Mae West: In New York City

MAE WEST leads the parade of screen gems when Film Forum rolls out the red carpet this coming Friday in Manhattan.
• • This new series — — "Breadlines and Champagne" — — is focused on Depression movies, pre-Code classics, screwball comedies, and the socially conscious plots that worked their way to the silver screen. There will be Prohibition Era treats such as the Tuesday special which is being billed as "Bank Nites."
• • Programmed by Bruce Goldstein, and featuring all 35mm prints, this is the best news since bathtub gin was perfected.
• • The opening night stars Mae West and Cary Grant, in a screenplay written by the Brooklyn bombshell and inspired by her awe of Bostock's lions in Coney Island, which she enjoyed as a child. Those trips to Dreamland with her father created Mae's desire to be a lion tamer — — and in "I'm No Angel" Tira will get her chance to enter the big cage and eyeball the king of beasts.
• • Here is what some critics have said about "I'm No Angel."
• • • • "Mae West was the sensation of 1933. A total delight to watch." — Andrew Bergman
• • • • "Going to help redistribute a nice chunk of the nation's coin. Mae West is today the biggest conversation-provoker, free space grabber and all-around box office bet in the country." — Variety (1933)
• • • • "Arguably West's best film, certainly one of her funniest." — Pauline Kael
• • "There weren't that many films that dealt directly with the Depression," says Bruce Goldstein, repertory director at Manhattan's Film Forum. "But you got a feeling of the desperation — — the lower-class rooms, the spartan look of things. There's an almost palpable atmosphere."
• • "Breadlines and Champagne," Goldstein's upcoming retrospective at the Forum, offers New Yorkers the thrill of enjoying 50 Depression-era movies in new prints. Friday's opening night showcases Mae West's "I'm No Angel," and a 1933 admission price of 35 cents.
• • Why weren't there more of these classics? "Cycles come and go," says Goldstein. "I think people were tired of those Depression-era movies, and the studios wanted to make more escapist entertainment. And after the Production Code came in (in 1934) everything got sanitized — — there were certain kinds of characters and certain kinds of stories you just couldn't do anymore."
• • For the complete schedule, stop by Film Forum.
• • Every Tuesday movie-goers will enjoy the revival of an old-time tradition of giveaways so prepare for some good old-fashion fun.
• • "Breadlines and Champagne" runs from Friday February 6th through March 5 at the Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, New York, NY 10014. Info is available by phoning 212-727-8110 — — or by visiting www.filmforum.org online.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1933 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae heads back to Broadway

MAE WEST and Paramount Pictures — — for awhile, it was a happy marriage, and the actress's latest release would always be booked at the Paramount Theatres in her hometown: Brooklyn and Manhattan.
• • Built in 1926 — — right in the heart of Times Square — — was the 40-story Paramount Building [at 1501 Broadway], originally a home to the late, great Paramount Theater and also the eastern headquarters of the production company that was to become Paramount Pictures.
• • Like the movie giant it wanted to be, the structure commands attention, spanning an entire city block on Broadway between West 43rd and West 44th Streets. The architects were Cornelius W. Rapp and George Leslie Rapp.
• • On 19 November 1926, the eight-story Paramount Theatre had its star-dusted opening with an elaborate live show staged by John Murray Anderson, and the motion picture God Gave Me Twenty Cents starring Lya de Putti.
• • All of Mae West's motion pictures for Paramount opened with exclusive engagements promoted with great fanfare. The Brooklyn bombshell once caused a frenzy by arriving at 1501 Broadway with an escort of handsome New York City policemen on motorcycles.
• • The house could seat 3664 ticket-holders.
• • The lobby of the [now demolished] Paramount Theatre was modeled after the Paris Opera House with white marble columns, balustrades, and an opening arms grand staircase. Inside the auditorium, the drapes were red velvet and the rugs were a similar red. The theater had a grand organ as well as an orchestra pit that rose up to the stage level. The ceilings were fresco and gilt. The railings were brass, the seats plush. There were Greek statues and busts in wall niches. The rest rooms and waiting rooms were as impressive as the facilities at Radio City or the Roxy. The main lobby was decorated with an enormous crystal chandelier.
• • Over the years, many of the top stars performed there, including Sinatra and dozens of the era's luminaries.
• • Though the Paramount Theatre is no more, 1501 Broadway continues to be the elite address of many talent agents, entertainment companies, and theatre industry professionals. And it is the NYC headquarters of the Dramatists Guild.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • "COURTING MAE WEST: Sex, Censorship and Secrets" — — a Staged Reading of a new version of this play — — based on true events during the Prohibition Era.
• • Address: 1501 Broadway [on Broadway at West 43rd Street], New York, NY 10036
• • Room: The Dramatists Guild, the Frederick Loewe Room, Suite 701
• • When: Friday October 17th starting at 5:45 PM — — you must show photo ID to get into the building
• • We have been given a 90-minute time slot and the reading will END at 7:30 PM.
• • The reading is free and open to the public and there are about 50 seats for producers and members of the audience.
• • Portraying various people in Mae West's life, the excellent cast of seven features the scintillating Yvonne Sayers as Mae West and includes: Gloria M. Buccino, Mary Murphy, Neal Sims, Steven Viola (who performed these roles onstage July 19 — 22, 2008), and Duvall O'Steen and Christopher Yustin.
• • The building, built by Paramount Pictures, was a popular stopping place for Mae West when she was in New York City.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1933 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Pre-Code Mae West

The Pre-Code MAE WEST is the best.
• • if you still have not seen the classic “I’m No Angel” on the big screen, this Sunday is your chance.
• • In this screen gem — — inspired by Bostock's lion exhibit in Coney Island that she adored as a little Brooklyn girl — — Mae West is a woman who knows what she wants and how to get it. And she wants Cary Grant. Again. The bold Tira works as a hootchie-cootchie dancing beauty and a lion tamer at a fair. Out of an urgent need of money, she agrees to a risky new number — — she'll put her head into a lion's mouth.
• • The intrepid Mae West did all her own stunts in the lion's cage, too.
• • When: At 2:00 pm on Sunday, 21 September 2008.
• • Where: Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art [4420 Warwick Blvd. Kansas City, Missouri 64111 — — T: 816-753-5784.
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Source:http://courtingmaewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1933 • •
NYC
Mae West.