In the 1880's, Flower Belle Lee (Mae West), a singer from Chicago, visits relatives in the town of Little Bend in the Old West. She is suspected of having an illicit relationship with the Masked Bandit (Joseph Calleia). The source of the slander is Mrs. Gideon (Margaret Hamilton, who played the wicked witch from Oz the year before).
Flower Belle goes to court. When the judge (Addison Richards) angrily asks her if she is trying to show contempt for the court, she replies, "No, I'm doin' my best to hide it." She is ordered to leave town.
On the train to Greasewood City, she meets Cuthbert J. Twillie (W. C. Fields), an incompetent card-sharp gambler. Cuthbert is attracted to Flower Belle, and she mistakenly believes he is rich. They are married for convenience and respectability, but the union is not legal and is never consummated.
Cuthbert: "Tell me, prairie flower, can you give me the inside info on yon damsel with the hothouse cognomen?"
Mrs. Gideon: "Do you mean Miss Flower Belle Lee?"
Cuthbert: "I don't mean some woman out in China."
Mrs. Gideon: "Well! I'm afraid I can't say anything good about her."
Cuthbert: "I can see what's good. Tell me the rest."
Cuthbert: "May I present my card?"
Flower Belle: "Novelties and Notions. What kind of notions you got?"
Cuthbert: "You'd be surprised. Some are old, some are new. Whom have I the honor of addressing, m'lady?"
Flower Belle: "Mmm, they call me Flower Belle."
Cuthbert: "Flower Belle, what a euphonious appellation. Easy on the ears and a banquet for the eyes."
Flower Belle: "You're kinda cute yourself."
Cuthbert: "Thank you. I never argue with a lady."
Flower Belle: "Smart boy."
Cuthbert: "Babydoll, these weed-benders have been running off at the mouth... to your detriment."
Flower Belle: "Hmmm, I ain't surprised. Bad news travels fast."
Cuthbert: "I understand you need a Cicero and guide."
Flower Belle: "I need more than that, honey."
(she places her arm on the seat back between them and he takes her hand)
Cuthbert: "Ah, what symmetrical digits. Soft as the fuzz of a baby's arm."
Flower Belle: "But quick on the trigger."
Cuthbert: "Mmm, yes. Uh, may I?"
(kisses her fingers)
Flower Belle: "Help yourself."
Cuthbert: "Would you object if I avail myself of a second helping?"
Flower Belle: "Don't you think you're a little forward on such short acquaintance? You're compromising me."
In Greasewood City, Cuthbert becomes the Sheriff. He says, "During one of my treks through Afghanistan, we lost our corkscrew. Compelled to live on food and water..." During a card game with Cousin Zeb he is asked, "Is this a game a chance?" He replies, "Not the way I play it." Flower Belle has affairs with the Saloon owner and the newspaper editor, teaches school, and tries to avoid Cuthbert J. Twillie. She saves Cuthbert from being hanged. When the movie finishes, Flower Belle sashays up the Saloon stairs and "The End" is superimposed over her shapely posterior.
(last lines)
Cuthbert: "If you get up around the Grampian Hills - why don't you come up and see me sometime?"
Flower Belle: "Ah, yeah, yeah, I'll do that, my little chickadee."
The script is credited to West and Fields, but Mae West actually wrote most of it. Fields complimented West on capturing his character better than any other writer. Her risque double entendres are plentiful. "My little chickadee" was first used by W. C. Fields in a scene in IF I HAD A MILLION (1932). But the two stars were incompatible, despite their on-screen chemistry. It was a clash of two larger-than-life personalities.
Fields made West miserable on the set. He said she was, "a plumber's idea of Cleopatra" and other insults. Although Fields was an abstainer most of his life, by this time he was an alcoholic. Mae West never drank alcohol and insisted that Fields not drink while filming. However, he kept alcohol in an orange juice container, and West discovered it. This led Fields to holler out: "Who put orange juice in my orange juice?" MY LITTLE CHICKADEE was a major hit, but Mae West refused to work with W. C. Fields again.
Also in the cast are: Joesph Calleia (Jeff Badger), Dick Foran (Wayne Carter), Ruth Donnelly (Aunt Lou), Donald Meek (Amos Budge), Fuzzy Knight (Cousin Zeb), Willard Robertson (Uncle John), George Moran (Milton), Jackie Searl (schoolboy), Fay Adler (Mrs. "Pygmy" Allen), Russel Hall (Candy), Otto Heimel (Coco), William Benedict (Lem), Otto Hoffman (Pete), Si Jenks (Deputy), Anne Nagel (Miss Foster), and many others.
The director of this western comedy is Edward Cline, who directed most of Fields' major films. Music is by Ben Oakland (song) and Frank Skinner. Mae West usually sings several songs in her movies, but sings only "Willie the Miner", a corny song suitable for the movie, very well arranged and performed. The catchy melody is the movie's theme. Mae West was a great blues singer, and recorded everything from opera to rock.
