She Done Him Wrong

So, even though I have tried to enter into this foray of blogging twice before with disappointing results, I'm back and more determined than ever to .... to...um... well - I'm not sure yet. But, whatever it is, and - I don't know - it just feels like the right time and the right thing to do. I'm going to do it.

Starting now.

Yep. Right now...this very second.

This is it...so, you better just , you know, be ready or something.

Because, well, this is it....you know.

Screw it. Here goes. I just watched the end of an old
Mae West flick on the
Turner Movie Classic channel (which I happen to think is brilliant by the way). And I have to admit, there was something vaguely disturbing about her that had not bothered me before, and what's weirder is that I can't put my finger on it. The film was "She
Done Him Wrong" from 1933.

Now, what I don't get was that I had seen this film before, maybe 10 times in my life at different occasions and I thought nothing of it. It was Mae West doing Mae West. But this time something was different. Her sexuality in the film seemed so forced and unreal that it was actually disturbing to me. She would sort of shimmy and roll her eyes back in her head sligghlty like a junkie whenever there was there was the slightest possibility of getting laid.

It seemed to drive the men in the film crazy. In fact, one man even broke out of prison to be near her. Though oddly enough, it didn't seem to bother that fellow that when she came to visit him in the "slammer" all of the other inmates were very well acquainted with her. They all knew her by name and she walked from cell to cell spreading innuendo like manure before she actually made it to the cell of her former beaux.

The implication that she had laid each of the inmates was unmistakable.

Though, let me make it clear that her sexual escapes didn't bother me - I'm no prude. It was the way her character delivered her lines.
She was almost like
James Cagney in drag.

It was almost difficult to watch. So - now of course, I'm wondering about sexuality in the 30's when the film was made. Was her characterization the type that turned men on? If so, why? Perhaps something will pop into my head about it - in the meantime check out this....http://www.lileks.com/