Cinema Spotlight-1926's Man Trap Starring Clara Bow

When it comes to 1920s silent film flappers there was triumvirate of stars:

Louise Brooks-The serious sophisticated flapper 

Colleen Moore-The good girl flapper

and Louise Brooks-The sexy flapper:

In fact Brook's is very prescient of another vintage star who came along decades later, Marilyn Monroe.  (Monroe even did a 1958 photo shoot where she dressed up as Bow).

Bow's seductive comic charms are on excellent display in the 1926 film Man Trap.

The film is basically a comic love triangle.   Ralph Prescott is a stressed out New York Lawyer with an office full of flappers suing for divorce. 



 After one blonde haired bobbed client plays footsie with him under the desk (in a pair of adorable diamante buckled heels)  He snaps.   

Desperate for a break from the modern women he decides to go on a vacation in outdoorsy "he man" country.  He settles on an isolated backs wood area known as, Man Trap.

Meanwhile, a trapper named Joe living in Man Trap is having the opposite problem.  

Tired of the woods and the lack of feminine companionship he decides to take a brief vacation in Minneapolis.  While there he meets Alverna, a charming manicurist played by Bow.

Opposites attract and soon Joe and Alverna are going on a dinner date.

A few weeks pass and the film returns to Ralph, the New York lawyer is not enjoying his out doorsy vacation as much as he had hoped.

Joe stumbles upon Ralph, miserable and wet in the woods and agrees to take him back to his cabin.  Ralph is thrilled to go, until he glimpses Joe's wife, Alverna.  It seems right after the dinner date Joe and Alverna headed to the preacher.   Alverna is clad in a charming gingham country frock, but her flapper spirit is shining through.

Soon Alverna is flirting shamelessly with Ralph who is simultaneously attracted and repelled.

Alverna throws a wild  back woods 1920s jazz party

and smolders in a checked wool dressing gown while Ralph keeps watch for hostile Indians.

Soon Ralph can take the temptation no more and not wanting to hurt Joe's feelings he decides to head back to the city. 

Alverna though, is sick of country life, and runs away following Ralph and planning on getting him to take her to the city. 

 At first Ralph refuses 

to let her come along, but fearing for her safety in the woods he soon relents.

The trip back to civilization doesn't go smoothly.   Ralph's guide absconds with their food and Alverna flirts with a helicopter patrolman.  By the time Joe catches up with them, the new couple are quarreling.

Joe and Ralph set to bickering over Alverna and complaining about her flirting.   Alverna quickly gets fed up with the conversation and laughing, heads off to Minneapolis in Joe's boat.

I truly wish the film had ended here.  Alverna is obviously not the marrying kind and would never be happy living isolated in the woods, but this is a 1926 film and films of this time didn't truly embrace liberated women.  So sadly the film does not end here.  

Ralph returns to New York, refreshed from his vacation and prepared to deal with flapper divorcees and Alverna, after a brief break in the city, goes back home to Joe.  Soon she's begging Joe for forgiveness and he's eagerly embracing her.   Alverna isn't so easily chastised though, over Joe's shoulder she glimpses a handsome park ranger and soon she's back to her flirting ways!

Man Trap is directed by Victor Fleming:

Who would go on to make The Wizard of Oz.  It has been fully restored and has excellent picture quality.  Man Trap isn't available for streaming but the DVD can be purchased on Amazon for $16.95.  It's essential viewing for any fan of Clara's charming silent comedy.  

Silent Film Sunday Clara Bow in 1927's Hula

Polynesian and Tiki culture first entered American life in the 1930s and peaked in the late 50s and early 60s when Hawaii became a state.   However, as in all things flapper film star Clara Bow was ahead of the times.  In 1927 she starred in the pre-code film Hula as the wild child daughter of a pineapple plantation owner.

Memorial Day Silent Film- Wings 1927

Filmed in 1927 Wings is an epic WWI drama telling the story of three friends, one played by Clara Bow, and their war time adventures.  It's also famous for featuring cinemas first same sex kiss.  Here are four amazing clips from the film:

Clara Bow as the Girl next store:

The Paris party scene: 

The aerial battle: 

The famous kiss

Pin's and Pinafores-A Valentine's Day Vintage Outfit Post Two Ways

Valentine's day may be a much maligned holiday, which I do understand, even if I myself kind of enjoy it.   I'd personally never want to brave a restaurant on Valentine's Eve, and I'm not too interested in flowers or candy.  No, what sets my heart aflutter is a Valentine's appropriate vintage outfit.  By which I of course mean something red, or pink, preferably with hearts involved.  Last year I made my Valentine's outfit wishes come true with a copy of one of my dream dresses, the heart and arrow dress Ginger Roger's wore in 1938's Care Free, you can see it here.  

