Customer Reviews

Clara Bow: Runnin' Wild

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent thorough look at one of the most fascinating moviestars of early cinema, Clara Bow. Instead of writing a highly sensationalised account, Mr. Stenn uses a lot of solid research and facts, not rehashing and keeping alive the same old trashy rumors and character assassinations. He even disproves the most infamous urban legend of them all, the one about Clara and the USC football team. What does emerge is the portrait of a very sad vulnerable tragic person. Clara came from dirt-poor Brooklyn roots, with mental illness running in her family, moving often in childhood, picked on by her peers and terribly abused at home. And like many abused children, she made excuses for it, believing they did it for her own good, that it was in her own best interest that her mother tried to kill her, that her father often beat her and once raped her. Her luck really began changing when she went west and broke into movies, after winning a local talent contest at the age of sixteen, and for a time enjoyed a semblance of happiness. However, her career began to decline in the early Thirties after a number of scandals (contrary to another urban legend, it wasn't really because of the coming of sound, although she did have a terrible case of microphone-phobia), and she finally left Paramount, feeling it in her own best interest. During this time, she married Rex Bell, who for a time provided her with a very happy secure life, as well as the two sons she adored and tried to be the ideal mother to. However, her past caught up with her and she eventually had to go to a number of doctors and psychiatrists, falling victim to the same schizophrenia that her mother and other female relatives had suffered from, and died at the relatively young age of sixty.

It would be too easy for a biographer to paint a picture of Clara as a sleazy party-crazy bed-hopping woman of loose morals and ill repute who just got lucky, but Mr. Stenn instead paints a picture of a woman who was just a sweet scared vulnerable person who never really had a childhood, who just wanted love, security, and acceptance, and tried to get it in all of the wrong ways. She deserved so much better than abusive parents, a manager who exploited her, a studio that rarely put her in anything but predictable formula pictures instead of more serious dramatic roles, a press that repeatedly made up disgusting allegations against her (whether of a sexual nature or not), people who still believe these ridiculous stories that were manufactured decades ago, and a society that didn't fully understand the schizophrenia she suffered from, the disease that fully began showing itself after she was no longer acting.

I had seen several of Clara Bow's films and the TCM documentary before reading David Stenn's book, so I knew something about Clara and had forgotten some things as well. Mr. Stenn's book is well-written and researched. It does not turn Clara Bow's life into the tawdry tale, filled with just sex and scandal, which a lesser writer would use to sell the book. Instead, Mr. Stenn has written a well considered biography of a very unhappy and insecure life. The information he provides on her upbringing in the slums of Brooklyn, her winning the "Fame and Fortune Contest" and life in 1920's Hollywood is as complete as one would want.

Her films are nicely profiled with detail given for the most important of them: It, Mantrap and Dancing Mothers. He also deals with her later mental problems with great sensitivity and clarity so one come away with knowing exactly made Clara the woman that she was. Ultimately, Clara's was an unhappy life punctuated with moments of happiness. I came away from the book feeling that I had a new perspective about Clara Bow and a renewed interest in seeing films of hers that I had missed. The book has an excellent filmography and contains a good set of photographs of Clara and the people in her life.

Clara Bow's incredible journey through life --- the child abuse, boundless energy, ambition, heartbreak and ostracism ---- is enough for any five soap operas. But it all happened to her, and David Stenn's flawless writing brings it all to life. Even hardcore film mavens who THINK they know Bow's story need to read this book. Bow was a highly complex, yet simple, person used by Hollywood's machine then cast aside when she seemed ill suited for talkies. Stenn iss particularly good at covering Bow's many valleys and how the tinsel town users almost zeroed-in on her. Unlike any bio I've ever read, RUNNING WILD truly blends outstanding research, often minute facts (there are many additions in this updated version), and a deep feeling for the Bow the public never saw. I HIGHLY recommend this book to teenagers! My 16 year old was fascinated with Bow's story, one which could have happened yesterday. Congratulations to David Stenn for a magnificent bio that no film buff --- or teenager --- should miss.

I had no idea who Clara Bow was, I had already read the equally great Jean Harlow biography also by David Stenn, so ordered the Clara Bow one along side it. So for me not being a fan to start with, I was reading about a star I didn't know from scratch.

What a read, I was buried in the book, believe me Clara Bow had "IT" and David Stenn captured this hollywood Star beautifully. The research done for this book is clear to see, great care has been taken to sift through the facts, sorting out the scandal and rumours which spun itself out of control. The great little attributes to this book are the written lines as to how the star would sound if you enter into a conversation with Clara Bow herself. (Old New York, New York Slang)

Looking for a page turner you got "IT" Clara Bow had her own fair share of naughtiness, but the fact is you just can't help liking her for it. Clara Bow was a stronger person than she ever believed. I am amazed by her staying power once a crisis a day had hit. The sympathy you feel for this women is overpowering.

"A life no it ain't" but she knew what needed to be done to survive it. A star, Clara Bow certainly was.

David Stenn's biographical account of Clara Bow is a history of a woman victimized by family, friends, and the movie industry. Clara Bow was given the title of "It" girl by Elinor Glyn and it became her signiture. Born in 1905, Clara Bow suffered abuse and neglect at the hands of both her mother and father.

She achieved stardom at a very young age when she won the Fame and Fortune contest. Her prize was a part in the movie "Beyond The Rainbow", but she was later edited out of the final cut. Nevertheless, Clara's talent was spotted because she had something different. She was a natural born actress with a freshness that brought life to the scenes she appeared in.

Uneducated and naive, Clara was a money making vehicle for Paramount to exploit and use. She was an untreated schizophrenic for most of her life and suffered from insomnia. Clara's career began to decline when Daisy De Voe, hair stylist turned Bow's financial manager testified in a criminal trial about Clara's drinking, gambling, and promiscuous lifestyle. Most of which would not raise eyebrow these days, but was scandalous in the mid 1900s.

