Klondike Annie

Last updated
Klondike Annie
Klondike Annie poster.jpg
Directed by Raoul Walsh
Written by Mae West
Marion Morgan and George Brendan Dowell
Produced byWilliam LeBaron
StarringMae West
Victor McLaglen
Cinematography George T. Clemens
Edited by Stuart Heisler
Music by Victor Young
Color process Black and white
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
  • February 21, 1936 (1936-02-21)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Klondike Annie is a 1936 American Western film starring Mae West and Victor McLaglen. The film was co-written by West from her play Frisco Kate, which she wrote in 1921 and a story written by the duo Marion Morgan and George Brendan Dowell. [1] [2] Raoul Walsh directed.

Contents

Plot

Mae West portrays a kept woman by the name of Rose Carlton, "The Frisco Doll". She murders her keeper Chan Lo in self-defence and escapes on a steamer to Nome, Alaska, wanted for murder. She is joined mid-voyage by a missionary, Sister Annie Alden. Sister Annie is on her way to rescue a financially troubled mission in Nome, and inspires Rose, but dies en route. Rose assumes the identity of Sister Annie to avoid arrest, dressing her as a prostitute in a scene later deleted by the censors.

The Frisco Doll decides to keep Sister Annie's promise of rescuing the mission and raises the money by combining soul-shaking sermon and song with street smarts. She's romanced both by a beautiful young Sheriff being generally investigative, and the blustering, slightly crazy ship's captain, Bull Brackett. Klondike Annie/Rose Carlton/The Frisco doll knows in the end to turn herself in and prove her innocence by way of self-defence. Steaming back to San Francisco with Captain Brackett -- "Bull, ya ain't no oil paintin', but ya are a fascinatin' monster".

Cast

Production

Production began on September 16, 1935 and concluded in December of that year. Klondike Annie was released February 21, 1936 at a production cost of $1,000,000.

Censorship

As usual with West's films, scenes were deleted to make this film presentable in most markets. Eight minutes of the film were deleted. The footage is presumably lost. In this lost footage is the scene in which The Frisco Doll stabs Chan Lo when he was going to stab her instead. The other lost scene is when The Frisco Doll switched identities with Sister Annie and dressed Sister Annie up as a prostitute. The veiled connection of Sister Annie and The Salvation Army made this scene inappropriate to the censors[ who? ] but its deletion made the final print of the film appear choppy.

The State of Georgia went so far as to ban this film outright.[ citation needed ]

The film caused a rift between West and William Randolph Hearst, who decided never to print West's name in any of his newspapers. The reason given was the racy material of the film and West's sexual persona in a religious setting. This may seem hypocritical due to his extramarital affair with actress Marion Davies. West was quoted as saying "I may have invited censorship into Hollywood, but I also saved the industry and Paramount."

Soundtrack

The songs were composed by Gene Austin, who also appeared in the film.

Reception

Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a good review, declaring that "I thought the whole film fun, more fun than any other of Miss West's since the superb period piece, She Done Him Wrong ". Acknowledging his view as a minority opinion, Greene noted that his interpretation of West's characterization of Salvationism to have been harmless fun and not as a satire on religion. Greene also praised McLaglen for his performance. [3]

Related Research Articles

Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller is an English music video director who has directed over 300 music videos. She won a Grammy Award for Annie Lennox's 1992 Diva video album, and an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's song "Why" from the same album. In 1993, she received a BRIT Award for "Stay" by Shakespears Sister. She won another MTV Award in 1997 for "Don't Speak" by No Doubt. Muller is a longtime collaborator of Sade, Annie Lennox, Gwen Stefani, Kylie Minogue, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Garbage and Shakespears Sister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mae Busch</span> Australian-born American actress (1895–1946)

Mae Busch was an Australian-born actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, frequently playing Hardy's shrewish wife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minerva Urecal</span> American vaudevillian and actress (1894–1966)

Minerva Urecal was an American stage and radio performer as well as a character actress in Hollywood films and on various television series from the early 1950s to 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Alden</span> American actress (1883–1946)

Mary Maguire Alden was an American motion picture and stage actress. She was one of the first Broadway actresses to work in Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern (genre)</span> Multimedia genre set primarily in Northern Canada and Alaska

