User Reviews

Mae West is certainly entertaining with her wisecracks and sexual innuendo. Unfortunately, she's the only entertaining thing about this whole film. The other actors, even a young Cary Grant, aren't given terribly interesting characters to inhabit. The whole thing is set-bound and the story is nonsense.

Okay, maybe not nonsense, but it is cluttered with too many subplots and one-note characters which fail to hold interest. The first ten minutes are a pain to sit through, mainly because West isn't there to enliven the proceedings. That should not be.

She Done Him Wrong (1933) is an interesting curio and a showcase for Mae West, but as entertainment, it is lacking.

I had watched a couple of Mae West's movies before but I really decided to pay attention to this one since this was the one that made her a star. Working as a singer at a dance hall among many lowlifes, she's a hoot with her many double entendres lines that were still allowed in this pre-Code era picture. And seeing her with an up-and-comer named Cary Grant doubles the pleasure of watching this. Part of the time, it does threaten to get a little monotonous when the drama takes effect but where this goes was worth it and also, you get to hear Ms. West singing her heart out especially when she gets to the "Frankie and Johnny" number. So on that note, She Done Him Wrong is well worth a look.

"She Done Him Wrong" is an early hit film for both Mae West and Cary Grant. West is Lady Lou and Grant is Captain Cummings. Other key players include Owen Moore as Chick Clark, Gilbert Roland as Serge Stanieff, Noah Beery as Gus Jordan, David Landau as Dan Flynn, and Rafaeta Ottiano as Russian Rita. The cast are all good and the story is interesting, if a little slow. Others describe the plot, and I thought some movie buffs would be interested in some of the background of the movie and the stars.

This film is credited as the movie that made Mae West a star. It was only her second film, but first lead role. She already had made her mark on Broadway where she acted in plays that she wrote for herself. In an introduction on the DVD of this movie, host Robert Osborne says that this film saved Paramount studios from bankruptcy. Paramount was due to go under, but the box office from "She Done Him Wrong" put the company back in the black. And, with Mae West as the studio's new star, Paramount continued on its track back as one of the big filmmakers. The movie also helped push Cary Grant's career. Grant had risen to male leads in three films the year before.

A check of histories elsewhere affirms that Mae West's two films in 1933 (the other being "I'm No Angel") were a boost to Paramount, but none attributed the recovery directly to that. The company remained in trouble for a time. Studio head Adolph Zukor is credited with pulling the company out of receivership. He had also acquired a number of other top stars along with West and Grant. Those included Claudette Colbert, Bing Crosby, Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard, Jeanette MacDonald, and the Marx Brothers. They all made some hit movies that helped restore Paramount's star.

Osborne related some interesting background on this movie. Mae West had written and starred in the hit 1928 Broadway play on which it is based, "Diamond Lil." But, when Paramount bought the movie rights, apparently the Production Code office notified the studio that there was no way it could make "Diamond Lil" into a movie. The play was far too racy for the motion picture industry's new standards. So, Mae West, the other writers and the director went to work to revise the film. The first thing they did was change the name. The new screenplay replaced racy dialog and scenes with innuendo and double entendre. Osborne said that Mae West later was quoted as saying that the Production Code led to better movies because the studios wrote better stories with innuendo and suggestion that made them much funnier than they were otherwise.

It's interesting too that West made only 13 films in her movie career. Three of those were more than two decades after she left Hollywood in 1943 to return to the stage and nightclub entertaining. She was 87 and living in Hollywood when she died in 1980. Of course, all those other names above from Paramount went on to become huge stars as well.

This is a good film, but nothing special. West made only two films considered very good –"'I'm No Angel" and "My Little Chicaddee." She was more of a sex symbol with a come-on persona, than she was an actress. She had some good years on stage, acting and writing, and she worked the nightclub circuit for most of her career. Here, West sings "Frankie and Johnny," which may be the first time that long-time popular American song was used in the movies.