I love my Care Free dress but this year I began thinking I wanted a more casual vintage inspired Valentine's outfit.  I thought a 1940s style pinafore would be a good idea.  Warm and idea for layering pinafores are a great practical winter clothing item.   I went to the vintage pinafore expert, Deborah of TheBlackPinafore on Etsy, and told her my idea.  My inspiration was the pinafore set worn by Betty Garett in the 1949 film Neptune's Daughter. 

I asked Deborah to make me a similar vest topped pinafore in a darker red with a blouse and collar tie to match.  She did an amazing job and I couldn't be happier with the results.  

It's exactly the kind of vintage outfit I most enjoy wearing, comfortable and practical and it will work equally well in winter or spring. 

I paired my pinafore set with a blue wool beret (you can get them on Amazon for ten dollars or less), red 1960s nylon gloves,  and a 1940s celluloid novelty brooch.

I was also pleased to see that the pinafore goes great with my 1940s style  horseshoe and arrow sweater from Vintage and Cool Knitting by Regiane Trainotti and my Merriweather lucky horse shoe pin:

These two vintage style Valentine's outfits will definitely have me feeling the love this year.  Happy early Valentines!

Merry Christmas Eve-Clara Delivers the Presents!

Cinema Spotlight-The Plastic Age 1925

In yesterdays post I wrote about the gorgeous, sporty college fashions of the 1920s, and no where are they on better display then in the film I'm profiling in today's post, 1925's The Plastic Age with the incomparable Clara Bow.

The Plastic Age was based on a popular 1924 novel by Percy Marks a college English professor. 

The novel purported to tell the scandalous "true" story of campus life.  With descriptions of fraternity hazing, petting parties, and alcohol fueled shenanigans it quickly became a best seller, and a year later a film.

 

The hero of the film is the young Hugh Carver the sheltered only child of devoted parents and a prep school athletic star.  

In the opening scene Hugh's parents are packing him up for college.  As his devoted mother lovingly folds his long underwear

 Hugh betrays a hint of his eagerness to fly from the nest:

Once at Prescott College the straight laced Hugh is roomed with Carl Peters, a lothario with a wall of beauty devoted to his conquests in his door room

 

The real "hotsy-totsy" of which is Cynthia Day, played by Clara Bow:



Cynthia has signed the bare shoulder on her photo: "To Carl: a real hot potato."

One glimpse of Cynthia and Hugh is  ready to try life on the wild side.  He decides to join Carl's fraternity and the hazing ritual that night involves sneaking into the home of Cynthia and the other college girls.

When Cynthia gets a look at Carl, wearing only a night shirt and a bowler hat, she clearly likes what she sees:




Soon Cynthia is giving Hugh a dancing lesson


and a love triangle between Cynthia, Hugh, and Carl has formed.  

The next morning Hugh, along with the other fraternity boys, isn't up to his old athletic form.  The exasperated coach says:

To which Carl's reply is a curt:

Hugh perhaps feels a bit bad about his falling grades and poor athletic showing but with Cynthia on his mind he is easily distracted from his studies and practice sessions.

Cynthia quickly introduces Carl to a number of other temptations

and soon Hugh's concerned parents notice his poor grades and losses on the football field.

Meanwhile Cynthia is falling in love which leads her to the painful realization that she is bad for Hugh.  Convinced she is unworthy of him she tearfully ends the relationship

A newly single and serious Hugh regains his athletic prowess and leads his team to stunning victory on the football field.

 

Soon Hugh is a graduate,  packed up and ready to leave Prescott with his parents.  On his way to say goodbye to his buddies he sees a newly chastened Cynthia fighting of the advances of an unwelcome admirer.

Furious at the young man who tried to kiss her Hugh punches him, and Cynthia hearing of the attack realizes that Hugh still loves her and with the help of Carl

the two are  joyfully re-united.

Romance bloomed behind the scenes of The Plastic Age as well, though sadly  it didn't come to a happy end.   Clara and Gilbert Roland, who played Carl Peters, where both young and overwhelmed by fame.  Roland was Mexican and spoke little English and Clara was always socially insecure because of her decidedly blue collar back ground.   They madly in love and were soon engaged

However, Clara's possessive father hated Roland because he was Mexican and a Catholic and did everything he could to put an end to the relationship.  The pressures from her father and the attention from other men as her fame grew lead Clara to end the relationship though she remembered him fondly for the rest of her life. 

The Plastic Age is a charming film that offers a glimpse into a world long gone.