Nominated for Best Picture of 1932-1933, She Done Him Wrong stars Mae West as, well, a typical Mae West character. She's a saloon singer who's involved with several men, one of them a convict who's escaped from prison and is on his way to see her. She has, unsurprisingly, been less than faithful during his absence and begins to fear what might happen upon his return when he discovers the other men she's been seeing. Cary Grant, in one of his first featured roles, plays the leader of a local temperance league--that's right, Cary Grant as a missionary, and West sets her sights on him as well. It's all done with a bit of a sideways grin, and you can't take any of it too seriously. It certainly has a brisk pace, clocking in at less than 70 minutes long, reportedly making it the shortest film ever nominated for Best Picture.
West sings a few songs during the movie, most notably "Frankie and Johnny." She's been sewn into some pretty spectacular gowns. (As an aside, I saw some of her costumes once at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum; she was actually quite tiny.) And she gets to deliver one of her most famous lines: "Why don't you come up some time and see me?" Otherwise, I'm not really sure what is particularly noteworthy about this film. It's not the funniest of Mae West's movies, nor is its plot particularly unique or interesting. Perhaps the Academy nominated it in an attempt to snub the newly formed Catholic Legion of Decency, an organization that cited West and this film (with its hints of promiscuity, especially by a woman) as one of the reasons for its creation. It certainly wouldn't be the last time that the Academy sided with controversial films.
No comments:
Post a Comment