Mae West: The Essential Collection [DVD]

My all-time favorite Mae West line [from 'Go West Young Man'] was mangled by the censor.In the film she says,"You may kiss my hand.And tomorrow, perhaps you may kiss me."-- which doesn't even make sense.It should have been:"You may kiss my hand.And tomorrow, perhaps, you may kiss the rest of me."In her prime, Mae West starred in ten films (1932-1943)-- The first nine are conveniently gathered in this three DVD box from Universal.-- The rights to the tenth film are owned by a different conglomerate, so you have to buy it separately.*Back in 2006, Universal released five films in the "Mae West Glamour Collection".**The remaining films were issued on Universal Vault Series DVD-Rs.This new set is the first time all nine Paramount and Universal titles have been released on standard DVDs.English SDH subtitles.In this box:1932 Night After Night -- George Raft, Constance Cummings [Paramount]1933 She Done Him Wrong - CONDEMNED -- Cary Grant, Owen Moore [Paramount]1933 I'm No Angel - CONDEMNED -- Cary Grant, Gregory Ratoff, Edward Arnold [Paramount]1934 Belle of the Nineties - CONDEMNED -- Roger Pryor, Johnny Mack Brown [Paramount]1935 Goin' to Town -- Paul Cavanagh, Gilbert Emery [Paramount]1936 Klondike Annie -- Victor McLaglen, directed by Raoul Walsh [Paramount]1936 Go West, Young Man -- Warren William, Randolph Scott [Paramount]1937 Every Day's a Holiday -- Edmund Lowe, Charles Butterworth [Paramount]1940 My Little Chickadee -- W.C. Fields, Joseph Calleia, Margaret Hamilton [Universal]The three films from 1933 and 1934 were given the dreaded "C" rating: CONDEMNED by the Legion of Decency during it's first two years of operation.1932's 'Night after Night' likely would have received a Condemned rating, but it was released a year before the Legion was formedAnd was one of the reasons why the Legion was formed.Roman Catholics were forbidden to see these films. ***All four are presented in their original uncut form.'Night after Night' was a George Raft gangster movie.Mae plays one of his old girlfriends, a supporting part - This is the only time she did not receive top billing.And it's the only time that Mae did not receive a writing credit, even though she wrote the best line in the film - "Goodness had nothing to do with it".If you are new to Mae West,the best place to start is with her second film, 'She Done Him Wrong', with her best all-around supporting cast, screenplay and music ("I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Gone")It's also her only film to be nominated for an Academy Award. ****The only bonus feature in this box is the 1933 Walter Lantz cartoon 'She Done Him Right'Pooch the Pup is enamored with Poodles - a canine version of Mae West - who sings "Minnie the Moocher's Wedding Day" (by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler), a song with obvious drug references.[hint - for ease of navigation, read the review through to the end, then come back and click on the links.]Background:In 1933-34, The Legion of Decency gave 52 films the Condemned rating before Hollywood buckled under and agreed to enforce censorship guidelines.For a list of the 52 films, and more about Pre-Code Hollywood and the Legion of Decency, see my review of Forbidden Hollywood V10 * The tenth film - Not in this box:1943 The Heat's On -- Victor Moore, William Gaxton [Columbia] - Available separately:  The Heat's On ** 2006 five film collection (not recommended): Mae West - The Glamour Collection (Go West Young Man/ Goin' To Town/ I'm No Angel/ My Little Chickadee/ Night After Night) *** It's OK for Catholics to see them now.In March, 2016 Sister Rose Pacatte hosted a series of films condemned by the Legion of Decency on Turner Classic Movies.**** Sixth Annual Academy Awards (1933) - Best Picture Nominees:-- Cavalcade - winner-- 42nd Street-- A Farewell to Arms-- I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang-- Lady for a Day-- Little Women-- The Private Life of Henry VIII-- She Done Him Wrong-- Smilin' Through-- State Fair-- For an overview of Mae West's later career, see the first comment (dated March 17, 2016) following this review.

The price was worth every penny to watch my favorite idol! Nine movies on three discs

The seller put this in the mail right away, and it was a great deal for the number of movies it contains! At first I was worried it was a used set the seller was trying to pass off as "new," because there was writing on the dvd case...someone had put checkmarks with an ink pen next to some of the movie titles...my best guess is someone was checking off which dvd's in this set they had previously watched...but when I took off the shrinkwrap, the dvd set looked ok, and the ink writing was only on the shrinkwrap. Granted, it looked like the cheap "do it yourself" wrap and not the professional wrapping you see on Dvd's that your buy in the major store chains, but the case and all the discs were in mint condition, and the low price for this many films in one set meant either way (new or slightly used) I feel thid purchase was 100% worth it, and the seller sent me a product in perfect condition! I am 100% happy.

I'm 79 years old so even for me, these old movies are "before my time." I've never been a fan of Mae West but I like presenting "history" to my grown children. They have only "heard of" Mae West as being a famous movie star of the past, so now they can find out what her performances were like and "what the fuss is all about."

This Universal DVD has English Subtitles. The first 2 discs on the added disc holder in the case, didn't stay in place during shipping and got marred/scratched having been dislodged and fell to the bottom of the case during shipping. But they played ok. I loved to watch Mae West singing blues and delivering her famous innuendos in her beautiful gowns. I liked all the movies in this collection, beginning in 1932 when she was 39 to 1940's "My Little Chickadee", when she was 47. My favorites were: "Go West Young Man"; and "Klondike Annie", even though they deleted one crucial part, but reading on IMDB, helped me put it together.

This certainly will give you an overview of Mae West's movies, but they have not been remastered, nor is there any additional historical material. though there is plenty to say about Mae and her influence on fashion, and on film censorship, to name but two. Her position as auteur -- she wrote the scripts, she acted, sang, and danced, she had final say about the director, costumes, music, and casting -- is unique, as far as I know, and has never been equaled by any star.That said, this is a wonderfully entertaining collection, and includes not just the most famous of her films, but some of her (now) lesser known, but still impressive works. These include Goin' To Town, where she plays an heiress trying to crash high society, and has a scene where she sings a scene from Saint-Saens' opera Samson and Delilah in French; Go West, where she hilariously plays a spoiled movie star; Every Days a Holiday, in which she was gowned by Schiaparelli, and which opens with a meticulously recreated New Year's Eve, 1899. at the famous restaurant, Rector's, in New York City, and has a stellar cast including Edmund Lowe, Lloyd Nolan, Charles Butterwirth, Charles Winninger, and Louis Armstrong; and what is perhaps her most interesting film in many ways, Klondike Annie, where her adventures are almost serious, and she exhibits her skill at speaking Chinese and conducting a rousing revival sermon (not at the same time).

Perfect for those that appreciates the sassiness that is Mae West.

Mae West was a hot movie star in more ways than one! And she was so popular, that she was clearly the only woman who could get away with some of her lines - most of which she wrote! Her movies are ageless, and will always be classic.

Cant play the movies in my dvd player and i live in sweden. Orded from the same place other movies from mae west only 2 of the 3 worked to watch...