The Heats On

Plot

Broadway star Fay Lawrence (West) is a temperamental diva who is reluctantly persuaded by a Broadway producer (Gaxton) to star in his latest production. A very different Mae West vehicle, The Heats On supposedly led its star to avoid motion pictures for the next 26 years. According to her autobiography, Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It, Miss West said she had been talked into the film by her old friend Gregory Ratoff, who told her he was set to Produce (un-credited) and Direct a film version of a then-Broadway musical called Tropicana. After the deal fell through, he told her, "Dahlink, we cant do the picture I told you about, but a movie called Tropicana well make". Miss West further related that when she saw the script she tried to back out, but too much money had already been invested, and the producers, including Mr. Ratoff, would be ruined if the film didnt go forward. Many film buffs will remember that, among his many film credits, Gregory Ratoff had played Benny Pinkowitz in Mae Wests Im No Angel in 1933, and later played producer Max Fabian in All About Eve (1950), but few realize that he directed (30) almost as many films as he appeared in The Heats On is a curiosity. Fleshed out as a standard musical of the early 1940s, it boasts a silly plot but several genuine talents. Chief among these, besides Miss West, are Victor Moore, who turns in a delightfully comedic performance as curmudgeon Herbert Bainbridge, Jazz pianist/singer Hazel Scott, who simply burns up the screen in each of her musical numbers, and the entire Xavier Cugat Orchestra, with Mr. Cugat handling a few lines of dialogue and several showcase musical moments.

Nevertheless, the film mostly falls flat. Mae West seems to give it her best shot when shes allowed on screen, which is not enough, but appears somewhat bored and distracted in some scenes. She apparently wrote some of her own lines, as many are undeniably in her customary snappy writing style. But the good performances are balanced by the completely wooden acting of William Gaxton, who plays bad-guy producer Tony Ferris. Miss West describes his character at one point as "a guy so low, he could walk under the door without taking his hat off". Fortunately for viewers, thats one of her worst lines in the film. Her best are classic West.

What will probably interest Miss Wests fans the most is her Amazing appearance at age 50. She appears to have slimmed down considerably from her most previous role, 1939s My Little Chickadee, which she made with W. C. Fields. She looks younger at 50 in The Heats On (1943) than she did in Chickadee (1939) at age 46. The lovely gowns help quite a bit, although its rather jarring to view her in a 1940s pompadour hairdo.

All in all, its pretty much an affair for Mae West aficionados, given the silly plot and excruciatingly long musical sequences. Fans of 1940 musical films just may (or is that just MAE) enjoy it for the staged production numbers, but there are many reasons why its Mae Wests most obscure film. I give it four stars for her presence, but minus one for the script. ts interesting to see the legendary Miss Mae West during the 1940s era of boogie-woogie music and bobbed hairdos. Playing stage star Fay Lawrence, Mae does here what she always does best: Commands scenes in her own unique laid-back style, and tosses out one-liners like bonbons. The plot itself is something of a mess: Conniving producers scheme to manipulate Fays career by making double-crossing deals behind her back. Naturally, its ultimately up to Maes character to come in & straighten out the whole mess, as she often did in her earlier films. The result? Too many random musical numbers, and not enough Mae. After all, she secures top billing, so you would expect to see her dominate this film, and deservedly so. "The Heats On" (1943) is a rambling production, but has enough going for it to be pleasant. Its best asset—as in every movie she does—is Mae herself. Although THO turned out mediocre because Mae was not invited by Columbia Pictures to re-write some of the script, unlike her previous ventures. This explains why her usual racy humor is not quite as potent in the dialogue here; she occasionally comes off as too mild (especially compared to outstanding West efforts as "She Done Him Wrong" or "Im No Angel"). However, theres a bright spot: the delightful comic actor Victor Moore, whom has some of the best highlights (his penthouse scene with Mae is tops). Also, sharp eyes can spot a young Lloyd Bridges in a small role. Unfortunately, Maes experience with THO convinced her to stay away from making movies unless she had more say & better choice of projects. It was our loss. But because this film has been long out of circulation, its worth a look, only because theres really no such thing as a "bad" Mae West film, simply because she was there

Cast

Production background

Mae West was 49 at the time of the movies production, her first film in three years. The movie was not a box office success and West did not return to the screen until 27 years later in Myra Breckenridge (1970).