Mae West Quote of the Month: No Evidence
Lady Lou (Mae West) is the heroine of She Done Him Wrong (1933), the hilarious Oscar-nominated, pre-Code movie based on West’s play, Diamond Lil. The film opens in a Bowery bar in the Gay Nineties. Many of the customers are discussing Lou’s attractions, thanks to a new nude portrait of her on the wall.
Lou rides up in a carriage, with women staring at her disapprovingly, and men staring at her very approvingly.
She enters the bar with the customary West strut, and is quickly introduced to Serge (Gilbert Roland) by her boyfriend, Gus. She reflects on Serge’s good manners in kissing her hand and smiles at him alluringly, as West is wont to do.
“I’m delighted,” Serge (Gilbert Roland) says. “I have heard so much about you.”
“Yeah,” Lou quips, “but you can’t prove it.”
If that line can’t get you through the day smiling, no worries. Just watch five minutes more of the film.
