Before moving on to further posts on censorship in the Production Code era (1933-1968) a final quickie tribute to Clara Bow, the original "It" Girl. She of course starred in the smash hit silent It (1927), hence the nickname. According to the Wikipedia entry on "It" Girls, the most recent "It" Girls have been Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton. Paris Hilton?!? Lordy lord we've come a long way from Clara.
Clara Bow retired from acting in 1933, her last feature being Hoop-La of that year. Her penultimate feature, Call Her Savage, featured here recently, was her true swan song though, providing us with the types of films Clara Bow became known for. By retiring in 1933 at the tender age of 28 she ensured she would never have to make movies under the strictures of the code. And of course, she would never grow old on-screen.
She spent a lot of her life in and out of hospitals. She was diagnosed as a schizophrenic in 1949 but whether the diagnosis was accurate is anybody's guess. According to Bow, her mother, Sarah Gordon, threatened to kill her regularly and even woke her up one night with a knife against her throat. She also revealed later that her father had raped her. So basically, if you're complaining about how dysfunctional your family life is, you've probably got nothing on Clara. But despite this it was said by friends and family that she was happy in her quiet life out of the spotlight. She died of a heart attack on September 27, 1965 at the too young age of 60.
One of her first films after the success of It was Hula (1927). If you want a classic example of 
just how different films were in the pre-code era look no further than Hula. In it Bow plays "Hula" Calhoun, the daughter of a Hawaiian planter. She wants to live "naturally," not tied down by societal norms. When a handsome young engineer, Anthony Haldane, comes to build a dam on the estate she seduces him with a hula dance. He tells her he's married but then he figures "what the hell" and tells her he'll get a divorce. Then his wife shows up.
Now, this is the point in the Production Code era when the two have to let their love go 
unrequited as he goes back to his wife. And most likely, Hula would be punished in some way for her sins of seduction. But this is pre-code, and it's Clara Bow. Here's what actually happens:
Hula pays a foreman at the construction site to plant dynamite by the dam and blow it up, which he does. This convinces Haldane's wife that he is a failure as an engineer and can no longer provide for her so she agrees to a divorce. And then Hula and Haldane hook up. The End.
Damn! No wonder her films had a reputation! Not all pre-code movies were like this, but most Clara Bow films were. She was one of a kind. In many ways, every article on pre- and post-code movies I do on this site will be haunted by Clara because she was the original article herself. Ah hell, I'll say it: She was IT!
