Klondike Annie

My only reason of watching this rather trifling Mae West vehicle is that the director is Raoul Walsh. I've never been a big Mae West fan, though I thoroughly liked "She Done Him Wrong" and "I'm No Angel." I had some hopes for "Klondike Annie," but it lamentably turned out one of her dullest efforts. Mae's suggestive one-liners are surprisingly exhausting; her characterization of "the Frisco Doll" is rather fake and unremarkable. Walsh's direction is curiously flat and there's very little of his trademark exuberance to wither the contrived silliness of Mae's script (adapted from her own play "The Frisco Kate").

I saw it back to back with another Mae West movie called "Every Day's a Holiday"(1937). Though Walsh is a vastly superior director than Edward Sutherland, I much prefer that one because it's breezier, funnier, and more enjoyable.

The only good or likable things in "Klondike Annie" are Mae's romantic liaison with the rugged Victor Mclaglen as the rough, grumbling captain of the ship, and the moment when Mae impersonates the Salvation Army missionary. The rest is forgettable

The inimitable Mae West struts her stuff yet again in this breezy, passable, but lesser Paramount Studio vehicle. Based on her play ("Frisco Kate") and co-credited for the writing here, she is the whole show naturally.

The story, if you care, has Mae playing Rose ("the Frisco Doll") Carlton, an 1890s entertainer who has to take it on the lam after bringing down one of her paramours - not with sly one-liners, but with a knife in the back. She's forced to slum it on a ship headed for the Klondike. With the police breathing down her bodice, she winds up impersonating a Salvation Army missionary (Helen Jerome Eddy), who conveniently dies of a `bad heart attack' while on board. In a change of heart, the sultry Mae, now dressed down in drab, basic black, vows to fulfill the woman's mission and ventures on to reform an Alaskan town full of drunks, prosties and other sinner types with her own revamped style of Bible-thumping. Somehow you feel these unfortunates will never be ENTIRELY saved, but that's never the point anyway. Interspersed throughout are a few typical West songs, notably `I'm an Occidental Woman in an Oriental Mood for Love' decked out in full Oriental regalia, including headgear, which really has to be seen to be believed.

It's always grand entertainment to see the most virile of men falling all over themselves over La West -- reduced to simpering, whimpering fools once they zero in on our gal. This time one of filmdom's most rugged and respected character stars, Victor McLaglan, becomes her prime, buffoonish play toy. McLaglan (who had won an Oscar a year or two before) plays Bull Brackett, a brusque, salty ol' sea captain here, who barks out orders in his best Wallace Beery imitation and roughs up nearly every guy within throwing distance. But watch the big brute turn to pure mush at the first sight of Mae -- sulking, grousing, bumbling, even running into poles, for God's sake. And McLaglan's not the only one. Dashing, doe-eyed Philip Terry's Mountie, McLaglan's chief rival, risks all respect, not to mention his career, in his play for her, while obsessive-compulsive `Oriental' Harold Huber loses much more than that over his fascination with " the pearl of lotus flower.' Ah, yes, in a distinct case of reverse gender discrimination, every man is weak, inept, servile, and just plain putty around dear ol' Mae. Improbable fun...but fun.

And speaking of support roles, nobody has ever been given the chance to steal a Mae West movie, so to mention anyone else in the cast would be a waste of time. By the way, you won't see any pretty dames supporting West either. She wouldn't stand for it. So every other female -- bar girls, suffragettes, society ladies, you name it - are at least 50-70 in age here, and either much heavier than the quite zaftig West or downright ugly. Smart girl that Mae!

Suffice it to say there's never much action in a Mae West movie because the old girl (she was 44 at the time this movie was released) simply can't move in those tight, breath-taking (literally!) outfits she wears. She simply sashays from place to place, plants herself, and lets out a few double entendres. The dramatic action is usually compromised by a series of set poses - lighting a cigarette, filing her nails, primping her platinum-blonde locks, laying carefully on a settee, or shoving some pawing, lovesick puppy away from her camera light. Actually, what you're waiting for anyway are Mae's delicious quips, but, sadly, there are way too few of them in "Klondike Annie", none of those classic lines we all enjoy and remember so well. Methinks those dastardly censors cut out her best lines this time, because there's not a lot of zing in the ones she delivers here. Rumor has it William Randolph Hearst and his newspaper establishment took offense at Mae portraying any kind of religious figure and insisted on immediate congressional action. Whatever.

