Rating: 
Summary: Best of West
Review: Mae West was an unlikely sex symbol. She was a small woman with a face that defied most standards of beauty and an unremarkable body--and by the time she hit film she was edging into middle age. But as West herself might have said, it ain't what ya got, its what ya do with it. If anybody knew what to do with it, Mae West certainly did, and I'M NO ANGEL finds her doing it in remarkably fine style indeed.The story and script, by West herself, is hilariously improbable. West stars as Tira, a carny entertainer who divides her work between a hootchie coochie act (which gives her the opportunity to perform a sizzling "They Call Me Sister Honky Tonk") and a lion taming act--but when she runs afoul of a small town romeo she hits the road for New York, where she captivates both city and Cary Grant with her circus act. Needless to say, there are comic complications galore, but like the Mounties, Mae West always gets her man. West did a number of justly famous films during the 1930s, but I'M NO ANGEL is arguably her best, salted with with one memorable quip after another as she cracks whips, snubs snobs, frolicks with her maids ("Peel me a grape!"), and waylays the willing Cary Grant with considerable aplomb. If you've never seen a Mae West movie but have always wondered what made her a great star, this is the film to see!
Rating:
Summary: Best of West
Review: Mae West was an unlikely sex symbol. She was a small woman with a face that defied most standards of beauty and an unremarkable body--and by the time she hit film she was edging into middle age. But as West herself might have said, it ain't what ya got, its what ya do with it. If anybody knew what to do with it, Mae West certainly did, and I'M NO ANGEL finds her doing it in remarkably fine style indeed. The story and script, by West herself, is hilariously improbable. West stars as Tira, a carny entertainer who divides her work between a hootchie coochie act (which gives her the opportunity to perform a sizzling "They Call Me Sister Honky Tonk") and a lion taming act--but when she runs afoul of a small town romeo she hits the road for New York, where she captivates both city and Cary Grant with her circus act. Needless to say, there are comic complications galore, but like the Mounties, Mae West always gets her man. West did a number of justly famous films during the 1930s, but I'M NO ANGEL is arguably her best, salted with with one memorable quip after another as she cracks whips, snubs snobs, frolicks with her maids ("Peel me a grape!"), and waylays the willing Cary Grant with considerable aplomb. If you've never seen a Mae West movie but have always wondered what made her a great star, this is the film to see!
Rating: 
Summary: Mae West at her peak
Review: Mae West was one of Hollywwod's more unusual creations and in the early 30's she created quite a stir with her type of humour that was laced with a strong sexual slant that delighted audiences but raised the scorn of the censors. Writing most of her own material she created some gems that still amuse and titilate viewers of her films. Her classic films "She Done Him Wrong" and "I'm No Angel" were luckily free from the Hays office censorship laws that whitewashed much of the humour from the mid 30's onwards resulting in her later vechicles being much milder and indeed weaker showcases for her humour. Here we see Mae West in her prime in a story designed around her unique talents which gave full rein to her sexual brand of humour. Mae plays Tira, a carnival performer who ends up being blackmailed by a former lover "I'm No Angel" benefited from having a lavish budget provided which is even a step up from that of "She Done Him Wrong". While the overraul humour is not as fresh as it is in "She Done" it nevertheless contains some of Mae's more memorable lines like "When I'm good I'm good but when I'm bad I'm better" and in response to Rajah the fortune tellers prediction from his crystal ball that Tira will have a man in her life, her response is "What only one!!". Hilarious stuff and as always it is delivered by Mae in that unique style of hers which always seems to make you feel that underneath the sexual tiger was a nice woman who at the end of the day is a decent type. Once again Mae is supported by Cary Grant in one of his earliest roles and once again I feel he comes across as quite wooden, nowhere near being the wonderful charmer he was to become in his later career as a Hollywood great. He lends able support in the romance stacks but no more. Edward Arnold as Big Bill Barton also has an effective role as the manager of Tira's carnival. As in "She Done Him Wrong" Mae has some very funny sequences with her black maids and in this film she at one stage actually has 5 of them !! Gertrude Howard is the main one and her delivery of snappy dialogue opposite Mae is a total delight and will keep you laughing. Also watch out for Hattie McDaniel as another of the maids in what is one of her very earliest screen appearances. "I'm No Angel" has many memorable scenes including the priceless courtroom scene near the end when Mae, in indomitable style, turns the tables on her accusers, her seduction of Cary Grant in the memorable Rhinestone Spider Web gown (what a creation it is!!) and the much commented on carnival sequences when Mae gets to play Lion tamer and puts her head in the lions mouth!!! As in all West films more is implied than actually ever done which gives the work an ageless quality and keeps her humour as amusing and fresh today as it was in 1933. When you think of how sex is thrown in our faces constantly in modern films this type of approach is far more effective. As Mae herself was quoted as saying "What the audience goes away thinking is far more important than what they actually see" So true!! Enjoy "I'm No Angel" and in conjunction with "She Done Him Wrong" is a vivid showcase of this truly unique performer from yesteryear.
