Starring Mae West, William Gaxton, Victor Moore, and Lester Allen
Directed by Gregory Ratoff
Music and Lyrics by various
By 1943, Mae West's brand of sexually suggestive comedy was a little too titillating for the Production Code. The studios had been pushing her to dial back on the double entendres for almost a decade by that point. After Paramount dropped her, she appeared on the stage for three years before agreeing to this independent production almost sight-unseen. Was she right to take a chance on this bit of backstage nonsense about a temperamental diva who is wooed from her producer boyfriend by a rival, or should a bucket of ice be dumped on this sizzling show? Let's begin with the first number of the big Broadway show Indiscretions of 1943 and find out...
The Story: Faye Lawrence (West) is aware that the show isn't a success and wants out. The show's producer Tony Ferris (Gaxton) is enamored with her and won't give up on the show. He convinces mousy Hubert Bainbridge (Moore) of an organization that advocates clean, wholesome family images to have the show raided. Far from keeping Faye in the show, it leads to the show being shut down. Faye moves to the tropical-themed extravaganza put on by Ferris' rival Forest Stanton (Alan Dinehart) instead.
Incensed and wanting Faye back, Ferris creates his own show with Bainbridge and his talented niece Janey Adair (Mary Roche) in the lead role, though her solider boyfriend (Lloyd Bridges) doesn't approve. Hubert's sister Hannah (Almira Sessions) is really the one in charge of their organization, and when she comes home from a convention, she's furious with her brother getting them involved in show business and pulls her family and her money out of the show. Tony thinks he has a way to make Hannah change her mind, but it's the tougher and more practical Faye who finally finds a way to make Hannah see the light.
The Song and Dance: West is the thing when you actually do see her in this odd little extravaganza. She's tough, smart, and takes no guff from both of the producers courting her. Hazel Scott's amazing number with the two pianos is the other attraction. Adair does sing well, and Sessions isn't bad as the rigid and controlling older woman who is convinced that her uptight morals are the only ones worth hearing.
Favorite Number: We open with the actual opening number of Indiscretions. "I'm a Stranger In Town," with the early 20th century townsfolk looking on West in her feathered hat and boa with suspicion, is both a typical West flirtation number and a foreshadowing of what is to come with Hannah Bainbridge and the Foundation. We move to rehearsals for Faye's new show Tropicana for the next few numbers. Xavier Cugat and singer Lina Romay get a number in Spanish before we move to Joan Thorsen and David Lichine with 'There Goes That Guitar." Lina and Xavier return with the jauntier "Antonio."
Hazel Scott steals the movie wholesale with her impressive "The White Keys and the Black Keys" that has her really going to town playing two pianos at the same time. She does "The Caissons Go Rolling Along" with the chorus later. Roche joins Jack Owens on a stage-bound river ride through a creamy fantasy Indiana as they admit to be "Thinkin' About the Wabash." Herbert claims "They Looked So Pretty On the Envelope" when he finally gets onstage. Faye ends the movie with her in a huge feathered headdress and spangled gown singing "Hello, Mi Amigo" as chorus boys dance around her.
Trivia: West went back to the stage after this bombed at the box office. She wouldn't return to film until Myra Breckinridge in 1970.
What I Don't Like: No wonder West stayed away from movies for so long. For the reason this movie exists, she's barely seen, except in the first ten minutes and last ten minutes...and then, she only has something to do when she takes matters into her own hands regarding Hannah in the last ten minutes. William Gaxton and Victor Moore were a popular comic team on Broadway, but here, Gaxton comes off as an obnoxious, obsessive jerk who won't let Faye go, and Moore is a whiny idiot. No matter how much Herbert pushed Janey for a career, Roche was a good singer but otherwise pretty and blank, not star material. Only the opening number is related to anything, and other than Hazel Scott's genuinely nifty piano routine, are dull and unmemorable.
The Big Finale: Only for the most ardent fans of West or Scott.
Home Media: Currently DVD only via the made-to-order Sony Choice Collection.
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