Hoopla
Directed by Frank Lloyd
Written by Bradley King and J.M. March from a play by Kenyon Nicholson
1933/USA
Fox Film Corporation
First viewing/YouTube
[box] [when asked what “It” was, replying in her perfect Brooklyn accent] I ain’t real sure.– Clara Bow[/box]
The “It” girl’s final film is a pleasing mixture of the tawdry and the tender.
Lou (Clara Bow) shakes her booty as a belly dancer in a carnival sideshow. Nifty Miller (Preston Foster) manages the sideshow and does the busking for Lou and her hula dancer associate Carrie. Nifty has spent much effort and money ensuring that his son Chris (Richard Cromwell) will have a better life. When Chris comes to visit Nifty during his summer vacation, he insists on staying and working on the carnival. Chris’s presence distracts Nifty from paying attention to girlfriend Carrie. She goes into a rage and promises Lou $100 if she can seduce the naive Chris. This, of course, is a piece of cake but Lou soon finds herself in a predicament when she falls in love for real.
Although she was only 28, years of hard living make Bow look positively middle-aged next to Cromwell, who was five years her junior. Despite that, she still had plenty of sex appeal and charm and ended her career on a high note. I loved the sweet romance as well as the behind the scenes glimpses of life on the road during the period. Currently available on YouTube.
Tribute – montage of clips
