"The Heat's On" was Mae West's final film until her unexpected return to movies 27 years later. And, after seeing "The Heat's On", I can see why she stayed out of films for so long. The movie has barely any West in it and the plot is not at all suited to her talents....and it makes you wonder why they made this dull film in the first place.
The plot, such as it is, concerns a theater owner trying to make a big show with Mae in the lead. However, pretty much all of the film apart from a few small portions with West show a wide variety of acts going into this big show. The problem is that the film has very, very little plot....and no laughs. As a consequence, I can see exactly why this film is seldom shown on television...it just stinks and is a HUGE disappointment to Mae West's fans. All of her funny repartee is missing and neutered of its sexual overtones....so what do you have left? Well, almost nothing of consequence and, believe it or not, it's more a showcase for supporting actor Victor Moore, who plays a representative of a group of fun-hating bluenoses.
The bottom line is that the film offers little when it comes to West and about 10 too many musical numbers. Avoid this unless you are a completist like me who wants to see everything of a certain actor or actress...and for me, this makes the final film of West's I have seen.
By the way, this film is very different from West's later films, "Myra Breckinridge" and "Sextette". All three are terrible films, but "The Heat's On" is dull and wastes her talents....whereas the other two are creepy and sad to watch as the 80-something spouts the sort of trashy dialog everyone loved in the 1930s....which seems REALLY out of place and, worst of all, sad.
The plot, such as it is, concerns a theater owner trying to make a big show with Mae in the lead. However, pretty much all of the film apart from a few small portions with West show a wide variety of acts going into this big show. The problem is that the film has very, very little plot....and no laughs. As a consequence, I can see exactly why this film is seldom shown on television...it just stinks and is a HUGE disappointment to Mae West's fans. All of her funny repartee is missing and neutered of its sexual overtones....so what do you have left? Well, almost nothing of consequence and, believe it or not, it's more a showcase for supporting actor Victor Moore, who plays a representative of a group of fun-hating bluenoses.
The bottom line is that the film offers little when it comes to West and about 10 too many musical numbers. Avoid this unless you are a completist like me who wants to see everything of a certain actor or actress...and for me, this makes the final film of West's I have seen.
By the way, this film is very different from West's later films, "Myra Breckinridge" and "Sextette". All three are terrible films, but "The Heat's On" is dull and wastes her talents....whereas the other two are creepy and sad to watch as the 80-something spouts the sort of trashy dialog everyone loved in the 1930s....which seems REALLY out of place and, worst of all, sad.