Belle of the Nineties (1934) User Reviews

When a St. Louis Woman Comes Down to New Orleans

[lugonian · 7/10 · 19 July 2004]

BELLE OF THE NINETIES (Paramount, 1934), directed by Leo McCarey, stars the "calm and collected" Mae West, contributor to the story, screenplay, and bedside manner dialog ("It's better to be looked over than overlooked"). In her fourth feature film and only 1934 release, it also became the first in a series of Mae West comedy/dramas to have the production seal-of-approval. While not up to the standards as her two previous 1933 efforts of SHE DONE HIM WRONG and I'M NO ANGEL, BELLE OF THE NINETIES has more of a reputation than West herself as being the movie to have gone through numerous production problems. Other than alternate titles before the selected choice, and Roger Pryor as the substitute for the original choice of George Raft, BELLE OF THE NINETIES contains several scenes ending with abrupt blackouts. Other than that, BELLE OF THE NINETIES ranks one of Mae West's most interesting, if not entirely successful screen efforts, with her witty one-liners making this more memorable than the plot itself.

Set in the Gay Nineties, circa 1892-93, in St. Louis, Ruby Carter (Mae West), a burlesque queen (and "The most talked about woman in America"), is much admired by many male patrons who attend the café to watch her perform. She sincerely loves a prizefighter called "The Tiger Kid" (Roger Pryor). Feeling Ruby's affection will complicate the Tiger's chances for the championship fight, Kirby (James Donlan), his manager, schemes to break up their relationship. Unaware of the set-up, Ruby leaves St. Louis for New Orleans to accept an engagement working for Ace Lamont (John Miljan) at his Sensation House. While there she stirs up much attention, especially with Ace, causing his mistress, Molly Brant (Katherine DeMille) to become extremely jealous. Having no interest in Ace, Ruby focuses her attention to Brooks Claybourne (Johnny Mack Brown), a young millionaire now supporting her with expensive diamonds and jewelry. Sometime later, Kirby, along with his star fighter, Tiger Kid, arrive in New Orleans where the Tiger is to fight the Champ in a boxing match being promoted by Ace. Ace, jealous of Ruby's affection towards Brooks, hires Tiger to act as the masked bandit to steal her jewelry while on a carriage ride. Later, Ruby spots Tiger is seen conversing with and giving the Ruby's jewelry Ace. Suspecting some sort of setup, Ruby avenges herself on both men, leading to the unexpected murder of one of them.

With a smooth mix of newer songs (by Arthur Johnston and Sam Coslow) and nostalgic tunes from the nineties era, such as "And the Band Played On" (better known as "The Strawberry Blonde"), introduced through underscoring during the opening credits, the soundtrack to BELLE OF THE NINETIES includes: "Here We Are" (sung by chorus); "My American Beauty" (sung by Gene Austin with Mae West appearing in tableaux posing as a butterfly, rose, bat, spider and finally the Statue of Liberty); "When a St. Louis Woman Goes Down to New Orleans," "I Hate to Wait," "My Old Flame," "Those Memphis Blues" (by W.C. Handy) and "Troubled Waters" (all sung by West). With the tunes presented and performed, "My Old Flame," is noteworthy. Set at night, West, smoking a cigarette, stands on the outside terrace watching her maid and beau (Libby Taylor and Sam McDaniel) taking part of Brother Eben's prayer meeting. She sings while the spiritual group of Negroes are seen waving their arms as they are being saved in having their sins washed away in the river. The use of super imposing effects between West and the attendees of the prayer meeting, along with shadowy images reflection from the river, is done quite effectively.

In the supporting cast is Warren Hymer ("Hi, Ruby, this is your Bunny Boy." Ruby: "Bunny Boy? I don't know any rabbits"), and Duke Ellington and his Orchestra during the the "Memphis Blues" number.

