Classic Movie Post - It (1927)
Today's pick is one of my favorite silents - the funny, bubbly, smart It which stars Clara Bow and Antonio Moreno.
The term "it", to describe sex appeal, was coined by the notorious British novelist Elinor Glyn. Ms. Glyn wrote deliciously trashy and extremely scandalous (for the time) romance novels. I have read a batch of them and they are delightful. She was also an extremely shrewd businesswoman who wrote books to keep herself and her husband living well, and moved to Hollywood to pursue an extremely successful career there.
But, anyway, on to the movie. Its protagonist is the spunky, no-nonsense shopgirl Betty Lou Spence (Clara Bow). Her awesomeness catches the eye of the wealthy, reserved owner of her department store, with the rather dated name of Cyrus Waltham Jr. (Antonio Moreno). A courtship full of fun, misunderstandings, and adorableness ensues. She takes him to Coney Island! He rides a streetcar for her!
So, why watch a movie that is over 80 years old? Because it's fun. I laughed out loud at some of the sequences. Because the glimpses into a long-vanished world are fascinating. Because of the heroine. Betty Lou has "it" in spades, but what really drew me how awesome she was. She was warm and real and practical and with a huge temper and optimistic and very strong (there is a subplot with her neighbour's illegitimate baby in which Betty Lou is great). I can't blame Cyrus falling for her because I fell for her myself. It is perhaps anachronistic to call a 1920s movie heroine feminist, but I will. (There are a number of silents which have very strong women in them - see Our Dancing Daughters). She rescues herself, she has strong opinions of right and wrong, she will not put up with wounds to her self-respect even from a man she loves, she stands up for those weaker than herself. Her (and the movie's) views on unmarried mothers (i.e. her neighbor) are incredibly progressive for the time. Basically, she is awesome.
The rest of the cast is second fiddle to Clara Bow but I really liked Antonio Moreno. His looks probably wouldn't make him a movie star today, but he looks like what an attractive wealthy man of the period would love to look like :) And I ended up liking his reserved character, and his chemistry with Clara Bow.
Have a clip from the movie:
Anyway, check it out, it's a delight! The entire movie is on youtube btw.
The term "it", to describe sex appeal, was coined by the notorious British novelist Elinor Glyn. Ms. Glyn wrote deliciously trashy and extremely scandalous (for the time) romance novels. I have read a batch of them and they are delightful. She was also an extremely shrewd businesswoman who wrote books to keep herself and her husband living well, and moved to Hollywood to pursue an extremely successful career there.
But, anyway, on to the movie. Its protagonist is the spunky, no-nonsense shopgirl Betty Lou Spence (Clara Bow). Her awesomeness catches the eye of the wealthy, reserved owner of her department store, with the rather dated name of Cyrus Waltham Jr. (Antonio Moreno). A courtship full of fun, misunderstandings, and adorableness ensues. She takes him to Coney Island! He rides a streetcar for her!
So, why watch a movie that is over 80 years old? Because it's fun. I laughed out loud at some of the sequences. Because the glimpses into a long-vanished world are fascinating. Because of the heroine. Betty Lou has "it" in spades, but what really drew me how awesome she was. She was warm and real and practical and with a huge temper and optimistic and very strong (there is a subplot with her neighbour's illegitimate baby in which Betty Lou is great). I can't blame Cyrus falling for her because I fell for her myself. It is perhaps anachronistic to call a 1920s movie heroine feminist, but I will. (There are a number of silents which have very strong women in them - see Our Dancing Daughters). She rescues herself, she has strong opinions of right and wrong, she will not put up with wounds to her self-respect even from a man she loves, she stands up for those weaker than herself. Her (and the movie's) views on unmarried mothers (i.e. her neighbor) are incredibly progressive for the time. Basically, she is awesome.
The rest of the cast is second fiddle to Clara Bow but I really liked Antonio Moreno. His looks probably wouldn't make him a movie star today, but he looks like what an attractive wealthy man of the period would love to look like :) And I ended up liking his reserved character, and his chemistry with Clara Bow.
Have a clip from the movie:
Click to viewAnyway, check it out, it's a delight! The entire movie is on youtube btw.