Saved by the Belle

lugonian

MY LITTLE CHICKADEE (Universal, 1940), directed by Edward Cline, starring Mae West, in her first screen performance since EVERY DAY'S A HOLIDAY (Paramount, 1937), and her sole venture under the Universal banner, appears in what is to be her best known and most revived motion picture, and in spite of mixed reactions then and now, is claimed to be by most as West's last great "masterpiece." Cast opposite W.C. Fields, who, like West, starred in a series of comedies for Paramount in the 1930s, each found their way over to Uviversal Studios.

MY LITTLE CHICKADEE is a comedy, in fact, a western comedy that spoofs both the genre and its stars. Because of that, it is still remembered and appreciated thanks to that unlikely combination and distinctive personalities of West and Fields. While MY LITTLE CHICKADEE shows great promise, the screen chemistry between these two happens to be more of a split partnership than team effort. Both receive equal billing in the casting credits and each is credited for the original screenplay, consisting mostly of individual comic supplements, West for her verbal quips and Fields for that and physical aspects, with some reprises from previous screen efforts, brought together to provide a feature length story lasting 83 minutes, with indications of being longer due to sudden fade-ins and abrupt fade-outs in certain parts of the film. "My Little Chickadee" might very well be the title character played by Mae West, but instead, happens to be the catch phrase most associated with Fields as "Come up and see me sometime" is signatured by West, though the final result has those classic lines spoken not by the originator, but each parodying th other's catchphrase before the final fadeout. In other words, MY LITTLE CHICKADEE is only a title that has nothing to do with the story at hand.

As for the story, the initial ten minutes belongs exclusively to Mae West as Flower Belle Lee, an entertainer from Chicago out west to visit relatives, riding on a stagecoach along with three male passengers and a Mrs. Gideon (Margaret Hamilton), the town gossip. Moments later the stagecoach is held up by a masked bandit and passengers are ordered to get out. As he makes his getaway with the gold, he makes an about face and suddenly sweeps Flower Belle off her feet and onto his horse, taking her along with him. With the robbery and kidnapping reported to the sheriff (William B. Davidson) in the next town of Little Bench, Flower Belle returns by foot unharmed. Later that evening, in the residence of her Aunt Lou (Ruth Donnelly) and Uncle John (Willard Robertson), the masked bandit enters Flower Belle's second story bedroom where the two start kissing, with the reflection of their shadows behind the curtains witnessed by the passing Mrs. Gideon, who later reports this incident to the authorities, and is forced to leave town and not to return until she can prove herself respectable and married. On her way to Greasewood City, accompanied by Mrs. Gideon, the train makes an unscheduled stop picking up Cuthbert J. Twillie (W.C. Fields). Upon boarding, he takes notice on the gorgeous Flower Belle, who, believing Twillie to be a millionaire, plays up to him and arranges a wedding of convenience with passenger Amos Budge (Donald Meek). In spite the fact that Twillie has a new wife, they arrive in Greasewood City where Flower Belle registers in the hotel, arranging to occupy a room with a private bath with Twillie in a separate suite. From this time forward, the story shifts to moments where each character appears in comedic moments all to themselves: Twillie (Fields): Cheating at cards, being appointed sheriff and working his spare time as bartender; Flower Belle Lee (West): cheating on her "husband" by going with Jeff Badger (Joseph Calleia), a saloon owner, and Wayne Carter (Dick Foran), a newspaper publisher of the Greasewood Gazette, and every man in town she passes. During the course of the story, West gets to sing only one song in this production titled "Willie of the Valley" by Ben Oakland and Milton Drake.

As much as Mae West, in her late 40s, and looking physically more youthful here than her previous screen efforts at Paramount, tries to make MY LITTLE CHICKADEE her own, it is W.C. Fields, somewhat plump and drawn, who comes off best, especially with his familiar phrases of "Drats" and "Godfrey Daniel," which explains why West preferred having undistinguished co-stars cast in her films.

Had Mae West decided to make MY LITTLE CHICKADEE her "swan song," it would have been a fine conclusion to her movie career that began in 1932. With the reputation of her five years at Paramount, and MY LITTLE CHICKADEE, Mae West has become legendary MY LITTLE CHICKADEE became the very first Mae West movie to be distributed onto video cassette back in the early 1980s, along with Fields' classic THE BANK DICK (Universal, 1940) easily available on the video store shelves during the early stages of movie rentals. Aside from constant reruns on commercial television from the 1960s through the 1980s, MY LITTLE CHICKADEE later played on cable television's American Movie Classics from 1992 to 1999, followed by Turner Classic Movies where it premiered June 2001. In spite that video copies MY LITTLE CHICKADEE have been discontinued (and later brought back on a newer format of DVD), with television presentations being infrequent, whenever the name of Mae West comes up, the movie that immediately comes to mind could very well be SHE DONE HIM WRONG or I'M NO ANGEL, but chances are it's none other than her only pairing opposite W.C. Fields in MY LITTLE CHICKADEE. (**1/2)

score 7/10

lugonian 1 October 2004

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0939913/