"Parisian Love" ** (out of ****)Clara Bow. What can I say about her? I haven't reviewed any of her films yet on this site. I thought it was about time. I never saw this double-feature DVD which was released by KINO and looked forward to it. How disappointing it turned out to be.
Clara Bow was one of the biggest box-office stars of her era. She didn't have the mystique of Garbo. She wasn't as innocent as little miss sunshine Mary Pickford. But she wasn't the non-sexual figure like Lillian Gish. Clara Bow had a playful, energetic quality to her. She was seen as the quintessential flapper. She, along with Louise Brooks I would argue, were seen as embodying the new found freedom of the roaring 20s.
If there is one film Ms. Bow is best known for it is "It" (1927), which some say Josef von Sternberg had a hand in the directing. The success of the film labeled Bow the "it" girl of the 20s. "It" referring to a special, indescribable quality which made her a star. It was widely believed "it" referred to sex appeal.
I have not seen all of Ms. Bow's work. But I find her reputation as a star often overshadows her work. Besides sex appeal, you will never hear anyone ever call her a great actress. She appeared in over a dozen films but many are not that well known or worst. Many of her films are thought to be lost. She never won an Oscar and to this very day, was never given a lifetime achievement award. She did act in William A. Wellman's "Wings" (1927) which became the first film to win the "Best Picture" Oscar.
Many myths have floated around about Clara Bow's sex life. One rumor was she had orgies with an entire football team. This was later discredited. But Clara Bow had a rough life. Her mother was seen as mentally ill, and was eventually put away. She even tried to kill Clara when she heard it was Clara's desire to become an actress. This lead Clara to forever feel guilty about her mother's health. Always putting the blame on herself for her life decisions.
Sadly, whatever made Clara Bow a star is not fully on display in "Parisian Love" (1925). The film simply doesn't know what it wants to be. It is part gritty street drama, part romance and part comedy of manners. Because it wants to be everything at once it becomes nothing.
The film was written by first time writer Lois Hutchinson. This is clearly the work of a beginner. There is no consistent tone. We are not fully dealing with believable characters. Too many of the events feel rushed. Very little is properly drawn out to establish character motivations.
The director was Louis J. Gasnier. He directed Clara Bow once before in "Maytime" (1923) and perhaps is best known for directing the anti-drug tale "Reefer Madness" (1936). There is nothing really to say about Gasnier's directing. I found it uninspired at best. The good scenes are few are far between.
The story has Bow play Marie. She is part of an Apache gang. She along with Armand (Donald Keith), who also happens to be the love of her life, and another man, the leader (Otto Matieson) are performers at a club. Here the engage in the famous Apache dance and stage a fight which leads to death. One day they spot Pierre Marcel (Lou Tellegen) a millionaire in the audience. The three of them plan to rob his house.
The robbery goes wrong when Pierre notices the men. When the leader of the pack pulls out a gun to kill Pierre, Armand stops him. Now the police have arrived. Pierre covers for Armand but sends the police after the leader, whom they shoot and kill. Armand however is only slightly hurt while Marie runs to safety.
Pierre claims to have recognized Armand. He use to be a student of his. Apparently Pierre is a professor. But how a professor can afford the home he has is beyond me. Pierre will nurse Armand back to health and wants to help him change his life. But Armand is still in love with Marie and awaits the day they can see each other.
Now comes the comedy. Marie disguises herself and her mother (Lillian Leighton) as old friends. Marie's plan is to get revenge on Pierre who is playing matchmaker with Armand, pushing forward a marriage. Marie wants to get Pierre to marry her and then take all his money.
Since Marie and her mother are not people of wealth, the scenes where they try to fit in are played for comedy. To her credit Ms. Bow goes through a lot of transitions for this film. Each new scene demands a different attitude; the vulgar criminal, the gentle lover and the vamp.
But I wasn't as impressed by the film and Bow's performance as I should have been. The story seemed all over the place to me and Bow just didn't seem to have a clearly defined character. She does whatever the scene requires of her. But she does do it with a lot of spirit. She was a fiery performer, you have to admit that.
By the film's end we get that kind of melodramatic acting style that often bring unintended laughs from a young audience. Watch the scene when Marie reveals her true intentions to Pierre. The wild hand gestures and facial expressions. But she's not the only one engaging in the over-acting.
Perhaps a few rewrites and more emphasis on the romance aspect of the film would have made it better. Throwing out the comedy which interrupts the flow of the film.
"Down to the Seas in Ships" ** (out of ****)
"Down to the Seas in Ships" (1922) marked Clara Bow's film debut. She appeared in one previous film "Beyond the Rainbow" (1922) but all of her scenes were deleted. In this movie she is given fourth credit. The stars are Marguerite Courtot and Raymond McKee.
The only thing worst than watching "Parisian Love" is watching "Down to the Seas in Ships". What a mind-numbing, absolute boring film this is. I was actually having a hard time keeping my eyes open.
I suppose on some level the story could be effective and may even sound interesting. It deals with a Quaker family, the Morgan's. The father, Charles W. Morgan (William Walcott) is a whalesman. She lost his son years ago to the sea. His daughter is Patience (Courtot). Though Charles not so secretly wants a grandson. It is a blessing from the Lord to have a son the film tells us. Thus this puts a lot of pressure on Patience. But the Quakers are very strict. Charles wants his daughter to marry another Quaker. And since Charles is a whalesman, he wants his daughter to marry one to. The problem is Patience loves Thomas Allan Dexter (McKee) whom is neither a Quaker or a whalesman.
The plot thickens when Samuel Siggs (J. Thornton Baston) an Asian businessman, wants to steal Morgan's fortune. He plays on doing so by marrying his daughter. He has however disguise the fact he is Asian and pretend to be not only white but a Quaker.
You are probably wondering what the heck does any of this have to do with Clara Bow. The answer; nothing! Bow plays "Dot" Morgan's granddaughter. Her parents have both died. She is a bit of a tomboy type. But she disappears from the film.
"Down to the Seas in Ships" tries to be an action film. She does have some impressive material when we see the whalesmen hit the seas. It almost feels like a documentary. But there is little else which is interesting about the film. I really can't understand why anyone would find this interesting.
The characters seemed very bland. No one manages to give a realistic performance. And trust me a lot of this stuff here is going to get unintended laughs. Patience plays with dolls and pretends one of them in Dexter which she kisses and gently touches. Also the racial portrayal of Siggs may bother some.
The film was directed by Elmer Clifton who directed the original "Captain America" serial back in 1944. Comic book fans should appreciate that.
It makes me sad to finally write about Clara Bow and not be able to tell you to rent this DVD. If you are honestly going to watch a film with her please watch "It". Unless you are a very big fan of her work then watch this. But don't expect these movies to be entertaining.
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