It appears that some modern day critics have forgotten what a great period film is all about. This very authentic replica of the Gay Nineties (1890s) is accurate right down to the horse hair furniture, gas lamps, Brooklyn accents and costumes. It was adapted from Mae West's Broadway hit "Diamond Lil" and coupled with West's other 1933 hit (I'm No Angel), saved Paramount from bankruptcy. The film was so loved by audiences that midnight showings were needed to accommodate the crowds, and it was so lurid that seven countries banned the film altogether. It was nominated for the best picture of 1933 and was West's favorite of all her twelve films. The film introduced the famed line (although it's uttered slightly different in the movie) "Come up and see me sometime." Some of Mae's funniest work is here, and she sings three great tunes. Edith Head did all the costumes and Lowell Sherman directed. Modern times have dulled the bluntness of this film, but be assured, it was an eye-popper in 1933.

Mae West was an acquired taste. Some negative comments in this forum seem to forget the enormous talent of Ms. West, who was, without a doubt, a woman way ahead of her times. Mae West was the writer and the star of "Diamond Lil" on Broadway, a huge success at the time. The screen play, while not the strongest thing in the film, offers some good moments in which the star shines. Under the direction of Lowell Sherman, this Mae West vehicle appears somehow dated.

The mere task of translating the stage play into a film must have given the studios executives nightmares. How would Mae West get away with some of the suggestive dialog, where innuendo and double entendres play greatly in the star's delivery? Ms. West seems to be having great fun in playing Lady Lou, a woman who attracted men by just being there.

Cary Grant plays a small part as the Salvation Army Capt. Some of the most suggestive dialog in the film is directed at him. Gilbert Roland is another man that catches Lou's eyes and she makes it known she wouldn't mind a visit at her star dressing room any time.

We also see some of great old players in the film. Owen Moore is Chick. Noah Beery plays Gus. David Landau, Rafaela Otiano, and Dewey Robinson are seen in supporting roles.

The film is worth seeing just for the witty and daring dialog Ms. West wrote. Some of the lines are classics by now.

She Done Him Wrong staring Mae West is one of those old black and white flicks that entertains as well shows off a little "naughtiness". It was said that this is the film that saved Paramont Studios when they were having financial woes. The film is a reproduction of a Broadway play called Diamond Lil. She Done Him Wrong has a fine cast of players ranging from Cary Grant(an unknown at the time but made a star) But the real star is a tough Brooklyn born actress named Mae West.

Mae came from a rough and tumble background. A daughter of boxer named "Battlin" Jack West and her mother, a corset maker with Burlesque connections, Mae grew up in a challenging environment. But she loved the Burlesque theater so much that she left school and performed on the stage. She wasn't a raving beauty, a bit overweight and not so much a voice but Boy! she seemed to steal the scenes with a sexy purr, gorgeous clothes and a erotic glow with her eyes. Mae knew how to use her rubinesque physique to walk off the scenes with captivating sexuality that one of her co-stars remarked "she stole every scene including the camera"

* a note to the young Believe it or not, this film was considered risqué at the time and the Hays Decency code in Hollywood watched Mae West like a hawk so she wouldn't violate any decency public laws. Compare it to the films of today, you hardly believe that some people thought this film was indecent. I think that is part of the magic of Mae West. She appeared naked or did hardcore sex scenes in her films but she showed a sexual being in a very original and stylistic character that it is still copied somewhat today.

So I would say see this little gem! Come up and see me! and let the fun begin!

I will confess up front that I have never understood the stardom of Mae West. She's not good-looking, she has an unusual figure that looks odd in almost any outfit, and she has a dramatic range about the size of a walnut. Some of her one-liners are funny, but I find her hard to watch. Other comic acts of the time (Fields, Marx, even Stooges) are much funnier and less dated. My guess is that her pushing of moral boundaries made her a curiosity - a trend that unfortunately continues to the present day.

This film is a curious mix of a predictable Dudley Do-Right style melodrama (featuring villains in moustaches and fair damsels in distress) with a comedy that never delivers much in the way of laughs. (It's hard to get to uproarious about white slavery.) West's vocal solos, hair, and make-up are hideous, and speaking of make-up, Cary Grant seems to be wearing as much eye shadow as his leading lady.

The best comedy bits are delivered by minor characters, including non-speaking extras in the bar scenes. Some jokes will go right over the head of folks who don't get the allusions (like the song "Where Did You Get That Hat?" played early in the film, or Mae West quoting "Old Black Joe" when waiting for her maid).