Although Mae West is usually the central focus, veteran actor John Miljan (1892-1960) as the villainous Ace Lamont, nearly steals the film his leading lady. West's on screen character description of Ace is summed up with this amusing quote: "That guy's no good. His mother should have thrown him out and kept the stork." In their "love" scene, Ace (Miljan) compliments Ruby about her "golden hair, fascinating eyes, alluring smile, lovely arms ..." Ruby quickly responds, "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Is this a proposal or are you taking inventory?" One particular scene shows Miljan's true evilness to good advantage as he socks his unwanted mistress, Molly (DeMille) in the jaw, placing her in a closet with the intention of burning down his own casino with her in it so not having to pay off a large gambling debt that would wiped him out financially. Miljan's sinister laugh and dark curly hair add to his snarling meanness. Roger Pryor as the lovesick prizefighter, is showcased well, though never rose to the ranks of stardom. The third billed Johnny Mack Brown is offered the least amount of screen time along with Frederick Burton and Augusta Anderson appearing briefly as his parents.

As with SHE DONE HIM WRONG, BELLE OF THE NINETIES is very authentic in capturing the flavor of the 1890s era, right down from period settings to costumes, compliments of costume designer, Travis Banton.

BELLE OF THE NINETIES, which went on video cassette in 1992, includes an added bonus of a theatrical trailer featuring certain key sings along with her singing "My Old Flame" differently from what was used in the final print. Nearly a decade later, BELLE OF THE NINETIES became the first Mae West feature from her Paramount years to be distributed on DVD. So far, both VHS and DVD formats have come and gone, as well as having acquired a rare cable TV broadcast in later years on Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere July 3, 2014). (***)

Look out, Twentieth Century, here she comes!!!

[funkyfry · 6/10 · 3 October 2002]

Mae West throws all the curves in this one as a singer (?) in the 1890s who dumps her boxer boyfriend in a mix-up and runs off to New Orleans to perform and live there. She's featured in a stunning musical number where she models a shimmering gown against which numerous costumes are superimposed by a projector! One pose has her as lady liberty. Unfortunately, this is a less liberated, somewhat cleaned-up Mae West. She still likes to have fun, and enough gags remain to make this one worth a few solid laughs. Good production by Paramount.

BELLE OF THE NINETIES (Leo McCarey 1934) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 24 December 2008]

Mae West's first vehicle following the enforcement of the Production Code emerges as a lesser comedy, despite the involvement of the renowned McCarey (who directed many a star comedian around this time, including various Laurel & Hardy shorts, Eddie Cantor, The Marx Bros., W.C. Fields and Harold Lloyd).

As ever, West wrote the script herself: having gone through the titles included in the R1 DVD collection not too long ago, this film can be seen to have adhered strictly to formula – so that, in spite of offering nothing new (all the men, be they naïve or unscrupulous, invariably throw themselves at the star's feet who, of course, plays a notorious chanteuse), the undercasting of the chief supporting players and the severely reduced trademark double entendres, it still gets by on the consummate professionalism on display (conveyed in Paramount's recognizable in-house style). Among the highlights here are a marathon boxing match, a typically soulful number by the underprivileged black community and the fiery climax.

The film's brief 70-minute running-time (in PAL mode) and unassuming plot line makes this ideal for late-night viewing; however, such rampant streamlining also leads to an overly abrupt denouement in which events are neatly tied up via a montage of newspaper clippings!

Classic Mae West

[burgemc · 7/10 · 4 March 2002]

This movie is classic Mae West, full of one-liners with carefully disguised meanings to escape the censors. It's interesting to note that this is the movie where she really began to fight with the Hays Office and the Breen Office to get her movie past the censors...She had to change the title from "It's No Sin" (people picketed in the streets with signs that said, "Yes, It Is"). Therefore, this movie could be seen by some as not quite as good as her 3 previous movies. However, it is still a gem from Mae's classic period. Everyone should see a Mae West movie at least once...

Another risque comedy from Mae West,...

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 10 February 2023]

... Paramount Pictures, and director Leo McCarey. West stars as Ruby Carter, an infamous stage performer known as much for her headline-grabbing social life as for her sex-drenched song numbers. She gets mixed up in love with hot-headed boxer Tiger Kid (Roger Pryor) and New Orleans nightclub owner Ace Lamont (John Miljan). Also featuring Mike Mazurki in his debut.

