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She Done Him Wrong (1933)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
5/17
5/17:
Here's an example of an important film that has become hopelessly dated over time: She Done Him Wrong.
Not many can claim to save a major studio from the brink of bankruptcy, but this one did
for Paramount Pictures, thanks to Mae West. And thanks to Mae West again for her sexually suggestive manners
and double entendres, the notorious Hays Code finally went into effect that would last until the late 60's.
Running for a bit more than an hour, She Done Him Wrong remains the shortest film to be Oscar-nominated for Best
Picture (which was then called "Outstanding Production"). I suppose it's easily accomplished when there were ten eligible
contenders at the time, the apogee of the Great Depression, a practice that would be discontinued eleven years later.
Give Mae West credit: she demanded Louise Beavers, a black actress, to be given a role, which is unheard of, in the hopes of
breaking the racial discrimination. That's why I found her appearance highly unusual back then. Cary Grant may be in
the movie, but in reality, he's bland as ever and it's impossible to see any star quality in him. Hence, it's interesting
how somebody like Cary Grant could come out of nowhere to be a silver screen icon.
As for Mae West, she, apart from the nonsensical plot, is the biggest flaw. I can't place her; she doesn't look
like a woman but a 40-year-old Porky Pig in drag. Her supposedly innuendoes aren't good and often fall flat, and she
can't sing, either. Every time Mae West tries to be sexy, she comes off as silly and not believable. I can
understand why men were infatuated with her in 1933, but the arrival of blonde bombshells in the next twenty-five years
had taken her down by several notches.
All in all, an iconoclast picture in its own right, She Done Him Wrong is dull and dated.