Fortunately, this dud is barely over an hour in length, making the wait for the ending slightly less excruciating.

It's really a privilege to be able to see an icon like Mae West on film. This early talkie is Mae at her best - precode, dripping in diamonds and one-liners. It's a shame that later in life, she became a parody of herself. She was an important figure not only in theater but in early film.

Mae was not only a talented performer, she was a gifted writer and knew how to showcase herself. Though "She Done Him Wrong" is light on plot, it's heavy on Mae, and frankly, who cares about anything else? She's Lady Lou, a bawdy singer, with her hourglass figure shown to great advantage in a variety of gowns. All men want her - and let's face it, many men have had her! When she visits her ex-boyfriend in jail, she knows ever other con in the place.

This is a fascinating movie on so many levels. Besides Mae and her precode innuendos, it has Cary Grant's star-making performance (though Grant always disliked West's claim that she discovered him). It's the film that saved Paramount from bankruptcy. It's one of the films that brought on the code. Most interesting to me is, the audiences loved it! These audiences would very soon (like the next year) be deprived of the sexual double entendre and morality found in this film. Rather than the early audiences being naive and unsophisticated, it was the banning of certain language and situations in film that gave rise to the idea of a false world: that once, there were no shades of gray, all unmarried women were virgins, the bad guy always lost, and no bad deed goes unpunished.

"She Done Him Wrong" is a great chance to see a very young and handsome Gilbert Roland and Noah Berry Sr. (whose son really resembled him) in early film roles.

An amazing artifact, some hilarious lines, and most of all - Mae.

It's the Gay Nineties in New York City. Nightclub performer Lady Lou (Mae West) has many suitors. Gus Jordan has given her many diamonds, but she doesn't know about his criminal enterprise. Captain Cummings (Cary Grant) runs the mission next door, but is secretly a federal agent trying to infiltrate the club.

I'm actually not that familiar with Mae West films. Apparently, this initial star vehicle really propelled her fame. Hey, it got nominated for an Academy Award. I can't say that I recognize her face at first, but that voice is undeniable. It's an original. All the double entendre and sassy banter really set her voice apart. It's ninety years later and she is still unequaled.

The celebrated MAE WEST wrote the clunky screenplay for this mish-mash of a comedy/drama, occasionally strutting on stage to warble a tune that would drive the judges on "American Idol" to declare disastrous. Let's face it--a singer, she ain't, and as for her acting--well, it's the reputation for being sexy when American movie stars were still in their infancy that made all the clamor back then. But by today's standards, this is not worth a peek except to get a glance at the very young and handsome CARY GRANT and GILBERT ROLAND.

Both of them have little to do but fawn on Miss West--and neither one shows even a glimmer of the talent they had in future roles. Grant at least has more to do do than Roland--he's a Salvation Army man who keeps an eye on the patrons and is part of the story twist at the end.

An awkward script full of one-dimensional stereotypes, hammy performances from the supporting cast, and as the centerpiece, an extravagantly gowned and jeweled MAE WEST strutting her stuff as only she did--but badly in need of some good material for her own gags. She comes across as strictly overrated for this effort, taken from her Broadway play "Diamond Lil" but rewritten for the screen.

About the only witty line she gets a chance to utter comes early on, in her entrance: "I'm the finest lady who ever walked the streets." She purrs a few other lines but none of them have the sting of shock appeal or true wit. Evidently, censorship was part of the reason.

Certainly not one of Mae West's best--it's tedious enough to watch even though it runs barely over an hour. And oddly enough, it won a Best Picture nomination in 1933. Hard to believe.

Trivia note: Interesting to see Noah Berry as one of her lovestruck companions, half-brother of Wallace Beery, who bears a strong resemblance.

Mae West was a veteran of burlesque, vaudeville and the Broadway stage by the time she made her first film in 1932 at the age of 39. `She Done Him Wrong' was her second film and her first starring role in an adaptation of her smash Broadway hit `Diamond Lil'. It was a play that West had written herself and it played to packed houses on Broadway for years. This film was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture and made Cary Grant into an instant star. Mae went on to write nine of the fourteen screenplays for films in which she was to star. Thus, all those great quotes we've heard that are attributed to her were not only said by her, but written by her as well. By 1935, she was the most highly paid woman in America. To this day, she remains one of the female stars most often imitated by female impersonators.

