Belle of the Nineties

The movie star most affected by the newly enforced Production Code was Mae West. She was one of the main catalysts why a stricter enforcement from the Hays Office was enacted by mid-1934. West's first movie under the new censorship system, September 1934's "Belle of the Nineties," underwent several laborious revisions before filming was underway as well as being required by the censors to reshoot several scenes after their circumspect review of the movie.

West was familiar with uptight censors from her previous stage and early movie works. Thrown in a New York City jail after police shut down her first play in 1927, the now-41-year-old actress wrote a bawdy movie script based on her play, 'It Ain't No Sin,' knowing the Hays Office was going to chop it to shreds. Her low opinion on censors was reflected in her autobiography. "Every person who is not a moron or a mental defective of some sort carries a very effective censor and super-critic of his actions in his cerebral cortex, and in his heart," West wrote. "If that doesn't work, no amount of censorship from the outside will do anybody any good." West was well prepared which passages were going to be sliced, and wrote a backup script with less raunchy lines.

The censors at first amazingly left in the original title. Paramount Pictures, as a publicity stunt, gathered 40 parrots and taught them to say the phrase "It Ain't No Sin." Eventually, head censor Jospeh Breen realized the title had to be changed and demanded it be. Since no one wanted parrots who repeatedly shrieking "It Ain't No Sin," they were all transported back to South America where they came from and released into the jungle. The birds could be heard by the natives in the area for years high up in the trees screeching the line over and over again.

Before the "Belle of the Nineties" was seen by the censors, the studio previewed the movie before an audience. The viewers howled at Mae West's racy lines and the situations she found herself in. But that was before the censors visually saw it and sliced out some, in their eyes, questionable scenes. The end result was acceptable by contemporary film critics back then as well as the public, although it failed to gain the popularity as her previous movies. Wrote one The New York Times reviewer, "There are gags for every taste and most of them are outrageously funny according to almost any standard of humor." Today's reassessment of "Belle of the Nineties" is not as generous as when it was first released. Modern reviewer Barry Chapman noted her movie "would probably have been a lot funnier if the Hays Office hadn't 'protected' moviegoers." An even harsher review was written by David Nusair, highlighting the movie is "unlikely to please even the most ardent of West's followers, with the almost total absence of positive attributes, aside from West's mere presence." "Belle of the Nineties" does offer several songs from West, backed by the Duke Ellington Orchestra, including what would become the popular hit "My Old Flame."

The actress adjusted to the new moral code to deliver first-rate comedy films, but none came close to her 1933 hits "She Done Him Wrong" and "I'm No Angel." The viewing public was looking for more sauce on the screen, and were denied that because of the censors' heavy hand.

Mae West's first vehicle following the enforcement of the Production Code emerges as a lesser comedy, despite the involvement of the renowned McCarey (who directed many a star comedian around this time, including various Laurel & Hardy shorts, Eddie Cantor, The Marx Bros., W.C. Fields and Harold Lloyd).

As ever, West wrote the script herself: having gone through the titles included in the R1 DVD collection not too long ago, this film can be seen to have adhered strictly to formula – so that, in spite of offering nothing new (all the men, be they naïve or unscrupulous, invariably throw themselves at the star's feet who, of course, plays a notorious chanteuse), the undercasting of the chief supporting players and the severely reduced trademark double entendres, it still gets by on the consummate professionalism on display (conveyed in Paramount's recognizable in-house style). Among the highlights here are a marathon boxing match, a typically soulful number by the underprivileged black community and the fiery climax.

The film's brief 70-minute running-time (in PAL mode) and unassuming plot line makes this ideal for late-night viewing; however, such rampant streamlining also leads to an overly abrupt denouement in which events are neatly tied up via a montage of newspaper clippings!

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.

This movie is classic Mae West, full of one-liners with carefully disguised meanings to escape the censors. It's interesting to note that this is the movie where she really began to fight with the Hays Office and the Breen Office to get her movie past the censors...She had to change the title from "It's No Sin" (people picketed in the streets with signs that said, "Yes, It Is"). Therefore, this movie could be seen by some as not quite as good as her 3 previous movies. However, it is still a gem from Mae's classic period. Everyone should see a Mae West movie at least once...

Mae West is back to her sassy self. I shouldn't say "back" because she never left off being sassy. Mae West began her career by finding a character she liked and faithfully sticking with it; and it can't be said that it was someone else's doing. Mae West wrote the scripts she performed. She wrote "Night After Night," "She Done Him Wrong," "I'm No Angel," and "Belle of the Nineties," and she was the same character in all of them--just a different name.

"Belle of the Nineties," like "She Done Him Wrong," took place in the late 19th century. Ruby Carter (Mae West) was a club performer in St. Louis dating a boxer named Kid Tiger (Roger Pryor). When a ploy by Kid Tiger's manager broke them up, she took her talents to New Orleans. Ruby was just like every other Mae West character: a vamp. She was smart, sassy, sexy, witty, flirtatious, and ALL the men wanted her. Mae's characters never break a sweat, never lose, and are never in a hurry. She's too cool for any of that.

In New Orleans Ruby had a contract with Ace Lamont (John Miljan) to perform at his Sensation House. Ruby packed the place. She had to deal with Ace as well as the throng of panting men who paid to see her. Her chief suitor besides Ace was Brooks Claybourne (John Mack Brown). He lavished her with expensive jewelry in hopes of winning her heart. She entertained the compliments and charms of them all, but she didn't give her heart to any of them.

Things were rather easy going until Tiger Kid came to New Orleans for a fight. He hooked up with Ace, who was bad news, and he saw Ruby again after their break up. It was anybody's guess how things were going to turn out, but Ruby would be the victor no matter what.

I think I liked this movie more than the previous two Mae West movies because the vamping was tempered more to focus on the scheming aspects of the plot. Instead of this being so much about the men who desired her (they were still there, just not as heavily as "She Done Him Wrong" and "I'm No Angel"), it was a little of the men who desired her and more of the scheming men in her life (principally Ace). It played out rather nicely.

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