ABSTRACT
Genre studies of film comedy and historical analysis of U.S. movie censorship, traditionally distinct fields of film scholarship, intersect frequently at one point: in discussion of American film star and cultural icon Mae West. This essay explores connections between Mae West’s status as a bawdy film comedienne and the extensive government and movie industry censorship of her work in the 1930s. A case study of one Mae West vehicle, Goin’ to Town (1935), drawing on records of the Production Code Administration (PCA) and other materials documenting the production and reception of West’s film performances, yields a basis for a historically grounded analysis of the structures and implications of West’s comedy. 1
