Mar 5, 2021
This week's Clara Bow Acteurist Oeuvre-view episode sees our star's debut at Paramount, in a supporting role in Dancing Mothers, followed by a starring role in what is sometimes considered her best silent film, Victor Fleming's Mantrap (both 1926). Bow plays two versions of an amoral child-woman, one irritating and one dazzling. We contemplate the Flemingesque woman (so much better than the Hawksian woman, although admittedly, the latter sounds snappier), with comparisons to Sternberg and Bergman. Warning for insane amounts of colonial racism (with a Canadian setting in this case).
Time Codes:
0h 01m 00s: Dancing Mothers (1926) [dir. Herbert Brenon]
0h 24m 05s: Mantrap (1926) [dir. Victor Fleming]
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* Check out our complete viewing schedule from here to December 2029!
*Intro Song: “Sunday” by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive)
* Find Elise’s latest film piece on Billy Wilder and 1930s Romantic Comedy
*And Read lots of Elise’s Writing at Bright Wall/Dark Room, Cléo, and Bright Lights.*
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