She Always Knew How
Mae West (1893-1980), an actress, playwright, screenwriter, and famous sex symbol, made a stir on Broadway in 1926 with her play Sex. She was sentenced to ten days in prison after being found guilty of obscenity. She went to prison as a convicted criminal but emerged as a celebrity. Later, in Hollywood, she was the top box-office draw throughout the 1930s, and she helped save Paramount Studios from bankruptcy. Her films included a number of well-known one-liners, many of which she penned herself and have since entered Hollywood legend. Mae's profound desire to see women treated similarly to men, decades before the word "feminist" was in the headlines, was hidden under the smart jokes. She saw right through the double standard of the day, which allowed men to do things that would damage women. Her cause was equal rights for women, and she was astute enough to recognise that it was potentially the ultimate battleground.
Charlotte Chandler's book She Always Knew How is based on a series of in-depth conversations she did with Mae West only months before her death. Chandler also talked with actors and directors who knew and worked with Mae, as well as her close assistant and the man with whom she spent the last twenty-seven years of her life. Their perspectives provide depth to this intriguing work.
