Mae West - The Glamour Collection (Go West Young Man/ Goin' To Town/ I'm No Angel/ My Little Chickadee/ Night After Night)

I really liked this collection of movies. It had some movies I had never seen.

I adore Mae West. She was and still is an amazing role model. She broke boundaries and didn't care. While she was very vain and did outrageous things to her younger female cast she was still an amazing screen siren or the 30's. This box set is a little on the dull side, but it's the content that I really wanted. A few of her greats are on here, unless you're a fan like me in which case all of her movies are her "greats." The only movies missing are "Belle of the Nineties" "The Heat's On" "Everydays a Holiday" "Klondike Annie" and her own personal favorite "She Done Him Wrong." I don't know how, but I would love to see all of her movies in one tidy box set entitled, "The Fabulous Mae West" And now on with the review.The videos are pretty mint and look like they've had the usual "Blu-ray" touch ups. The audio is pretty decent and the clarity is overall perfect. Granted my opinion is relatively biased due to my admiration for the woman on the screen. That being said the discs could have been a little more dressed up and not just double-sided. Why not add two more movies onto the other side of the disc with "My Little Chickadee" and "Go West Young Man"?The trailers are nice, but they should have added a few more special features like deleted scenes that weren't destroyed or something to that effect. Granted some of what we want to see is under copyright and can't be touched. All in all this is a very good box set. Could it have used a little more presentation? Sure, but for the content on those discs...the presentation of the box set is made up for.Pros:5 Mae West moviesExcellent SoundGood Video QualityA few trailers that add to their designated moviesCons:Lack Luster PresentationMissing the other 5 Mae West movies.Double-sided discs (This one can go either way depending on the person.)Overall:Great Gift IdeaTerrific Collectors MemorabiliaYou can never go wrong with a well placed double entendre.

My Little Chickadee (Edward F Cline, 1940, 82')My Little Chickadee (1940) is a Universal comedy/western motion picture written by and starring Mae West (Miss Flower Belle Lee) and W C Fields (Cuthbert J Twillie), with Joseph Calleia, Ruth Donnelly, Margaret Hamilton, Donald Meek, Willard Robertson, Dick Foran, George Moran, William B Davidson, and Addison Richards. The original music was written by Ben Oakland (song "Willie of the Valley") and Frank Skinner. Cinematography by Joseph A Valentine, editing by Edward Curtiss.>>>>Rightly suspected of illicit relations with the Masked Bandit, Flower Belle Lee is run out of Little Bend. On the train she meets con man Cuthbert J Twillie and pretends to marry him for "respectability." Arrived in Greasewood City with his unkissed bride, Twillie is named sheriff by town boss Jeff Badger...with an ulterior motive. Meanwhile, both stars inimitably display their specialties, as Twillie tends bar and plays cards, and Flower Belle tames the town's rowdy schoolboys... <<<<Written by Rod CrawfordWest reportedly wrote the original screenplay, with Fields contributing one extended scene set in a bar. Universal decided to give the stars equal screenplay credit, perhaps to avoid the appearance of favoritism, but the move incensed West, who declined to re-team with Fields afterwards. The stars spoofed themselves and the Western genre, with West providing a series of her trademark double entendres.My little Chickadee was the most successful film of 1940 after Gone with the Wind despite only mediocre reviews from critics. It grossed upwards of $20 million in the United States alone, an outstanding amount at the time.PS The mediocre review by critics could not stop acceptance! It is one of Mae West's best, and W C Fields fits in remarkably well. The amount of action is astounding, and there is indeed never a dull moment. Perfect entertainment!149 - My Little Chickadee (Edward F Cline, 1940, 82') - 6/9/2012