This film is among her best. It is full of the bawdy double entendre that became her trademark. She was the queen of sexual innuendo and suggestive dialogue and many of her lines have become part of Americana (e.g. `Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?' And, `A hard man is good to find.' And of course, `Come up and see me sometime.')

The plot of this film is simplistic and it is clearly a vehicle for her enormous talent, leading up to the now famous proposal by Cary Grant at the end of the film. Mae commands every frame of the film with her incomparable combination of sex appeal and ribald humor. Her sense of comic timing is impeccable making the funny lines she writes that much more hilarious by the snide way in which she delivers them.

Before this film, Cary Grant had appeared in half a dozen films and was building a reputation as a solid actor. However, none of his early films gave him the exposure that this film did due to its wild popularity at the time. West handpicked him for the part saying that he combined virility with the bearing of a gentleman. She wanted someone who would epitomize the now famous line, `Hello, warm, dark and handsome.' Though his role in this film is minor compared to West's, it made him a household name and a bankable star.

This classic film is a piece of film history that shouldn't be missed. I rated it a 10/10. It is among Mae West's best moments. I highly recommend it.

In the Gay Nineties, a seductive nightclub singer (Mae West) contends with several suitors, including a jealous escaped convict and a handsome temperance league member.

The film was adapted from the successful Broadway play Diamond Lil by Mae West. The Hays Code declared the play banned from the screen and repeatedly demanded changes to remove associations with or elements from the play, including suggested titles with the word "diamond". The adaption was finally allowed under the condition that the play not be referred to in publicity or advertising. Wow, how racy was this play? This is the definitive Mae West film, probably her best. We get a variation of her classic "come up and see me" line. And, even better, we get a very early Cary Grant. Wet claimed to have discovered him, and there is more than a little truth to that. This is likely his first film that was widely seen and is still enjoyed today (2016).

In 1890s New York, saloon singer Lady Lou (Mae West) is attracted to a reformer (Cary Grant) while dealing with many suitors and a psychotic escaped convict (a memorably creepy Owen Moore). This is often called Mae West's best movie. It's a vanity project full of people complimenting her. If there was even the slightest hint West was poking fun at herself I would like this much more. As it is, it's a watchable but pedestrian comedy. Mae spouts one-liners and oozes what I think is supposed to be sex appeal. If you find her attractive, more power to you. Some of her lines are amusing. Mae sings a few songs but they're terrible. Her voice, or lack thereof, is the pits. Obviously she has a lot of fans so this will hold more appeal for them than it did for me. One of Cary Grant's earliest big roles. Also a very weird performance from Owen Moore. Worth seeing to check off your list if you're a film buff.

She Done Him Wrong (1933)

*** (out of 4)

Set during the "Gay Ninetiest," Mae West stars as Lady Lou, a nightclub singer who pretty much seduces and vamps over any man that enters the club. Since she has her pick of the litter she sets her sights on the handsome Captain Cummings (Cary Grant).

To say SHE DONE HIM WRONG was 100% Mae West would be an understatement. The actress was a smash on Broadway and her sexual act was quite legendary even during a time when that type of thing wasn't always wanted or allowed. Her stage play was attempted to get on the big screen for a couple years before this film finally did it even though it had to be watered down some. With that said, there's still plenty of sexuality on display here, although you can't help but think this is one of the films that helped eventually bring on the Production Code.

As far as the film goes, it was a smash when it was originally released and it even got a Best Picture Oscar nomination. Watching it today the film is obviously not as strong but at the same time you can't help but watch it and just imagine how people must have felt about it in 1933. The main reason to watch this is of course for the performance of West who is pretty much playing herself. The over-the-top, heated sexuality is actually a lot of fun to watch. You know, I've never found her to be an "attractive" woman but the way she forces her sexuality is just something that works.

