Klondike Annie

Starring:Mae West, Victor McLaglen, Phillip Reed, Helen Jerome Eddy, Harry Beresford, Harold Huber, Lucile Gleason, Conway Tearle, Esther Howard, Soo Yong, John Rogers, Ted Oliver, Lawrence Grant, Gene Austin, Vladimar Bykoff, Huntley Gordon, Edward Brady, Ilean Hume, Maidel Turner, Paul Kruger
Director: Raoul Walsh
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Description

Mae West stars as beautiful Rose Carlton, a kept woman who escapes to Alaska and the Gold Rush of the 1890s after commiting a murder in self-defense. There, she is redeemed by becoming a missionary, saving souls in her own risque style.

Customer Reviews:

my mae west.......2007-01-23

THIS PRODUCT QUALITY IS VERY POOR, DEFECTIVE NOT QUITE HAPPY , BUT MY MONEY WAS RETURNED AND THE SELLER TREATED ME QUITE NICE TOWARD THE PURCHASED ... KLONDIKE ANNIE IS A NICE MOVIE AND IS A SHAME IT WAS AUDIO DEFECTIVE...I WILL TRY TO FIND A GOOD REPALCEMENT ...THANKS

Mae West Reforms.......2006-08-17

Mae West stars as a brassy dame from San Franciso, a woman who uses her feminine wiles to her advantage. She also has a string of possessive men after her. After being trapped with a nightclub owner for quite some time, she escapes on board a cargo ship and forms a romance with the captain. When a christian woman arrives heading to the north to save people, West starts to reform. She is so much changed that when the woman dies, she takes her place to help the struggling church in the area to expand and help even the most difficult sinners.

An unusual story for West feels the same as her other films; the dialogue is well written and snappy and West's purring character is still the same woman. The only problem with the movie is its length. Although brief films can be welcome sometimes, this movie seems prematurely abbreviated. It would have benefitted from better developed relationships between characters.

"This pearl of pearls is getting unstrung.".......2005-09-28

In "Klondike Annie", Mae West plays Rose Carlton--the notorious mistress of Chan Lo (Harold Huber), the Chinese owner of a casino. He claims that Rose--also known as the San Francisco Doll is his greatest treasure--his "pearl of pearls." She says she's "tired of being showed off" like one of his other "curios." Chan Lo's suffocating jealousy is just an excuse for locking Rose up and forbidding her to have any male friends. Fed up with Chan Lo controlling her life, Rose escapes and runs off--taking the next ship to the gold fields of Alaska.

Aboard the ship, Rose becomes the love interest of Captain Bull Brackett (Victor McLaglen). Evangelist Sister Annie Alden (Helen Jerome Eddy) joins the voyage, but soon dies in spite of Rose's attempts to nurse her. With the police in hot pursuit, Rose assumes Annie's identity, and takes her place in the religious community in the raw, rough town of Nome.

If you are interested in seeing exactly what the enforcement of the Hays Code of censorship did to the career of Mae West, then watch "I'm No Angel" followed by "Klondike Annie." "Klondike Annie" was released after the code enforcement was in place, and this effectively muzzled the platinum blonde sex goddess. Her trademark swagger and suggestive wisecracks all but disappear. In several scenes, other characters address Rose, and instead of her usual double entendre replies, she smiles or offers limp platitudes. Just compare "I'm No Angel" with "Klondike Annie"--the difference is amazing.

The first half hour of the film is the best part. Mae West as the San Francisco Doll singing "I'm an occidental woman in an oriental mood for love" is priceless. In Chan Lo's den of iniquity, she's in her element--lavish, outrageous costumes, living in sin, and nonplussed by the silliness of men, but once in Alaska, she turns all mushy and even sinks into the helpless little woman role in a few scenes. It's a sad thing indeed to witness the weight of censorship clip the saucy strength, savage wit, and sultry persona of this incomparable sex goddess--displacedhuman

Mae West, All Woman Despite The Censors.......2003-11-30

If ever there was a study conducted on the effects the Hays Code had on a flourishing Hollywood career they would need to go no further than Mae West to see a classic example of it's influence in action. At the time the censors began coming down the heavy on Hollywood for it's supposedly "loose" approach to morals and sexuality, Mae West was one of Hollywood's most glowing stars who made a speciality of sexually suggestive comedy that actually said little but implied lots in the eager movie goers minds. She had huge successes with pre code efforts such as "She Done Him Wrong", and "I'm No Angel", but by the time she got to film "Goin' to Town" (1935) and in particular this effort "Klondike Annie" (1936), she was sadly loosing the battle with the censors to get all her "risque" material on screen. "Klondike Annie", while a good story with high production values clearly shows the effects of stronger censorship that succeeded in blunting alot of Mae's unique comedy delivery.

