Universal Picture
Screen legends Mae West and Cary Grant star in the sizzling Pre-Code comedy I’m No Angel, about a carnival performer with greater aspirations … wealthy men! In addition to circus acts, Tira (West) performs some questionable business maneuvers and takes a job as a lion tamer to escape jail. After Tira’s first show catapults her to stardom, she attracts the attention of the wealthy Kirk Lawrence (Kent Taylor) who happens to be engaged. His business partner, Jack Clayton (Grant), blows his friend’s cover and begins a romance with Tira. This time, Tira is in love for real and is devastated when a misunderstanding causes Jack to break off the affair. Serving as her own counsel, Tira sues Jack for breach of contract and takes him through a cross-examination he’ll never forget! Written by West and directed by Wesley Ruggles (No Man of Her Own).
REVIEW
In all my years, this is the first Mae West movie I’ve seen. I know West from clips of her quips and her talk show appearances, but I’ve never had the opportunity to watch an entire movie of hers. Thanks to the folks at Kino Lorber, eight of her films are now available, beautifully restored on Blu-ray. This will be the first of four reviews.
I’m No Angel was West’s third Hollywood feature following She Done Him Wrong (our next review) and Night After Night, and probably the first thing that struck me about the film was the sole credit West received for the story, screenplay and dialogue. Of course there were female screenwriters in Hollywood, but for a woman making her third film to receive such a lofty credit is certainly a tribute to what Paramount thought of her. It’s been said that her first film basically saved the studio from bankruptcy, so she was given carte blanche to do what she wanted. And she did. West was always a caricature, in a way, although her performance differs vastly from her first film. In I’m No Angel she is fully the character of Mae West, oozing sensuality — something that gave Hollywood censors severe heart palpitations — with her sheer gown in the opening carnival scene that appears to show everything but really doesn’t, and her double and triple entendre one liners. And the way West shimmies across a room has to be seen to be believed. It’s amazing what she was able to get away with, but she would have to get more creative with her subsequent films that fell under the Hays Office Production Code.
In addition to West, the film also stars a very young and dashing Cary Grant in his 12th film, the second with West, a studio contract player on the cusp of stardom (some say it would be another four years with his starring roles in Topper and The Awful Truth before he became a bona fide star). Grant having already worked with West (and despite her claims of discovering the actor on the backlot, they knew each other from vaudeville) has a natural rapport with her, easily allowing her to take the spotlight but occasionally seeming to be holding back laughter in some of their scenes together while she tears off one quip after another. And even though she is obviously older than he (by 11 years), it’s not hard to believe this younger man is totally enchanted with this brash, magnetic woman.
My only real issue with the film is the second act plot twist, the misunderstanding, that leads us into the courtroom finale. As Tira and Jack are preparing for their wedding, Tira’s old associate, Slick Wiley, is out of jail and shows up at Tira’s apartment to come between Tira and her man (and it’s never clear if Tira and Slick were just associates or lovers, although Slick certainly believes they were more than just con artist friends), Jack simply accepts the word of this interloper and breaks off contact with Tira. Not a single word, and when she tries to call him he ignores her calls. It’s a bit of an infuriating way to get to the real meat of the movie, but watching West shred the reputations of the men who’ve come to her for relationships — which is her key point because she never went after a man, really, until she met Jack — is worth whatever disappointment there may have been in how we got there.
In addition to West and Grant’s performances, I have to give a shout out to Travis Banton’s stunning gowns, from that sheer, strategically bejeweled number she wears at the carnival to the wedding gown with the 10 foot train, to the stunning black and white spider web ensemble. They are simply stunning and look fantastic on Blu-ray. Over all, I’m No Angel is a real hoot and a good introduction to Mae West for the uninitiated.
Universal Picture
BLU-RAY
The Blu-ray presentation of I’m No Angel is stunning for a movie of this vintage (1933). The film has obviously been restored because it practically shimmers. The image as a very fine film grain and is free of any dust and scratches. The black and white image is nicely balanced, showing great detail and texture from the sets and costumes to the close-ups of the film’s stars.
For a film that’s pushing 90 years old, it looks as fresh as the day it was first printed. The mono audio track is also nicely balanced, and hiss and pop free. There isn’t much incidental music in the film, but when there is music it never overpowers the dialogue and is a nice accompaniment to West’s songs. It is a top notch presentation from beginning to end.
If you’re looking for a wealth of bonus material, this disk is not stuffed. What is included are six trailers for the other Kino Lorber Mae West films, and an audio commentary by film historian Samm Deighan. Film buffs should enjoy this commentary track … for the most part. A lot of these commentaries by film historians often feel as if the person speaking is simply reading an essay which often has nothing to do with the action on screen. Deighan’s commentary is a nice blend of film history and film commentary, often referring to what we’re seeing on the screen. For that the commentary gets high marks. But as I hinted, there is one glaring error throughout the commentary track that I have to knock off a point for — Deighan constantly mispronounces the name of West’s character Tira. Perhaps she was watching the film without audio, but one would assume she’s seen the film in order to provide the commentary and would have known that the character’s name is pronounced TEE-ra, not TY-ra. It made me a little crazy. But if you can overlook that mistake, it is a worthwhile addition to the film.
OVERVIEW
I’m No Angel is a must-have for any serious collector of classic films. It is an undeniable piece of film history for its pre-Code sensuality and humor to the fact that this was Mae West’s baby from beginning to end, her screenplay incorporating many of her already established vaudeville one-liners. The presentation and preservation of the film is something to be cherished. For Mae West or Cary Grant fans, it’s also a keeper, a nice upgrade from any previous DVD versions (the film was previously included in Universal’s Mae West – The Glamour Collection DVD box set). And for the uninitiated and curious, it’s also a wonderful introduction to the Mae West screen persona, and will certainly make you want to see more. Mae West may be no angel, but this Kino Lorber Blu-ray is heavenly.
Kino Lorber generously provided Hotchka with the Blu-ray for reviewing purposes.
I’m No Angel has a running time of 1 hour 27 minutes and is not rated.
Universal Picture
Share this post