The supporting cast is quite good including Grant in another early role where he's pretty much playing that good looking guy that's the object of the main characters affection. Owen Moore, Noah Beery, Sr. and Gilbert Roland are all good as well. The screenplay is another plus or at least the dialogue spoken by West is. She gets a couple classic lines and her delivery is certainly a plus. With that said, the story itself is pretty hit and miss but the 66-minute running time does fly by.

Despite showcasing Mae West's undeniable sex and film appeal, this film is a bland, meandering mess that accomplishes nothing except have Mae West parade around for an hour in fancy costumes. I am simply flabbergasted as to how it was nominated for best picture. At 66 minutes long, the movie is still mainly filler and quite easily could be pared down to a 20/25 minute short film. Furthermore, Cary Grant is wasted in this film, although it was film roles like this one that propelled him to superstar status.

However, this film does have some redeeming historical qualities, mainly that this film was early in the careers of both Cary Grant and Mae West and propelled them both to better films. In the case of Cary Grant, much, much better films.

Furthermore, this film was released before Hollywood censorship came into full swing, so Mae West is afforded a degree of latitude with her brazen sexuality that would have been impossible to do in film for the next 25 years of so. So I can say I was shocked to hear some of the things that comes out of Mae West's mouth. Not so much shocked to hear them, but shocked to hear them coming from a film released in 1933.

Cary Grant fans, Mae West fans, and film history buffs need only check this one out.

I regret that this film doesn't live up to the enormous reputation that precedes it. All the talk about it being "pre-code" is technically correct, but "She Done Him Wrong" doesn't push the boundaries as other films from the same period did. The most daring element is the painting of West (it really doesn't look like her) that is strategically obscured by a hat whenever it is on screen.

As a derivative of her "Diamond Lil" stage play, this film may show just how primitive Braodway was at that time. Songs and dances tied together with only the slightest of plots. Not much more than a "revue" really.

Mae West has a few good one-liners in this film, but only a few, and the most famous one, "Come up sometime and see me", is not as typically quoted.

I doubt this film made Cary Grant "a star". He's not in it much, and he's not very interesting in it.

After a supporting role in the George Raft film Night After Night, Paramount films realized what a gold mine they had in Mae West. Between her and a young radio singer named Bing Crosby, they pulled Paramount from the brink of bankruptcy, the white mountain studio nearly went under in the early Thirties.

After this the studio gave Mae her head in choosing material and she decided to use one of her own original plays, She Done Him Wrong. The story is set in the Bowery district of the 1890s and New York of the 1890s is where Mae grew up, she had a good ear and a good memory for character types she uses in the film.

Mae always plays Mae West and would you really want her as anyone else? She's a Bowery entertainer of the period, working in this case for Noah Beery's club as the main attraction. Beery's into some really shady business, he doubles in white slavery and nearly gets innocent Rochelle Hudson who tries to kill herself in his club. Mae saves her, but turns her over to Beery because she doesn't know about his other sideline. All she knows is that he pays off in diamonds as well as cash.

Besides Beery panting after her, we've got silent screen star Owen Moore, young Gilbert Roland who is the assistant to white slaver Rafaela Ottiana and in the film that would be his breakthrough, Cary Grant as a Salvation Army worker who's not all he seems. Mae personally picked Grant for his role, he was a young Paramount contract player beginning to get some notice. But as I said before in my review of I'm No Angel, this is not a Cary Grant film, this is a Mae West film.

Mae besides being one of the great sex symbols of the last century had a great memory and eye for detail of the bawdy Bowery of her youth. Good thing she came along before The Code was put in place. Her first films are her best, The Code definitely hampered her style.

And Mae West if she had anything, had style.

There have been some movies I've watched where I said the writer must've had a wet dream and made a movie about it. Movies such as "Boomerang," "How to be a Player," and "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" come to mind. In those movies Eddie Murphy, Bill Bellamy, and Martin Lawrence were the stars respectively and had to fight off the women they had so many. The only thing that got them in trouble was their love of, and power over women.

"She Done Him Wrong" gives me the same vibes, except it stars a woman.

