The illustrious comedienne, actress, playwright, you-know-what disturber, singer, provocateur and penultimate pre-Code movie star Mae West was born on August 17th.
Still don't know for certain in what year Mae West was born in Brooklyn, New York - and that's okay with us!
Mae would no doubt insist that it's none of our business!
The Travalanche website by Trav S.D. has covered Mae's stage and screen work at length and also presented a West Fest tribute in NYC. In addition, there used to be a very prolific and informative Mae West blog between 2004 and 2022.
We'll start with some animated tributes to Mae.
A randy Mae West caricature is featured prominently in one of the Ub Iwerks Studio's randy Flip the Frog cartoons. Can't imagine that MGM's Louis B. Mayer, distributor of Ub's cartoons, was thrilled with this one, which also features a flaming gay stereotype a la character actor Tyrell Davis.
Next up, from Fleischer Studios, one of the Color Classics cartoons envisions Mae as a super flirtatious duck.
A character with a pronounced Mae West voice also found her way into a Fleischer Popeye cartoon, which culminates in fisticuffs involving the sultry one and a mad-as-hell Olive Oyl.
One of the very best Walt Disney Silly Symphonies casts Mae as Jenny Wren.
One could argue that Mae West, Wheeler & Woolsey and Betty Boop (along with such extra randy feature films as BABY FACE and THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE) were responsible for the strict enforcement of the Production Code that commenced in July 1934.
As the Lou Costello cat said in Bob Clampett's WB cartoon A TALE OF TWO KITTIES, "if the Hays Office would only let me, I'd give 'em the bird all right." And Mae did just that, having flipped the bluenoses the bird emphatically since the opening of her 1926 play, Sex.
Speaking of randy, Mae's silver screen debut is in the George Raft vehicle NIGHT AFTER NIGHT (1932).
She emphatically stole the show in this and soon would be starring in her own vehicles for Paramount Pictures.
Mae West especially ticked off the bluenose of bluenoses and fun guy Joseph Breen in July 1934 by making SO much money with her first two starring vehicles. SHE DONE HIM WRONG and I'M NO ANGEL.
These wisecracking flicks were considered to have singlehandedly brought struggling Paramount Pictures out of bankruptcy in the depths of the Great Depression!
Mae wrote the distinctively double entendre-packed dialogue for most of her movies.
The only West flick this classic comedy buff is not crazy about remains MY LITTLE CHICKADEE. Mae West and W.C. Fields, two of the greatest comedy performers in the history of motion pictures, were not meant to be in the same film. IMHO, it just doesn't work; looks like, at least onscreen, the duo do not like each other AT ALL.
She's much funnier with goofball comic Victor Moore in THE HEAT'S ON (1943).
Do I want to delve into Mae's last two silver screen appearances? Uh. . . not really.
Then again, we did screen the following "coming detractions" in one of our Psychotronix Film Festival extravaganzas featuring schlocky and MST 3K appropriate trailers. Was disappointed that this never made it to the TRAILERS FROM HELL website.
For more on the life and illustrious show business career of Mae West, check out the episode of AMERICAN MASTERS devoted to her.
Would buy it on DVD if I could!
In closing, here is a very funny modern tribute to Mae West, courtesy of Saturday Night Live and Melissa McCarthy, one of our very best current comediennes.
Melissa is supported quite well by SNL troupe members Bobby Moynihan, Andy Samberg, Taran Killam and Jason Sudeikis (portraying the late and much-missed Robert Osborne). Love the premise of a rival studio presenting a shameless ripoff of Mae West.
Must extend an appropriately larger-than-life thank you to Mae West for the great entertainment. As memorable as Mae's movies are, imagine what an incredible onstage performer she was.
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