The always-boundary-pushing West ran up hard against the censors and the newly tightening Production Code here, and much of the film had to be reshot to appease them. Even so, many scenes were cut depending on the market it was playing in, and the film proved to be West's first box office disappointment. There's not much to the story, but there rarely is in her films. They serve as a showcase for her unique charms and one-liners. The supporting cast is okay. I wasn't familiar with Pryor, who seems to have peaked with this movie before moving to radio (he does have a good voice), and while his attitude is right, he doesn't look like a boxer. Katherine DeMille, the adopted daughter of Cecil B. DeMille and the future wife of Anthony Quinn, is good (and sexy) as the former love of Miljan, and West's chief rival.

A Sanitized Version of Mae West's Original Story

[springfieldrental · 7/10 · 8 April 2023]

The movie star most affected by the newly enforced Production Code was Mae West. She was one of the main catalysts why a stricter enforcement from the Hays Office was enacted by mid-1934. West's first movie under the new censorship system, September 1934's "Belle of the Nineties," underwent several laborious revisions before filming was underway as well as being required by the censors to reshoot several scenes after their circumspect review of the movie.

West was familiar with uptight censors from her previous stage and early movie works. Thrown in a New York City jail after police shut down her first play in 1927, the now-41-year-old actress wrote a bawdy movie script based on her play, 'It Ain't No Sin,' knowing the Hays Office was going to chop it to shreds. Her low opinion on censors was reflected in her autobiography. "Every person who is not a moron or a mental defective of some sort carries a very effective censor and super-critic of his actions in his cerebral cortex, and in his heart," West wrote. "If that doesn't work, no amount of censorship from the outside will do anybody any good." West was well prepared which passages were going to be sliced, and wrote a backup script with less raunchy lines.

The censors at first amazingly left in the original title. Paramount Pictures, as a publicity stunt, gathered 40 parrots and taught them to say the phrase "It Ain't No Sin." Eventually, head censor Jospeh Breen realized the title had to be changed and demanded it be. Since no one wanted parrots who repeatedly shrieking "It Ain't No Sin," they were all transported back to South America where they came from and released into the jungle. The birds could be heard by the natives in the area for years high up in the trees screeching the line over and over again.

Before the "Belle of the Nineties" was seen by the censors, the studio previewed the movie before an audience. The viewers howled at Mae West's racy lines and the situations she found herself in. But that was before the censors visually saw it and sliced out some, in their eyes, questionable scenes. The end result was acceptable by contemporary film critics back then as well as the public, although it failed to gain the popularity as her previous movies. Wrote one The New York Times reviewer, "There are gags for every taste and most of them are outrageously funny according to almost any standard of humor." Today's reassessment of "Belle of the Nineties" is not as generous as when it was first released. Modern reviewer Barry Chapman noted her movie "would probably have been a lot funnier if the Hays Office hadn't 'protected' moviegoers." An even harsher review was written by David Nusair, highlighting the movie is "unlikely to please even the most ardent of West's followers, with the almost total absence of positive attributes, aside from West's mere presence." "Belle of the Nineties" does offer several songs from West, backed by the Duke Ellington Orchestra, including what would become the popular hit "My Old Flame."

The actress adjusted to the new moral code to deliver first-rate comedy films, but none came close to her 1933 hits "She Done Him Wrong" and "I'm No Angel." The viewing public was looking for more sauce on the screen, and were denied that because of the censors' heavy hand.

The boxer is saved by the belle

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 5 February 2017]

The 1890s and turn of the century seem to be Mae West's favorite era because she can dress up in outrageously fancy clothes and enormous hats, which perfectly fit her personality. I was disappointed we only saw a little of Johnny Mack Brown, who was 3rd billed. He was much the least of the 3 suitors the screenplay focused on. Yet, he was the one who gave Mae the most expensive jewels. He might have been a jewel thief for all I know, but those jewels played a crucial part in the plot.

