Most of Clara Bow's early talkies for Paramount are not very good. Bad scripts, technical problems etc. Plus the plots are all similar in that "true to the navy" mode.
However, CALL HER SAVAGE gave Bow a terrific role that was dramatic, sexy, and had elements of high camp. The whipping scene is hilarious. And I agree with others here that it proved once and for all that Bow could make it in talkies, had a good voice, and still had a public anxious to see her. HOOPLA was a remake of the part-talkie film, THE BARKER with Bow in the role that Dorothy Mackaill played. This is also a solid little film and Bow is good in it. I have not seen THE BARKER which has been restored but resides in a vault somewhere.
It's interesting to actually see these talkies and see for ourselves that silent actors who supposedly flopped in talkies because they had bad voices is mostly baloney. Bow had a fine voice, as did Norma Talmadge, John Gilbert, Vilma Banky, etc.
WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
There are a lot of her films both silents and talkies that you really only watch to see Clara. I can see the studio’s point of view in that they didn’t need to give her the best pictures, costars, directors, etc… after she became a real moneymaker and then they would save those better projects for the weaker or newer stars who needed more help to bring in the audiences. It just stinks though b/c she wanted to do a lot of those other pics that went to actresses like Nancy Carroll who the studio was trying to build up. Even though she often played tough go-getters on the screen she was really pretty timid when it came to standing up for herself b/c the way she saw it, she was just thankful to have a job that she loved after growing up so poor and she didn’t want to make waves. Later in her career when she did become a little more outspoken on her behalf it didn’t get her very far as the “Bow formula” was already engrained in the system.
I would say ’26 and ’27 were her best years in terms of the quality of movies. Dancing Mothers, Mantrap (directed by Victor Fleming), and Kid Boots (costarring Eddie Cantor) are her only films from ’26 I’ve seen and the latter two good, fun films while Dancing Mothers is a good little drama.
It, which would cement her as one of the era’s biggest stars, was her first release of ’27 and I think it is the quintessential modern Cinderella story. Children of Divorce followed It and costarred Esther Ralston who had been in the business since she was a child and Gary Cooper who was pretty rough around the edges as this one of his earliest lead type roles. Josef Von Sternberg (hope I spelled that right) who was very talented was brought in to redo many scenes before it was released. Wings (directed by William Wellman) followed and was a huge hit. Hula and Get Your Man costarring Clive Brook and Buddy Rogers respectively wrapped up the year and were also cute, fun films showing Clara at her exhuberant best.
But in 1928 they began to churn out films that weren’t always distinguishable from the one before but the public still clamored to see them so I guess the studio saw no reason to fix something they didn’t see as broken. Unforturnately none of her ’28 releases are known to survive so we can’t really know how good or bad they were.
A lot of the actors/actresses who seem to have gotten tagged with the “their voices aren’t good enough for talkies” stigma seem to be the ones who didn’t act very long into the talkie era but did have a lot of success in silents. It’s just easier to lump them all into one group I guess and say their voices/accents were bad. Many of them had already been acting for a number of years and were ready to retire anyway (like Clara for example) or their popularity was beginning to wane around that time which does happen with the fickle public. I’m sure there were some who turned audiences off with their voices, but the more I learn about that era, I’m guessing it was a pretty small number who fell into that category. There were a number of actors with accents like Dietrich and Garbo who did fine in the early talkies so I’m guessing the voice/accent issues were only concerns very early in that era and as audiences adjusted to hearing the actors speaking, they got over it but the stigma wore on.
I would say ’26 and ’27 were her best years in terms of the quality of movies. Dancing Mothers, Mantrap (directed by Victor Fleming), and Kid Boots (costarring Eddie Cantor) are her only films from ’26 I’ve seen and the latter two good, fun films while Dancing Mothers is a good little drama.
It, which would cement her as one of the era’s biggest stars, was her first release of ’27 and I think it is the quintessential modern Cinderella story. Children of Divorce followed It and costarred Esther Ralston who had been in the business since she was a child and Gary Cooper who was pretty rough around the edges as this one of his earliest lead type roles. Josef Von Sternberg (hope I spelled that right) who was very talented was brought in to redo many scenes before it was released. Wings (directed by William Wellman) followed and was a huge hit. Hula and Get Your Man costarring Clive Brook and Buddy Rogers respectively wrapped up the year and were also cute, fun films showing Clara at her exhuberant best.
