"Dancing Mothers" was Clara's 30th film and her first at her new studio, Paramount. She had been a work horse at Preferred, a small independent studio - in 1925 she made 14 films, often in the lead. But when the studio head B. P. Shulberg went to Paramount, he took Clara with him and in her first film there she found a role that would define her screen personality - the provocative but energetic flapper, game for anything, but at heart a good girl. Originally Betty Bronson was slated to play "Kittens" but she was thought a "charming but sexless" actress and Clara was bought in as an ideal replacement.
"Kittens" Westcourt and her father are both indulging in shipboard romances on the homeward leg of their cruise. On the dock to welcome them home is "stay at home" wife and mother, Ethel (Alice Joyce) although they both think of her as dowdy and a bit of a doormat - Kittens even calls her "Buddy". Ethel once had a life, before her marriage, she was a successful actress who abandoned her career for her husband but she is completely lonely as both husband and daughter lead their own lives.
One night an old school friend visits and encourages her to get out and "live life". They both go to the Roof Club where Ethel meets Gerald Naughton (Conway Tearle) a sophisticated man of the world and Kitten's latest crush. Alice Joyce looks too beautiful for anyone to leave her at home alone. They are immediately attracted to each other. Meanwhile, her husband, Hugh, suddenly has a change of heart and ditches his new love to take Kittens to Florida - of course he expects Ethel to come as well. But Ethel has been looking long and hard at her family and doesn't like what she sees. With Hugh telling her he will forgive her and selfish Kitten worried about her own reputation, for once Ethel puts herself first and goes on a European cruise.
Toward the end Clara Bow has an unforgettable scene. She mixes a cocktail, drinks it down, traces the drinks trail with her finger and with a madcap laugh, throws her hat in the air. She then has a jaunty bit of business with a cigarette. She instantly gave Kittens a warmth and pep that the movie audience could relate to. Clara was a complete success and stole the movie from everyone in it. She had already seen the play and intelligently thought she could bring more sympathy to the part by putting in looks and gestures that showed that it was all a lark. It definitely worked. Patrician Alice Joyce, the nominal star of the film, had been in movies from the earliest days. She joined Kalem in 1910 and became their biggest star. Her biggest hit was in the first version of "Within the Law" (1917). She played Mary Turner, a young shop girl who is unjustly sent to prison - Joan Crawford was in one of the remakes, "Paid" (1930).
Recommended.
"Kittens" Westcourt and her father are both indulging in shipboard romances on the homeward leg of their cruise. On the dock to welcome them home is "stay at home" wife and mother, Ethel (Alice Joyce) although they both think of her as dowdy and a bit of a doormat - Kittens even calls her "Buddy". Ethel once had a life, before her marriage, she was a successful actress who abandoned her career for her husband but she is completely lonely as both husband and daughter lead their own lives.
One night an old school friend visits and encourages her to get out and "live life". They both go to the Roof Club where Ethel meets Gerald Naughton (Conway Tearle) a sophisticated man of the world and Kitten's latest crush. Alice Joyce looks too beautiful for anyone to leave her at home alone. They are immediately attracted to each other. Meanwhile, her husband, Hugh, suddenly has a change of heart and ditches his new love to take Kittens to Florida - of course he expects Ethel to come as well. But Ethel has been looking long and hard at her family and doesn't like what she sees. With Hugh telling her he will forgive her and selfish Kitten worried about her own reputation, for once Ethel puts herself first and goes on a European cruise.
Toward the end Clara Bow has an unforgettable scene. She mixes a cocktail, drinks it down, traces the drinks trail with her finger and with a madcap laugh, throws her hat in the air. She then has a jaunty bit of business with a cigarette. She instantly gave Kittens a warmth and pep that the movie audience could relate to. Clara was a complete success and stole the movie from everyone in it. She had already seen the play and intelligently thought she could bring more sympathy to the part by putting in looks and gestures that showed that it was all a lark. It definitely worked. Patrician Alice Joyce, the nominal star of the film, had been in movies from the earliest days. She joined Kalem in 1910 and became their biggest star. Her biggest hit was in the first version of "Within the Law" (1917). She played Mary Turner, a young shop girl who is unjustly sent to prison - Joan Crawford was in one of the remakes, "Paid" (1930).
Recommended.