This is one of Mae West's last movies and Cary Grant's firsts. It was based on a stage play West wrote called "Diamond Lil" that was so raunchy the studios said it would never get made into a movie. West took that as a challenge, changed the title, and made all explicit references into innuendoes. And as you can see, not only did it get made, it got nominated for Best Picture. I'm not sure what the lesson is there. Maybe "sex sells, but implied sex sells better"? Lady Lou (Mae West) is the local heartthrob down at Gus Jordan's beer hall. Everybody wants her. Including her jailbird boyfriend Chick (Owen Moore). See, Chick thinks Lou has been waiting faithfully for him to get out of jail, but a girl's gotta eat and diamonds don't grow on trees. Not to mention that there's a foxy new temperance leader (Cary Grant) next door. Still, she's not entirely mercenary. She tries to help out a young woman on the verge of suicide. It's not her fault that Gus Jordan is running a human trafficking ring, as well as some counterfeiting on the side. How's a girl to avoid a jealous ex, the law, and still find time to woo a man of impeccable morals?
It's not my favorite West film by a longshot but it's not a bad one. I think her hand on the screenplay is a little too noticeable for my tastes. It almost plays as a vanity piece, but I guess, if my vanity got me to the Oscars I wouldn't complain.
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