"She Done Him Wrong" takes place in New York City in the 1890s. The main character was Lady Lou (Mae West). She was beautiful and had swagger and every man who laid eyes on her wanted her. When I say every man, I mean EVERY man. I don't know any woman on this planet so desirable that EVERY guy turns into a whimpering puppy at the sight of her, but that's what Lou did to men. Her clothes, her walk, her attitude, and her manner of speaking exuded "I'm the baddest b---- in this place so take notice."

When I heard Lou speak it was instantly recognizable. It was a style of speech that I'd only heard in parody form whenever a woman was imitating a woman with moxy from the late 19th century. Lou spoke in a clipped slangy style full of sass and confidence that would often turn into a flirtatious mode that almost sounded like a cat purring. The way she spoke she always sounded like she was indifferent to everything and everyone unless she wanted them to believe she was interested--then she was flirtatious and no man could resist that. When she wanted to turn a man on it was nothing for her to say something provocative in a purring voice. Then he was hers.

While Mae West commanded the screen as Lou I can't say that I liked the character. I could respect her game, but as I mentioned before, she was some writer's wet dream. And being that Mae West wrote the movie, it all makes sense.

She worked at a saloon owned by Gus Jordan (Noah Beery), the most powerful man in that district and the man who could best protect Lou. Lurking on the perimeter along with several other men ready to pounce on Lou was Dan Flynn (David Landau), a man looking to take over Gus's operation and score Lou as a prize.

The other notable men orbiting Lou ready to lie, cheat, steal, and kill for her were Chick Clark (Owen Moore), her ex who was in prison for stealing jewels for her, Cummings (Cary Grant), a reformer, Serge (pronounced ser-gay) (Gilbert Roland), a foreigner in business with Gus, and Spider (Dewey Robinson), her muscle and criminal handyman. Every other bloke, and there were many, wasn't worth mentioning. Besides, this review would be thirty pages long if I had to list them all.

Also serving Lou was Pearl (Louise Beavers). Unfortunately, Louise Beavers was a Black actress at a time when the roles she could get were all the same. Every movie I've seen her in she's been a servant or a mammy, and it was no different in "She Done Him Wrong." She's always a dutiful, cheery servant who seems to genuinely love the person or family she's serving. Even if she's being kicked in the butt like she was in "Wild Girl" or being called "eight ball" like she was in this movie, she's always ebullient and ready to serve.

It's infuriating.

OK, I've said my piece.

"She Done Him Wrong" was an OK movie. Even if I didn't like the character Lady Lou or the grossly exaggerated powers of seduction I can't deny Mae West was good in the role. I'm surprised to see that she only has thirteen movies to her credit, especially since she was acting at a time when actors and actresses did several movies a year. I'd bet that someone like Barbara Stanwyck, Jean Harlow, or Joan Crawford did thirteen movies in two years. I'd like to see Mae West in something a little more toned down just to see what kind of actress she really is.

Free on YouTube.

So I finally got my first experience in seeing a full Mae West feature, and even got to see her famously tell Cary Grant to "come up'n see me sometime". Okay -- so what now? This movie can be amusing for a little while, watching the middle-aged sexpot strut her flabby stuff around the saloon where she sings (and not very well at that), inexplicably causing every man to fawn all over her. But this flirtatious schtick wears thin pretty fast. The stumpy West delivers some good zingers throughout ("I can hold my own hand - it's not heavy"), but once getting my fill of her sarcastic witticisms I was largely unimpressed.

** out of ****

Mae West had a Broadway smash when she penned the bawdy tale of DIAMOND LIL for herself--and with a few tweaks here and there the story came to the screen as SHE DONE HIM WRONG. The film was an immediate hit and the role of Lady Lou remains one of West's best remembered performances. The script is jam-packed with some of West's most famous lines, including the memorable "Come up'n see me sometime. I'm home every evenin'" and "You can be had." West throws her lines with style, aplomb, enough innuendo to make a censor cringe, and considerable humor--but, somewhat surprisingly, the movie is not really a comedy.

