Belle of the Nineties

Mae West is back to her sassy self. I shouldn't say "back" because she never left off being sassy. Mae West began her career by finding a character she liked and faithfully sticking with it; and it can't be said that it was someone else's doing. Mae West wrote the scripts she performed. She wrote "Night After Night," "She Done Him Wrong," "I'm No Angel," and "Belle of the Nineties," and she was the same character in all of them--just a different name. "Belle of the Nineties," like "She Done Him Wrong," took place in the late 19th century. Ruby Carter (Mae West) was a club performer in St. Louis dating a boxer named Kid Tiger (Roger Pryor). When a ploy by Kid Tiger's manager broke them up, she took her talents to New Orleans. Ruby was just like every other Mae West character: a vamp. She was smart, sassy, sexy, witty, flirtatious, and ALL the men wanted her. Mae's characters never break a sweat, never lose, and are never in a hurry. She's too cool for any of that. In New Orleans Ruby had a contract with Ace Lamont (John Miljan) to perform at his Sensation House. Ruby packed the place. She had to deal with Ace as well as the throng of panting men who paid to see her. Her chief suitor besides Ace was Brooks Claybourne (John Mack Brown). He lavished her with expensive jewelry in hopes of winning her heart. She entertained the compliments and charms of them all, but she didn't give her heart to any of them. Things were rather easy going until Tiger Kid came to New Orleans for a fight. He hooked up with Ace, who was bad news, and he saw Ruby again after their break up. It was anybody's guess how things were going to turn out, but Ruby would be the victor no matter what. I think I liked this movie more than the previous two Mae West movies because the vamping was tempered more to focus on the scheming aspects of the plot. Instead of this being so much about the men who desired her (they were still there, just not as heavily as "She Done Him Wrong" and "I'm No Angel"), it was a little of the men who desired her and more of the scheming men in her life (principally Ace). It played out rather nicely. Free on Odnoklassniki.

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!

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.

source: Belle of the Nineties

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!"

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.

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...

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.

... 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.

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