PREVIEW: Film Forum premieres festival centered on ‘It Girls’

Film Forum in New York City has kicked off a two-week festival of movies exploring the unique time period in American cinema when the “It Girl” was a cultural symbol of sex appeal, independence and above-the-marquee celebrity status. Many of the films in It Girls, Flappers, Jazz Babies & Vamps are from Hollywood’s pre-code era when restrictions on content were not in place yet. This means several of the films are more adventurous than movies from the 1940s and 1950s, and they address issues of sexuality and affairs.

Several of the well-known movie stars who are featured in the festival include the incomparable Clara Bow, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich and Barbara Stanwyck, among others.

It’s an exciting prospect for a movie festival because, historically speaking, these films represent so much in their collective influence. The 1920s and 1930s in Hollywood saw perhaps the greatest transition in the medium when silent films evolved into talkies, and because the pre-code years were more liberal in content, the results, when seen through a 2016 lens, can be quite surprising.

Among the anticipated highlights: Bow’s many films, including Mantrap and Call Her Savage. At these screenings, Bow biographer David Stenn will offer an introduction and sign copies of his book on the influential actress.

Crawford will have the most personal offerings on display. The actress’s grandson will present two programs of her personal home movies, offering audiences a “never-before-seen side of the Hollywood icon.”

Among the many double features are 1928’s The Barker and 1931’s Safe in Hell. Crawford’s Our Dancing Daughters is paired with Cecil B. DeMille’s Madam Satan, and Stanwyck’s Baby Face is coupled with Jean Harlow’s Red-Headed Woman.

The offerings may be obscure to anyone except pre-code film buffs. However, there are some bonafide classics among the many films. These include 1929’s Pandora’s Box, 1927’s Chicago and 1932’s Trouble in Paradise.

For the next two weeks, Film Forum will travel back 80-90 years to the time of flappers, vamps and “it girls” who took more cinematic liberties than their counterparts in later decades.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Click here for a complete schedule of films in the It Girls, Flappers, Jazz Babies & Vamps festival.