Belle of the Nineties

Mae West throws all the curves in this one as a singer (?) in the 1890s who dumps her boxer boyfriend in a mix-up and runs off to New Orleans to perform and live there. She's featured in a stunning musical number where she models a shimmering gown against which numerous costumes are superimposed by a projector! One pose has her as lady liberty. Unfortunately, this is a less liberated, somewhat cleaned-up Mae West. She still likes to have fun, and enough gags remain to make this one worth a few solid laughs. Good production by Paramount.

As I watched the Mae West film, "Belle of the Nineties", I found myself wishing they'd made the movie six months earlier. This is because the film debuted in September, 1934...a couple months after the new toughened Production Code came into effect. This is because West's shtick was bawdy humor....and in the Code era, nothing even remotely bawdy would be allowed. So, as a result, West's character is pretty dull and the movie mostly forgettable.

Mae stars as Ruby, a woman who sings in the saloon owned by a local baddie, Ace Lamont. Lamont was played by John Miljan...a man who always played disreputable jerks. So, you know from the outset that he's a guy up to no good. But, like EVERY man in a Mae West film, he is drawn to her like a moth to a flame. But because he's bad to the core, he wants Ruby AND he wants to screw her...out of her diamonds. Can Ruby outsmart this conniving jerk?

It's odd, but after the movie was over, I already found myself forgetting it. Sure, a Code picture with West could be good ("My Little Chickadee" and "Go West Young Man" were pretty good Code films), but this one just seemed to be so neutered that it was dull and forgettable. Gone are West's terrific one liners as well as any sense of fun.

It is the 1890's St. Louis. Vaudeville star Ruby Carter (Mae West) becomes involved with boxer Tiger Kid. His manager breaks them up and she leaves for New Orleans. Ace Lamont falls for her which drives Molly Brant jealous.

As Mae West transitions into the Code era, she seems to have a couple of different moves. Certainly, the jokes are a little tamer and this one has her singing more songs. I'm not a big fan of her singing. Her uniqueness derives from her bodied sexualized humor. I find myself fading during her singing. I'm not saying that it's bad in any sense. It's just not what I want from her.

The enforcement of the Hollywood production code in 1934 was abrupt, and for many in-production movies it meant hasty rewrites and reshoots. Belle of the Nineties, Mae West's follow-up to the phenomenally successful (not to mention outrageously code-flaunting) I'm No Angel and She Done Him Wrong, was just such a victim of the post-code cull.

Sources vary regarding this picture, but most agree it had to be adapted quite extensively to fit the more stringent regulations. The story is typical Mae West (she wrote her own material) but the jokes are a little lukewarm, suggestive of nothing more than a nice cuddle and the prospect of marriage. It's odd though because there is as always suggestion of much more in West's body language. Her opening scene is as good an example as any. A musical number, but West doesn't sing or dance; she merely flicks her eyes and sashays her hips as a number of backdrops appear behind her, a performance existing solely to convey her sexual allure.

As well as toning down the dialogue, the story seems to have been truncated, possibly to save time after the rewrites. A large chunk of plot is skimmed over with a few newspaper headlines. When West's character arrives in New Orleans she flirts with a young man who picks up her glove, and it looks as if he is going to become an important character, but he doesn't. The director is slapstick master Leo McCarey, who seems to be using the opportunity to fine-tune his cinematic technique, handling movement on different levels and keeping the camera chugging smoothly around. His biggest contribution is probably to show West's musical numbers from the point-of-view of a face in the crowd, with the camera often at her feet or peeping out between other silhouettes. All in all though it seems a little plodding for a McCarey job, and one wonders if the hassle of reshoots had drained his enthusiasm for the project somewhat.

Belle of the Nineties is perhaps the weakest of all the Mae West pictures, because it is like some strange hybrid. By leaving in West's promiscuous character and sassy mannerisms but taking out all the witty smut, Paramount has left us with something far more disturbing and questionable than the easygoing innuendo of her previous efforts. Things like the oddness of West's walk start to stand out as verging on ridiculous. Of course, the choice of leading man doesn't help either. Roger Pryor's childish grin as he gazes appreciatively at the blonde beauty is decidedly creepy in itself. A few years later, with Klondike Annie, West would work out a suitable post-code persona for herself, which without her trademark sexuality was mediocre though certainly watchable. But Belle of the Nineties, lacking the sex but having the set-up, is awkwardly bad.

BELLE OF THE NINETIES (Paramount, 1934), directed by Leo McCarey, stars the "calm and collected" Mae West, contributor to the story, screenplay, and bedside manner dialog ("It's better to be looked over than overlooked"). In her fourth feature film and only 1934 release, it also became the first in a series of Mae West comedy/dramas to have the production seal-of-approval. While not up to the standards as her two previous 1933 efforts of SHE DONE HIM WRONG and I'M NO ANGEL, BELLE OF THE NINETIES has more of a reputation than West herself as being the movie to have gone through numerous production problems. Other than alternate titles before the selected choice, and Roger Pryor as the substitute for the original choice of George Raft, BELLE OF THE NINETIES contains several scenes ending with abrupt blackouts. Other than that, BELLE OF THE NINETIES ranks one of Mae West's most interesting, if not entirely successful screen efforts, with her witty one-liners making this more memorable than the plot itself.

