Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her

This was an oddball doc in that it was rather accurate with facts about her life, but filled with styrofoam peanuts of opinions & impressions. It was narrated & hosted by Dom Deluise.

I was glad her size was brought up in conversation, West was tiny like 5 feet even. She was often filmed seated with her leading men or wore huge platform shoes to bring herself to regular height. Those platform shoes also contributed to her distinctive walk. I also liked they spoke of her closeness with her family, who rallied to support Mae's early career and Mae supported them in turn for the rest of their lives.

A few spoke of her "tricks", visual illusions to hide her size & age. Mae was in her 40's when she made her most famous Paramount movies and being so tiny, every pound is amplified. I always noticed she looks heavier in film, but didn't realize all her publicity photos were retouched. Apparently, her costumes were designed with this in mind-black trimmed side seams allowed easy "thinning" in photos.

I was surprised to see a young and handsome Robert Osborne interviewed. I had forgotten how cute he was, only remembering him as a handsome older gentleman on TCM. I was actually taken aback by his first statement which struck me like a backhanded compliment. Osborne's second comment came across even nastier. That Robert Osborne that we all know & love, friend to all the stars, was actually kind of snarky towards Mae West.

Anyway, it was a good documentary. You couldn't learn much about Mae's life from personal interviews, as she was always "on" playing her charactor & answering with funny lines. Most of the interviews were with people who actually knew her, like those who lived in her apartment building or worked for her.