Item #: 9601DVD Category: SILENT Format: DVD MPAA Rating: U

Woolly Rating: 6/10 (92 votes)

MEMBER COMMENTS ON THIS VIDEO

jd	Nov 12, 2003 @ 18:22:12

<[:-} “it” be all that
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! SPOILERs!!! this is the first clara bow movie i’ve seen, and now i know what all the fuss is about. she IS “it.” her charisma alone makes this a “must see” movie. the sexual attitudes of “it” (1927) are dated, keeping “it” from having its intended effect on the modern viewer, but the distortion itself is fascinating. josef von sternberg, the compassionate prussian, co-directed “it,” and his jackboot prints are all over “it.” it’ll be interesting to see what his dumbass reincarnation, “der gropenfuhrer,” does now that he has the whole state of california to amuse himself with. “it” is widely held to be a “silly” "comedy with a moral" in the grand hollywood rut. "it" is not "blue angel" but the feel good humor of "it" hides a black core, and “it” contains a similar debasement of a privileged man. the message of "it" is basically that a woman needn’t worry about social stature, financial support, or reputation... as long as she is an incorrigibly independent but irresistible tuft of fluff. somewhat reminiscent of the later (1932) jean harlow titular character “red-headed woman,” “betty lou” (bow) is a total sexual predator, except that her character is not supposed to be promiscuous. she sets her sights on her boss, young, wealthy heir “cyrus waltham, jr.,” and dominates him easily [antonio “creature from the black lagoon” moreno]. von sternberg studiously ridicules betty lou’s ellie mae fashion sense and lack of “class,” but shows that they are no obstacle to the woman who has "it." the only bump in the road to romance comes when cyrus is led to believe betty lou has a “fatherless baby.” he is so disgusted that he wants to throw her off his yacht. he’s supposed to be the good guy of the story. betty lou was just covering for her unmarried, unemployed roommate “molly” (priscilla bonner), claiming molly's baby as her own, to keep molly from losing her baby to inhuman social workers sicced on her by meddling neighbors. betty lou never denies molly’s disgrace, and makes it clear her attitude toward molly is as condescending as it is caring. with iron will, she refuses to tell cyrus the truth, miffed that he “didn’t give [betty lou] the benefit of the doubt.” she announces her intent to take him down in spite of his avowed loathing of her, and reduces him first to hinting at one of wealthy society’s “left handed arrangements,” and then to a groveling proposal of marriage. he says: “i don’t care what you’ve been.” betty lou’s original intent was to “laugh in his face” at this point, but she eventually relents. the dramatic “woman overboard” climax lets betty lou show her strength compared to cyrus’ wealthy main squeeze “adela” (jacqueline gadsden). it also allows von sternberg to show both women in wet clothes. adela’s blouse is open, and she plays left side peek-a-boob as she bobs, helplessly swooning, in the waves, but i couldn’t find a frame where the breast hadn’t been airbrushed all the way out. “it” is explicitly defined, more than once, at the start of the movie. the very concept of “it” was scandalous, and "it" was the movie’s promotional hook. one very disturbing, oedipal passage of the definition was “mothers spoil boys with ‘it.’ women never refuse them favors.” contrary to some of the reviews and criticisms of “it” i’ve read, “it” is explicitly defined as “sex appeal,” at least in this release. william austin, batman’s original alfred, plays cyrus’ fey playboy friend “monty,” who is smitten with and trampled by betty lou. as cyrus pretends to tend to his father’s woolworth type department store, he warns monty to get off his father’s desk, saying “run away monty. the keepers are coming.” the store’s unhappy board members are coming in, looking to kick ass and take names. gary cooper, who was supposedly dating bow, has a very brief, uncredited part.

SEXY CLARA BOW...
"IT" of course, is simply sex appeal, and some claim that Clara Bow was the first real movie sex symbol. Whether you agree with this or not, it's undeniable that this cute redhead with the sparkling eyes from Brooklyn personified the Roaring Twenties with its economic prosperity and liberal and liberating lifestyles. This tale of a shopgirl in a big department store who sets out to capture the attention of her boss and who then jepardizes everything when she falsely claims a neighbor's baby as her own illegitimate child, is indispensible viewing for anyone interested in cultural history. The included biographical film tracing Bow's movie career and later life is well done and extremely interesting as well. SEE IT NOW!

• GOODBYE UNCLE TOM
Snuff Film... (Tim)

• TAMPOPO
Awesome... (CMH)

• ROMERO
... (Sue)

• VAMPIRES VS ZOMBIES
horrible... (beachmonkey)

• PULP FICTION (COL ED)
a thrill ride... (Alan Hall)

• PERFUME
KINKY, DISTURBING... (DKB)

• BLACK MASK 2: CITY IF MASKS
not bad... (Dedeals)

• ELVIS ON TOUR
Elvis in Concert. ... (elvisandmeatloaf@aol.com)

• BORN YESTERDAY
A great performance... (micca)

• WONDERWALL
Why this film dserves more than a one star rating.... (Eric)

• PIT STOP (LTBX)
... (pike)

• BEWARE OF A HOLY WHORE
... (pike)

• BIG BAD MAMA
... ()

• GOODBYE UNCLE TOM
MISUNDERSTOOD... (Caribba)

• MONKEY KUNG FU
the best... (melo70)

• PANTERA 3 WATCH IT GO
WATCH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!... (leo)

• HOUSE OF STRANGERS
FINE 1949 NOIR/DRAMA... (DKB)

• KEEP YOUR DISTANCE
LOCALLY SHOT DRAMA... (DKB)

• GOODBYE UNCLE TOM
a genius reality check 4 our race we may live in the white mans land & call it hme bt in doing that we deny the truth of our being. All brown skin people nomatta hw light r african rayalty ... (lady swirl)