THE CLARA BOW PAGE

RUNNIN' WILD:
-THE FILMS OF CLARA BOW-
REDISCOVER THE "IT" GIRL
WITH 3 1920'S CLASSICS
AND A NEW DOCUMENTARY!

On August 3, 1999, Kino On Video will proudly present the new four part series RUNNIN' WILD: THE FILMS OF CLARA BOW, dedicated to the Hollywood's supreme jazz-age icon, the 'IT' girl: Clara Bow. In addition to a new documentary (narrated by Courtney Love) called CLARA BOW: DISCOVERING THE 'IT' GIRL, Kino will be releasing three key feature films from her meteoric career--THE PLASTIC AGE, PARISIAN LOVE, (an extreme rarity, recently restored), and of course, IT.

Representing the newly liberated, sexually aggressive American working-girl of the Roaring Twenties, Bow had risen to fame by the time she became a Paramount contract player in 1926. She made over 40 films between 1924 and 1929, ending the decade as the biggest female star in the country. Her fall was even quicker. In 1933--losing to sound and scandal--she quit the movie business at the age of 28.

Most of her films follow the familiar story of hard-working girl meets upper class boy. Though not the most revelatory or historically important dramas, the very presence of Bow on screen transforms these program fantasies inot something more. She had a unique charisma in front of the camera: a great natural beauty, a reckless spirity tamed by playfulness, and a frank sexuality--like Jean Harlow and Marilyn Monroe after her--that only partially explain her dynamic appeal. Today, the films of Clara Bow capture the extraordinary fun and energy of a rare moment in American popular culture.

RUNNIN' WILD: THE FILMS OF CLARA BOW will prebook on July 6, 1999 (street date: August 3) for an SRP of $24.95 each.


RUNNIN' WILD: DISCOVERING THE 'IT' GIRL

The roaring Twenties were a time when flaming youth ran wild..and no one ran wilder than Clara Bow. Hollywood's first sex symbol, Bow was a one-woman revolution who shattered social and sexual taboos as she breathed new life into the motion picture industry.

Clara Bow had "It", the most desirable quality of the decade--a casual sexuality and insolent charm that set her apart, a screen persona allowed the average waitress, manicurist, usherette, and salesgirl to dream of a world of high living and wild parties. F. Scott Fitzgerald called her "the real thing, someone to stir every pulse in the nation."

Produced by Turner Movie Classics and Hugh Hefner, CLARA BOW: DISCOVERING THE 'IT' GIRL features scens from 25 of her films, as well as interviews with family members and acquaintances (including biographer David Stenn, Budd Schulberg, Leonard Maltin and Rex Bell Jr.).

Featuring 5-7 minutes of additional material not seen in the cable TV version, this Kino on Video edition explores Bow's difficult childhood, her Cinderella rise to fame and the troubled turns in her career at the end of the silent era. Narrated by diva/rock star/actress Courtney Love, DISCOVERING THE 'IT' GIRL gets right to the heart of this starlet's unique appeal, her seeming innocence wrapped up in a gown of erotica. Be prepared to fall in love with Clara Bow.



Runnin' Wild: Discovering the 'It" Girl
U.S. 1999 Color/b&w 65 min. Directed by Hugh Munro Neely, Presented by Hugh M. Hefner, in association with Turner Classic Movies, Narrated by Courtney Love
UPC# 7 38329 03283 8 $24.95 srp

THE PLASTIC AGE

Portraying a fast-living jazz baby with a heart of gold, Clara Bow ignites the screen in THE PLASTIC AGE, a raucous collegiate comedy that indulges in the reckless follies of Prohibition-Era youth.

When a young athlete (Donald Keith) arrives on the campus of Prescott College, he discovers a ribald world of pranks, parties and heavy petting.

Almost immediately, Hugh falls under the charms of his roommate's (Gilbert Roland) girlfriend, the bewitching Cynthia (Clara Bow) and tumbles into the carefree lifestyle of the "fast crowd"--against the warnings of his coaches. As Cynthia begins to return Hugh's deeper feelings, she must decide whether to sacrifice their love in order to save his collegiate future, or sabotage his athletic career for four years of fun-filled, jazz-fueled excitement.

As the unrestrained, unashamed Cynthia, Bow expresses the youthful exuberance and Jazz Era playfulness that made her an icon of her age, and an unqualified screen legend.

Also featured on this cassette in RUN GIRL, RUN an especially saucy Mack Sennett short which follows the libidinal high jinks of an all-girl track team, led by blossoming starlet Carole Lombard (then spelling her name "Carol"). Lombard would later find fame in more sophisticated comedies and wed Clark Gable who, coincidentally, can be glimpsed in several scenes of THE PLASTIC AGE as one of Prescott College's more charismatic revelers.



The Plastic Age/Run Girl, Run
U.S. 1925 b&w 73 min. Directed by Wesley Ruggles Starring Clara Bow, Donald Keith, Gilbert Roland, Clark Gable Includes the short RUN GIRL, RUN featuring Carole Lombard
UPC# 7 38329 03123 7 $24.95 srp

PARISIAN LOVE

From the seedy cafes of Montmontre to the lush interiors of the Hotel Ritz, Clara Bow reigns supreme in PARISIAN LOVE.

Poor, playful and with plenty of "It," Marie (Bow) is a wily rogue who thrives off the American tourists slumming in Paris' more seedy districts.

When her lover Armand (Donald Keith) is shot during a robbery, Marie vows revenge upon the wealthy culprit: Pierre Marcel (Lou Tellegen).

With the help of a comical underworld matriarch (Lillian Leighton) and a sinister band of thieves, Marie trades in her wool cap and ragged trousers for ermine and lace in an elaborate plot to seduce Marcel.

Whether garbed as a boy of the street, dolled up as a French maid, dressed as a prim convent girl or gowned in the finery of the Champs-Elysses, Bow casts a hypnotic spell upon the viewer and displays the wit, beauty, charm and expressiveness that made her the box-office queen of the latter-day silents.



Parisian Love
U.S. 1925 Color Tinted 62 min. Directed by Louis Gasnier Starring Clara Bow, Donald Keith, Lillian Leighton
UPC# 7 38329 03153 4 $24.95 srp

IT

The quintessential flapper, Clara Bow, is captured at the height of her charm in the definitive Jazz Age romantic comedy: IT. Inspired by a story by Elinor Glyn--who uses the simple pronoun to encapsulate the spirit of the sexually-liberated youth of Prohibition-Era America--a saucy lingerie salesgirl sets her sights on the handsome owner (Antonio Moreno) of the department store in which she works. Leading him on a romantic chase from the Hotel Ritz to the whirling attractions of Coney Island, Betty Lou succeeds in snaring the eligible bachelor, but loses him after being mistaken for an unwed mother (a scene in which one glimpses a young Gary Cooper).

Undeterred by her predicament--or the presence of Cyrus's fiancee (Jacqueline Gadsdon)--Betty Lou intensifies her efforts and decides to crash a high-society yacht party in a last-ditch effort to get her man.

Unlike the sexless starlets or cool beauties who generally appeared on screen, Bow was prone to playing the sexual aggressor in her films, a daring deviation from female passivity that revolutionized the role of women not only in cinema but in society as well.

In IT, Bow's gregarious personality and striking beauty are brilliantly showcased, making it easy to understand how she became Hollywood's most popular leading lady of the late 1920's.


It
U.S. 1927 b&w 72 min. Directed by Clarence Badger Starring Clara Bow, Antonio Moreno, William Austin, Gary Cooper UPC# 7 38329 03293 7 $24.95 srp

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