You need only say the name Mae West to conjure up a world of images remniescent of a particular era in Hollywood’s (and America’s) history. And while she may be remembered today primarily for some of her more acerbic and sexually-charged quips, West was a constant crusader for the right of artists to push the boundaries of society’s moral code, as well as a cutting-edge “social critic, satiriser of the age-old battle of the sexes and advocate of the primacy of the surviving woman. Even bedecked with gems, as Diamond Lil, she remained a model for all those who felt that her sassy rebellion against conventional morality was a precious gift in a prudish, harsh world, which soon plunged into the Depression.”