"Call Her Savage" (1932)

[mongoII]

One pre code that impressed and shocked me was "Call Her Savage" (1932) with Clara Bow:

A free-form blend of western, romantic comedy, tragedy, and everything in between, "CALL HER SAVAGE" takes (sometimes jarring) turns from comedy to pathos, creating an absolutely unique experience.

I can only imagine how Joseph Breen and his ilk must have gnashed their teeth over this film - virtually every scene seems to have been calculated to drive them up the wall. For all its brazenness, it's surprising that "CALL HER SAVAGE" was a Fox production, for one would expect it more from Warner Bros.
We first see Clara in a tight-fitting white shirt, enthusiastically whipping a snake - then a handsome ranch hand when he laughs at her! Clara then tears off a portion of her shirt to tend to his wounds (my, hasn't that one been appropriated time and time again!). Further mix in race relations, prostitution, and an attempted rape by her STD-ravaged husband ("Don't get up" she cautions. "I GET UP every afternoon!" he answers).
And don't miss the detour to cinema's very first gay bar where the waiters sing about sailors in pajamas (!). On a seedier level, there's a brief but unsavory taste of pederasty when a drunken old fool approaches a little girl.

But it's Clara who makes this movie. The early scenes of her scantily clad and writhing on the grass have a palpable erotic charge that no black and white vintage can dilute (remember, this was the woman who sat through a stage performance of "Dracula" dressed in a fur coat - and little else). I really hope that Clara is well remembered today, for she was TRULY a star and incredible personality. A lively, vital, and eternally beautiful free spirit. But there was always a touch of sadness in those big, childlike eyes, wasn't there...

I viewed this movie on the Fox Movie Channel.

[moira finnie]

I saw this pre-code doozie about a year ago and enjoyed your review of the non-stop action alot. The only thing you glossed over was the um, uh, 'suggestion' of bestiality in the wrestling scene between our pal Clara and her Great Dane, but we don't need to go there, do we? Btw, do you know if this movie was banned from many communities in its day? I would've thought that the outre story elements would've made Clara even more of a liability for the studio system if it wasn't financially profitable due to local censor boards giving this movie the boot.

I found that the sequence in New Orleans when Clara's character is very down on her luck was quite touching, despite the melodramatic elements. I doubt if that Wild Child Clara Bow could've sustained a career in movies once it became much more business-like in the '30s, but her ability to captivate a viewer's eye and heart are in evidence in this portion of the movie in particular. I also honestly couldn't understand her racially motivated reluctance to turn to Gilbert Roland for comfort throughout the picture. Maybe her character's problem wasn't that she needed to sow wild oats, but that she just needed glasses. Com'on, now, he was Gilbert Roland, after all.

[benwhowell]

WHY is this movie not on DVD? I've gotta see it! Unfortunately, I do not have the Fox Movie Channel. Thanks, Joe, for recommending it...
I read that the Museum Of Modern Art has a fully restored print. I have this giant Museum Of Modern Art book...can't wait to get home and see what is written about this movie...hope there are some stills (of the scenes you mentioned.)
Ironically, our very own Lynn spent time last weekend with Clara Bow's son!

[feaito]

Excellent post Mongo! I have to watch this film!

[moira finnie]

Say Ben, after reading about your wish to see Call Her Savage, I wondered if you'd thought of posting a request in The Marketplace asking to trade a copy with another party? As we grow the site, it's possible someone with a vhs copy or a dvr might be able to help you.

As Mongo's review illustrates, this particular film may be unique in incorporating just about every single thing that one could think of that would irk the censors, and probably added fuel to the fire that led to the Production Code enforcement, so historically it's interesting--and, as one of the few Clara Bow talkies, proves that she did have a recordable voice.

[vallo]

I saw this film once and loved it. I don't get Fox Movie Channel anymore. But I also wish for the DVD. Bow really impressed me in this. She's a wonderful actress. Also a great Cat-fight with Thelma Todd.
Hopefully Fox gets on the ball and releases this film. I'm suprised that Clara Bow never made more talkies.

vallo

[SSO Admins]

I saw this film once and loved it. I don't get Fox Movie Channel anymore. But I also wish for the DVD. Bow really impressed me in this. She's a wonderful actress. Also a great Cat-fight with Thelma Todd.
Hopefully Fox gets on the ball and releases this film. I'm suprised that Clara Bow never made more talkies.

vallo

She made several before her retirement. I have them all except Kick In and Her Wedding Night. Some of them are really good, especially Dangerous Curves and CHS.

Paramount's theory was that there was no point in giving her good material because a Clara Bow picture would make money whether it was a quality film or not. It's a shame, because some of her films are so bad that they would be unwatchable if not for her.

Fox treated her somewhat better in the two talkies she did for them.

[dfordoom]

I saw this pre-code doozie about a year ago and enjoyed your review of the non-stop action alot. The only thing you glossed over was the um, uh, 'suggestion' of bestiality in the wrestling scene between our pal Clara and her Great Dane

The scene with the dog was certainly....interesting.

It's an amazingly entertaining movie, with something to offend just about evrybody back in 1933.

[Moraldo Rubini]

I saw Call Her Savage years ago at a revival cinema. I seem to recall a risque scene with Ms. Bow and a bullwhip. Does this ring a bell? Is it my vivid imagination running wild again?

"The more I see of men, the more I like dogs."
Clara Bow

[mongoII]

Moraldo, your not imagining things. The whip scene is mentioned in the very first post on this page.

[dfordoom]

I saw Call Her Savage years ago at a revival cinema. I seem to recall a risque scene with Ms. Bow and a bullwhip. Does this ring a bell? Is it my vivid imagination running wild again?

And when questioned as to why she's whipping that man, she replies that she's practising in case she gets married.

[SSO Admins]

I saw Call Her Savage years ago at a revival cinema. I seem to recall a risque scene with Ms. Bow and a bullwhip. Does this ring a bell? Is it my vivid imagination running wild again?

And when questioned as to why she's whipping that man, she replies that she's practising in case she gets married.

My god that's a great movie.

[benwhowell]

I watched "Call Her Savage" sunday (for the first time) and it was even more than I hoped it would be! I fell in love with Clara Bow all over again. (This is the first "talkie" I've seen her in.) She had a great laugh. I wonder if she was forced to take "speech lessons" like some silent stars were.
Thelma Todd was a hoot too.
I wonder how difficult (and expensive) it would be to find the novel, "Call Her Savage," by Tiffany Thayer. Thayer also wrote the novel, "Thirteen Women-"which is another fantastic pre code with Myrna Loy. Thayer was really into "multi-racial" characters-which was probably against the law in the '20's/'30's.
I see now why "Call Her Savage" is in the Museum Of Modern Art. I think it would definitely have appeal with a contemporary audience with the "lurid" subject matter...and the timeless Clara Bow. Hopefully, we'll see a DVD box set of her "talkies" soon...

[Sue Sue Applegate]

I want to see it, too! All of your comments make it sound so fascinating.
Especially the whip part! ( a little levity, levity.....)

[traceyk]

My movies came in today! ("Hoopla" and "Call Her Savge")
Off to watch them!