There’s a story I read somewhere of a judge interrupting an unsatisfactory witness and asking
Are you trying to flaunt your contempt for this court ?
to which the witness replies
Oh, no Your Honour! I’m trying to conceal it.
I was reminded of the story by this NYT editorial, which accuses a Rhode Island judge of abusing the contempt power to pursue a vindictive campaign against a reporter, Jim Taricani, but then fails to name the judge in question. A one-minute Google search reveals that the judge in question is Chief U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres Given that it was defending the right of reporters to publish the truth without fear or favor, what exactly did the NYT have in mind here?
John Quiggin 
That line is in a Mae West movie – I think “She done him wrong” or “My little chickadee”. From memory
Judge “If you don’t behave [or something to that effect] I’ll have to find you guilty of showing your contempt for this court”.
Mae West “But your honour, I’m doing my level best to conceal it”.
This reminds me that I should Google everything nowadays. The story is attributed to Wilson Mizner, but Mae West made it famous in My Little Chickadee, as you say.