MovieChat Forums > Sextette (1978) Discussion > A Real Curiosity Item

A Real Curiosity Item

posted 13 years ago by Camelot_2000
2 replies | jump to latest

I caught it 10 years ago on the BRAVO channel during an afternoon of TV watching. After finding out what it was about, I just had to check it out! I wasn't disappointed. West, as old as she was, did pull her own weight in this movie regarding acting and singing. I just found her 'too stiff' though. She barely moved her body at all except for her arms. At times it seemed like she was nothing, but a talking mannequin.

She looked great in this film, but it was easy to tell she was trying to hide the frailness of her old age. It was good she was still 'strutting her stuff' right up until the very end.

The more I study it, the greater the puzzle becomes.
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad

[–] Woodyanders 12 years ago

Yeah, you gotta give Mae West credit for having the chutzpah to do this film in her mid 80's.

I'm a totally bitchin' bio writer from Mars!

[–] HarlowMGM 12 years ago

I just found her 'too stiff' though. She barely moved her body at all except for her arms.

That was the Mae West style, whether she was 83 or 39 in her early movies. She was never very mobile in part because she always wore very high heels that were difficult to walk around in.

At times it seemed like she was nothing, but a talking mannequin.

She looked great in this film, but it was easy to tell she was trying to hide the frailness of her old age. It was good she was still 'strutting her stuff' right up until the very end.

Your quotes bring to mind Mae's famous reply when somebody told her she seemed a bit like a female impersonator. Mae asked if that meant they were for her or against her? I can't quite tell which side of the fence you are on re Mae in this movie.

As for me, I think it's cool that Mae in her eighties was still having fun and being playful even if the film was less than great. Look at Betty White today, actually older than an age Mae West lived to be and having sassy fun without censor. Mae opened the door for Betty and every other actress deep into her senior years who doesn't want to play Old Mother Hubbard roles.