Editing She Done Him Wrong

{{Short description|1933 American crime/comedy film by Lowell Sherman}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = She Done Him Wrong
| image          = She Done Him Wrong (1933 poster).jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Lowell Sherman]]
| producer       = [[William LeBaron]]
| based_on       = {{based on|''[[Diamond Lil (play)|Diamond Lil]]''<br>1928 play|[[Mae West]]}}
| screenplay     = Harvey F. Thew<br>[[John Bright (screenwriter)|John Bright]]
| narrator       = 
| starring       = {{unbulleted list|Mae West|[[Cary Grant]]|[[Owen Moore]]|[[Gilbert Roland]]|[[Noah Beery Sr.]]}}
| music          = [[John Leipold]] (uncredited)
| cinematography = [[Charles Lang]]
| editing        = [[Alexander Hall]]
| studio         = [[Paramount Pictures]]
| distributor    = Paramount Pictures
| released       = {{Film date|1933|1|27}}
| runtime        = 66 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $200,000<ref name="business">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024548/business|title=Box office/business for ''She Done Him Wrong''|work=IMDb.com|access-date=2009-06-20}}</ref>
| gross          = $2.2 million<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11816878|title=WHICH CINEMA FILMS HAVE EARNED THE MOST MONEY SINCE 1914?|newspaper=The Argus|location=Melbourne|date=March 4, 1944|access-date=August 6, 2012|page=3 Supplement: The Argus Weekend magazine|publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
}}
'''''She Done Him Wrong''''' is a 1933 [[Pre-Code Hollywood|pre-Code]] American crime/comedy film starring [[Mae West]] and [[Cary Grant]], directed by [[Lowell Sherman]]. The plot includes melodramatic and musical elements, with a supporting cast featuring [[Owen Moore]], [[Gilbert Roland]], [[Noah Beery Sr.]], [[Rochelle Hudson]], and [[Louise Beavers]]. The film was adapted from the successful 1928 Broadway play ''[[Diamond Lil (play)|Diamond Lil]]'' by Mae West. The film is famous for West's many double entendres and quips, including her best-known "Why don't you come up sometime and see me?".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/did-mae-west-really-say-come-up-and-see-me-sometime-the-story-of-one-of-hollywoods-most-famous-quotes/15123/ | title=Did Mae West really say "Come up and see me sometime?" the story of one of Hollywood's famous quotes. &#124; American Masters &#124; PBS | website=PBS | date=15 July 2020 }}</ref>  ''She Done Him Wrong'' was a box-office success and the film was nominated for the [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]].

In 1996, ''She Done Him Wrong'' was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|website=Library of Congress|access-date=2020-05-11}}</ref>

==Plot==
The story is set in New York City in the [[Gay Nineties|1890s]]. A bawdy singer, Lady Lou, works in the [[Bowery]] barroom saloon of her boss and benefactor, Gus Jordan, who has given her many diamonds. But Lou is a lady with more men friends than anyone might imagine.

What she does not know is that Gus traffics in prostitution and runs a counterfeiting ring to help finance her expensive diamonds. He also sends young women to San Francisco to be pickpockets. Gus works with two other crooked entertainer-assistants, Russian Rita and Rita's lover, the suave Sergei Stanieff. One of Gus's rivals and former "friend" of Lou's, named Dan Flynn, spends most of the movie dropping hints to Lou that Gus is up to no good, promising to look after her once Gus is in jail. Lou leads him on, hinting at times that she will return to him, but eventually he loses patience and implies he'll see her jailed if she doesn't submit to him.

A city mission is located next door to the bar. Its young director, Captain Cummings, is in reality an undercover federal agent working to infiltrate and expose the illegal activities in the bar. Gus suspects nothing; he worries only that Cummings will reform his bar and scare away his customers.

Lou's former boyfriend, Chick Clark, is a vicious criminal who was convicted of robbery and sent to prison for trying to steal diamonds for her. In his absence, she becomes attracted to the handsome young psalm-singing reformer.

Warned that Chick thinks she's betrayed him, she goes to the prison to try to reassure him. All the inmates greet her warmly and familiarly  as she walks down the cellblock. Chick becomes angry and threatens to kill her if she double-crosses or two-times him before he gets out. She lies and claims she has been true to him. Gus gives counterfeit money to Rita and Sergei to spend. Chick escapes from jail, and police search for him in the bar. He comes into Lou's room and starts to strangle her, breaking off only because he still loves her and cannot harm her. Lou calms him down by promising that she will go with him when she finishes her next number.