Raoul Walsh directed this but there is really little directing going on. The narcissistic Mae could never have been considered a director's star. And as for her acting? Well, if Mae were alive today, I'd love to ask her, "What the hell DO you see looking up at the ceiling all the time?" Whatever it is, I'm sure it's better than some of the silliness we're seeing down here.

But Mae is Mae, so what you see is what you get.

KLONDIKE ANNIE (Paramount, 1936), directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Mae West, who's also credited with story and dialog, is a different kind of Mae West production without taking away from the traditional Mae West persona. The movie title is as memorable and most associated with Mae West than the story itself, however, this is one of her most interesting, if not entirely successful projects.

Set in San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1890s, Rose Carlton (Mae West), better known as "The San Francisco Doll," (but billed in the closing credits simply as "The Frisco Doll") works an entertainer at the House of Chan Lo. Aside from earning her living as a singer , her other position is acting as mistress to her employer Chan Lo (Harold Huber), who rewards her with luxury but not happiness. After more than a year under his constant guided protection, she becomes bitter, feeling more like a prisoner and annoyed with his abusive behavior and possessive jealously. She now yearns for a man of her "own race" and decides to make leave with Vance Palme r(Conway Talmer), a middle-aged millionaire. After one of her servants, Ah Toy, is put to the torture test, Chan Lo learns of the Doll's attempt to board passage on the next steamer for Alaska. Rose and her Chinese maid, Fah Wong (Soo Yong), leave the casino, and arrive on board the Java Maid where they become only passengers, in fact the only females, sharing the steamer with Captain "Bull" Brackett (Victor McLaglen) and his crew. Rose soon catches the attention of the captain who makes her his special passenger. As a promise to her maid, Rose arranges for Bull to stop in Seattle where Fah Wong reunites herself with the man she loves. While on port, Bull obtains information about Rose, alias "The San Francisco Doll," wanted for murder. Blinded by her beauty, he decides to help her. After the steamer docks at Vancouver, Sister Annie Alden (Helen Jerome-Eddy) of the Salvation Army, comes on board to pursue her mission to save fallen souls at the Settlement House in Nome. During the voyage, Sister Annie suddenly becomes ill and dies. Arriving in the Klondike, authorities come on board to arrest Rose. Rose switches identities with Annie, with Rose Carlton's name listed in the log book as passenger who died on board. While in Nome, Rose's impersonation of Sister Annie gradually changes her heart and soul. Out of respect for the dead woman, she uses her methods to inspire dance hall girls, gamblers and prostitutes to attend the prayer meetings. It's not long before her special brand of preaching earns her a special place in the congregation. In spite of being on an errand of mercy, Rose, who has encountered Jack Forrest (Philip Reed), of the Mounted Police, who, like Brackett, knowing her identity, plans to resign his post and go away with her. Rose is soon placed in a position as to which man she would have as well as the tough decision whether or not return to San Francisco and face up to the murder charge that awaits her.

While a theme about a troubled or bitter woman finding religion could have produced a fine and inspirational film, instead, is something with great potential, but little else. KLONDIKE ANNIE (which could have been titled I'M NO ANGEL had it not been used already), was reportedly faced with censorship problems leading to severe editing process. A notable scene early in the story was one involving a struggling match between Rose (West) and Chan Lo (Harold Huber), ending with the villain accidentally getting stabbed by one of his own daggers. This ranks one of the more regrettable cuts, making that abrupt blackout from casino to steamer a bit puzzling. Learning what had taken place through the "wanted for murder" posters does help to comprehend the continuity of the rest of the story.

