Friday, April 27, 2012

I'm No Angel

A dancing queen (Mae West) accepts the affections and offerings of numerous gentlemen callers, but when her boyfriend is sent up the river, she heads to the city and becomes a lion tamer in the Big Show. When the cousin (Cary Grant) of one of her "fans" seeks to extricate his relation from her acquaintance, she genuinely falls in love with this new companion. Following the massive success of "She Done Him Wrong", Mae West was given a large amount of control in this riotous film in which she both wrote and stars in. In a Hollywood that hadn't just yet been strangled by the Hays Code, "I'm No Angel" sizzles with West's inimitable innuendos and an endless barrage of sinuous punchlines. Cary Grant, reuniting with West following the success of their prior outing, shines in the sort of patsy role he went on to perfect so well throughout his career. In an film era where anything goes with intelligence and cleverness almost entirely out the door, the sexy witticisms of Mae West in "I'm No Angel" serve as a breath of fresh air.