Boxer Tiger Kid(Roger Pryor) has a big crush on famous entertainer Ruby Carter(Mae), interfering in his concentration on his boxing training, or so his manager-trainer(Kirby) thinks. Thus, Kirby schemes to get Ruby out of the St. Louis area by arranging for her to work for oily Ace Lamont(John Miljan) in New Orleans. Ace also immediately develops a crush on Ruby, making his girlfriend, Molly, jealous. Brooks(Johnny Mack Brown) also takes a romantic interest in Ruby, and showers her with expensive jewelry. These jewels are of interest to Ace for 2 reasons: They make Ruby feel less dependent on working for him, and they are a possible source of money for putting on a boxing match between Tiger Kid and the world champion heavy weight. Thus, he talks Tiger into stealing them under conditions where neither he nor Ruby know each other was involved. But, Ruby finds out the truth in eves dropping. She figured out a way of hurting both men simultaneously. In the 27th round, she slipped a sedative into Tiger's water bottle, causing him to lose the fight and Ace to lose a fortune in bets. Ruby suggests to Tiger that Ace may have put something in his water bottle, causing Tiger to confront Ace, punching him to the floor, cracking Ace's skull, killing him. Ruby is still mad at Tiger for stealing her jewels, until Tiger pleads he thought they were Molly's jewels, given by Ace. She forgives him, and he soon becomes a hero when he saves Molly from a fiery death when Ace's establishment catches fire, and she is locked in a closet by Ace.

It's interesting that the historic fight between J.L. Sullivan and "Gentleman" Jim Corbett took place at the Olympic Club in New Orleans in 1892, when this story takes place, the difference being that the challenger beat the champ in that one.

Aside from the classic "Memphis Blues", which Mae sings, the songs were composed by Arthur Johnson and Sam Coslow. Gene Austin sings "My American Beauty", while Mae is on stage, various objects being projected onto the wall behind her. Mae later sings "When a St. Louis Woman Goes Down to New Orleans" onstage, dressed in a very fashionable dress and hat. Later, at an informal gathering, she sings "My Old Flame". Lastly, Mae sings "Troubled Waters" from a balcony overlooking a dark evening revival meeting.

I don't understand why Ace took the extreme measure of locking Molly in a closet to burn to death, to get rid of her. Perhaps she was pregnant, and he wanted to run off with Ruby? Ace's crazy reason for planning to set his establishment on fire was so that he could plead bankruptcy and thus not have to pay out all the money to those who bet on the champion winning the fight.

Mae exhibits her typical stage persona of frequent sarcastic remarks and other types of one liners, often swinging her hips, one hand on a hip, the other on the back of her head. A few of her one liners are as follows: Ace: "It's an old masters"(painting) Mae: "Looks like an old mistress, to me". Mae: "Is this a proposal, or are you taking an inventory?" Man: Do you expect to be here for good?" Mae: I expect to be here, but not for good" Man "I'm the best man"(for wedding). Mae: "That's what you think!"

"Belle" Is A Dead Ringer for Mae

[zardoz-13 · 10/10 · 27 September 2009]

Mae West's fourth film "Belle of the Nineties" bears considerable resemblance to her second movie "She Done Him Wrong." Each film takes place during the 1890s or what has been dubbed the 'gay' nineties. West plays a highly paid singer in an upscale burlesque club who craves diamonds and would never steal another woman's man unless the woman had done her wrong. Like the burlesque house owner in "She Done Him Wrong," his counterpart in "Belle of the Nineties" is as low as they come. Indeed, according to the heroine in "Belle," the villain's mother "should have thrown him away and kept the stork." Unlike "She Done Him Wrong," "Belle" provides West with a stronger heroine who can take care of herself. She doesn't need to summon the help of a man to right wrongs committed against her. In other words, West is in control more often than she is out of control. Like her best films, West penned the screenplay and she had first-rate director Leo McCarey at the helm. The story takes some surprising turns toward the end and mistakes as well as outright skullduggery fuels the plot.

Ruby Carter (Mae West) is a much sought after singer in St. Louis, Missouri. She has been carrying on a relationship with a lovesick pugilist, the Tiger Kid (Roger Pryor of "Broken Hearts"), but the Kid's manager, Kirby (James Donlan of "College Humor"), frowns on it because the Kid's amorous outings with Ruby are interfering with his training routine. Tiger cannot get Belle out of his blood. The sly Kirby arranges for Ruby, unbeknownst to her, to leave St. Louis and go to New Orleans where she can make a bundle in Ace La Mont's Sensation House. Kirby's plan succeeds and Ruby signs a contract with Ace (mustached John Miljan of "Madame Spy") who falls in love with her. Of course, Ace's current mistress isn't happy about Belle's arrival. Ace is jealous that Ruby wants nothing to do with him but everything to do with Brooks Claybourne (future western star John Mac Brown) who loves to buy Belle expensive jewelry.