After Sergei gives Lou a diamond pin belonging to Rita, Rita starts a fight with Lou, who accidentally stabs her to death. Lou calmly combs the dead woman's long hair to hide the fact Rita is dead while the police search the room for Chick Clark. She has her bodyguard Spider, who "would do anything for you, Lou" dispose of Rita's body. She then tells Spider to bring Chick, who's hiding in an alley, back to her room upstairs. Then, while she sings "[[Frankie and Johnny (song)|Frankie and Johnny]]", she silently signals to Dan Flynn that he should go to her room to wait for her, even though she knows Chick is in there with a gun. Chick shoots Dan dead and the gunfire draws a police raid. Cummings shows his badge and reveals himself as "The Hawk", a well-known Federal agent, as he arrests Gus and Sergei. Chick, still lurking in Lou's room, is about to kill Lou for double-crossing him, when Cummings also apprehends him.

Cummings then takes Lou away in an open horse-drawn carriage instead of the [[paddywagon]] into which all the other criminals have been loaded. He tells her she doesn't belong in jail and removes all her other rings and slips a diamond engagement ring onto her left ring finger.<ref>[[Stanley Green (historian)|Green, Stanley]] (1999) Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.), pub. Hal Leonard Corporation {{ISBN|0-634-00765-3}} page 22</ref>

== Cast==
[[File:Mae West in She Done Him Wrong.jpg|thumb|right|Mae West in the film]]
{{Div col}}
* [[Mae West]] as Lady Lou
* [[Cary Grant]] as Capt. Cummings
* [[Owen Moore]] as Chick Clark
* [[Gilbert Roland]] as Sergei Stanieff
* [[Noah Beery Sr.]] as Gus Jordan
* [[David Landau (actor)|David Landau]] as Dan Flynn
* [[Rafaela Ottiano]] as Russian Rita
* [[Dewey Robinson]] as Spider Kane
* [[Rochelle Hudson]] as Sally
* [[Tammany Young]] as Chuck Connors
* [[Fuzzy Knight]] as Ragtime Kelly
* [[Grace La Rue]] as Frances Kelly
* [[Robert Homans]] as Doheney
* [[Louise Beavers]] as Pearl (Lou's maid)
{{div col end}}

==Production==
The film was directed by [[Lowell Sherman]] and produced by [[William LeBaron]]. The script was adapted by Harvey F. Thew and [[John Bright (screenwriter)|John Bright]]. Original music was composed by [[Ralph Rainger]], [[John Leipold]] and Stephan Pasternacki. [[Charles Lang]] was responsible for the cinematography, and the costumes were designed by [[Edith Head]].

''[[Blonde Venus]]'' (with [[Marlene Dietrich]]) and ''[[Madame Butterfly (1932 film)|Madame Butterfly]]'' (with [[Sylvia Sidney]]), both predate ''She Done Him Wrong'' but West always claimed to have discovered Grant for her film, claiming that until then Grant had only made "some tests with starlets".{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}

The [[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Code]] declared the play ''[[Diamond Lil (play)|Diamond Lil]]'' banned from the screen and repeatedly demanded changes to remove associations with or elements from the play, including suggested titles with the word "diamond". The adaption was finally allowed under the condition that the play not be referred to in publicity or advertising.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/89849/she-done-him-wrong#notes|title=She Done Him Wrong (1933) - Notes - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=2023-12-12}}</ref> [[Joseph Breen]], who oversaw the more effectual enforcement of the Code beginning in 1934, blocked ''She Done Him Wrong'' from being rereleased in 1935 and again in 1949.<ref name=HatC>{{cite book|last=Billheimer|first=John W.|title=Hitchcock and the Censors|publisher=The University Press of Kentucky|year=2019|isbn=9780813177434}}</ref>

[[Rafaela Ottiano]], who portrayed Russian Rita in the Broadway version, was cast on West's recommendation in the same role, which led to work with West throughout her career.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Michaud |first=Michael Gregg |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i864DwAAQBAJ&q=rafaela+ottiano |title=Mae West: Between the Covers |publisher=BearManor Media |language=en}}</ref>

[[Louise Beavers]] was the only African-American actress to be brought onto the film by West personally. She wanted a black woman to appear with her. When she did stage and screen work, West made it a point to act with black American actors and actresses, helping to break racial discrimination in entertainment. West's stage shows resulted in her arrest for saucy material and her having black actors on stage was extremely controversial. With this film, she and her Paramount bosses called the shots: Black stars appeared in a few of her films after this one.

