«I speak two languages: Body and English.»
Mae West (August 17th, 1893 - November 22nd, 1980) was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and sex symbol.
Famous for her bawdy double entendres, Mae West made a name for herself in vaudeville and on the legitimate stage in New York before moving to Hollywood to become a comedian, actress and writer.
One of the most controversial stars of her day, Mae West encountered many problems including censorship.
In 1932, Mae West was offered a motion picture contract by Paramount. She signed and went to Hollywood to appear in «Night After Night».At first, she did not like her small role, but was appeased when she was allowed to rewrite her scenes. In West's first scene, a hat check girl exclaimed, «Goodness, what lovely diamonds!» West replied, «Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.»
She brought «Diamond Lil», her very successful Broadway play – now Lady Lou –, to the screen in «She Done Him Wrong» in 1933 («Uma Loura Para Três»), personally selecting Cary Grant for the male lead as Captain Cummings, a role that greatly influenced his career. The movie was a success and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
«New York singer and nightclub owner Lady Lou has more men friends than you can imagine. Unfortunately one of them is a vicious criminal who's escaped and is on the way to see "his" girl, not realising she hasn't exactly been faithful in his absence. Help is at hand in the form of young Captain Cummings, a local temperance league leader though.»
The frank sexuality and seamy settings of her films aroused the wrath of moralists. On July 1st, 1934, the censorship of the Production Code began to be seriously and meticulously enforced and her scripts began to be heavily edited. Her answer was to increase the number of double entendres in her films, expecting the censors to delete the obvious lines and overlook the subtle ones. She made sex amusing – to those who could only see sex as either evil lust or sacred matrimonial act – this was indeed subversive!
West's next movie was «Belle of the Nineties» (1934). It was originally titled «It Ain't No Sin», but the title was changed due to the censor's objection. Other tentative working titles included «That St. Louis Woman», «Belle of St. Louis» and «Belle of New Orleans». The same could be said for her following film, «Goin' To Town» (1935), which was originally titled «How Am I Doin'?»
Famous for her bawdy double entendres, Mae West made a name for herself in vaudeville and on the legitimate stage in New York before moving to Hollywood to become a comedian, actress and writer.
One of the most controversial stars of her day, Mae West encountered many problems including censorship.
In 1932, Mae West was offered a motion picture contract by Paramount. She signed and went to Hollywood to appear in «Night After Night».At first, she did not like her small role, but was appeased when she was allowed to rewrite her scenes. In West's first scene, a hat check girl exclaimed, «Goodness, what lovely diamonds!» West replied, «Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.»
She brought «Diamond Lil», her very successful Broadway play – now Lady Lou –, to the screen in «She Done Him Wrong» in 1933 («Uma Loura Para Três»), personally selecting Cary Grant for the male lead as Captain Cummings, a role that greatly influenced his career. The movie was a success and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
«New York singer and nightclub owner Lady Lou has more men friends than you can imagine. Unfortunately one of them is a vicious criminal who's escaped and is on the way to see "his" girl, not realising she hasn't exactly been faithful in his absence. Help is at hand in the form of young Captain Cummings, a local temperance league leader though.»
The frank sexuality and seamy settings of her films aroused the wrath of moralists. On July 1st, 1934, the censorship of the Production Code began to be seriously and meticulously enforced and her scripts began to be heavily edited. Her answer was to increase the number of double entendres in her films, expecting the censors to delete the obvious lines and overlook the subtle ones. She made sex amusing – to those who could only see sex as either evil lust or sacred matrimonial act – this was indeed subversive!
West's next movie was «Belle of the Nineties» (1934). It was originally titled «It Ain't No Sin», but the title was changed due to the censor's objection. Other tentative working titles included «That St. Louis Woman», «Belle of St. Louis» and «Belle of New Orleans». The same could be said for her following film, «Goin' To Town» (1935), which was originally titled «How Am I Doin'?»
In 1936, she adapted for the screen Lawrence Riley's Broadway hit «Personal Appearance». The film, directed by Henry Hathaway, was one of the rare times when Mae West starred in a role not originally conceived for her.
«Why don't you come up some time and see me, when I got nothing on but the radio?», Lady Lou says to Captain Cummings…
I'd like to point out a few features of her acting expertise that have always impressed me tremendously: her facial expressions and hair, her mystifying voice and studied elocution, her great body, and her astonishing presence...
Long live great Mae!