Aside from deletion of other scenes leading to its final print of 77 minutes, KLONDIKE ANNIE, being the most dramatic of all Mae West films, not only takes time for some lighter moments in comedy but takes time for song numbers with West taking the spotlight, with music and lyrics credited to Gene Austin, who also appears as vocalist and organ player during the church service. The opening number, "I'm an Occidental Woman in the Oriental Mood for Love," as sung by West, is quite effective especially with the accompaniment of Oriental musical instruments. This is followed by "Mr. Deep Blue Sea" as West sings this one to McLaglen in his cabin. Subsequent songs sung by others include: "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight," "Little Bar Butterfly," "Cheer Up, Little Sister," "It's Better to Give Than to Receive" (sung by Gene Austin and parishioners during the collection; and the traditional New Year's Eve theme song of "Old Acquaintance."

Out of circulation from the commercial and public television markets for quite some time now, KLONDIKE ANNIE eventually moved to the cable channel of American Movie Classics where it played several times from September 1991 to March of 1992. In fact, KLONDIKE ANNIE was the only Mae West feature from her Paramount years (1932-1938) to be presented on AMC. KLONDIKE ANNIE along with the other West/ Paramount titles, were distributed on video cassette from MCA/ Universal in 1992, and later to DVD a decade or so later. Aside from a story with a Jack London (author to "The Call of the Wild") Yukon setting, Mae West, with her attempt to be relatively different, keeps the traditional formula and style sizzling, yet goodness did have something to do with it. (**1/2)

In the earlier days of Mae West's career, she made a huge name for herself on Broadway. Her shows were very popular...and were perhaps made MORE popular after she was arrested for lewdness for this act! Hollywood during the early 1930s jumped at the opportunity to bring West out west....because in this Pre-Code era, pretty much anything went in films...and West's bawdy humor was perfect. However, bowing to public pressure in mid-1934, a much tougher Production Code was put into effect--and banned all sorts of illicit content. In other words, the new Code pretty much eliminated most of West's appeal! And in her films from 1934 and later, her humor was essentially neutered...and this explains why she really never made that many films. The double entendres and risque plots simply were unfilmable in this Code era...and the few films she did make after this time were pretty dull by comparison.

In the case of "Klondike Annie", Mae cannot be the old Mae at all. She is still seen by men, inexplicably, as a sex symbol...but she's now a sex symbol without that sharp tongue that made her so funny. And, in the case of "Klondike Annie", the film was so neutered that it had little edge at all. Imagine....Mae playing a missionary, of sorts, in rough, tough gold rush era Alaska!

When the story begins, Rose (West) is a performer who is essentially being held prisoner by her evil boss. In desperation, she kills him and runs--hitching a ride on a ship heading to Alaska. But, because it was a Code film, you never see the killing (it was removed from the finished print) and this made the story a bit confusing.

After a missionary on the cargo boat dies on the way to her job in Alaska, Rose poses as Annie in order to avoid the police....and the captain helps her. After all, like most men in these films, he's smitten with her and the plan is for her to disappear from the mission sooner or later...though it ends up being much later than she anticipated.

While I was never a big fan of Mae West, I must admit that her post-Code pictures were mostly a sad lot. This one just seemed all wrong for her and her persona...especially when the stuff she's preaching as a missionary comes to actually change her into a good woman! It's just hard to imagine this sort of thing...and the film suffers from this and is simply too 'nice' for West.

By the way, late in the film, a Chinese man tosses an ax at Mae...and you can clearly see it's actually on a string!

...well, maybe Warren Williams' career perhaps, but that's another story.

Set in 1890's San Francisco, West is hamstrung by the two year old production code, and it shows, especially in the watered down dialogue and lack of double entendres. The films' highlight is about fifteen minutes into the movie as West sings "I'm an Occidental Woman in an Oriental Mood For Love". The Code censored the overtly sexual lines, but they missed enough that the first 35 minutes is pleasant. It's when West starts trying to pass as a missionary(?!) that the film becomes actively painful.

West looks like she's gagging on the mealy mouthed dialogue set in Nomes' missionary center. The film misses numerous opportunities for fun. West gets screen credit for the script, but from the sanctimonious tone of the scripts' second half, I'd say she got "help" whether it was wanted or not.

West is truly the whole show. The Code censored her words, but they couldn't censor her eye-rolling gagging air of supreme confidence, or her way of making an innocuous line an innuendo.

Not as good as I'd hoped or as bad as I'd feared, it is worth the watch, just realize the film peaks early.