But in 1928 they began to churn out films that weren’t always distinguishable from the one before but the public still clamored to see them so I guess the studio saw no reason to fix something they didn’t see as broken. Unforturnately none of her ’28 releases are known to survive so we can’t really know how good or bad they were.
A lot of the actors/actresses who seem to have gotten tagged with the “their voices aren’t good enough for talkies” stigma seem to be the ones who didn’t act very long into the talkie era but did have a lot of success in silents. It’s just easier to lump them all into one group I guess and say their voices/accents were bad. Many of them had already been acting for a number of years and were ready to retire anyway (like Clara for example) or their popularity was beginning to wane around that time which does happen with the fickle public. I’m sure there were some who turned audiences off with their voices, but the more I learn about that era, I’m guessing it was a pretty small number who fell into that category. There were a number of actors with accents like Dietrich and Garbo who did fine in the early talkies so I’m guessing the voice/accent issues were only concerns very early in that era and as audiences adjusted to hearing the actors speaking, they got over it but the stigma wore on.
“I never really thought of myself as an actor. But I’d learned to ride on my dad’s ranch and I could do some roping stunts and working as an extra was better than starving as an artist nobody wanted on the West Coast.” - Gary Cooper
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drednm
I have all the Clara Bow talkies.... I can't distinguish one from another except for CALL HER SAVAGE, HOOPLA, and THE WILD PARTY. The others are a blurr or similar plots and poor production values. Still, Bow is always worth watching.
I guess THE SATURDAY NIGHT KID also stands out because the plot is pretty good and offers Jean Arthur a juicy role.
I guess THE SATURDAY NIGHT KID also stands out because the plot is pretty good and offers Jean Arthur a juicy role.
Jean Arthur is another of my top faves and it’s neat to see her and Clara in a movie together. I thought they made a good and convincing pair as sisters. Jean Harlow is also in that one in an early role as a store employee near the end.
Do you have Her Wedding Night and Kick In? I know those are still around but I’ve never seen copies of them anywhere.
Do you have Her Wedding Night and Kick In? I know those are still around but I’ve never seen copies of them anywhere.
“I never really thought of myself as an actor. But I’d learned to ride on my dad’s ranch and I could do some roping stunts and working as an extra was better than starving as an artist nobody wanted on the West Coast.” - Gary Cooper
There’s a filmography in the back of Stenn’s book and I’m pretty sure I remember seeing that it listed those two as still being in print. I know all her films from ’28 are missing/lost and quite a few of her early films from ’23-’25 are presumed lost as well. Helen’s Babies (1924) is still around and I came across a website that was selling copies of it but they must not have been doing that anymore b/c I never got a reply to my emails about it so unfortunately I missed out on that one.
“I never really thought of myself as an actor. But I’d learned to ride on my dad’s ranch and I could do some roping stunts and working as an extra was better than starving as an artist nobody wanted on the West Coast.” - Gary Cooper
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drednm
According to the filmography in Stenn's book (I'm home now so I looked through it) here are the Clara Bow films we don't have (I'm assuming we have the same ones) that are still in print.
Beyond the Rainbow (1922) 16mm complete
Enemies of Women (1923) 35mm incomplete
Poisoned Paradise (1924) 35mm complete
Daughters of Pleasure (1924) 35mm incomplete
Helen's Babies (1924) 35mm complete
Empty Hearts (1924) 35mm complete
Black Lightning (1924) 35mm complete
My Lady's Lips (1925) 35mm nitrate only (preservation pending)
The Best Bad Man (1925) 35mm incomplete
Children of Divorce (1927) 35mm complete (I also know this has been fully restored and is held in the Library of Congress)
Her Wedding Night (1930) 35mm complete
Kick In (1931) 35mm complete
Beyond the Rainbow (1922) 16mm complete
Enemies of Women (1923) 35mm incomplete
Poisoned Paradise (1924) 35mm complete
Daughters of Pleasure (1924) 35mm incomplete
Helen's Babies (1924) 35mm complete
Empty Hearts (1924) 35mm complete
Black Lightning (1924) 35mm complete
My Lady's Lips (1925) 35mm nitrate only (preservation pending)
The Best Bad Man (1925) 35mm incomplete
Children of Divorce (1927) 35mm complete (I also know this has been fully restored and is held in the Library of Congress)
Her Wedding Night (1930) 35mm complete
Kick In (1931) 35mm complete
“I never really thought of myself as an actor. But I’d learned to ride on my dad’s ranch and I could do some roping stunts and working as an extra was better than starving as an artist nobody wanted on the West Coast.” - Gary Cooper
Angie,
So does THE KEEPER OF THE BEE'S still exist??? I was under the impression that it was probably lost? Clara only has a supporting role, but this completely forgotten FBO (Film Booking Office) release (they became RKO), was one of the most popular and successful films of the decade in some circles. In-fact, the Box-office champ of 1926 according to "Exhibitors Herald." And Running some places three years after it was released in late 1925.
