"Goin' to Town" with Mae West (1935)

This is the closing scene from my new favorite Mae West film, "Goin' to Town", which was released in 1935. She plays the widowed wife of a rancher who falls for an English aristocrat. With a lack of what she thinks of as "class", she despairs of ever winning his love. But have no fear, the irrepressible Ms. West, just like the Royal Canadian Mounties, always gets her man.

This film contains 2 really good numbers. I especially liked the blues format of "Now I'm a Lady". As a matter of fact, I liked it so much that I converted it to MP.3 and it now plays in my car, somewhere between "James Brown Live at the Apollo", and Jason Mranz doing "Life Is Wonderful."

I thought I had seen all the Mae West movies, but apparently I missed this one. What makes it so unique is that it opens in a town that is purely 19th Century, and it's not until the first automobile appears, about 15 minutes into the film, that you realize this is a contemporary movie. It takes place in 1934, as evidenced by the close-up of the datebook page in one of the scenes. Also, the airplane trip to Argentina is kind of a giveaway.

There’s lots of fun in this movie, with Ms. West at her best, singing and vamping her way across 2 continents in search of class, and finding true love in the bargain.