"Mae West - The Glamour Collection" is a good addition to the film library of fans of the legendary blonde and for the general Hollywood collector.The set includes 5 movies ranging from mediocre to great, "Night After Night" (1932)- in my opinion is the worst film of the bunch, "I'm No Angel" (1933) - is the funniest, "Goin' to Town" (1935) - is the most enjoyable, ""Go West, Young Man" (1936) - is mediocre West and "My Little Chickadee" (1940) - pairs West with the legendary W.C Fields."Night After Night" ** 1/2. This almost forgotten little film is a curiosity item because it is Mae West's screen debut. The film stars George Raft, who plays Joe, a former boxer and owner of a speakeasy who is interested in romancing an attractive and mysterious socialite, Miss Jerry Healy (Constance Cummings). Whatever one thinks of the film (I am not too enamoured with it as I find it a bit tedious to get through) there is no denying once West's Maudie Triplett enters the scene, she steals the show and despite her brief appearance here, delivers some of her classic dialogues ("Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.") The scene in the hotel bedroom with West and Alison Skipworth dealing with a hangover and an innocent misunderstanding is a hoot. This film may have been a star vehicle for the other actors but Mae West managed to steal the spotlight off them and several decades later, this film is remembered mostly for her presence."I'm No Angel" ****. This film is one of West's best features and it contains some of her wittiest dialogue. West plays Tira, a circus performer who hits the big time as a lion tamer. Her fame and prestige catches the eye of several male suitors, one of them is the dashing Jack Clayton (Cary Grant) who is clearly smitten and proposes marriage. Wanting to settle down with Clayton, Tira decides she wants to quit her circus act but her manager concocts a scheme in order to keep her in the show and destroy her relationship. Much has been said about this charming early 30's comedy. As mentioned, it contains some of West's wittiest dialogue and she delivers them fast and furious and some of her most famous lines are featured here including "When I'm good I'm very good but when I'm bad, I'm better" and "It's not the men in your life that count, it's the life in your men". And when asked by her shady Manager (after Tira got herself in a bit of trouble) "How are you mixed up in all of this?" Her response: "Like an olive in a dry martini." The woman was a hoot however West's ego stroking is at it's zenith in this film which is also my main complaint. Despite the bawdy humour and hysterical dialogue, there is too much of Mae and far too much swooning over her and her physical appeal. A bit less would have worked better especially considering that Hollywood's other more conventional bombshells, Harlow, Monroe, Welch, Hayworth etc, hardly had this many men salivating over them in one 90 minute feature. We get it, Tira, as written, is a bewitching temptress, but the audience doesn't need reminding every 5 minutes on how irresistible she is since it becomes tiresome and at times, laughable and the standard then becomes too impossibly high to meet with only a few women being able to meet or exceed that incredibly high expectation. Still, this is a funny movie and is definitely one of her best."Goin' to Town" ****. This film is probably my favorite in this set as it contains her witty dialogue and trademark "purrrr's" and most importantly, is very entertaining. West plays Cleo Borden. A temptress with a past who marries into the big leagues but despite having all the money in the world, she is shunned by most of high society and has a difficult time trying to swoon the man of her affections. There is a lot that happens in this film which is one of the reasons it's never boring. West flirts, becomes engaged, becomes a widow, travels to Argentina, flirts some more, marries, and is constantly feuding with the many men, including Edward Carrington (Paul Cavanagh), the man of her desire and an incredibly snobby and ruthless high society lady, Mrs. Crane Brittony played tremendously by Marjorie Gateson. Although this film was released when the strict production code was in effect, West delivers some funny dialgue including one of my favorites:Cleo: "Yeah, for a long time I was ashamed of the way I lived."Man: "You mean to tell me, you've reformed?"Cleo: "No, I got over being ashamed."Or the scene as she is trying to tell her not so intelligent male suitor that they are not right for each other:Cleo: Listen Ivan, you're alright to play around with but as a husband, you get in my hair..... Besides, we're intellectual opposites".Ivan: "What do you mean?"Cleo: "Well I'm intellectual and you're opposite.""Goin' to Town" is classic Mae West. It is not often recognized as being her best film but for my money, it is one of her best and it stands up to repeated viewings."Go West Young Man" ** 1/2, is a