NancyValentino.com » The Good Ol’ Days

The Vivacious Clara Bow

Nancy Valentino — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:30:02 +0000

“A sex symbol is a heavy load to carry when one is tired, hurt and bewildered.”- Clara Bow

It is the perfect day to reminisce about the forgotten stars of yesterday. I’ve been reading about Clara Bow and while I knew she was a famous actress in the 20’s, I wanted to learn more about her. I feel as though a part of me can identify with Clara. After learning so much about her life, I no longer look at her as a flapper and actress, I have a lot of respect for her and sympathize with what she went through.

There was something about Clara Bow; she truly did break the mold. She is a style icon among many things. While she was not the one who started the whole “Flapper” trend, Clara is best remembered at one of the first & finest Flapper gals of her time. On the exterior she was a bubbly energetic person but inside she was terribly lonely and was still very much affected by her destitute, troubled childhood filled with hatred & mental illness (which affected her the rest of her life).

She was not a woman of elegance & grace. But she was vivacious, passionate, and untamed – but most of all, she was genuine. She was not “book smart”, but she knew how to work an audience with her eyes. She always kept them coming back for more. She personified sex appeal. She definitely had “It”.

I’ve always been intrigued with the whirlwind passionate love affairs of Old Hollywood. Yes, it’s totally uncultivated but there is something so fascinating about it all. Clara’s life was definitely filled with plenty of affairs & engagements to some of Hollywood’s handsome men (passing up on Gilbert Roland and young Gary Cooper? What were you thinking, girl?!).

Clara was no different than the rest of the Hollywood crowd-wild parties, drinking, sex-they all did it. But what I found so interesting is that many actresses of the day had to sign moral clauses in their contracts. Clara got out of signing one. Her public did not care about what she did off-screen; they loved her.

What I find so tragic about her life and career is that she was constantly taken advantage of by those close to her, including her father. Producer Ben Schulberg exploited Clara the most, making as much money as he could off of her, giving her a mere $200 a week; she was worth way more.

I will always admire Clara Bow for her genuine personality & amazing acting abilities-she really could talk with her eyes. She truly was and will always be the original “It” girl.

Ms. Valentino & Her Giggle Water!

Nancy Valentino — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:22:30 +0000

This is my first attempt at a contemporary silent picture. Most of this footage was taken moments after the 2010 New Year.

Charlie Chaplin

Nancy Valentino — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:12:05 +0000

Many people that personally know me know that I am a big Charlie Chaplin fan. I’m not even going to get into his life, the man led an interesting & long one! But I do want to share my thoughts on Charlie Chaplin & why I find him so fascinating. Robert Downey Jr. played a fantastic & convincing Charlie in 1992’s “Chaplin”-fantastic movie, I totally recommend it!

Chapin is an icon; he was extremely popular in the late teens & 1920’s. He has had such an influence on popular culture & although he was famous in a decade so long ago, his little tramp character most certainly will live on forever.

Most people just see Charlie Chaplin as a comic but he was more than that, he was a true artist. He wrote, directed, produced, helped compose music & starred in his own movies. He was a millionaire in a time where $5.00 was a good chunk of change! He had his own studio & was in charge of his career. . It’s not just “The Little Tramp” that made him so memorable but other things as well-ever heard of United Artists?? UA was brought about as a joint venture on February 5, 1919,by Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith. Essentially this meant that they had independence & creative control over their careers.

I am not one for comedy movies, I actually hate them but I do admit that I love to watch the Chaplin in some of his early films (just to name a few) “Tillie’s Punctured Romance” in which he starred with Marie Dressler, “The Rink” &“The Immigrant” I think what I love most about his comedy stuff is the simplicity of it & the emotion portrayed in the films (that goes with all silent films). Raw emotion is what is really portrayed in “The Kid”. When little Jackie Coogan is ripped away from Chaplin by child services…although there is no dialogue, you can feel the emotion & the sadness of what’s taking place.

“Modern Times” is another one of my favorite Chaplin movies. The movie has a deeper meaning-it shows the dawn of a new, modern & industrialized era. In 1936, that’s exactly what was going on. The simplistic days of the 1920’s were long gone. Chaplin managed to make this film a silent; this film starred Paulette Goddard (I’m pretty sure I should have been her :p). I really love the message he is giving in this movie. This is the last movie that starred the character of “The Little Tramp”. The musical score is beautiful and years later the melody was turned into the song, “Smile” (one of my all time favorite songs before I knew Chaplin had any influence on it).

“Limelight” is a mirror image of Chaplin’s professional life at that time. He was dealing being just a forgotten entertainer & the movie shows him dealing with his personal demons. It was 1952 and the days of silent films were long, long ago by that time. It’s a beautiful movie & I feel that it deserved way more recognition.

With the holidays just around the corner, I tend to think about Chaplin around the holidays because he actually passed away on Christmas Day. I like to watch a Chaplin movie on Christmas to pay tribute to such an amazing person. I’m not usually like this with Old Hollywood actor or actresses but there is something about Charlie Chaplin that captivates me.

The Brilliant & Beautiful Bette Davis

Nancy Valentino — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:44:38 +0000

So, I’m not going to write up a whole bio but I wanted to share some thoughts I had about the brilliant & beautiful Bette Davis. She had “IT”, ya know, that certain something that’s totally indescribable.