The movie was a great favorite of the exhibitors and the public particularly, in the smaller markets. Though it likely received limited attention in the larger venues, because of the way the Theater system was organized at the time?
Wanted to mention that GET YOUR MAN is Incomplete, and was listed on Silent Era, as in "Active Decomposition." Hopefully, someone has since stepped in to save the soul remaing 35 millimeter print. The Bootleg DVD that has banded about is definitely from a 16 millimeter dupe. And transfered at a much to slow Frame-rate for a 1927 feature.
THE PRIMEROSE PATH was being restored, by UCLA, but one ogf the reel's burned up in a Pizza Fire last year. I told Ed, about this. Sounds outrageous, but I am not kidding! Hopefully, they found another source for the missing reel?
So does THE KEEPER OF THE BEE'S still exist??? I was under the impression that it was probably lost? Clara only has a supporting role, but this completely forgotten FBO (Film Booking Office) release (they became RKO), was one of the most popular and successful films of the decade in some circles. In-fact, the Box-office champ of 1926 according to "Exhibitors Herald." And Running some places three years after it was released in late 1925. The movie was a great favorite of the exhibitors and the public particularly, in the smaller markets. Though it likely received limited attention in the larger venues, because of the way the Theater system was organized at the time? Wanted to mention that GET YOUR MAN is Incomplete, and was listed on Silent Era, as in "Active Decomposition." Hopefully, someone has since stepped in to save the soul remaing 35 millimeter print. The Bootleg DVD that has banded about is definitely from a 16 millimeter dupe. And transfered at a much to slow Frame-rate for a 1927 feature. THE PRIMEROSE PATH was being restored, by UCLA, but one ogf the reel's burned up in a Pizza Fire last year. I told Ed, about this. Sounds outrageous, but I am not kidding! Hopefully, they found another source for the missing reel?This is gonna be a long post so I apologize for hogging so much space. Here’s a complete list of Clara’s films that survive either in fragments or complete. An asterisk indicates they are available on dvd (mostly poor quality bootlegs).
Beyond the Rainbow (1922)
Down to the Sea in Ships (1922)*
Enemies of Women (1923)
Black Oxen (1923)*
Poisoned Paradise (1924)
Daughters of Pleasure (1924)
Helen's Babies (1924)
Empty Hearts (1924)
Black Lightning (1924)
Capital Punishment (1925)*
My Lady's Lips (1925)
Parisian Love (1925)*
The Primrose Path (1925)*
Free to Love (1925)*
The Best Bad Man (1925)
The Plastic Age (1925)*
My Lady of Whims (1925)*
Dancing Mothers (1926)*
Mantrap (1926)*
Kid Boots (1926)*
It (1927)* (I have the Milestone version and it’s gorgeous)
Children of Divorce (1927)
Wings (1927)*
Hula (1927)*
Get Your Man (1927)*
The Wild Party (1929)* (This was her first talkie and all following films are talkies)
Dangerous Curves (1929)*
The Saturday Night Kid (1929)*
True to the Navy (1930)
Love Among the Millionaires (1930)*
Her Wedding Night (1930)
No Limit (1931)*
Kick In (1931)
Call Her Savage (1932)*
Hoopla (1933)*
The last two were at Fox and the majority of the rest were either made at Paramount or are currently owned by Paramount as they took over the company she was working for in her early films and thus also took control of the films. The talkies though since they are from ’29 or later are owned by Universal (excluding the last two owned by Fox).
Here is the list of lost films.