Set in the Gay Nineties, circa 1892-93, in St. Louis, Ruby Carter (Mae West), a burlesque queen (and "The most talked about woman in America"), is much admired by many male patrons who attend the café to watch her perform. She sincerely loves a prizefighter called "The Tiger Kid" (Roger Pryor). Feeling Ruby's affection will complicate the Tiger's chances for the championship fight, Kirby (James Donlan), his manager, schemes to break up their relationship. Unaware of the set-up, Ruby leaves St. Louis for New Orleans to accept an engagement working for Ace Lamont (John Miljan) at his Sensation House. While there she stirs up much attention, especially with Ace, causing his mistress, Molly Brant (Katherine DeMille) to become extremely jealous. Having no interest in Ace, Ruby focuses her attention to Brooks Claybourne (Johnny Mack Brown), a young millionaire now supporting her with expensive diamonds and jewelry. Sometime later, Kirby, along with his star fighter, Tiger Kid, arrive in New Orleans where the Tiger is to fight the Champ in a boxing match being promoted by Ace. Ace, jealous of Ruby's affection towards Brooks, hires Tiger to act as the masked bandit to steal her jewelry while on a carriage ride. Later, Ruby spots Tiger is seen conversing with and giving the Ruby's jewelry Ace. Suspecting some sort of setup, Ruby avenges herself on both men, leading to the unexpected murder of one of them.

With a smooth mix of newer songs (by Arthur Johnston and Sam Coslow) and nostalgic tunes from the nineties era, such as "And the Band Played On" (better known as "The Strawberry Blonde"), introduced through underscoring during the opening credits, the soundtrack to BELLE OF THE NINETIES includes: "Here We Are" (sung by chorus); "My American Beauty" (sung by Gene Austin with Mae West appearing in tableaux posing as a butterfly, rose, bat, spider and finally the Statue of Liberty); "When a St. Louis Woman Goes Down to New Orleans," "I Hate to Wait," "My Old Flame," "Those Memphis Blues" (by W.C. Handy) and "Troubled Waters" (all sung by West). With the tunes presented and performed, "My Old Flame," is noteworthy. Set at night, West, smoking a cigarette, stands on the outside terrace watching her maid and beau (Libby Taylor and Sam McDaniel) taking part of Brother Eben's prayer meeting. She sings while the spiritual group of Negroes are seen waving their arms as they are being saved in having their sins washed away in the river. The use of super imposing effects between West and the attendees of the prayer meeting, along with shadowy images reflection from the river, is done quite effectively.

In the supporting cast is Warren Hymer ("Hi, Ruby, this is your Bunny Boy." Ruby: "Bunny Boy? I don't know any rabbits"), and Duke Ellington and his Orchestra during the the "Memphis Blues" number.

Although Mae West is usually the central focus, veteran actor John Miljan (1892-1960) as the villainous Ace Lamont, nearly steals the film his leading lady. West's on screen character description of Ace is summed up with this amusing quote: "That guy's no good. His mother should have thrown him out and kept the stork." In their "love" scene, Ace (Miljan) compliments Ruby about her "golden hair, fascinating eyes, alluring smile, lovely arms ..." Ruby quickly responds, "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Is this a proposal or are you taking inventory?" One particular scene shows Miljan's true evilness to good advantage as he socks his unwanted mistress, Molly (DeMille) in the jaw, placing her in a closet with the intention of burning down his own casino with her in it so not having to pay off a large gambling debt that would wiped him out financially. Miljan's sinister laugh and dark curly hair add to his snarling meanness. Roger Pryor as the lovesick prizefighter, is showcased well, though never rose to the ranks of stardom. The third billed Johnny Mack Brown is offered the least amount of screen time along with Frederick Burton and Augusta Anderson appearing briefly as his parents.

As with SHE DONE HIM WRONG, BELLE OF THE NINETIES is very authentic in capturing the flavor of the 1890s era, right down from period settings to costumes, compliments of costume designer, Travis Banton.

BELLE OF THE NINETIES, which went on video cassette in 1992, includes an added bonus of a theatrical trailer featuring certain key sings along with her singing "My Old Flame" differently from what was used in the final print. Nearly a decade later, BELLE OF THE NINETIES became the first Mae West feature from her Paramount years to be distributed on DVD. So far, both VHS and DVD formats have come and gone, as well as having acquired a rare cable TV broadcast in later years on Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere July 3, 2014). (***)