Ace is setting up a championship fight, but the other boxer backs out of him. Ace needs somebody to fill the slot and he runs into the Tiger Kid sparring in New Orleans. Before Ace can sit down, the Tiger Kid has knocked out the new sparring partner that Ace pitted him against. The Kid and Ace work out a deal, but Tiger has to help Ace out in an unethical fashion. Ace explains that his current lady friend is blackmailing him and he needs her diamond necklaces. He arranges to be in his carriage late one evening by the lake and the Tiger Kid with a bandana over his face robs them. Ruby thinks that it is suspicious that the robber didn't take Ace's ring. Later, Ruby discovers that the Tiger Kid was in on the theft with Ace. Ruby has a way of spying on Ace without his knowledge and she sees the Tiger Kid deliver the jewelry that Brooks gave her and Ace stores it in his safe.

Ruby plans payback. She convinces Brook who has been losing heavily in Ace's gambling tables, to bet on the champ instead of the Tiger Kid. Meanwhile, Ace has everything that he owns riding on the Kid. In the 29 round, Ruby slips something into the Kid's ringside bottle of water and prompts Ace to give it to him after the bell rings the end to another round. When the Kid goes out swinging, the champ flattens him and an incredulous Ace cannot believe that he has lost everything with the defeat of the Tiger Kid. At the Sensation House, Ace agrees to pay off all his wagers, but upstairs he decides to burn his place. He decks his old girl friend Molly (Katherine DeMille of "Madam Satan") and leaves her to die in a locked closet. Earlier, Belle watched Ace store her jewelry in his safe; she used her maid's opera glasses to get the combination.

The Tiger Kid visits Ruby and explains that he had no clue that she was in the carriage the night that he assailed Ace and his date. The Kid expresses his undying love for Belle and she suggests that Ace had everything to do with the Mickey in his ringside water bottle. The Kid belts Ace, but Ace doesn't get up. When Belle checks up on Ace, she discards her cigarette and the room catches on fire where Ace had spilled kerosene. Molly awakens screaming in the closet and the Kid gets her out. The Kid admits to striking Ace, but the court exonerates him and Belle and Ace get married. Amazingly enough, Brooks cleans up on the championship boxing match, but Belle goes off with Tiger.

Mae West doesn't give herself nearly enough clever lines in "Belle of the Nineties." "Take the single men," she advises her African-American maid, "and leave the husband's alone." "Belle" is as much a character study of its shrewd protagonist as it is a story about revenge. What makes it unusual is that Belle goes off with Tiger instead of Brooks. There is an interesting montage sequence at an African-American church revival while Belle warbles a song to them from her balcony. Incidentally, Mae West wears some of her best costumes in "Belle of the Nineties." Belle's opening number where she appears against a theatrical stage backdrop as a spider, a bat, and a butterfly is something to see. McCarey gained a reputation for his comedies, but "Belle of the Nineties" qualifies more as a melodrama with our heroine exacting revenge on Ace but giving Tiger a chance to make good.

Probably okay if you like West ... I don't really

[rdoyle29 · 6/10 · 16 September 2017]

Mae West stars as a popular nightclub entertainer who's dating a boxer. His manager hates her, and sets her up to look like she's cheating on him. To get away from a bad situation, she accepts a job in New Orleans where she becomes the toast of the town, but her boss's unwelcome attentions cause more strife. I must confess that I have never been very fond of West and this is most decidedly a showcase for her. She wrote it and is really the uncontested star. It's okay. Duke Ellington appears but is pretty decisively kept in the background.

It ain't no sin.

[Steffi_P · 4/10 · 19 June 2011]

The enforcement of the Hollywood production code in 1934 was abrupt, and for many in-production movies it meant hasty rewrites and reshoots. Belle of the Nineties, Mae West's follow-up to the phenomenally successful (not to mention outrageously code-flaunting) I'm No Angel and She Done Him Wrong, was just such a victim of the post-code cull.

Sources vary regarding this picture, but most agree it had to be adapted quite extensively to fit the more stringent regulations. The story is typical Mae West (she wrote her own material) but the jokes are a little lukewarm, suggestive of nothing more than a nice cuddle and the prospect of marriage. It's odd though because there is as always suggestion of much more in West's body language. Her opening scene is as good an example as any. A musical number, but West doesn't sing or dance; she merely flicks her eyes and sashays her hips as a number of backdrops appear behind her, a performance existing solely to convey her sexual allure.

