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Rating: - Oh, wow, did Clara Bow ever have "IT" !!!
Clara Bow stars in this absolutely wonderful silent motion picture about a salesgirl in a department store who falls in love with the boss. Clara Bow plays Betty Lou Spence to perfection with her wide eyed beautiful stare and her overall charm and natural appeal. Antonio Moreno plays Cyrus Waltham, Jr., the boss, with his very convincing acting abilities even though in a silent movie he didn't have too many lines!
Betty wants to date Cyrus Waltham, Jr. badly--she even daydreams of asking Santa Claus to give him to her for Christmas! Although the other salesgirls laugh it off, Betty means business. They don't realize that Betty has plenty of "It." "It" generally refers to Betty's self-confidence coupled with her good looks and natural appeal. Betty displays a good ability to plan things out when she accepts a date with Cyrus' buddy Monty--on the condition that they dine at The Ritz because that's where Cyrus is having his own dinner that evening. In addition, the scene in The Ritz dining room gives us a wonderful cameo appearance by "Madame" Elinor Glynn, who tells Cyrus--and the audience--what "It" is. SMILES
Of course, Cyrus finally gets a good look at Betty and almost immediately he begins to lose interest in his current lady friend as he gains interest for Betty. They do go out and have a marvelous time together.
But a complication involving a baby with an absentee father arises. When Betty rushes to the aid of her friend so that the social workers don't take the baby from the apartment Betty shares with her roommate, the newspaper sends a reporter and races to print that Betty is the mother.
Well, IS Betty is the mother? Cyrus can't stand even the mere thought of this and cuts off Betty without even giving her a chance to explain. How can Betty work things out so that Cyrus regains his interest and love for her? Can Betty beat out Cyrus' current girlfriend to win Cyrus' heart? No spoilers here, folks; you'll have to watch the movie to find out!
I agree with the reviewer who writes that the quality of the film print is exceptionally good for its age. The clarity of each image is excellent. The sound of the musical accompaniment is good, too, even if the score was not the original.
The DVD has few extras besides the documentary with director Clarence Badger on the making of It. Unfortunately, I must take off a star because it did not work in my computer DVD-ROM drive! (Thank goodness this was a rental.)
Overall, fans of classic silent movies should watch this film. The DVD extra probably just malfunctioned on my rental DVD and I encourage you to buy this DVD anyway if this type of film appeals to you.
Clara Bow paved the way for other glamorous female screen legends including Lana Turner and Marilyn Monroe. The movie score remains quite strong even if it isn't the original score and the picture quality shines. And, by the way, Clara Bow as Betty Lou Spence shines, too! She had IT!
Rating: - About the dvd
I think others have pointed out this but I'm gonna stress it.
There are 2 dvd editions of this movie.
The Kino one has great extras (a docu on Clara Bow's life) but a bad image transfer.
And the Image one has no extras but a much sharper and better looking image transfer.
So you choose.
Rating: - Great Silent Film Classic
It's an interesting story regarding the reason that I bought this film. One day, out of the clear blue, my 90 year old grandmother mentioned this film. I wasn't familiar with the film, nor have I ever been a silent film aficionado. I did some research and learned that Clara Bow was quite the idol in her time. And, this film was one of her best.
After viewing "It", I was unexpectantly pleased. I was impressed with both the plot and acting of this old silent classic. The film kept me interested throughout. In this film, Clara Bow is truely "It". She's cute and flirty in 1920's style. I highly recommend this DVD to silent film lovers and modern movie lovers alike. If nothing else, the film provides a great history lesson for classic cinematography. Most of all, watching the film made my grandmother feel like a teenager again. Enjoy...
Rating: - Love It!
I had this on my wish list for Christmas and got it! How fun! Of course I love the movie, but I was really surprised to how great that documentary was! I learned so much about Clara Bow and now I look forward to finding more of her movies. The documentary is like a movie itself!
Rating: - Excellent Silent Film
With each viewing of another Silent Film that "arrives" to my collection, my hunger and yearning for more and more Silents, increases considerably.
The edition of "IT" I got is the IMAGE-MILESTONE one and I must say it's GREAT!!
The films tells the story of a salesgirl's infatuation with the son of the owner of a Department Store in which she works.
Clara Bow's is just short of magnificent in a role that really defines her screen personae; that of the mischievous, sexy, bold, magnetic, electrifying, ultramodern and yet sweet girl/flapper.
She was 21 or 22 years old when she made this film and she looks so fresh and contemporary than other Silent Stars of that Era; and if you compare her looks and ways, even her acting, to that of the other women in the cast (Priscilla Bonner, Jacqueline Gadsden, Julia Swayne Gordon), you'll see what I mean.
Antonio Moreno is good as her Love interest, although he looks much older than her (he was 41 when the film was made) but then, considering this was 1927, he does not look as old as 41 year-old men of that time used to. Also, Moreno works well with Bow and their love scenes together are believable.
William Austin is great as Moreno's sidekick, funny and ever-partying.
Elinor Glyn, the authoress of the book upon which the film was based, makes a cameo in a Restaurant scene, making a grand entrance.
A young Gary Cooper has a small role as a journalist.
The quality of the transfer is really very good. IMAGE did an excellent job and the score by Carl Davis is one of the best I've listened to.
A MUST!
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