Book review – “It Ain’t No Sin” by Simon Louvish

The only previous book I read on Mae West I only remember because the jacket photo had the author holding a white cat – it was one of the worst author photos I’d seen. I had the sense it wasn’t very thorough a work, so it was terrific to see Louvish turn his eye to the blonde not-as-young-as-she-claimed bombshell.

Louvish has written biographies on WC Fields and the Marx Brothers, both of which I’ve kept meaning to read but never gotten around to. That is no dig at him – it’s just a weird thing that’s happened. He’s a good writer and excellent researcher.

He has two strengths (1) he treats West’s movie career as one chapter in a long career rather than the be all and end all, so he gives appropriate weight to her time in vaudeville, burlesque and on the legitimate stage. In particular he pays particular attention to her writing (something at which she worked long and hard) (2) he goes over his subject thoroughly. Sometimes West gets lost in the context but in some ways that’s inevitable – when all’s said in done West was a bit dull, she just did the hard yards at home.

West was pure show biz – she never stopped thinking of herself as a star until the end, always pushing her stage shows, movie scripts, etc. Her persona was incredibly strong – when you think about it she only really made three classic films (She Done Him Wrong, I’m No Angel, My Little Chickadee) – there were others which probably could and would have been classics had not they been neutered by the Hays office (Belle of the Nineties and Klondike Annie – Louvish argues the latter was perhaps West’s most autobiographical work, which is fascinating). But you do something well, everyone will remember you.