The Northern or Northwestern is a genre in various arts that tell stories set primarily in the late 19th or early 20th century in the north of North America, primarily in western Canada but also in Alaska. It is similar to the Western genre, but many elements are different, as appropriate to its setting. It is common for the central character to be a Mountie instead of a cowboy or sheriff. Other common characters include fur trappers and traders, lumberjacks, prospectors, First Nations people, outlaws, settlers, and townsfolk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Seddon</span> American actress (1872–1968)

Margaret Seddon was an American stage and film actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Burke (actor)</span> American actor (1886–1968)

James Michael Burke was an Irish-American film and television character actor born in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank McGlynn Sr.</span> American actor

Frank McGlynn Sr. was an American stage and screen actor who, in a career that spanned more than half a century, is best known for his convincing impersonations and performances as Abraham Lincoln in both plays and films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Huber</span> American actor

Harold Huber was an American actor who appeared on film, radio and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Peterson</span> American actress

Bergetta "Dorothy" Peterson was an American actress. She began her acting career on Broadway before appearing in more than eighty Hollywood films.

Blanche Irene Sewell was an American film editor. She was best known mainly for her work at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios from 1925 until her death in 1949.

Rhythm on the Range is a 1936 American Western musical film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Bing Crosby, Frances Farmer, and Bob Burns. Based on a story by Mervin J. Houser, the film is about a cowboy who meets a beautiful young woman while returning from a rodeo in the east, and invites her to stay at his California ranch to experience his simple, honest way of life. Rhythm on the Range was Crosby's only Western film and introduced two western songs, "Empty Saddles" by Billy Hill and "I'm an Old Cowhand " by Johnny Mercer, the latter becoming a national hit song for Crosby. The film played a role in familiarizing its audience with the singing cowboy and Western music on a national level.

<i>Its Love Again</i> 1936 film

It's Love Again is a 1936 British musical film directed by Victor Saville and starring Jessie Matthews, Robert Young and Sonnie Hale. In the film, a chorus girl masquerades as a big game hunter to try to boost her showbiz career.

<i>Professional Soldier</i> 1935 film by Tay Garnett

Professional Soldier is a 1935 American adventure film based on a 1931 story by Damon Runyon, "Gentlemen, the King!" It stars Victor McLaglen and Freddie Bartholomew. The film was directed by Tay Garnett, and produced by Twentieth Century Fox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Treen</span> American actress

Mary Treen was an American film and television actress. A minor actress for much of her career, she managed to secure a plain, unassuming niche for herself in dozens of movies and television shows in a Hollywood career spanning five decades, from 1930 to 1981.

The Klondike Gold Rush is commemorated through film, literature, historical parks etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Keane (actor)</span> American actor (1884–1959)

Edward Keane was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1921 and 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladys Gale</span> American singer and actor (1891–1948)

Gladys Gale was an American nightclub singer and vaudeville performer, before becoming a character actress in films during the 1930s and 1940s. The wife of a millionaire, she led a checkered life before dying under mysterious circumstances in a Los Angeles hotel room under an assumed name.

<i>Rose of the Rancho</i> (1936 film) 1936 film by Marion Gering

Rose of the Rancho is a 1936 American action film directed by Marion Gering and written by Frank Partos, Charles Brackett, Nat Perrin and Arthur Sheekman, adapted from the play of the same name by David Belasco and Richard Walton Tully. The film stars John Boles, Gladys Swarthout, Charles Bickford, Grace Bradley, Willie Howard and Herb Williams. It was released on January 10, 1936, by Paramount Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Williams (American actor)</span> American actor and writer (1898–1958)

Charles Williams was an American actor and writer. He appeared in over 260 film and television productions between 1922 and 1956. He also worked as a writer on 30 films between 1932 and 1954.

References

  1. Mayne, Judith (1994). Directed by Dorothy Arzner. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. p. 66. ISBN   0-253-20896-3.
  2. Curry, Ramona (1996). Too Much of a Good Thing: Mae West as Cultural Icon. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. p. 209. ISBN   978-0-8166-2790-5.
  3. Greene, Graham (22 May 1936). "Klondyke Annie/Professional Soldier". The Spectator . (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome . pp.  75–76. ISBN   0192812866.)