Hey Jeff,
I’m glad you enjoyed
Call Her Savage. Here’s a little background info on it for anyone who may not know. In ’31 Clara’s close friend who was also partly her business manager went on trial for embezzlement. From what I read in David Stenn’s wonderful and very thoroughly researched bio about Clara, it seems that Daisy did not actually commit a crime but it was all one big misunderstanding on the part of Daisy, Clara and Rex Bell who was Clara’s boyfriend at the time and would soon become her husband. The judge in the trial was crooked and was later deposed and tried himself. He actually convicted Daisy on only one count and that was for a check that didn’t even have her signature on it. I won’t fully defend Daisy though as she did drag her best friend through the mud in an attempt to save her own skin.
This led to a mental breakdown on Clara’s part and she was unable to continue working. She genuinely tried to do her best as she wanted to fulfill her contract since she was not one of those diva stars but a hard working actress. She broke down one day on the set of
Kick In and soon after Paramount released her. She wrote a letter to Schulberg, production head at Paramount, after they let her go that was so pitiful and touching it made me cry. He got her a start in Hollywood and then used her for everything he could get out of her. She was grossly underpaid b/c they knew they could take advantage of her limited education and b/c her films were practically always hits, she was usually given less than stellar material or costars b/c all they needed to bring in the dough was Clara.
Back in the 20s she said in an interview that once she got married she would leave Hollywood b/c she wanted to have a family and devote all her time to them. She and Rex married in late ’31 and the only reason she continued to make films was b/c Rex was still under a movie contract himself and would have to spend time in Hollywood away from the ranch they called home in Nevada. When they went back to Hollywood in ’32 every studio but Paramount made Clara an offer and she took a two picture deal at Fox.
Call Her Savage was first and it was a hit. Enough time had passed that people forgot and forgave the scandal of the previous year. In ’33 she made
Hoopla! which would be her last film. She made an easy transition to talkies so it was not her voice that ended her career. She went out on top and it was her decision.
In
Call Her Savage we see a very mature actress even though she would only have been 27. She had a decade worth of experience under her belt by then and with better material (though still not as good as I think she deserved) we get a glimpse of what could have been the beginning of a turn to more dramatic roles which I believe she was perfect for. When people say she had “it” they ain’t just whistling Dixie. There is something about her that you just can’t look away from. She’s one of those rare stars that attracts both men, women, and children and captures them in her spell. She is far and away my favorite actress and I hope one day her movies will get the proper treatment they deserve.
I’ll get off my Clara soapbox now
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“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