My Little Chickadee (1940)

Flower Belle Lee (Mae West) is kicked out of town because she was seen cavorting with a masked bandit. On a train she pairs up with a con man (W.C. Fields) who scams his way into being named sheriff of the next town over.

West and Fields were huge stars in the 1930’s and this stands as their only collaboration. They did not get along. Credited as co-writers, she wrote her lines, he wrote his, and they didn’t speak when not filming. West, whose particular charms were greatly hampered by the enforcement of the motion picture production code, was on a decline. She would appear in only one more film before a brief revival in the 1970’s. Fields, on the other hand, was at the top of his game. However, drink was catching up with him and starred in only two more pictures before dying of a stomach hemorrhage. He was 66.

B movie veteran Dick Foran plays one of Flower Belle’s many love interests. Seventeen years her junior, he’s the good guy we expect her to land with. Also in the mix is Margaret Hamilton, the wicked witch herself. Here she plays the town busybody. The meek Donald Meek also has a small roll.

While Fields’ humor survives intact, the Hays code simply couldn’t tolerate West’s brand of innuendo. The end result is, pardon the expression, a rather flat performance. My Little Chickadee is interesting because of the leads, and not an unpleasant watch, but lacking in humor and fairly forgettable. AMRU 2.5.

I'm No Angel (1933)

Fat and 40 Mae West stars again as a sex pot that nobody can get enough of. Cary Grant is back as the man who falls for her. This time West is Tira, a circus worker with a problem. That problem is that her lug of an ex-boyfriend accidentally knocks off the poor sap she was trying to dig for gold. Turns out, actually, he was only MOSTLY dead, but still she needs to spend some serious cash on a good jew lawyer. She comes up with the idea of putting her head into the mouth of a lion. What horny depression dude wouldn't want to see a pudgy peroxide blond do that?

Grant falls for West, ex-beau gets in the way, romance on the rocks, court case, happy ending. There ya go, I'm no Angel in a nutshell.

Here are my observations after seeing two Mae West films: everyone who has ever done an over-the-top Mae West impression was just about dead on. While she wasn't a bad looking chick, her sex appeal shtick was just that: a gag. In both films there were secondary characters that were better looking. Also, her famous lines are hard to take seriously now because they are ubiquitous. It's hard to remember that they were fresh in their day.

In the end, it wasn't quite as enjoyable as She Done Him Wrong, but still fun. AMRU 3.0.

"Beulah, peel me a grape."
"It's not the men in your life that counts, it's the life in your men."
"When I'm good I'm very good. But when I'm bad I'm better."

She Done Him Wrong (1933)

Mae West is Lady Lou, night club singer, 40 year old sex pot (ok, 39), and all around hoochie mamma. She has taken up with corrupt a politician (Noah Berry Sr.) who is able to lavish her with the lifestyle she desires. She has a violent boyfriend in jail that she promised to be faithful to and comes on to anyone who interests her.

Entering the scene is Captain Cummings (Cary Grant), who runs the salvation army style mission next door and would like to save the soul of everybody, Lady Lou included.

She Done Him Wrong is the film version of West's popular and bawdy stage play "Diamond Lil." Despite spending a lot of effort trying to tone it down, the film was still met with a fair amount of outrage. References to prostitution and loose morals are throughout.

My first impression was that this was a vehicle for one-liners. The movie is chuck full of them. West's famous "come up and see me sometime" makes it's first appearance, although not exactly in that format. Lady Lou, when told she is a great woman, says she's the best woman who ever walked the streets. It's loaded with this stuff.

Another interesting aspect is how the 1930's viewed 1890, when the film is set. The exasperated look on a street worker with a broom as he passes a horse. Quaint and old fashioned. Great fodder for depression era audiences.

A great virtue is how tight the story is. 64 minutes via Netflix online. West sing a couple songs that do not further the story. Cut them and the movie might be under 50 minutes. As it is, it's the shortest movie ever to be nominated for Best Picture. Definitely re-viewable, and I may do so. Right now, it's earns an AMRU of 3.5.

"Why don't you come up some time and see me."
"When women go wrong, men go right after them."
"There was a time when I didn't know where my next husband would come from."