Rating:
Summary: The Wild, Wild West
Review: Mae West was purportedly quoted as saying, "I fear no man". Whether she actually did, I have no trouble believing it. In "I'm No Angel", Miss West plays "Tira", a carnival hootch dancer who becomes a lion-taming headliner in "The Big Time", and has numerous men orbiting her, like moons around Venus. She is a women completely at ease with herself, fears no one, makes no apologies, and the men love her for it, in spite of themselves. Miss West played, essentially, the same role in real life, the "Bad but not Evil" woman. No beating around the bush for Mae-she told you who she was, what she wanted, take her or leave her-and made you laugh! She was "Women's Lib" in flashy gowns, big hats, and lots of diamonds. There are many of West's famous lines in "I'm No Angel", such as "When I'm good, I'm very, very good, but when I'm bad, I'm better", "Beulah, peel me a grape!", and many more. Her co-star is screen legend Cary Grant, whom Mae selected for 2 of her films on sight. The first was "She Done Him Wrong", and then this one. She said, "He was so good I had him twice-in pictures, I mean." The lady was an original. She was not "beautiful" or slender, but men were drawn to her (her brains being her sexiest feature), progressive (she defended homosexuals long before Stonewall), had interracial friendships and romances (she had lovers of African descent, as well as having black performers in her films), and was still attracting men well into her 70s! She also wrote her own material. So, if you're feeling a bit adventurous, go West, because "You can be had!"
Rating:
Summary: Mae West's Biting Humor at It's Best
Review: Mae West's most entertaining film is also the first time in comic history I have ever seen an actor/actress deliver so many cutting one-liners and maintain an absolutely histerical timing and delivery. Ms. West shines as the wise-cracking Tira and delivers one of her most amusing and powerfully feminine performances. It is more than worth the watch; in fact, it is essential for any comic movie collection...
Rating:
Summary: Naughty, but Not.
Review: OK. If you love Mae West, Cary Grant, or just comedies, for that matter, see this film!!! It is absolutey hilarious. West can mean more, but say less than any woman in history. Grant is wonderfully romantic and can definetely hold his own opposite her. The film loses nothing in the love story and nothing in the comedy. The only drawback: Grant just doesn't show up fast enough!
Rating:
Summary: Naughty, but Not.
Review: OK. If you love Mae West, Cary Grant, or just comedies, for that matter, see this film!!! It is absolutey hilarious. West can mean more, but say less than any woman in history. Grant is wonderfully romantic and can definetely hold his own opposite her. The film loses nothing in the love story and nothing in the comedy. The only drawback: Grant just doesn't show up fast enough!
Rating:
Summary: Classic Farce
Review: Once she conquered Hollywood with "She Done Him Wrong," the film version of her latest stage success "Diamond Lil," Mae West concocted this good-natured farce in which her carnival entertainer conquers high society. For the rest of her (brief) film career, she alternated melodramas with farces; this and "Goin' to Town" are the best of the comedies. Cary Grant seems much more at ease than he did in "She Done Him Wrong" -- he's still not the polished farceur he would become, but he manages to hold his own with her... no small achievement. This movie features more classic one-liners than seems possible; my own favorite is this little exchange: MAE: I like sophisticated men to take me out. CARY: I'm not really sophisticated... MAE: You're not really out yet, either. Seventy years later, she can still make you laugh in disbelief. It's a great movie.
Rating:
Summary: West's Best
Review: She wasn't young. She wasn't beautiful. She was simply Mae West, completely unlike any one who came before or since, and this particular film shows West at her best. Witty, bitchy, clever, her performance in this particular film is so rife with a complete disdain for conventional morality that it will send a fundamentalist preacher scampering for cover... A true comedy classic. If you want to know what made Mae West famous, this film will show ya-- and how!
Rating:
Summary: Get Your Facts Straight If You Want to Write Reviews
Review: Some of you keep crediting "I'm No Angel" as being the film that saved Paramount from bankruptcy. It was "She Done Him Wrong" that is attributed to this feat. Every fan knows this. I will agree with most of you that this is probably her best film.
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