Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her (1994) watch online HD

Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her (1994)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Very good look at the legendary Mae West who most people don't seem to remember but was nearly the age of forty when she became a star in Hollywood. This documentary runs just under a hour and I think it's best moments talk about what West was doing before she finally went to Hollywood. Again, a lot of people talk about West in Hollywood and overlook nearly forty-years worth of interesting material. I thought this documentary did a very good job at explaining what West was up to during this period but it also managed to make you see that "character" she was building and which of course exploded once she made it in films. There's also a funny story told about how she pretty much controlled Paramount and another good story about how she picked Cary Grant for SHE DONE HIM WRONG. Dom DeLuise hosts and we get some nice comments from Robert Osborne and Rex Reed. Also on hand is Anthony Quinn who tells a very funny story about the first time he met West. Fans of the actress are certainly going to enjoy hearing all of these stories and there's plenty of newspaper clippings as well as film clips. At just 56-minutes there's no doubt this here isn't definitive but it's still pretty good considering when it was made.

This documentary film is a biography of Mae West and the influence she had on American culture. It consists of a bunch of film clips and many interviews with folks who were still alive and willing to talk about her. It follows her from her youth when she was just developing a stage persona, through her Hollywood years and to her dotage...a rather sad time when the fading star refused to let go of her 1930s persona...mostly because there didn't seem to be anything to her other than that. Because of this, the final portion is a bit sad and you see her no longer as the great and powerful feminist but as a sad caricature. Worth seeing and very informative.