On this day in 1938,  controversial stage actress Mae West leaves New York for California to make her first film, Night After Night (1932). West had become a hit stage actress, famous for her racy roles in controversial productions. In 1927, she spent 10 days in jail for obscenity, after the court condemned the scandalous content of Sex, a Broadway play about a gigolo that she wrote, produced, and directed. West became one of the most highly paid women in Hollywood.