The Daring Years (1923)
Maytime (1923)
Grit (1924)
Wine (1924)
Empty Hearts (1924)
This Woman (1924)
The Adventurous Sex (1925)
Eve’s Lover (1925)
The Lawful Cheater (1925)
The Scarlet West (1925)
Kiss Me Again (1925) (Directed by Ernst Lubitsch)
Keeper of the Bees (1925)
The Ancient Mariner (1925)
Dance Madness (1926)
Shadow of the Law (1926)
Two Can Play (1926)
Fascinating Youth (1926)
The Runaway (1926) (Featured William Powell in the early stages of his career. He’s one of my faves so I’d love to see this one.)
Rough House Rosie (1927)
Red Hair (1928) (The first reel was in two-strip Technicolor, the only color footage ever shot of Clara)
Ladies of the Mob (1928) (Costarred Richard Arlen and was supposed to have been a good, dramatic film. She was really happy to get to make this one.)
The Fleet’s In (1928)
Three Weekends (1928)
Beyond the Rainbow (1922)
Down to the Sea in Ships (1922)*
Enemies of Women (1923)
Black Oxen (1923)*
Poisoned Paradise (1924)
Daughters of Pleasure (1924)
Helen's Babies (1924)
Empty Hearts (1924)
Black Lightning (1924)
Capital Punishment (1925)*
My Lady's Lips (1925)
Parisian Love (1925)*
The Primrose Path (1925)*
Free to Love (1925)*
The Best Bad Man (1925)
The Plastic Age (1925)*
My Lady of Whims (1925)*
Dancing Mothers (1926)*
Mantrap (1926)*
Kid Boots (1926)*
It (1927)* (I have the Milestone version and it’s gorgeous)
Children of Divorce (1927)
Wings (1927)*
Hula (1927)*
Get Your Man (1927)*
The Wild Party (1929)* (This was her first talkie and all following films are talkies)
Dangerous Curves (1929)*
The Saturday Night Kid (1929)*
True to the Navy (1930)
Love Among the Millionaires (1930)*
Her Wedding Night (1930)
No Limit (1931)*
Kick In (1931)
Call Her Savage (1932)*
Hoopla (1933)*
The last two were at Fox and the majority of the rest were either made at Paramount or are currently owned by Paramount as they took over the company she was working for in her early films and thus also took control of the films. The talkies though since they are from ’29 or later are owned by Universal (excluding the last two owned by Fox).
Here is the list of lost films.
The Daring Years (1923)
Maytime (1923)
Grit (1924)
Wine (1924)
Empty Hearts (1924)
This Woman (1924)
The Adventurous Sex (1925)
Eve’s Lover (1925)
The Lawful Cheater (1925)
The Scarlet West (1925)
Kiss Me Again (1925) (Directed by Ernst Lubitsch)
Keeper of the Bees (1925)
The Ancient Mariner (1925)
Dance Madness (1926)
Shadow of the Law (1926)
Two Can Play (1926)
Fascinating Youth (1926)
The Runaway (1926) (Featured William Powell in the early stages of his career. He’s one of my faves so I’d love to see this one.)
Rough House Rosie (1927)
Red Hair (1928) (The first reel was in two-strip Technicolor, the only color footage ever shot of Clara)
Ladies of the Mob (1928) (Costarred Richard Arlen and was supposed to have been a good, dramatic film. She was really happy to get to make this one.)
The Fleet’s In (1928)
Three Weekends (1928)
“I never really thought of myself as an actor. But I’d learned to ride on my dad’s ranch and I could do some roping stunts and working as an extra was better than starving as an artist nobody wanted on the West Coast.” - Gary Cooper
I saw the two-strip fragments from Red Hair a couple of years back at the SF Silent Film Fest. It was great to see.coopsgirl wrote:Red Hair (1928) (The first reel was in two-strip Technicolor, the only color footage ever shot of Clara)
Count me firmly in the pro-Clara camp.
I'd really like to see Ladies of the Mob. Not only for Clara, I have a very soft spot for Richard Arlen.
As Kevin Brownlow said to me during our first telephone interview, Paramount made about 6000 silent films, they only actively saved about 36 of them. Thank God for archivists. I'm going OT, but they did not care then, and they sure as heck do not care about their early films now. There are a ton of Paramounts from the 1928-1936 period I would LOVE to see. They do not get shown on TV and they certainly are not under consideration for a DVD release. A shame! (end of rant)
Coopsgirl, thanks for posting the lists!
