Clara Bow

Went to the Museum of Modern Art last night for their series on restored films.  It was the first night and the first film was the talkie: "Call Her Savage" with Clara Bow.  It's a wild, funny, touching film and performance.  I don't want to do a plot summary because after the intro to the movie by David Stenn I'm more interested in Clara Bow.  He has written her biography and talked about her career and the importance of this film for her. When she made it in 1932 it was her 52 film in 9 years.  She had left Hollywood years before because of scandals, mostly invented; such as the story that she had group sex with the U.S.C. football team and with her dog a Great Dane.  She includes a scene in the movie of the character she plays wrestling on the floor with a Great Dane.  Clara had a strong temper; she tore up contracts and fought with producers.  Perhaps that's why those stories were given to the press  

Clara Gordon Bow [1905- 1965] was born in Brooklyn in poverty.  She quit school at 13.  Her father was often absent and her mother was diagnosed schizophrenic.  When she was fifteen Clara woke up with a knife at her throat and had to wrestle it out of her mother's hands.  She escaped her life by going to the movies.  In the 1920's 50 million people attended the movies every week, which was half the population.  Clara got some bit parts after winning a magazine contest to be in films.  One of her first pictures was: "Grit", written by F. Scott  Fitzgerald in 1923.  She was an immediate hit.  In 1925 at the height of her career she was in 14 movies.  Within 8 years she made her last film "Hoop-La".
Married to Rex Bell until his death in 1962 [he was a star of Hollywood Westerns] they had 2 sons.  She and her husband left Hollywood and bought a ranch in Nevada.  They kept expanding their property and at one time they owned 600,000 acres, or 25% of Nevada.  In the mid-1940's she was hospitalized and diagnosed with schizophrenia.  She refused help and left the hospital.  Then moved into a cottage in West L.A., refusing to see anyone, family or friends and died of a heart attack at age 60.
Tonight I'm going to see "Lola" introduced by the lead actress Anouk Aimee.