Mae West wrote most of the script for "Klondike Annie", herself and she plays Rose Carlton-The Frisco Doll who as the story begins is a night club performer in San Francisco in the gay nineties. Being kept both financially and emotionally by her Chinese Lover Chan Lo (Harold Huber) Rose is feeling literally imprisoned in the gilded life she is forced to lead where she is watched and threatened by her lover if she looks at another man. Hatching her escape on a boat bound for the Klondike Rose in self defense kills Chan Lo and then finds herself on the lam from the authorities even though it was self defence. Boarding the boat she makes the acquaintance of the rough but good natured Captain Bull Brackett (Victor McLaglen in a great performance). The two begin a shipboard liasion and along the way pick up another passenger in Seattle, Sister Annie Alden who is going to the Klondike to work as a missionary . Rose and Annie strike up an unlikely friendship and when Annie falls ill on board Rose nurses her until she dies. Just as this occurs the ship is searched by Mounties who have been alerted about the possibility of the notorius Rose Carlton being on board. Rose quickly assumes Annie's identity and when she lands in the Klondike does not find it easy to disentangle herself from the missionary group that believe she is the real Annie Alden. Seeing the good work the missionaries do Rose/Annie decides to really liven things up in the town and before long with the help of the still besotted Brackett, Annie is packing them in at the groups meetings with a bit of her own unique philosophy and some of her modified night club act. Seeing she cannot continue the deception any longer however and despite the advances of equally besotted mountie Inspector Jack Forrest (Philip Reed) who is willing to ruin his whole career to go away with Rose once he discovers her real identity, Rose decides to go off with Bull Brackett who is of her world but only after the missionary centre is named in honour of the great influence on her own life, Annie Alden.

While alot of the strong sentiment in this story with Mae/Rose wanting to do the right and honourable thing is not typical Mae West material she does the best under the circumstances. Quite abit of the original story was cut to please the censors with the effect that Mae's character comes across as a bit too quick to change her ways and become an "honourable" person. It is a great testament to her talent that Mae still makes it a memorable performance with a couple of terrific scenes in the funny breakfast scene on the boat with Victor McLaglen and her dealings with the missionaries on arriving in the Klondike being two comic standouts in the story. While Victor McLaglen at first glance might not appear your typical Mae West costar with his craggy looks and rough speech, the two combine well together here and are responsible for some of the best laughs that the edited script has to offer. Although starting to get shaky about Mae's clashes with the censors by 1936 Paramount spent lavishly on this production and gave Mae two elaborate musical numbers and a first class production in every department. The klondike scenes are first rate in their detail and her terrific opening number set in her Chinese lover's gambling den "I'm an Occidental Woman in an Oriental Mood for love", is a real eye opener with its lavish oriental theme and costumes. That is one of Mae's finest hours out of all her Paramount movies.

"Klondike Annie", is enjoyable viewing and essential for any fan of Mae West's unique sexual comedy style. I always wonder how much better this potentially great story could have been had it been made without the censor's interference. That we will never know but it is still an entertaining on it's own level as long as it isn't compared with Mae's earlier efforts. The censorship did spell the death blow to Mae West's great career with Paramount Studios and within two years of this effort this great star had left the studio to return to the stage where she was able to see her material produced in it's entirety. Mae West is always enjoyable and "Klondike Annie", still shows us what made this unique woman such a popular star.

"I'm an Occidental Woman in an Oriental Mood for Love".......2001-08-24

Yep, that's the title of the opening song sung by Mae in her San Francisco revue. But the oriental mood must've been before the cameras starting rolling, because now Mae's tired of being kept by her Chinese lover--hey, no wonder this thing had to be censored, that's far too disturbing for 1930s Middle America. Well before long, Mae's weighing anchor on a ship bound for the Klondike and captained by lovesick Victor McLaglen. Certain circumstances cause Mae to have to pass herself off as a missionary once she lands in the Klondike, with the result being one heck of a sermon before the drunken miners and dance hall gals. She's something else again, that Mae!

Klondike Annie [Mae West and Victor McLaglen]

Average customer rating:

Klondike Annie [Mae West and Victor McLaglen]
Starring: Victor McLaglen
Director: Raoul Walsh
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

Belle of The Nineties [Mae West and Roger Pryor]
Mae West - The Glamour Collection (Go West Young Man/ Goin' To Town/ I'm No Angel/ My Little Chickadee/ Night After Night)
Belle of the Nineties
Sextette
Myra Breckinridge

ASIN: B000EWJK5A

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