Hollywood (Jan - Oct 1934)

by JERRY LANE I f He's Not Worth fighting for, he's not worth having!" Mae West put plenty of punch behind that statement. The West eyes blazed with the light of battle. And when they blaze. . . ! "Listen, baby, 'it ain't no sin' to wage a good stiff war to keep your man. There were more than 200,000 divorces last year in this country. And if half of those wives hadn't been weak-kneed they wouldn't be wandering widows now! Any woman can get any man these days. But she's got to be good to keep him — better than her grandmother was by several hundred hot-cha degrees! "You see," went on Mae, warming up to her subject as only she can, "every man seems always at least potentially in circulation. That's his nature. If you've got an interesting or attractive husband you can expect to face daily competition and comparison. There are plenty of sweet young things ready to get an unhappy man adrift. So — anchor himl Here's the way of it — "If a girl finds she's losing hold on her man — and we're taking for granted he's the guy she can't possibly live without — she shouldn't waste time sympathizing with herself. Or wondering what's the matter with the man. Or trying to argue him into behaving himself. "Just let her ask herself: What's the matter with me? Why doesn't he love me as much as he used to? What have I done? What haven't I done that he's giving me the chill? "If the girl is frank, she might find that she has fallen Mae West and John Mack Brown in a scene from St. Louis Woman in which she practices the wiles she recommends for real life ''Any women can get any man these days. But she's got to be good to keep him," says Mae West into the habit of treating the man like just another possession. Perhaps she is not making herself as attractive to him physically and mentally as she did when they lighted the torch. Maybe she's forgotten to be the playmate as well as the wife. You can't be a spineless quitter if you want to hold your man! You've got to understand his moods and know how to handle him when those moods are upon him. When he 'wants affection give it to him. When he doesn't, don't try to force it on the poor fellow. Anticipate his likes and dislikes so that you are continually captivating him with pleasant surprises. Men love surprises. They're a good deal like kids. When he expects a scolding, give him smiles. "In short, try to make yourself so completely desirable, so utterly necessary to his well-being and fit into his life so charmingly that he'd rather go out and cut his throat than look at another girl. "That all sounds like a pretty tough job, doesn't it? It is. But that is what fighting to hold your man consists of." • Of course Mae wants it distinctly understood that she doesn't mean for a woman to bury her own personality and be entirely overshadowed by the man. On the contrary, the more she keeps herself an individual, the more he's apt to respect her. This is one of the favorite West subjects. She has studied it out in many a drama of the sexes. A large Please turn to i>:i«:< fifty-two 20 HOLLYWOOD