As well as toning down the dialogue, the story seems to have been truncated, possibly to save time after the rewrites. A large chunk of plot is skimmed over with a few newspaper headlines. When West's character arrives in New Orleans she flirts with a young man who picks up her glove, and it looks as if he is going to become an important character, but he doesn't. The director is slapstick master Leo McCarey, who seems to be using the opportunity to fine-tune his cinematic technique, handling movement on different levels and keeping the camera chugging smoothly around. His biggest contribution is probably to show West's musical numbers from the point-of-view of a face in the crowd, with the camera often at her feet or peeping out between other silhouettes. All in all though it seems a little plodding for a McCarey job, and one wonders if the hassle of reshoots had drained his enthusiasm for the project somewhat.

Belle of the Nineties is perhaps the weakest of all the Mae West pictures, because it is like some strange hybrid. By leaving in West's promiscuous character and sassy mannerisms but taking out all the witty smut, Paramount has left us with something far more disturbing and questionable than the easygoing innuendo of her previous efforts. Things like the oddness of West's walk start to stand out as verging on ridiculous. Of course, the choice of leading man doesn't help either. Roger Pryor's childish grin as he gazes appreciatively at the blonde beauty is decidedly creepy in itself. A few years later, with Klondike Annie, West would work out a suitable post-code persona for herself, which without her trademark sexuality was mediocre though certainly watchable. But Belle of the Nineties, lacking the sex but having the set-up, is awkwardly bad.

I think Mae West at her best

[lylesarah · 8/10 · 2 July 2018]

We forget that we had strong heroines back in the day.

Surprisingly tame and dull.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 2 December 2020]

As I watched the Mae West film, "Belle of the Nineties", I found myself wishing they'd made the movie six months earlier. This is because the film debuted in September, 1934...a couple months after the new toughened Production Code came into effect. This is because West's shtick was bawdy humor....and in the Code era, nothing even remotely bawdy would be allowed. So, as a result, West's character is pretty dull and the movie mostly forgettable.

Mae stars as Ruby, a woman who sings in the saloon owned by a local baddie, Ace Lamont. Lamont was played by John Miljan...a man who always played disreputable jerks. So, you know from the outset that he's a guy up to no good. But, like EVERY man in a Mae West film, he is drawn to her like a moth to a flame. But because he's bad to the core, he wants Ruby AND he wants to screw her...out of her diamonds. Can Ruby outsmart this conniving jerk?

It's odd, but after the movie was over, I already found myself forgetting it. Sure, a Code picture with West could be good ("My Little Chickadee" and "Go West Young Man" were pretty good Code films), but this one just seemed to be so neutered that it was dull and forgettable. Gone are West's terrific one liners as well as any sense of fun.

Great drama, great acting

[martinpersson97 · 9/10 · 17 September 2023]

This classic drama is definitely deserving of its iconic status, and of all the praise it has gotten.

The script is a beautifully written one, showcasing some iconic and ever quotable dialogue, and the actors give it their all, iconic and legendary as they are - truly a great blend of drama and humour.

The cinematography, cutting and editing is masterfully done, and it is all around very beautiful to look at in every sense of the word.

The music is, of course, a big part of the film, and is very fluid and very catchy.

All around, a very beautiful and well made piece that I would highly recommend for any lover of film!

Before the Censors Got to Her

[LeonardKniffel · 8/10 · 6 April 2020]

Mae West's mere dozen motion pictures were mostly comedies, but they generally included her shimmying languorously though a song or two. Musically, this is probably the best Mae West film, notable for the inclusion of Duke Ellington's orchestra. It was the first time a white singer shared the screen democratically with black musicians, and it's said that West fought hard to make it happen. With Ellington's orchestra backing her up, she sings "Memphis Blues," "Troubled Waters," and the unforgettable "My Old Flame." She was ahead of her time in almost every way, a one-woman liberation movement who wrote her own material and wrote plays dealing with everything from interracial love to homosexuality. The Hays Code almost did her in, but no survey of musicals would be complete without the inclusion of Mae West. --from Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013