tame West vehicle. By this time, the censors were successful in watering down her material so do not expect a lot of her witty and sexually laced dialogue. There is very little of it here. West plays Mavis Arden, a temperamental movie star who is constantly being scrutinized by her press agent, Morgan (Warren Williams). Morgan is secretly in love with her and tries to sabotage all of her dates and personal appearances with the male population. During one of these personal appearance tours, her car breaks down and she is forced to take refuge in a boarding house populated by several colorful characters, including a star-struck girl (Isabel Jewell) and a strapping mechanic (Randolph Scott) whom Arden becomes smitten with. In comparison to her other star vehicles, this one is rather lackluster and it's not solely due to the watered down treatment of her dialogue. The film is rather weak, and if there is a West feature that has a running time that feels endless, it's this one. There is not much action here and West plays a rather shallow, unlikeable character and despite moments of redemption, you end up caring for no one and even the secondary characters come across as a bit annoying. Good to watch at least once as there is no accounting for personal taste, but for me, this is mediocre West and she has done and will do better."My Little Chickadee" *** 1/2. Considering this was the anticipated pairing of West and Fields, the film is not the stand-out masterpiece one would expect as it still takes a back-seat to her superior "She Done Him Wrong" and the more bawdy "Belle of the Nineties". However, this film still entertains. West plays Flower Belle Lee, a scorned woman who is run out of her home-town, Little Bend, for being accused of romancing a masked bandit. She is permitted to return once she can prove she is respectable and married. Accompanying her on her travel to Greasewood City is the obnoxious Mrs. Gideon (played annoyingly by Margaret Hamilton) who played a crucial role in her tarnished image. Along the way they meet Cuthbert J. Twillie (W.C Fields). Although they are a mis-matched pair, they stage a fake marriage and Flower Belle wins back her respectability however trouble seems to follow them to the untamed Greasewood City as the masked bandit is still in hot pursuit of Flower Belle. The movie has it's moment and there are some genuinely funny scenes. One involving a goat and the other, a classroom full of immature boys and the always funny Flower Belle. If you are fans of West, Fields and Hamilton, you will love this pictures. My complaint is that as the film moves along, the novelty wears off and most of the characters become irritating, with the probable exception of West. I happen to think that West actually looked better in her later films ("Everyday's a Holiday", "My Little Chickadee" and "The Heat's On") than in her earlier films and it is more believable, at least for me, to accept her as a temptress desired by all the men that lay eyes upon her. The pairing of these 2 stars is an interesting one and the film has its moments of wit, action and comedy. Legend has it that the 2 stars could not stand each other, if this is true, you cannot tell in the final picture.The films are contained within 2 DVD's. "Night After Night" and "I'm No Angel" is presented on the first side of the first disc with "Goin' to Town" on the reverse side. The other 2 films are presented on the same side of the second disc. The picture quality and sound on all films is simply okay and are no better than the many VHS versions I previously owned. There are no extras other than the trailers for 2 of the films - "I'm No Angel" and "My Little Chickadee". Each film comes with a chapter selection and language option and there are no linear notes. So basically you just get the films. For the price, it is worth it. I just wish the set would be more complete as it omits a couple of West's better films such as "She Done Him Wrong" - arguably her best feature, the entertaining "Belle of the Nineties" (1934), the rather interesting drama "Klondike Anne" (1936) and the rather enjoyable "Every Day's a Holiday" (1937) which is Mae West lite and a weaker entry in her film catalogue but still fun to watch. I would have preferred any of these over 2 of the films featured here. Regardless, this is recommended to the fans, if you haven't purchased this set already.Untamed, always fun, funny and bawdy, this legendary, full-figured blonde is fun to watch and is pure, unabashed entertainment. Recommended.

DVD's are a good copy. I'm not an audio/video aficionado but everything seems fine. The packaging was sufficient. The films are terrific, Mae West was certainly ahead of her time ! Talk about "female empowerment...", she could teach a master class. She puts a lot of herself in her roles, which means her characters don't take "guff" from anyone. Classic !! J.B.

come on up and watch me sometime

thank you o.k.

SHE WAS SO HOT!!!!!!