Movie Monday: It (1927)

Long before “It” became synonymous with Stephen King and his scary stories, “It” was known for making Clara Bow a superstar! This Movie Monday I am reviewing a classic film from the silent era that not too many people mention. It was a highly influential movie, in my opinion, and deserves a lot more credit for changing the film industry.

The movie It is very modern in a lot of ways. That is not something you would really except from a film made in the 1920’s, but here I am saying it. The storyline follows a very progressive way of looking at romance stories, and never puts Clara Bow in the damsel in distress position. Instead, Bow plays an independent woman living in the city while working to pay the bills. Of course, she likes to go out and have fun every once in a while, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that this movie was made in the “Roaring 20s” time frame.

A lot the elements that are found in It remind me of more recent classic romance movies like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. The cast is energetic, fun, and engaging while also being able to keep with the plot of the film. Clara Bow plays her character perfectly and it is no wonder she became such a star after this movie was released! Bow embodied all that it meant to have “It” which is really what this film is about.

I want to briefly discuss the fashion in this movie. Another reason I believe this film was so popular with audiences of the 20s is because of the “Flapper Girl” style that was used. Clara Bow’s character in It was dressed to be the ultimate flapper girl, and she hit every note just right while doing it.

Dressing in a retro 20s inspired manner doesn’t just mean wearing a typical fringe sequin dress that you bought in the Halloween section of a store. To truly get the fashion of the 1920’s right you much also remember how much of American style at that time was influenced by the runways of Europe, specifically Paris, France. That is why in the photo above you can clearly see Clara Bow wearing a hat that resembles something a lot like a French beret.

It wasn’t until much later that America had reached its moment to shine and began dictating more elements of fashion, but that is a blog post for another day. For now I just want to say that it was important to Bow’s career that this fabulous character that she was playing in It be dressed so well. Being presented in a fashionable light made Clara Bow one of the first celebrities of the big screen and highly influential even to this day.

If you are an avid classic film fan like me and you haven’t seen It yet, I highly recommend watching this movie. Even if silent films are not your thing, this is a must watch because of the cultural context that has come from it since its release.

Much Love,
Sarah