The 'It' Girl: a tribute to Clara Bow

Unfortunately I have to start this post by dishing up a slice of sad pie, as the release date of Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" (which was meant to be 2012), and one of the five films I was très excited about in my previous post, has been postponed to summer 2013. It is thought to be because Baz Luhrmann was worried about the film having too much competition with the other suspected oscar nominated films. It's such a shame, as the promotional campaign was going great and I was getting so ready to commit to wearing 1920s flapper dresses and decadent deco jewellery. Lets just hope that people remember the film by Summer 2013. Well, from a 21st century representation of the golden era to a brilliant actress who actually lived in the 1920s, the beautiful Clara Bow. Technically it would of made more sense to post this entry on my birthday, the 29th July, as it just so happens that this silent movie diva's birthday was also on the 29th July- but no matter, her films can be enjoyed any day or year, and therefore here is my review on her silent film "IT" (1927). 

- "What is 'IT'?...

...Self-confidence and indifference as to whether you are pleasing or not~ and something in you that gives the impression that you are not all cold. That's 'IT'!"

~"IT", 1927

"It" (1927) is simply divine, as they used to say back in the 1920s. It's a film where Clara Bow rips her day dress and transforms it into a fabulous evening dress, the prices at the Ritz Hotel range from $2.00- $4.00 instead of the prices for tea being over $16.00, and Clara Bow's character has the incredible flapper name, Betty Lou Spence. It is a silent film but Clara Bow's facial expressions speak volumes. Clara Bow plays a simple shop girl in a department store when she meets a Monty, who claims she has "It", and sex appeal, and so as any gentleman would do, he takes her out to dinner. Whilst at dinner, at the Ritz of course, she meets Mr Waltham: a dashing man who happens to be the owner of the department store. Bow and Waltham fall in love with each other. However there is a problem, not only does Bow come from the lower class but she lives with a friend who is a single mother. Somehow a story leaks in the press that the baby is Clara's. However, Waltham later finds out it has all been a misunderstanding and can't help but fall back in love with the charming Clara. They end up together and discover that they are 'just a couple of It-less Its!"

The film however is not so lighthearted as it originally appears and covers some risky issues. In those days a mother raising a baby by herself was frowned upon but the film takes the subject matter in its stride. The mother of the child looks stressed but she continues to raise her child and Clara seems to have no qualms about the situation her friend is in stating: "poverty is no disgrace until meddling neighbours hear of it." The men's reaction to Clara being a single, working mother is well interpreted as they look frightened and try to avoid Clara until they discover that the baby isn't hers. The film has a happy-go-lucky feel to it and even though it is a silent film, and I know silents are not a popular choice, the film manages to convey such expression with no need for words, yet telling the story so well that the viewer can't help but fall in love with Clara Bow either: "she's a ripping sort, really! She's positively top-heavy with 'IT'," and thats how Bow will always be remembered.