This past Saturday was Bette Davis Day on TCM’s “Summer Under the Stars”. I have to admit, I am a bigger Joan Crawford fan but I must say, I really do appreciate Bette Davis’ work and I thought she was a superb actress. “Now, Voyager” was what really sold me on Bette Davis; it was a brilliant movie. Some of my other favorites include “Dark Victory” (ahhh…1939, the greatest year in film history), “All About Eve”, “Three on a Match” (she wasn’t the established Bette Davis at that point, but good none the less) and of course there is “What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? Even though it was Bette’s (or Joan’s) finest moment, I DO love that movie!

Last week, I watched “The Whales of August” (1987) with Bette Davis & Lillian Gish. I was so impressed that these two actresses in their 80’s could make such a moving film. Bette plays a blind woman; it was very reminiscent of her character in Dark Victory that goes blind. Oh, I was really moved by this movie.

Bette playing blind in 1939's Dark Victory

I really admire Better for taking charge of her career. Bette thought her career was being damaged by mediocre films, the issue was taken to court and Bette thought that she would be freed from her contract with Warner Brothers. She did end up losing the case but I have a great respect for her; not too many women in the 1930’s would have stood up for themselves and their image the way Bette did.

The Great Lionel Barrymore

Nancy Valentino — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 04:21:46 +0000

In my opinion, Lionel Barrymore was a really talent actor. I would definitely consider him to be one of my favorite Old Hollywood actors of all time. Lionel was absolutely magnificent in “Grand Hotel”; he played Mr. Kringelein-a gentle, kindhearted and modest man that goes to the “Grand Hotel” to finally enjoy himself for once. From what I have read about Lionel, he really did possess the same kindhearted gentleness as his character, Mr. Kringelein.

Lionel was born in Philadelphia on April 12^th, 1878 and began his career around the 1890′s on Broadway and started his film career in 1911 with D.W. Griffith. I haven’t had the opportunity to see many of his silent pictures but I would l love to. I hear many of them are lost though.

In 1926, Lionel was pretty much exclusively working for MGM studios and in 1928 he worked opposite Gloria Swanson ( I heart her!) in Sadie Thompson. It’s an amazing movie; I thought it was a very different yet interesting subject matter for its time. In 1931, he won an Academy Award for his performance in “A Free Soul”. Yet another amazing performance as an alcoholic defense attorney who defends his daughter’s ex boyfriend on murder charges. He gave this outstanding 14 minute monologue and I’ve read that that speech is primarily the reason why he won the Academy Award.

Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore in "Grand Hotel"

“You Can’t Take It With You” is another favorite of mine- my goodness, I could really go on and on about all of the movies I have enjoyed him in. He usually played the “grouchy but sweet loveable old man” & I love that! Probably one of his best known roles is when he played Mr. Potter in “It’s A Wonderful Life”. I didn’t even recognize him because he looked a lot older and played a really mean character.

Lionel Barrymore died in 1954 at the age of 76. I’m glad that I have gotten familiar with his work because he really was a stunning actor.

The Great Anita Page

Nancy Valentino — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:37:05 +0000

With pretty much every day being either cloudy or raining, I have found myself in the house more-watching old movies. There is just something so fitting about it; it makes me think about those who have been forgotten. It’s pretty crazy to think that Doug & Mary were the Brad & Angelina of the ‘20’s but it’s true!! Who are Doug & Mary you ask? See, that’s what I mean. How can a person who was so famous back then be totally forgotten today? My generation has no clue who Mary Pickford was, what the Ziegfeld Follies were or know who creative, misunderstood geniuses such as Erich Von Strohiem were.

Anita Page is another one of those stars that have sadly been forgotten about. Anita was born in 1910 and reached her stardom at the end of the silent film era. One of my personal favorites is when she played “Kentucky” in ‘Our Modern Maidens’ (opposite Joan Crawford, another idol of mine). In fact, I really enjoyed her in most of her films. She has that girly charm & innocence. I love Joan Crawford but there is no way Ms. Crawford could express that same vulnerability as Anita; especially in her early career-she was too much of a firecracker, in my opinion!

Left to right: Dorothy Sebastian, Joan Crawford, and Anita Page

Anita was leading lady to actors such as: Clark Gable, Buster Keaton and my personal favorite, Robert Montgomery (*swoon*). Around this time it was said that she was receiving more mail than any other actress at MGM. Anita pretty much shocked everyone when in 1933, at the age of 23, she decided to retire from films. She disappeared from the screen for 60 years!!! In an interview conducted in 2004 (yes, 2004! you do the math), she said that what truly ended her career was her refusal to meet sexual demands by MGM’s head of production, Irving Thalberg. That actually comes as a surprise to me; I could totally see LB Mayer requesting sexual favors but Irving Thalberg?! LB pretty much threatened ruined her reputation after that so she walked away.

She married a Lieutenant and eventually became a Navy wife. They were married until his death in 1991. Anita returned to the screen in 1996 and did some work in low budget horror films. Around this time, Anita gave several interviews and was listed as one of the last silent stars. Although she didn’t work for 60+ years, I really do consider her the last great silent star. Many actresses gave sexual favors in order to further their careers (the infamous Blue movie, Miss Crawford??). Anita chose not to do this and I totally respect her for that. Anita was THE LAST SURVIVING attendee of the 1^st Academy Awards show in 1929! How awesome is that?? She died at the age of 98 on September 6, 2008. She was a beautiful person and I’m glad her work can still be enjoyed Old Hollywood fans, like myself.