Review
Although this romantic comedy branded Clara Bow as the "It Girl," the star certainly didn't need writer and Hollywood tastemaker Elinor Glyn to prove she had sex appeal. That was already obvious from nearly every film she made before this one -- even the early ones in which she was merely a supporting player. Bow had that magical quality that very few actors, sound or silent, possessed: a charisma that eclipsed anyone else who appeared on the screen with her. That's especially obvious here, as Bow completely dominates the proceedings and handsome co-star Antonio Moreno (who had quite a bit of "It" himself) is nearly reduced to Bow's foil. The actress forges through familiar terrain as Betty Lou Spence, a fiercely independent and wonderfully uninhibited department store clerk -- but, as always, she brings something extra to the character merely by being her delightfully spontaneous self. The moment Betty sees her new boss, Cyrus Waltham (Moreno), she's determined to get him, and she's not above using his gawky pal, Monty (William Austin), to do it. But she's so adorable and she and Waltham are so obviously meant for each other that you don't care how she orchestrates their meeting. As sexy as Betty is, however, she's not easy; after showing Waltham a fun (and dclass) time at Coney Island, he impulsively tries to kiss her. Her response is to slap him (but once she escapes to the safety of her tenement home, she's clearly overjoyed). A wrench is thrown into the romance when Waltham mistakenly thinks that Betty is an unwed mother. The baby actually belongs to her ailing roommate, Milly (Priscilla Bonner), and Betty claimed to save it from being taken away by two prim welfare ladies (Eleanor Lawson and Rose Tapley). But the couple reconciles on his yacht, after both Betty and Waltham's wannabe sweetheart (Jacqueline Gadsden) fall overboard. Betty saves the girl herself (giving her a good punch when she begins struggling), and deposits her on a lifeboat with Monty before ending the film in a clinch with Waltham. Even with the silly slang of some of the title cards, this classic silent picture still rings true today -- mostly due to Bow's timeless vivacity. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
Synopsis
Contrary to popular belief, Clara Bow was already Paramount's biggest box-office draw when she starred in this delightful rags-to-riches comedy. But It, from the fertile mind of bizarre best-selling author Elinor Glyn, remains perhaps the quintessential Bow picture. Not that the story of a poor shopgirl falling for her rich employer was anything new (by 1927, Bow could play that role in her sleep), but It came complete with one of the best publicity campaigns in Hollywood history. Glyn herself publicly pointed to Bow as the personification of It, "that quality possessed by some which draws all others with its magnetic force." Paramount made sure that Glyn's lofty description of the word sunk in and even convinced the author to explain It in the film to leading man Antonio Moreno (who, according to Glyn, simply oozed It as well). The lightweight comedy behind all this hoopla centered on little Betty Lou Spence, a vivacious salesgirl invited to dinner at the Ritz by foppish wastrel and self-described "old fruit" "Monty" Montgomery (William Austin in one of those roles later personified by Edward Everett Horton). Betty is not paying attention to her dinner companion, however, but is ogling department store heir Cyrus Waltham (Moreno). He notices her too, and takes the salesgirl on a whirlwind tour of Coney Island. But when Betty is mistakenly assumed to be the unmarried mother of an infant (actually her roommate Molly's), stern Cyrus no longer sees her as proper marriage material. Betty, of course, gets her man in the end and Waltham's snooty girlfriend ("other woman" specialist Jacqueline Gadsden) ends up in the drink. Delivering all the vivacious punch expected of a Bow comedy, It takes time out for a couple of rather poignant scenes. With the hindsight that Brooklyn's own Bow was never fully accepted by Hollywood society despite her stardom, it is touching to watch Betty being ostracized at the snobbish Ritz; and Bow is never more affecting than when she realizes that Moreno is offering diamonds and pearls instead of marriage. Priscilla Bonner, as Bow's drab, single-mother roommate, adds a touch of realism to her brief role, enviously observing Betty's frivolity. If It only added to Bow's brilliant success, the film did little for the intelligent Bonner. To the end of her life, Bonner maintained that accepting featured billing in It lost her any chance of true stardom. A very young Gary Cooper, has a bit as a reporter and director Josef Von Sternberg reputedly took over for Clarence Badger during a brief illness. Despite its rather trite Cinderella plot, It magnificently demonstrates why Bow's guileless flapper came to define an entire decade. It is heartbreaking to realize that her decline had already set in, and Bow's very public troubles and eventual career destruction were lurking right around the corner! ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
