My all-time favorite Mae West line (from “Go West Young Man”) was mangled by the censor.In the film she says,“You may kiss my hand. And tomorrow, perhaps you may kiss me.”---- which doesn't even make sense.It should have been:“You may kiss my hand. And tomorrow, perhaps, you may kiss the rest of me.”In her prime, Mae West starred in ten films (1932-1943)---- In 2016, the first nine films were conveniently gathered in a three DVD box from Universal (see photos), at the ridiculously low price of $20 on Amazon. Nice pictures and sound + subtitles. No commentaries. In the Amazon Search bar look up “Mae West Essential Collection”---- The rights to the tenth film are owned by a different studio, so you have to buy it separately: The Heat's On (1943) - DVD, not yet on Blu-ray.THE NINE PARAMOUNT FILMS:1932 Night After Night - with George Raft PRE-CODE1933 She Done Him Wrong - with Cary Grant PRE-CODE, reviewed on this page1933 I'm No Angel - with Cary Grant PRE-CODE1934 Belle of the Nineties - with Roger Pryor1935 Goin' to Town - with Paul Cavanagh1936 Klondike Annie - with Victor McLaglen (directed by Raoul Walsh)1936 Go West, Young Man - with Randolph Scott1937 Every Day's a Holiday - with Edmund Lowe1940 My Little Chickadee - with W.C. FieldsThe first three are pre-code films (released before May 1934) and were given the dreaded “C” rating: CONDEMNED by the Legion of Decency.Mae West was one of the primary reasons the Legion was formed.Roman Catholics were forbidden to see these films.All three are presented uncut in the 2016 DVD box and on the Blu-rays.Kino Lorber has licensed all nine films and released them on individual Blu-rays with SDH subtitles, plus each film gets a brand-new audio commentary (‘She Done Him Wrong” gets two commentaries).The picture quality on Blu-ray is an improvement over the five-year-old DVD transfers, but nothing dramatic.The ten audio commentaries are informative and entertaining, but there is inevitably a lot of overlap.Nine Blu-rays cost $160 on Amazon versus $20 for the three DVD box.Classic film fans should at least own the three-DVD box.If you are a serious film student, you need the nine Blu-rays, or at least the first three - the pre-code films.If you are new to Mae West, the best place to start is with her second film, “She Done Him Wrong” (1933), with the best all-around supporting cast, screenplay and music (“I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Gone”).It was Cary Grant’s eighth feature film - he had already co-starred with Marlene Dietrich in “Blonde Venus” (1932), look up the Criterion Collection Blu-ray collection “Dietrich and von Sternberg in Hollywood”.It's also Mae’s only film to be nominated for an Academy Award. *The old DVD and the new Blu-ray both include a 1933 Walter Lantz cartoon “She Done Him Right” in which Pooch the Pup is enamored of Poodles - a canine version of Mae West - who sings “Minnie the Moocher's Wedding Day”, a song with obvious drug references.**Her first film, “Night after Night” (1932) was a George Raft gangster movie.A nifty pre-code film, but it’s only intermittently a Mae West film.In a supporting part, Mae plays one of Raft’s old girlfriends - This is the only time she did not receive top billing in a film (she is actually billed fourth).And it's the only time that Mae did not receive a writing credit, even though she wrote the best line in the film - “Goodness had nothing to do with it”.Also worth the extra expense of Blu-ray is the third pre-code film “I’m No Angel” (1933) in which she was reunited with Cary Grant.The remaining six films were subject to Production Code censorship.All have their moments, but can be a disappointment after you’ve seen the first three.“My Little Chickadee” was the only time she was teamed with W.C. Fields, who tends to dominate the proceedings.* Sixth Annual Academy Awards (1933) - Best Picture Nominees:-- Cavalcade - winner-- 42nd Street-- A Farewell to Arms-- I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang-- Lady for a Day-- Little Women-- The Private Life of Henry VIII-- SHE DONE HIM WRONG-- Smilin' Through-- State Fair** “Minnie the Moocher’s Wedding Day”by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, made popular by Cab Calloway:Grab a taxi and go down, China town's on a spree,Let me give you the lowdown, This is really history.Whenever folks in Chinatown start acting gayThere's something in the air that makes them feel that way.Yeah, man, I heard somebody sayIt's Minnie the Moocher's wedding day!Old Smoky Joe's so happy he can hardly wait,He's spent a million dollars for his wedding date,Yeah, man, they're gonna celebrate,It's Minnie the Moocher's wedding day.You better come on down, Way down in Chinatown,Oh, let me take you down to see them kick the gong around.A million cokies shouting, "Hay-de-hay-de-hay!"The king of Sweden's gonna give the bride away,Yeah, man, I heard somebody say,It's Minnie the Moocher's wedding day!The king and queen of every nationWere glad to get an invitation;The prince of Wales said he would get awayFor Minnie the Moocher's wedding day!They said a hundred thousand hoppiesWent over to China picking poppies,They're gonna put them all in one bouquetFor Minnie the Moocher's wedding day!Hi-de-hi-de-hi,Ho-de-ho-de-ho-de-ho!Hay-de-hay-de-hay,It's Minnie the Moocher's wedding day!Yeah, man! Why, what's that them boys say?It's Minnie the Moocher's wedding day!