{"id":8905,"date":"2022-03-08T11:00:14","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T16:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=8905"},"modified":"2023-12-12T05:57:46","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T10:57:46","slug":"classic-hollywood-gave-birth-to-the-it-girl-phenomenon-that-continues-to-thrive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=8905","title":{"rendered":"Classic Hollywood Gave Birth To The \u201cIt Girl\u201d Phenomenon That Continues To Thrive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost a century ago, 95 years to be exact, a silent film directed by Clarence Badger defined a concept that still prospers: It<\/i>. The resplendent Clara Bow, playing Betty Lou Spence, embodied the first \u201cIt Girl\u201d in history and inspired that noteworthy quality that is withheld by today\u2019s celebrities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cIt\u201d in present culture is called the \u201cX-factor.\u201d As Dino Everett \u2014 curator of the Hugh M. Hefner Moving Image Archive at the University of Southern California \u2014 has analysed in his essay<\/a>, the 1927 picture \u201chas become the quintessential vehicle representing the stars\u2019 overall legacy.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

The one who popularised this idea was a British novelist and scriptwriter, specialised in romantic fiction and considered scandalous for her time: Elinor Glyn. She coined the use of the word it<\/i> as an enchanting flair, that was often misquoted as a form of sex appeal. But in the film \u2014 adapted by her eponymous novella \u2014 it is clearly defined in all its complexity:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIT is that quality possessed by some which draws all others with its magnetic force. With \u2018IT\u2019 you win all men if you are a woman \u2014 and all women if you are a man. \u2018IT\u2019 can be a quality of the mind as a physical attraction.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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And further expands on the character traits by describing that:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cSelf-confidence and indifference as to whether you are pleasing or not \u2014 and something in you that gives the impression that you are not all cold. That\u2019s \u2018IT\u2019.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

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The authoress who came up with the notion of \u201cIt” stars as herself in the film, playing Madame Elinor Glyn, who is considered the arbiter elegantiarum<\/i>. Hence, just like in reality, her character is the recognised authority on matters of social behaviour and taste. This bestowed great importance to the way Glyn publicly proclaimed that Clara Bow was the girl in Hollywood, that had \u201cIt\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Clara Bow and Elinor Glyn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The American actress managed to stay on top throughout the transition from the silent films of the Roaring Twenties to the talkies of the Dirty Thirties. The period of social permissiveness was expressed by Bow\u2019s eroticism that had a combination of wholesome ingenuity and droll wit, that prevented her from coming across as vulgar. As Alma Whitaker of the Los Angeles Times<\/i> observed in 1924: \u201cShe radiates sex appeal tempered with an impish sense of humour…Her social decorum is of that natural, good-natured, pleasantly informal kind…She can act on or off the screen \u2014takes a joyous delight in accepting a challenge to vamp any selected male \u2014 the more unpromising specimen the better. When the hapless victim is scared into speechlessness, she gurgles with naughty delight and tries another<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

All these qualities are palpable in the Cinderella story It<\/i> from 1927. Clara Bow plays Betty Lou Spence, a department store clerk who sets her eyes on the owner of the retail establishment where she works: Cyrus Waltham Jr. (Antonio Moreno). One of his collaborators, \u201cMonty\u201d Montgomery (William Austin), is struck not only by Betty\u2019s beauty but also by her je ne sais quoi<\/i>\u2026the \u201cit.\u201d The salesgirl relies on his sympathy to get closer to her love interest. Throughout her quest, a series of misunderstandings simply delay the much awaited happy ending between Betty and Cyrus.<\/p>\n

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IT, Clara Bow, 1927<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the film was released, the role seemed tailored for Bow, since the actress possessed all the characteristics of her bewitching character. The picture is still looked upon to this day as one Clara Bow\u2019s best performances and is often referenced as the enfranchisement of female emancipation and social class mobility. For instance, Betty Lou\u2019s roommate Molly (Priscilla Bonner) portrays a struggling un-wed mother; whilst the working class protagonist gets the romantic upper hand over Adela Van Norman (Jacqueline Gadsdon) the socialite who wants to become Cyrus\u2019 inamorata.<\/p>\n

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All in all audiences were swept in a tale that portrayed the change of an era.<\/p>\n

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Clara Bow and Antonio Moreno<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The \u201cIt Girl\u201d has been a trend-setter ever since, a pre-cursor both in terms of style and worldview. The number of women who have later filled the shoes of Clara Bow in this mission are incommensurable. Vanity Fair<\/i> even came up with a list of The \u201cIt Girls\u201d Of Every Decade<\/a>, that even precedes the time of release of Badger\u2019s film. The 1900s feature Evelyn Nesbit, followed by Daisy Fellowes, Gloria Vanderbilt, and many others of the succeeding decemvirates, up to the current holder of the title: Gigi Hadid.<\/p>\n

In modern times the term has often been misused for what is glitzy and iconic, but the true essence of its meaning can be found in the actual life story of the woman who first possessed the \u201cIt.\u201d Similarly to the character she played \u2014 if not more \u2014 Clara Bow was the personification of resilience. She was the youngest of three siblings and the only one to survive past childhood. Her father was sexually abusive, while her mother suffered from severe mental disorders, even putting at risk her daughter\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

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Clara experienced firsthand the classic rags-to-riches story. Bow hustled for auditions and roles, and worked relentlessly. In about a decade she appeared in 57 films, 46 silent and 11 talkies. Born in the most brutal poverty, she managed to conquer her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, whilst navigating the media scrutiny and gossip about her private life. The actress struggled her entire existence with her past traumas, that often jeopardised her mental health. Nonetheless she succeeded in creating a family and becoming a great example of a self-made woman. Not only did she become representative of the flapper girl in her day, but still constitutes a role model for young females of the 21st<\/sup> century. Clara Bow championed nonconformity and independence, as she claimed herself, \u201cIn my era, we had individuality,\u201d <\/i>and for this alone, she deserved to take a Bow.<\/p>\n

Check out more of Chiara\u2019s articles<\/a>.<\/p>\n