It (1927 film)
Encyclopedia
It is a 1927 silent
romantic comedy film
which tells the story of a shop girl who sets her sights on the handsome and wealthy boss of the department store where she works. Because of this film, actress Clara Bow
became known as the "It girl
". Dorothy Parker
famously quipped about Bow's character: "It, hell: She had those." The picture was considered lost, but a nitrate
-copy was found in Prague
in the 1960s. In 2001, It was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
) has a crush on her handsome employer, Cyrus Waltham, Jr. (Antonio Moreno
), the new manager of and heir to the "world's largest store". However, they belong to different social classes, and he is already romantically linked to blond socialite Adela Van Norman (Jacqueline Gadsden
). Cyrus's silly friend Monty (William Austin) notices Betty, though, and she uses him to get closer to Cyrus.
When she finally gets Cyrus's attention, she convinces him to take her on a date at Coney Island
, where he is introduced to the proletarian pleasures of roller coasters and hot dogs, and has a wonderful time. At the end of the evening, he tries to kiss her. Betty Lou slaps his face, and hurries out of his car and into her flat. She then peeks out her window at him as he is leaving.
Betty bravely proclaims herself as an unmarried mother to protect her sickly roommate Molly (Priscilla Bonner
) from having her baby taken away by a couple of meddling welfare workers. Monty arrives at just the wrong moment, forcing Betty to continue the charade with him. He tells Cyrus. Although he is in love with her, Cyrus offers her an "arrangement" that includes everything but marriage. Betty Lou, shocked and humiliated, refuses, quits her job, and resolves to forget Cyrus. When she learns from Monty about Cyrus's misunderstanding, she fumes, and vows to teach her former beau a lesson.
When Cyrus hosts a yachting excursion, Betty Lou makes Monty take her along, masquerading as "Miss Van Cortland". Cyrus at first wants to remove her from the ship, but he cannot long resist Betty Lou's it factor; he eventually corners her and proposes marriage, but she gets him back, by telling him that she'd "rather marry his office boy", which accomplishes her goal, but breaks her heart. He then learns the truth about the baby, and leaves Monty at the helm of the yacht to go find her. Monty crashes the yacht into a fishing boat, tossing both Betty Lou and Adela into the water. Betty Lou saves Adela, punching her in the face when she panics and threatens to drown them both. At the end of the film, she and Cyrus reconcile on the anchor of the yacht, with the first two letters of the ship's name, Itola, between them. Monty and Adela are upset at losing their friends however, it's implied they pursue a relationship with each other as the film ends.
In February 1927 Cosmopolitan
published a two-part serial story in which Glyn defined It.
Hope Loring
, Louis D. Lighton
and George Marion Jr.
(titles) wrote the screenplay and Carl Sandburg
noted that Glyn's magazine story was "not at all like the film, not like it in any respect."
This is one of the first examples of a "concept film", as well as one of the earlier examples of product placement. The concept of "It" is referred to throughout the film, including the scene where Glyn appears as herself and defines "It" for Mr. Waltham. Cosmopolitan Magazine is featured prominently in a scene where the character Monty reads Glyn's story and introduces it to the audience.
Stage actress Dorothy Tree had her first film role in a small, uncredited part. A young Gary Cooper
was cast in a minor role as a newspaper reporter.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
which tells the story of a shop girl who sets her sights on the handsome and wealthy boss of the department store where she works. Because of this film, actress Clara Bow
Clara Bow
Clara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film era of the 1920s. It was her appearance as a spunky shopgirl in the film It that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl." Bow came to personify the roaring twenties and is described as its leading sex...
became known as the "It girl
It girl
"It girl" is a term for a young woman who possess the quality "It", absolute attraction.The early usage of the concept "it" in this meaning may be seen in a story by Rudyard Kipling: "It isn't beauty, so to speak, nor good talk necessarily. It's just 'It'."...
". Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles....
famously quipped about Bow's character: "It, hell: She had those." The picture was considered lost, but a nitrate
Nitrate
The nitrate ion is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. It is the conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identically-bonded oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a...
-copy was found in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
in the 1960s. In 2001, It was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot
Spunky shopgirl Betty Lou Spence (Clara BowClara Bow
Clara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film era of the 1920s. It was her appearance as a spunky shopgirl in the film It that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl." Bow came to personify the roaring twenties and is described as its leading sex...
) has a crush on her handsome employer, Cyrus Waltham, Jr. (Antonio Moreno
Antonio Moreno
Antonio "Tony" Moreno was a notable Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s.- Biography :...
