A couple weeks ago, a friend and I drove across the bridge to Niles, Fremont to catch a silent double feature at the Essenay Silent Film Museum. They were featuring Clara Bow's first film, Down to the Sea in Ships. Just prior to the showing, we perused the museum shop inventory of silent film memorabilia. Since this was a night celebrating Clara Bow, there were several items displayed and on sale. I found a copy of her biography and it was lauded by the volunteers as a great work and beautifully written. Since it only cost $10, I decided to purchase it.
The biography is entitled: Clara Bow - Runnin' Wild written by David Stenn. It's a fair title and implication of her wild life not because she was thought to be a party girl. Rather, she lived a very hard life with cruel twists of fate. She was railroaded and the only peace in life was achieved at her death.
I don't recall my first instance of learning the name Clara Bow. But I've known of her legacy a very long time; at least 25 years. I knew she was Hollywood's first sex symbol nicknamed The "It" Girl. When I saw "It" I was truly mesmerized by her performance. She really was a great actress. Every appearance on screen seemed to have this glow that you couldn't help but smile. I sought out other films and attended silent film festivals that featured Clara Bow. Not only was she the "It Girl", I consider her to be the original quirky redhead (pre Lucy). She was indeed a comedic talent with great facial expressions. And those eyes! There is no mistaking the sadness that lingered behind those big eyes.
I heard all the rumors that she was a promiscuous flapper known for her lavish parties and alleged servicing of the USC football team. I also heard they were totally untrue. Perhaps the most prominent story was her downfall from showbiz during the advent of "talkies" films due to her harsh Brooklyn accent. Her voice, however, was just fine. I've researched some of her talkie films and I never understood why anyone would find it problematic. But it was indeed true that she suffered from "mic fright" and was often self-conscious about its lurking above her head.
The biography gets to the truth of her sudden retirement from films. She was severely exploited by Paramount; she was overworked and underpaid. The industry saw her as a dimwitted Brooklyn gal too eager to please at any price. And they were right.
Clara was an unwanted child from birth. Her abusive father was in and out of her life. She was left alone with a mentally ill mother, who on several occasions had threatened to murder her. What Clara wanted out of life was a stable home life with loving parents to dote on her accomplishments. She often sought that companionship and encouragement in her co-stars, lovers and friends. In the end, though, they played Clara for her fame and money. Her own father even took advantage of her royalties.
As I read her biography, I had immense empathy for this poor woman. She was typecast and assumed to live her true life as that on screen. In fact, she was a rather shy and down to earth lady. The press, however, characterized her as low-class, and she became the social pariah of Hollywood despite her popularity among the movie-going public. Her antics were heavily publicized and she made no effort to deny it. She was, after all, doing what EVERYONE in Hollywood was doing; drinking, gambling, having a lover or two (or three). She just chose not to lie about it. She thought those naysayers as hypocrites. Indeed they were, but her antics were not the stories of drunken orgies. By today's standards, she was rather tame. But her downfall was not playing the game. She was too honest and open that her trust and confidence in others often blew up in her face.
Though Hollywood created her image, it essentially destroyed her both professionally and personally. She was never prepared for the transition from silent to talkie; that is the fault of the studio executives whose only purpose was to make money off her fame. Rather than help her through her anxiety, they perpetuated it to a point where she had a nervous breakdown. It was absolutely heartbreaking.
Runnin' Wild offers more perspective on Clara's life from birth to death. It also gives her back the integrity that Hollywood denied her both during her life and in death.