Clara died in 1965 with a modest fortune. She was survived by 2 sons from her marriage to George Beldam. This book attempts to present an honest account of a woman vilified by the press. I couldn't shake off the impression that David Stenn was more of a fan than a biographer. I like Stenn's writing style. It is clean and often moving. The author certainly did his research.

In essence, the story of Bow's life is quite complicated. Stenn tells us of Bow's illness only at the end of the book. He also reveals the dark secrets from her youth. I think it detracted from the story and gave the reader a filtered view of Clara. Had he told the reader early in the book, so much of Bow's self destructive behavior would have been explained.

Clara Bow's life and career are remembered as a series of lurid rumors about her sex life and inability to suceed in sound pictures. Stenn presents a great story about Bow's rise from a disfunctional family in the slums of Brooklyn to being one of the biggest stars in silent films. Sadly her problems didn't end once she made it in Hollywood.

This is a well written and researched biography of an almost forgotten Hollywood star, the precursor of Jean Harlow and Marilyn Monroe. It is a wonderful look into the world of silent movies and I recommend it highly.

David Stenn has done a wonderful job of researching and compiling information about Clara Bow's life. He details her parent's lives, her childhood, her break into films, her struggle to stay in them despite love affairs and financial woes, and her life after films.

This detailed account is easy to read. Unlike many books which touch on complicated subjects such as schizophrenia, Stenn's helps to understand the illness and explains how it related to Clara's behavior. The book also is peppered with sections of dialogue with accents and slang included for realism. Although many of these conversations are probably only imagined, they add an interesting flair to the reading.

There is one attribute of the book that some might consider a flaw: Stenn's opinion. Some of the information regarding Bow's successors seems backhanded. When he mentions Marilyn Monroe, he states that Bow never exploited her childhood for sympathy. This aversion seems strange considering Bow was a fan of Monroe. Also, later in the book, Stenn says that Jean Harlow's accent was worse than Bow's. Again, this is strange since Bow helped Harlow to advance in her career. However, Stenn is entitled to his opinion; perhaps he feels the way he does because he feels that the first sex symbol was the best. And although I personally believe opinion helps aid a biography because it makes it interesting, especially since the author is invested in the subject, some might say that the use of opinion throws a slant on the subject which makes it hard to form ones own opinions. As with anything, however, the reader should be educated and with this knowledge, one should be able to form personal opinions of Clara Bow without being influenced by Stenn's observations.

This book served as the basis for the documentary Clara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl. Many of the phrases and quotes used in the film were lifted straight from the pages of Stenn's book, proving what an excellent resource it is.

Clara Bow is one of several women who define Hollywood and Star to me. Her moment of white-hot fame is long faded and Clara Bow would not be a name remember by the average moviegoer. If she is remembered, it is for wild rumors about her instatible love life with anyone and anything to cross her path.

Thankfully David Stern has taken the time to carefully look at the true facts of Clara Bow, a film star so popular at one point that there would be a Clara Bow film for each season to meet the public's Bow fix.

Clara Bow could be consider the Uber-Star Rises From the Depths of Poverty to Incite the World. She was born in poverty, raised in a fractured home with a mother who turned tricks to make ends meet. Like so many other film stars, the young Clara was sexually abused. Her exceptional looks brought her to Hollywood.

Once in Hollywood, Clara defined sex for the nation, being crowned as having "IT" by no one less than Elinor Glyn (think a 1920s Jackie Collins or Judth Krantz).

After a series of scandals, Clara went from IT girl to reclusion, spending her remaining years with her film-star turned politican spouse.

For those willing to look beyond the scandal and rumors, "Clara Bow: Runnin' Wild" is a must read.

This is the only really researched biography ever written of Clara Bow, a poignant and evocative look at an unforgettable woman who conquered a magical period in our history and blasted apart the Victorian prudishness of western society which was one of the catalysts for birthing modern culture.

The Brooklyn Bonfire, The "It" Girl, the Royal Canadian Mounted Policewoman of sex (she always got her man!), the twenties version of Marilyn and Madonna, Clara was the very first modern, studio-packaged sex symbol. The image the studios fashioned for her, that of a carefree, man-hungry flapper, became an icon for the Jazz Age. But Bow is criminally underappreciated today---this young girl had more influence on modern Hollywood than anyone gives her credit for---and this book will show you exactly why. Here is the original tragic Hollywood sex symbol, the one all others are modeled on. Softly beautiful, powerfully sensual, and an incredibly expressive actress, she had a shocking amount of raw talent, which was exploited, and then ignored, and then sacrificed by the studio system that had grown wealthy off of her.

Stenn lays bare the reasons for her unrelenting self-destruction, revealing an unloved and bewildered young girl who fought desperately to escape from her childhood prison but was wholly unprepared for life on the outside. An authoritative biography of a complex and fascinating woman, highly recommended.

David Stenn has done a remarkable job of giving life to the story of silent screen star Clara Bow. From her humble beginnings in the Brooklyn slums, to being the most popular movie star of the day, to her lonely death - this book covers it all, yet it is not a trashy gossip book. To many, Clara Bow is associated with lurid sex scandals, stealing womens husbands etc. Through extensive research of documents, letters and interviews of her comtemporaries Stenn presents the tragic figure behind the flapper image, and debunks many of the myths surrounding her. Without employing rank sentimentality or hero-worship, he allows her to shine through in all her human, rebellious, vulgarity. Stenn's writing is clear and quick paced. Written in almost novel form, Stenn reserves a few surprises for the end. I couldn't put this one down and am now of the search for her movies, and Stenn's book on Jean Harlow. A+