), the new manager of and heir to the "world's largest store". However, they belong to different social classes, and he is already romantically linked to blond socialite Adela Van Norman (Jacqueline Gadsden
Jacqueline Gadsden
Jacqueline Gadsden was an American film actress during the silent era. Born in Lompoc, California, she is probably best known to modern audiences at the wealthy, haughty other woman in the Clara Bow vehicle It . She made two films in 1929 under the name Jane Daly, and retired shortly after that...
). Cyrus's silly friend Monty (William Austin) notices Betty, though, and she uses him to get closer to Cyrus.
When she finally gets Cyrus's attention, she convinces him to take her on a date at Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
, where he is introduced to the proletarian pleasures of roller coasters and hot dogs, and has a wonderful time. At the end of the evening, he tries to kiss her. Betty Lou slaps his face, and hurries out of his car and into her flat. She then peeks out her window at him as he is leaving.
Betty bravely proclaims herself as an unmarried mother to protect her sickly roommate Molly (Priscilla Bonner
Priscilla Bonner
Priscilla Bonner was an American silent film actress.-Career:Born in Washington, D.C., Bonner made her film debut opposite Charles Ray in the 1920 film Homer Comes Home, after being signed to MGM that same year. She went on to co-star with Jack Pickford in The Man Who Had Everything , Lon Chaney, Sr...
) from having her baby taken away by a couple of meddling welfare workers. Monty arrives at just the wrong moment, forcing Betty to continue the charade with him. He tells Cyrus. Although he is in love with her, Cyrus offers her an "arrangement" that includes everything but marriage. Betty Lou, shocked and humiliated, refuses, quits her job, and resolves to forget Cyrus. When she learns from Monty about Cyrus's misunderstanding, she fumes, and vows to teach her former beau a lesson.
When Cyrus hosts a yachting excursion, Betty Lou makes Monty take her along, masquerading as "Miss Van Cortland". Cyrus at first wants to remove her from the ship, but he cannot long resist Betty Lou's it factor; he eventually corners her and proposes marriage, but she gets him back, by telling him that she'd "rather marry his office boy", which accomplishes her goal, but breaks her heart. He then learns the truth about the baby, and leaves Monty at the helm of the yacht to go find her. Monty crashes the yacht into a fishing boat, tossing both Betty Lou and Adela into the water. Betty Lou saves Adela, punching her in the face when she panics and threatens to drown them both. At the end of the film, she and Cyrus reconcile on the anchor of the yacht, with the first two letters of the ship's name, Itola, between them. Monty and Adela are upset at losing their friends however, it's implied they pursue a relationship with each other as the film ends.
The concept of "It"
The invention of the concept It is generally attributed to Elinor Glyn, but already in 1904, R. Kipling, in the short story "Mrs. Bathurst" introduced It.- It isn't beauty, so to speak, nor good talk necessarily. It's just 'It'. Some women will stay in a man's memory if they once walk down the street.
In February 1927 Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
published a two-part serial story in which Glyn defined It.
- That quality possessed by some which draws all others with its magnetic force. With 'It' you win all men if you are a woman and all women if you are a man. 'It' can be a quality of the mind as well as a physical attraction.
Production
Paramount Pictures paid Glyn $50,000 for the concept, gave her a small part in the film as herself, and gave her a "story and adaptation" credit.Hope Loring
Hope Loring
Hope Loring , was an English screenwriter. She wrote for 63 films between 1918 and 1931.She was born in England and died in Majorca, Spain. She was married to fellow screenwriter and producer Louis D...
, Louis D. Lighton
Louis D. Lighton
Louis D. Lighton was an American screenwriter and producer. He wrote for 40 films between 1920 and 1927. He also produced 30 films between 1928 and 1951....
and George Marion Jr.
George Marion Jr.
George Marion Jr. was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 106 films between 1920 and 1940.He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in New York, New York from a heart attack. His father was George F...
(titles) wrote the screenplay and Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
noted that Glyn's magazine story was "not at all like the film, not like it in any respect."
This is one of the first examples of a "concept film", as well as one of the earlier examples of product placement. The concept of "It" is referred to throughout the film, including the scene where Glyn appears as herself and defines "It" for Mr. Waltham. Cosmopolitan Magazine is featured prominently in a scene where the character Monty reads Glyn's story and introduces it to the audience.
Stage actress Dorothy Tree had her first film role in a small, uncredited part. A young Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
was cast in a minor role as a newspaper reporter.