Mae West, the wild woman of film and stage_美文

Mae West, the wild woman of film and stage

LADY LOU: "I heard you. But you ain't kidding me any. You know, I've met your kind before. Why don't you come up sometime, huh?"

CAPTAIN CUMMINGS: "Well, I..."

LADY LOU: "Don't be afraid, I won't tell. Come up, I'll tell your fortune."

VOICE ONE:

This movie made Mae West a great success. "Why don't you come up and see me sometime" became one of the most famous statements in film history. For a period, she was one of the highest paid female entertainers in America. Some experts say her movies helped save the production company Paramount Pictures from financial ruin. Audiences all over the world either loved or hated this wild woman.

Mae West both starred in and wrote her next film, "I'm No Angel." She played a circus performer. As always, her character drives men crazy with desire. When the film opened, it broke records for attendance and profits. Here is Mae West performing the theme song of this movie.

(MUSIC: "I'm No Angel")

VOICE TWO:

Mae West continued to make films – and trouble -- throughout the nineteen thirties and early forties. Critics say this was the most exciting part of her career. They say that after this period, she only repeated herself. While she had offers for films, she refused to play the role of an older or weak woman. West continued to act on stage, wrote books and appeared on television.

At the age of eighty-five she starred in a film called "Sextette." Not surprisingly, Mae West played a sexy woman that men could not resist. Some critics dismissed the film. Others praised her spirit for never surrendering to old age on film. Two years later, Mae West died at her home in California. She was eighty-seven.