a lot of zingers that were outright hilarious, although I resented her calling her maid Beulah (Gertrude Howard) "shadow." The name had a double entendre, but given America's history I have no doubt it was meant in a racial context. Other than that Mae West, to me, is like Elvira. She has a certain character that's a hit even if it won't smash the box office or garner her an Oscar.
Free on YouTube.