In It (1927), Clara Bow played Betty Lou Spence, a shopgirl whose charm, confidence and vitality win the attention of her wealthy employer. Directed by Clarence G. Badger and based on Elinor Glyn’s story, the film gave a name to the quality Bow embodied on screen. Audiences did not need the word explained; they recognised it in Bow’s grin, her quick movements and her open, modern manner.
The story is a light romantic comedy, but Bow’s performance is what has kept it alive. Betty Lou is resourceful rather than passive, funny rather than merely pretty, and Bow plays her without the stiff mannerisms that date many silent performances. She looks directly at the camera and at the world around her as if she belongs in it, and that directness made her a star for a new generation.
It arrived at the height of Bow’s fame and remains her most famous film. It is the clearest single example of why she became a symbol of the 1920s: not a costume or a hairstyle, but an attitude — joyful, independent and unmistakably alive.