Last edited by rudyfan on February 5th, 2009, 12:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
That is wonderful to know the color portion of Red Hair survived. I thought it had been lost. I would love to get to see it one day. 
Out of my main four faves (Gary Cooper, Clara Bow, Barbara Stanwyck, and Jean Arthur) Clara is the only one I’ve yet to see on the big screen.
I like Richard Arlen too and a couple of weekends ago I went on a day trip to Fredericksburg (a little town in the Hill Country region of Central Texas about an hour and half from me) and they have a Pioneer museum with some old homes and other buildings from the late 1800s-early 1900s and in one of them they had some WWI stuff from a soldier that was from there. They had a big headshot of him in his uniform and he looked like Richard Arlen. The resemblance was so close to how Richard looked in Wings they could have been brothers.
Here are links to a couple pics of Clara and Richard in Ladies of the Mob and Dangerous Curves respectively.
http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/t163 ... themob.jpg
http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/t163 ... curves.jpg
I can’t stress this enough how truly shameful it is that Paramount/Universal treat their classic films so badly. It’s just my rotten luck that they have most of the early films of Gary and Clara, my two very faves.
Out of my main four faves (Gary Cooper, Clara Bow, Barbara Stanwyck, and Jean Arthur) Clara is the only one I’ve yet to see on the big screen. I like Richard Arlen too and a couple of weekends ago I went on a day trip to Fredericksburg (a little town in the Hill Country region of Central Texas about an hour and half from me) and they have a Pioneer museum with some old homes and other buildings from the late 1800s-early 1900s and in one of them they had some WWI stuff from a soldier that was from there. They had a big headshot of him in his uniform and he looked like Richard Arlen. The resemblance was so close to how Richard looked in Wings they could have been brothers.
Here are links to a couple pics of Clara and Richard in Ladies of the Mob and Dangerous Curves respectively.
http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/t163 ... themob.jpg
http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/t163 ... curves.jpg
I can’t stress this enough how truly shameful it is that Paramount/Universal treat their classic films so badly. It’s just my rotten luck that they have most of the early films of Gary and Clara, my two very faves.
“I never really thought of myself as an actor. But I’d learned to ride on my dad’s ranch and I could do some roping stunts and working as an extra was better than starving as an artist nobody wanted on the West Coast.” - Gary Cooper
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myrnaloyisdope
- Posts: 349
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Hey Ang,
thanks for all the info, I've only seen a couple of Clara's films It, and Call Her Savage, though I have copies of a few other films, but she's definitely an interesting figure, and I would like to see more.
I'm a big fan of William Wellman's work, so Ladies of the Mob is one of my holy grails, everything I've read about it makes it sound excellent. Also despite my lukewarm feelings about Coop, Legion of the Condemned is another of my holy grails.
That Kevin Brownlow statistic is appalling...36 out of 6000!!! Paramount stinks, and it's a shame with so many great stars and films under their control that they haven't made much effort to tap into their catalog.
thanks for all the info, I've only seen a couple of Clara's films It, and Call Her Savage, though I have copies of a few other films, but she's definitely an interesting figure, and I would like to see more.
I'm a big fan of William Wellman's work, so Ladies of the Mob is one of my holy grails, everything I've read about it makes it sound excellent. Also despite my lukewarm feelings about Coop, Legion of the Condemned is another of my holy grails.
That Kevin Brownlow statistic is appalling...36 out of 6000!!! Paramount stinks, and it's a shame with so many great stars and films under their control that they haven't made much effort to tap into their catalog.
"Do you think it's dangerous to have Busby Berkeley dreams?" - The Magnetic Fields
Angie, Ed, Everyone,
Say big news! A restored 35 millimeter print of MANTRAP will be screened at an upcoming event in Ithaca New York! That's great to here. What is not so great to hear is the $50.00 admission price!!!
Here is the link:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/article ... /902050310
Say big news! A restored 35 millimeter print of MANTRAP will be screened at an upcoming event in Ithaca New York! That's great to here. What is not so great to hear is the $50.00 admission price!!! Here is the link:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/article ... /902050310