Belle of the Nineties (1934)

Ruby Carter, the American Beauty queen of the night club-sporting world, shifts her operations from St. Louis to New Orleans (which kind of belies the Western genre designation), mostly to ... See full summary »

Director:

Leo McCarey

Writer:

Mae West (story)

Stars:

Mae West, Roger Pryor, Johnny Mack Brown

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mae West	...	Ruby Carter
Roger Pryor	...	Tiger Kid
Johnny Mack Brown	...	Brooks Claybourne (as John Mack Brown)
Katherine DeMille	...	Molly Brant
John Miljan	...	Ace Lamont (owner, Sensation House)
Duke Ellington	...	Piano player (Sensation House)
James Donlan	...	Kirby (Tiger Kid's manager)
Stuart Holmes	...	Dirk
Harry Woods	...	Slade
Edward Gargan	...	Stogie (Ruby's agent)
Libby Taylor	...	Jasmine (Ruby's maid)
Warren Hymer	...	St. Louis fighter
Benny Baker	...	Blackie
Morrie Cohan	...	Butch
Tyler Brooke	...	Comedian

Storyline

Ruby Carter, the American Beauty queen of the night club-sporting world, shifts her operations from St. Louis to New Orleans (which kind of belies the Western genre designation), mostly to get away from prizefighter Tiger Kid. Installed as the prize attraction of "The Sensation Club", ran by Ace Lamont, she quickly becomes the toast of the town and also marked as personal property by Ace, arousing the fury of Ace's former flame, Molly Brant. The not-overly-bright Tiger comes to town and is set for a title match with the champ by Ace, while the latter also has him steal some of Ruby's jewels. Ruby, no dumb-belle, figuring Ace has the fix in on the fight, uses some of her other jewels to lay a trap for Ace. Tiger confesses, after the fight, to Ruby his role in the jewel robbery while she hints that Ace was the one who slipped him the knock-out drops. Tiger goes after Ace, who, for his own reasons, has Molly locked in a closet.

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Plot Keywords:

new orleans louisiana | 1890s | sexually aggressive woman | four word title | 19th century | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 September 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Babe Gordon

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Mike Mazurki.

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Quotes

Ace Lamont: You and I could go a long way together. With your beauty and my business ability, we could make a fortune. You know why I brought you down here, don't you?
Ruby Carter: I had a rough idea.
Ace Lamont: You're the kind of woman I dreamed about... always desired. I'm wild about you.
Ruby Carter: Some of the wildest men make the best pets.
Ace Lamont: Ruby, I must have you... your golden hair, your fascinating eyes, your alluring smile, and lovely arms...
Ruby Carter: Wait a minute. Is this a proposal, or are yuh takin' inventory?

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997)

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Soundtracks

"My Old Flame"
(uncredited)
Music by Arthur Johnston
Lyrics by Sam Coslow
Performed by Mae West and the Duke Ellington Orchestra

User Reviews

Classic Mae West

This movie is classic Mae West, full of one-liners with carefully disguised meanings to escape the censors. It's interesting to note that this is the movie where she really began to fight with the Hays Office and the Breen Office to get her movie past the censors...She had to change the title from "It's No Sin" (people picketed in the streets with signs that said, "Yes, It Is"). Therefore, this movie could be seen by some as not quite as good as her 3 previous movies. However, it is still a gem from Mae's classic period. Everyone should see a Mae West movie at least once...