She Done Him Wrong (1933)

 She Done Him Wrong (1933)

A saloon singer in the Gay Nineties juggles the many men in her life: From the convict who’s imprisoned because he procured her some diamonds; to the saloon owner running a (never-explicitly stated) prostitution ring and a counterfeit money operation; to the man who framed the first boyfriend and is in the process of attempting to frame the current one; to the boss’s Russian partner’s secretary; to the missionary man who keeps going into the saloon to scare away its patrons to the annoyance of the owner.

Yep, she’s no good; but she also proves herself by taking a would-be-suicide under her wing; she gets a chance to claim she knows nothing of her boss/boyfriend’s illegal side businesses, (which is doubtful, unless she is a lot less street smart than she seems; her stray rescue gets immediately sent to the brothel... with her approval?) but she also proves she’s got a heart of gold when she sells some of her diamonds in order to buy the mission building so that its tenants won’t get kicked out.

It's an odd arc for a Mae West character whose sinful characters we delight in and whom we don’t really want to get redeemed, but we aren’t too upset that she basically gets away with (accidental) murder and somehow ends up with Cary Grant, who we are led to believe will finally keep her in check, (really? just how long will that last?)

To a modern ear, her singing might sound odd, but you can tell from the saloon patrons that they all get her sense of rhythm. I know some of the songs featured must have been popular at the time, since I recognize them from Betty Boop cartoons.

The studios didn’t’ quite yet know what to do with Grant, but West was a good talent agent.

She knew.

There would be better showcases for West’s humor and singing but her first feature is a nicely balanced drama with a few, very good lines and double entendres.

I've already mentioned a bunch of Pre-Code elements: Add to that implied nudity, (behind screens, a glimpse at a nude oil painting has torso and breasts bared, but the crotch is obscured by a patron standing in front of it,) much underclothing, and much sexual innuendo.

Also with Owen Moore, Gilbert Roland, Noah Beery Sr., Rochelle Hudson, and Louise Beavers.

Some consider this to be her best film.