The "It" Girl: The Incredible Story of Clara Bow

by Joe Morella, Edward Epstein

Clara Bow had "it," and it didn't take Hollywood long to find out. From a tenement waif in Brooklyn to the hottest superstar of the twenties, she saw her career become easily the most dazzling and scandal-frought of the era. Here is an intimate portrait of one of Hollywood's most enigmatic stars -- in many ways a woman ahead of her time.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Film, Biography Memoir, Media Tie In

284 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun read, though it is definitely not a scholarly work. I found that kind of relaxing, though. It's like a beach-read version of what her actual life story was, which was a thousand times more tragic and haunting than this book ever implies. Not that this book isn't good, it's just light on the facts, and it glosses over or neglects to mention some pretty important events in her life that I know about from other more thorough biographies. At times it reads like an apologetic, which... that just sits wrong with me. As a feminist, it bugs me. She was a sexy, hotsy-totsy, hilarious, wildly talented Jazz Baby who liked to get laid a lot. We live in a world where this kind of behavior in a woman is still an issue for some people, that a woman would dare to have a sex drive equal to (or even stronger than) that of a man is for some reason still very threatening. Not that I think it is necessarily a healthy choice to take on a football team (as the rumor went), and maybe the impulse to do that doesn't come from the healthiest place psychologically, but it's HER body and HER life. She gets to choose what happens. I did get an impression from this book that there was a moment where America loved her so much that her sexual liberation started to make sense... that people were starting to understand that a woman's healthy sex drive could be the result of her jubilance and joie de vivre, and have nothing to do with depravity. But... didn't quite make it, I guess.

It occured to me that her stock character, the It girl, was a lot like the Manic Pixie Dream Girls I tend to find really annoying, like Natalie Portman in Garden State, and Kirsten Dunst in Elizabethtown, and all those types of characters. The difference for me is that Clara is totally honest and unmanipulative. Read this book, or any book about her, or watch any of her movies, and you will fall in love with her too.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good read, but a bit unsettling as it perpetuates some false rumors and tends to read as a sensationalized fiction novel at times. If you want an accurate, thorough biography read David Stenn's Runnin' Wild. I would only recommend this one if you're a big fan of Clara's and have already read Stenn's book.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clara Bow was the epitome of the Flapper girl. She was the sex kitten of her time and immensely popular. I am not certain if too many people care about her today but the book is well written and interesting concentrating on her amours more than on her career.

[Ting · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick, non-challenging read. Enjoyable.

[Dawn Bohr · Rating 1 out of 5]

boring