Mae West-13

Mae West-13, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. The shot showing Mae putting her head into the lion’s mouth appears to be some sort of composite affair. In his interview, Mel Koontz specifically mentioned appearing in this shot with Jackie, so the arm and the hand holding the lion’s mouth open is probably his, with Mae having been photographed separately and without the lion. Later in the lab, it would have been a simple matter to combine the two shots together to create the illusion that Mae has her face between the lion’s jaws.