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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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Summary: MAE DAY
Review: This movie is a riot. Strictly a vehicle for star West, it has some of her bawdiest, fruitiest lines. This film is a real gem because it only one of three (the others being SHE DONE HIM WRONG & NIGHT AFTER NIGHT) of West's movies where she has a free rein over her lines (the censors thought her next film, which was intially entitled IT AIN'T NO SIN was indeed and they changed the title to BELLE OF THE NINETIES after whitewashing the script.) Her character, Tira, is a carny gal who's been around and then some. She gets involved with a very young Cary Grant - and there are the predictible mishaps. Highlight of the film is Mae's courtroom plea. This is arguably West's best film and usually credited from saving Paramount from bankruptcy along with her first 1933 feature, the smash-hit SHE DONE HIM WRONG.
Rating:
Summary: MAE DAY
Review: This movie is a riot. Strictly a vehicle for star West, it has some of her bawdiest, fruitiest lines. This film is a real gem because it only one of three (the others being SHE DONE HIM WRONG & NIGHT AFTER NIGHT) of West's movies where she has a free rein over her lines (the censors thought her next film, which was intially entitled IT AIN'T NO SIN was indeed and they changed the title to BELLE OF THE NINETIES after whitewashing the script.) Her character, Tira, is a carny gal who's been around and then some. She gets involved with a very young Cary Grant - and there are the predictible mishaps. Highlight of the film is Mae's courtroom plea. This is arguably West's best film and usually credited from saving Paramount from bankruptcy along with her first 1933 feature, the smash-hit SHE DONE HIM WRONG.
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Summary: Quintessential Mae West.
Review: Tira (Mae West) is a gold-digging circus performer who reluctantly agrees to a dangerous lion-taming act to get herself out of a jam. The act is a great success, making Tira the talk of the town. Her flashy show at Madison Square Garden catches the eye of a wealthy businessman named Kirk Lawrence (Kent Taylor), who becomes infatuated with Tira and lavishes her with expensive gifts. Concerned for Kirk's social situation, his cousin and business partner, Jack Clayton (Cary Grant), attempts to convince Tira to reconsider their relationship. She does, and falls head over heels for Jack. But just as it looks like Jack and Tira will live happily ever after, Jack breaks off the relationship. A heartbroken but still stubborn Tira decides to sue him for breach of promise.1933's "I'm No Angel" was Mae West's second starring role on the silver screen. After her previous film, "She Done Him Wrong", saved Paramount Pictures from financial ruin, the studio gave her carte blanche to do whatever she liked on this one. "I'm No Angel" was written entirely by Mae West. It's a romantic comedy, but West's character is not a romantic. Tira is nothing if not practical in her relationships with men. And there is no mistaking that the film exists entirely to showcase Ms. West's oversized personality and eye-catching figure. This is Self promotion and Star vehicle with capital S's. Mae West was 40 years old and a tad chunky when she made this film. But she didn't hesitate to cast herself as a sex goddess whom men of all ages found irresistible. And she gets away with it by sheer force of personality. West deserves a lot of credit for making audiences root for a union between a trash-talking middle-aged strumpet and a 29-year old gentleman of means. Such a relationship wouldn't gain approval in real life in 1933, and it wouldn't now. The success of "I'm No Angel", then and now, is testament to its star's great charisma. Cary Grant is more handsome than he would be during his years of star status, and surprisingly thinner. I don't think any actor could hope to share a scene with West without being upstaged by her, but Grant does a nice job of making Jack Clayton sympathetic, especially during the trial scenes. "I'm No Angel" is sometimes absurdly contrived, but that's the nature of romantic comedy. No bigger personality than Mae West ever graced the screen, and it's her presence that makes this film worthwhile. The DVD has no menu, only scene selections. And the movie begins as soon as the disc is inserted into the player.
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