Every Day's a Holiday

This lesser-known Paramount frolic, directed by Edward Sutherland, is one of Mae West's funniest and breeziest vehicles in her late period. It turned out to be her last Paramount picture, from her own solidly crafted screenplay. I had the opportunity of watching it recently along with another West movie called "Klondike Annie"(1936), directed by Raoul Walsh. Though Walsh is a vastly superior director than Sutherland, I much prefer this one to "Klondike Annie."

Set in the 1890s New York, Mae delightfully plays Peaches O'Day, a notorious confidence woman who sells the Brooklyn Bridge and flees the city while the police are looking for her capture. She later returns disguising as a hilariously droll French singer, Madamoiselle Fifi. Then she promotes the city's election candidate Capt.McCarey (Edmund Lowe), who also plays the good cop tracking down the corrupt police chief (Lloyd Nolan). Mae is aided by uniformly fine supporting players: Charles Winninger, Herman Bing, Charles Butterworth, Chester Conklin, and Louis Armstrong as the musical street cleaner.

Mae's suggestive one-liners are sparkling and fresh, especially the moment when she impersonates the French dame. Sutherland's unpretentious direction flows breezily through several hugely entertaining moments.

Pleasant and thoroughly enjoyable, "Every Day's Holiday" is must viewing for Mae West fans or anyone looking for harmless, pleasurable escape.

Chief of police Quade (Lloyd Nolan) has had enough of con-woman Peaches O'Day (Mae West). She had sold the Brooklyn Bridge again and she keeps doing it. Quade orders Police Captain Jim McCarey (Edmund Lowe) to arrest her, but he is taken with her charms. She promises to leave town, but instead she charms the wealthy recluse Van Doon (Charles Winninger) and his butler Larmadou Graves (Charles Butterworth).

Mae West wrote the script. It's not my favorite. It is a little unnecessarily complicated. Van Doon and Graves should be her underlings right from the start. Their connection confuses me. Maybe I am missing something about these characters or maybe they are awkwardly presented. Nevertheless, McCarey simply needs more time with Peaches O'Day. This should be a rom-com. I'm not laughing at the comedy as much as I see the comedy and appreciate it.

Once again in her favorite era, the Gay Nineties (that is, the end of it: New Year's Eve, 1899), Mae West looks perfectly comfortable and swell - and in her element: as a small-time crook, 'selling' the Brooklyn Bridge to strangers... Police Chief 'Honest John Quade', who's also running for mayor, is obsessed by the idea of getting her arrested at last - because she had the 'impudence' to turn the crooked politician down. But the 'flatfoot' (as Mae alias 'Peaches O'Day' calls her 'special friends' from the New York police force) McCarey, who's assigned to the case, just 'isn't able' to get her - because he's in love with her and always lets her get away...

But finally, he HAS to do his duty: he tells her unmistakeably that she's got to leave town. 'Peaches', though, has other plans which she works out at a crazy New Year's Eve party in the famous, renowned old 'Rector's Restaurant' with a new acquaintance of hers - a butler and his rich master, who 'hates women'... until he sees Peaches, of course! So, together with her 'manager', they decide that she'll actually leave for Boston - and return, with a black wig and a French accent, as a famous French singer for whom they'll put up a big show...

Although, of course, by 1937 the Production Code showed no mercy anymore ESPECIALLY with Mae West's well-known 'dubious' scripts, and "Every Day's a Holiday" looks a lot tamer than her pre-Code movies, it's still a VERY enjoyable piece of entertainment, with an exceptionally good cast, a quite nice and clever story, nostalgic song numbers (Mae sings not only with a lovely French accent, but also in perfect French!), and generally a lively, inventive comedy you can just watch over and over again - Hollywood nostalgia at its very best!

Written by the awesome miss west herself. It's new year's eve, 1899. Peaches has been kicked out of the city, but she's been spotted back around town. The usual antics and adventures... she tricks funny man charles butterworth into breaking and entering, a little larceny. And returns in grand fanfare as madamoiselle fifi. Hijinx ensue. It's mae west! Fun and silliness. The plot doesn't really matter...we're all going to have fun. Someone must have the rights to this locked up tight.. they never show it on turner classics. Too bad. Directed by ed sutherland. He really was married to marjorie daw, just like the children's poem. One interesting note... in the film, they have the parties at rector's dinner club; and george rector actually did run numerous restaurants, including one on broadway! High rating, just for being mae west!

In turn-of-the-century New York, con woman Mae West runs Edmund Lowe for mayor against corrupt Lloyd Nolan.

Mae West's last movie for Paramount has her ploughing her familiar milieu, with a large cast that includes farceurs such a Charles Butterworth, Charles WInninger, and Walter Catlett. Louis Armstrong get to perform half a number, and there is a general sense of frivolity. Its premiere at Manhattan's Paramount Theater broke house records. But this wasn't the old Mae West. A little something known as the Production Code had come in, and the front office at Paramount wasn't interested in fighting Joseph Breen for the sake of a lady they knew they'd have a fight with every time, and had pushed past 40. So the zingers are not as sharp, even if second-rate West, like second-rate Marx Brothers, is still better than anything else.