SHE DONE HIM WRONG is a hard-knocks tale of Bowery bruisers who dance attendance upon the 'Lady Lou' and often resort to crime to keep her dripping in the diamonds she prizes above all else. But although she has one lover already locked up in jail, another one mixed up in the white slavery rackets, and still a third waiting to step into the gap, the Lady Lou is more interested in seducing missionary Cary Grant... only to find him less interested in her body than her soul, a circumstance that prompts West to utter one of the most how-did-that-get-past-the-censors lines in 1930s cinema: "Maybe I ain't got no soul." This is a surprisingly tough little movie, and in addition to West's zinging lines and occasional musical numbers SHE DONE HIM WRONG also offers a glimpse at a very young (and still slightly wooden) Cary Grant; it also has an ensemble cast that plays in a very enjoyable grand manner, truly first rate production values all the way, and A surprisingly brisk running time. West did funnier films than this, but the mix of her sharp wit and the rough story is particularly memorable. This is where the fire started really started, and I recommend it very strongly.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Broadway stage star Mae West was a fascinating woman. She came to Hollywood at almost forty, twice the age of the typical starlet. However, she made her mark, not only as an actress, but also as a screenwriter. In "She Done Him Wrong" she had her first starring role. She dominates the screen with her bawdy innuendos and double-entendres and facial expressions.

West plays singer Lady Lou, loosely modeled after the leading lady of her Broadway stage hit "Diamond Lil," but not as notorious. She loves her gems and has power over men. Her patron is Gus Jordan (Noah Berry, Sr.), who owns a Gay Nineties saloon in New York's Bowery. He keeps Lou around by keeping her well-supplied in diamonds. To do so, he also deals in counterfeit money and white slavery, but without her knowledge. Now Lady Lou has had many men regardless of age, so before Gus there was the gangster Chick Clark (Owen Moore). But Clark's in prison for a jewel heist after he was exposed by shaky ward boss / politician Dan Flynn (David Landau). The latter now plots to get Lady Lou for herself after he gets rid of Jordan. Among others into the mix there is Salvation Army Captain Cummings (Cary Grant), who runs the mission next door. Cummings constantly annoys Jordan because he is always coming into his place attempting to reform the customers. When Lady Lou sets her eyes on Cummings, she tells him, "Why don't you come up some time and see me?" But, as it turns out, he is an undercover cop ("The Hawk") in charge of eliminating corruption in the Bowery, and he is investigating Jordan. Things come to a head when Clark breaks out of jail, looking for Flynn and Lady Lou. When it is all over the cops catch the surviving bad guys, and Lou is left with the reforming Cummings. Will he place her in handcuffs? Earlier he had told her that her diamonds were cold and had no soul.

Quick-witted West, in tight-fitting dresses to accentuate her hourglass figure, stole every scene she was in. The star of theater knew how to put on a show. She had style, and was unlike any other screen personage. An example of her one-liners:

Pearl: "Your bath is ready, Miss Lou."

Lady Lou: "You take it; I'm indisposed" (meeting with handsome Serge, young Gilbert Roland).

West manages to belt out several saloon tunes, including "Frankie and Johnny," which unfortunately she never gets to finish because of a shooting. "She Done Him Wrong" is a drama with a rather thin plot, but one that captures the atmosphere and spirit of the late 1890s. It is a generally well-paced and dated but interesting curio. Cary Grant does not shine yet, but he will in time. By the way, Grant was a decade younger than the leading actress. This picture earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture of the year, the only one for Miss West.

WOW, does this film age poorly. Back in the 30s, Mae West was quite popular and this movie, believe it or not, was up for Best Picture. Now, most viewers will doubtless ask themselves "what is all the fuss about--WHY was this film so popular?". After all, by today's standards it's a very dull and contrived movie--not nearly as interesting as Paramount's other comedians, WC Fields and The Marx Brothers. And, for a comedy, it's almost completely devoid of humor. For me, seeing the trampy looking West vamping every man in the film is ludicrous, as she just looks gross and unattractive. This is even more apparent when she woos a very young and handsome Cary Grant. This is about as believable as the bride of Frankenstein winning Grant's hand! All in all, a very contrived movie and not a whole lot different than most of West's other films. In fact, this movie is pretty much I'M NO ANGEL (1933 AS WELL) all over again (complete with, once again, a drooling Cary Grant as her main heartthrob).