In 1938, it seemed like there was trouble in Tinseltown. The biggest film of the previous year was Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, an unexpected slap in the face to the big studios. At the time, Walt Disney Productions was seen as a novelty studio; not quite as low as poverty row, but not really in the big leagues either. That it could produce a mere cartoon that outdrew live action stars was an insult. In response, the majors decreed that 1938 would be The Greatest Year in Motion Picture History. Unfortunately, there was nothing truly special about the lineup that year; it was mostly just a promotional gimmick. That's why Harry Brandt, on behalf of the Independent Theater Owners, decided to challenge the studios.
In The Independent Film Journal, Brandt declared that the dismal ticket sales were the fault of overpaid stars who weren't pulling their own weight. He declared a long list of Hollywood luminaries to be "Box Office Poison," including Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Fred Astaire, Katharine Hepburn and even Mae West.
Ms. West was one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood at the time. In fact, at one point she was the highest paid person in the entire United States. The restrictive Hayes Code, however, was increasingly hobbling her career. Ms. West loved spouting double entendres and smutty sounding dialogue in her films. Her fans loved it too, but the Hayes Office consistently tried to reign in Ms. West, cramping her style and affecting her box office grosses. When Brandt chose to attack her, it was highly inflammatory. What right did he have to say whether she was worth her pay? He wasn't a shareholder at Paramount, which was paying Mae at the time. The Great Depression was affecting the entire economy, not just films and certainly not just Mae West.
What was Mae's response to getting publicly called out? It was, as with most everything Mae said, wickedly clever. "Why, the independent theatre owners call me the mortgage lifter," she claimed, "When business is bad, they just re-show one of my pictures. Besides, the entire industry has dropped thirty percent. The only picture to make real money was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Mr. Disney would have made twice as much if he'd had me play Snow White."
Mr. Brandt's ominous predictions proved to be premature. Hollywood didn't change a thing and yet it had a record year in 1939. In fact, movie historians have often called 1939 Hollywood's greatest year. Mae would get one of her biggest ever hits in 1940- My Little Chickadee. The Hayes Code, however, would finally stifle Mae's output. She would effectively retire from the pictures for almost thirty years.