==Reception==
{{Expand section|date=January 2010}}
[[File:She Done Him Wrong (1932 poster - six sheet).jpg|thumb|Alternate theatrical release poster with [[Owen Moore]] pictured]]
The film was a box-office success, grossing $2,000,000 domestically with a budget of $200,000. ''Variety'''s "Bige" gave ''She Done Him Wrong'' a negative review, stating that Paramount was attempting to rush Mae West to stardom by giving her her own film and top billing, and that the film was not very good without known actors and an entertaining story,<ref>[http://www.carygrant.net/reviews/wrong.html Review in Variety's February 14, 1933 issue], carygrant.net; accessed August 9, 2015.</ref> despite the presence of extremely well-known actors [[Noah Beery Sr.]] and [[Owen Moore]], not to mention up-and-comer [[Cary Grant]].

''She Done Him Wrong'' was nominated for the [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Outstanding Production]], now known as Best Picture. At 66 minutes, it is the shortest film to be so honored.

The film is recognized by [[American Film Institute]] in these lists:
* 1998: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies]] – Nominated<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/movies400.pdf |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies Nominees |access-date=August 20, 2016}}</ref>
* 2000: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs]] – #75<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=August 20, 2016 |archive-date=June 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624052741/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* 2004: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs]]:
** "[[Frankie and Johnny (song)#Films|Frankie and Johnny]]" – Nominated<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/songs400.pdf |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees |access-date=August 20, 2016 |archive-date=April 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417023552/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/songs400.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* 2005: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes]]:
** Lady Lou: "Why don't you come up sometime and see me?" – #26<ref>{{cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/quotes100.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=August 20, 2016}}</ref>
* 2007: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)]] – Nominated<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100YearsMovies_ballot_06.pdf |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies Nominees (10th Anniversary Edition) |access-date=August 20, 2016}}</ref>

==Note==
West's famous line to Cary Grant is "Why don't you come up some time and see me?" in ''She Done Him Wrong''. She changed it to "Come up and see me sometime" in her next movie ''[[I'm No Angel]]'',  released the same year and co-starring Grant.

''She Done Him Wrong'' bears some resemblances to ''[[The Bowery (1933 film)|The Bowery]]'', a film released later the same year by [[United Artists]] starring [[Noah Beery]]'s brother [[Wallace Beery|Wallace]]. The two films each include a saloon owner named Chuck Conners as a main character (played by Wallace Beery) in ''The Bowery'' and a smaller role (played by [[Tammany Young]]) in ''She Done Him Wrong''.

The animated cartoon short ''[[She Done Him Right (1933 film)|She Done Him Right]]'' followed in 1933 as a parody spinoff of ''She Done Him Wrong''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110514201731/http://lantz.goldenagecartoons.com/1933.html The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia: 1933]. Archived 2011-05-14. Retrieved 6 June 2019.</ref>

[[Universal Pictures]], through its [[EMKA, Ltd.|EMKA]] division, currently handles distribution of the film.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/she_done.pdf ''She Done Him Wrong''] essay by [[Randy Skretvedt]] at [[National Film Registry]]
*{{official website|https://www.uphe.com/movies/she-done-him-wrong}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0024548|title=She Done Him Wrong}}
* {{TCMDb title|89849|She Done Him Wrong}}
* {{AFI film|id=4090|title=She Done Him Wrong}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|she_done_him_wrong|She Done Him Wrong}}
* [http://www.carygrant.net/reviews/wrong.html Reprints of historic reviews, photo gallery at CaryGrant.net]
* [http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/film/1507/she-done-him-wrong ''She Done Him Wrong''] at Virtual History
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC ''She Done Him Wrong''] essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 {{ISBN|0826429777}}, pages 204-205

{{Lowell Sherman}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1933 films]]
[[Category:1933 romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1890s]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Lowell Sherman]]
[[Category:American romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:Films set in New York City]]
[[Category:American crime comedy films]]
[[Category:American films based on plays]]
[[Category:1930s American films]]
[[Category:Films scored by John Leipold]]