RIC & Wikipedia
21 comentários:
Bela evocação. Todos nós deveríamos ser igualmente poliglotas e falar bom português, inglês e depois ser bem fluentes em "corpo".
Corpo é uma das coisas que me esforço por sublinhar no meu PALAVROSSAVRVS REX.
Abraço
Olá Joshua!
Bem-vindo, meu caro!
Inteiramente de acordo! Eu comecei pelas línguas, depois comecei a gostar do que a língua é capaz de fazer e logo a seguir aprendi «corpês» a sério... Rsrs! Era ainda novinho, mas o estágio foi intenso... Rsrs!
Mae West? Uma das minhas divas.
Obrigado!
Um abraço! :-)
Hey baby. My grandfather LOVED Mae West. One of my fav scenes is one with WC FIELDS where in a great reverse, the two of them speak each other’s famous trademark lines at the end of the film.
"Come up and see me sometime," he says.
"Mmm, I will, my little chickadee," she replies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Little_Chickadee
J'adore Mae. And her hair was hypnotic, for me at any rate. My Mum calls me her little chickadee.
Sabes que já ontem não consegui postar aqui um comentário? Pois é. Agora para poder comentar no teu blog, tenho primeiro de abrir a minha conta de e.mail. É o que dá variarem as configurações.
Quanto a esta divina dum blonde, deve ter sido uma mulher apaixonante. E de língua pronta e afiada. Afinal é ela a criadora do clássico: "isso aí é a tua arma ou estás contente por me ver cowboy?"
Pérolas...
Volto a repitir a minha deficiência em cinema mais antigo... Não chego a me considerar "geração Blockbuster", mas meus conhecimentos em cinema não são tão vastos... Hhehh
Mas, então, como achou o blog??? Heheheheheheh Fiquei surpreso, sim! Mas tenho lá meus palpites.
Na verdade o acontece é que eu ando querendo mudar o meu blog. Na verdade, mudar de blog. Não acho que o título do meu blog tenha a ver mais com que eu queria inicialmente, sabe? Toda vez que eu olho pra ele, penso: "meu Deus! Que nada a ver!" Hehehehhe
Junto a mudança viria também um maior anonimato. Às vezes me sinto um pouco exposto na internet. Sei que seria uma coincidência muito grande ser achado com tão poucas informações. Mas já aconteceu de o Ricardo ser achado uma vez, em uma experiência mal sucedida de blog -- antes de O que me define. Eu mesmo acabei topando com um camarada doe outro estado que faz parte do mesmo grupo de pesquisa que eu. Sorte ele ser gente boa. Mas poderia não ser. Enfim, é isso! Hehehehehe
Aguarde e terás mudanças! =)
Beijão!
Hello dear Will!
Well, I believe I'm not so old as your grandfather, but even so I do love her very much! Lol!!!
Those damn censors intentionally made a «picture» of Mae that went round the world (and arrived here as well), according to which she'd be a rather vulgar woman... Shere rubbish!!!
You guys over there in the USA really have to take care! Otherwise your democracy will turn into a joke! The latest signals (University of Florida) have worried me seriously...
Best wishes, dear Will! :-)
Hello dear Minge, «little chickadee of your mum's»!
Comme tu peux le voir, je l'adore beaucoup aussi! That's exactly what you say how I feel too: Her hair had indeed something hypnotic about it! And her double entendres always make laugh as a fool! Lol!
In that second photo one can see what a beautiful woman she was!
Love her!!!
Greetings from Lisbon! :-)
Olá João!
As minhas sinceras desculpas, meu caro! Com efeito, mudei a configuração de página de comentários para esta janela por causa da música... É que prezo a Música acima de tudo, dos meus éditos também. E era pouco agradável a música ser silenciada quando se passava para a página de comentários... O que não acontece com a janelinha. É apenas esta a razão da mudança. Mais nenhuma. De qualquer modo, desejo que o transtorno não seja muito. Se acaso for, fica à vontade para mo dizer: alguma coisa se há-de arranjar a contento de todos!
E obrigado pelo que acabaste de me ensinar! Rsrsrs! Não fazia ideia que essa pérola era dela! Acreditas se te disser que a primeira vez que ouvi essa frase (talvez ainda nos idos de 70...) a achei «ousadíssima» (mas fartei-me de rir, claro!)? Agora imagino o que seria nos idíssimos de 30!!! Rsrsrs!!! Os censores haviam de ficar de cara à banda!!! De morrer a rir!
