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Review: It (1927)

By BETSY SHERMAN  |  April 27, 2011
3.0 3.0 Stars

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Silent-movie stardom gained a new dimension with Clara Bow in It, which was directed by Clarence G. Badger and an uncredited Josef von Sternberg. Neither vamp nor waif, Bow brought the modern, fun-loving '20s girl into focus. Paramount promoted her as "the 'It' girl," personification of author Elinor Glyn's concept of a magnetic force no one can resist. This 1927 feature is a routine story of a salesgirl smitten with the department-store heir, yet Bow gives it a champagne fizz. Her ebullient, resourceful Betty Lou knows where the party is, and she can get you in; what's more, she'll stick her neck out for a female friend. A bright light of the late silents, Bow was able to work her Brooklyn accent into the sound era, but she was dogged by scandal and didn't make it past the 1933 Hoopla. Unlike successor Jean Harlow, she didn't die young — she vanished, dying outside the spotlight in 1965. (This screening is accompanied by an original score performed live by Berklee College of Music students.)
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  Topics: Reviews , Berklee College of Music, film, Film reviews,  More more >
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