Acteurist Oeuvre-View – Season 3 – Clara Bow: Down to the Sea in Ships (1922) & Black Oxen (1923)

In the inaugural episode of our Clara Bow Acteurist Oeuvre-view series, we discuss the general outline of Bow's life and career, consider her two first major film roles, and venture a few working hypotheses. She's easily the best thing in Down to the Sea in Ships (1922), the film that introduced her to the public, as a playful tomboy. Directed by D. W. Griffith alumnus Elmer Clifton, it starts the trend of contrasting Bow with a more antiquated form of womanhood as film, and culture in general, struggles to emerge from the Victorian era. Black Oxen (1923), directed by Frank Lloyd, takes a sci fi approach to this theme, and plants the "flapper" label on Bow—which, we decide, is incorrect.   Time Codes: 0h 01m 00s:             Brief Bow Intro 0h 18m 44s:            Down to the Sea in Ships (1922) [dir: Elmer Clifton] 0h 36m 03s:            Black Oxen (1923) [dir: Frank Lloyd]       +++ * Check out our Complete Upcoming Episode Schedule (now projected into 2023) * Find Elise's latest film piece on Billy Wilder and 1930s Romantic Comedy *And Read lots of Elise's Writing at Bright Wall/Dark Room, Cléo, and Bright Lights.* Follow us on Twitter at @therebuggy Write to us at [email protected] Theme Music: "What's Yr Take on Cassavetes?" – Le Tigre