E de «dumb blonde» a senhora não tinha mesmo nada! Uma raposa bem astuciosa era o que ela era! Rsrsrs!!!
Bom fim-de-semana e um abraço!
:-)
Olá meu caro Lê!
Pois é! Os filmes desta senhora são verdaeiras pérolas de humor! Ela foi uma das grandes rainhas da comédia norte-americana! Ainda hoje fart-me de rir ao lembrar-me de algumas cenas que já vi há uns bons anos! Divina!
Quanto ao blogue... Rsrsrs!!! Tu vieste ver o meu através dele, e o endereço ficou registado no «Sitemeter»! Só isso! E eu - curioso! - fui ver o que era e de quem era! Rsrsrs! Simples! Acho que se te sentes assim exposto (o que a mim, não me parece ser o caso...) deves mudar, sim! É fundamental que nos sintamos bem, à vontade, neste reino da blogosfera! Nada de constrangimentos de espécie nenhuma (como aliás mostrei há uns dias...)!
Ficarei a aguardar com expectativa, meu caro Lê! Que tudo te corra pelo melhor!
Bom fim-de-semana!
Abrações e beijões lisboetas! :-)
Olá RIC
Só mesmo para deixar um abraço, espero voltar em breve....
Oh meu caro Teddy Bear! Por quem sois! Está à vontade, meu caro!
Mas olha lá, que o trabalho, apesar de tudo, também tem os seus limites!...
Obrigado!
Excelente fim-de-semana!
Um abraço para ti também! :-)
The beautiful Mae West was often imitated, but never duplicated and some of her funnier quotes are still being used today.
I'm not certain about Europe, but in America many years ago, when a young child was asked "where they came from", the parent would most always reply "the stork" delivered you to our door.
One of my favorite quotes, which we used in gay bars when we were approached by a not very attractive man, was "His mother should have thrown him out and kept the stork."
My personal favorite has always been "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."
How true is that?
And finally, since she was so frequently censored, and always one to have the last word, "I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it."
Mae West had a long and glamourous life.
Have a great weekend and "thanks for the memories".
DON~
Yes, Ric. And almost as beautiful as you.
Hello dear Don!
Thank you so very much for your comment! There must be a lot of quotes from her films, which is quite amazing indeed! The one my generation knows quite well is that babies were brought from Paris... by a stork! Incredible!
The one about life is so very true, and about censorship is a pearl of sarcasm indeed!
She was a very intelligent woman!
Thank you, dear Don, for all those precious details!
Have yourself a great weekend too!
Best wishes! :-)
Hello dear Minge!
Oh yes indeed! You just couldn't find a better term of comparison! No way! Her glamorous beauty would vanish in my presence, no doubt about it! She would have even wished her mother had kept the stork!...
Lol!!!
Wish you a fine weekend! :-)
Olá amigo ricardo estou de volta depois de uma semana bem agitada. Não é uma actriz que me diz muito, também só me lembro de dois filmes dela. No entanto foi um dos grandes simbolos sexuais da sua época.
Um abraço.
Olá meu caro Paulo!
Sei que foi uma semana e peras! Espero que tenhas tirado o máximo proveito da maratona fílmica! Hoje gosto menos de festivais de cinema apenas porque a partir de um determinado ponto me parece que já não sei bem quem é quem e o que vi exactamente... Ainda não é senilidade, mas... Rsrsrs! Gostei das críticas ao vencedor: vê-lo-ei assim que se proporcione!
Quanto à divina Mae, é compreensível a tua reacção: se, para mim, ela já é bem distante, calculo para um jovem... E há ainda o factor das «Noites de Cinema» da RTP, onde vi praticamente todos os filmes mais antigos, como os melhores dela, da primeira metade dos anos trinta. Ela é o símbolo contrário dos dias de hoje: encarna a loura inteligente, safada, que leva sempre a água ao seu moinho e que tem aquela cara e aquele corpo absolutamente irresistíveis...
Um abraço para ti! :-)
My favorite quote from her:
"This is just the way I like a room - wall to wall men!"
Hello dear Gumby!
I hope everything's getting better for you now.
Oh I've just had a few wonderful laughs! Lol! I didn't know that one at all. Just fabulous! What a spirit she had! Maybe that's why somebody wrote that song later: «It's rainin' men! Hallelujah!» Lol!!! I guess they match!
Thank you, dear friend! :-)
Miss you, i do.
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