In profile: Clara Bow<\/h4>\n
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1905, Clara Bow grew up far from the opulence of the movie industry, in severe poverty. The only surviving child, she was often neglected by her mentally ill mother and sexually abused by a father who would disappear from the family home for long periods.<\/p>\n
At the age of 16, she found her escape at a talent spotting contest and secured her first small role in the film Beyond the Rainbow<\/em> (1922). Her scenes were eventually cut from the final edit \u2013 and were not seen until after she found fame and they were put back in \u2013 but her real big break came shortly afterwards, later that year. Bow starred in Down to the Sea in Ships<\/em> (1922), a film loathed by critics, but for which her performance won praise.<\/p>\n
Following this, an employee of Preferred Pictures approached her on set with an offer of the train fare to Hollywood and a three-month probationary contract of $50 a week. Bow signed and started working. BP Schulberg, head of Preferred Pictures, also loaned her to other studios (a common practice at the time) for a series of small roles, which helped Bow make a name for herself.<\/p>\n
In 1924, she was selected as one of the WAMPAS (Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers) Baby Stars, an award for young actresses believed to be on the cusp of stardom. And so it was: the next year, Bow starred in The Plastic Age<\/em>, which made her Preferred Pictures\u2019 biggest star, and the 1927 film It<\/em> turned her into the archetypal \u2018It Girl\u2019.<\/p>\n

What truth is there that Bow retired due to her voice being too ugly for \u2018talkies\u2019?<\/h4>\n
It is a misconception that Bow\u2019s career ended because her voice wasn\u2019t appropriate for talking pictures. She made several, the first being hugely popular film The Wild Party<\/em> (1929). These new films did prove a struggle for Bow, however. Unaccustomed to the more rigid style of filmmaking, she developed a fear of the recording equipment and reportedly had to retake several scenes as her eyes kept wandering to the microphone overhead.<\/p>\n
In reality, Bow\u2019s failing mental and physical health was what ended her career. She had schizophrenia, and the pressures of fame exacerbated her deep-rooted and unresolved childhood traumas. She retired in 1933 at just 28. Her last public appearance was on the radio show Truth or Consequences<\/em> in 1947; two years later, she was admitted to The Institute of Living, a psychiatric facility in Connecticut, to receive treatment for debilitating insomnia.<\/p>\n
Bow died on 27 September 1965 from a heart attack, aged 60. The autopsy revealed she had suffered from atherosclerosis, a heart disease developed in early adolescence.<\/p>\n
<\/p><\/div> <\/section>
The scandals that rocked 1920s Hollywood<\/h2>\n
Among the most infamous of the sensational news stories that came out of Hollywood was the murder, in 1922, of William Desmond Taylor. The director of dozens of silent films was found dead in his Los Angeles bungalow, with bullet wounds in his back. What\u2019s more, a group of actors, actresses and studio executives were present at the scene, rummaging through Taylor\u2019s belongings. The murder, which remains unsolved to this day, became a nationwide cause c\u00e9l\u00e8bre.<\/p>\n
The previous year, another death had rattled the industry: model and actress Virginia Rappe had fallen ill at a party held by Roscoe \u2018Fatty\u2019 Arbuckle \u2013 the highest-paid film star in the country, with a $3 million contract with Paramount \u2013 and died four days later. The cause was a ruptured bladder and secondary peritonitis, which Rappe\u2019s close friend Bambina Maude Delmont testified was the result of a violent sexual assault by Arbuckle.<\/p>\n
On the podcast | The women who fought back against Hollywood<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
The story spread around Hollywood, and Delmont toured the country sharing stories of great evils in the film industry. Statements such as these enlightened the public to the sordid details of some on the silver screen, so much so that by the mid-1920s, Hollywood\u2019s scandals were regularly making daily features in newspapers.<\/p>\n
Even Charlie Chaplin, perhaps the most famous face from the silent film era, was caught up in the maelstrom. Although beloved for his moustachioed and dishevelled character, The Tramp, he had a highly controversial personal life. Two of his four wives were under 18 years old when he married them; the divorce document compiled for his second, Lita Gray, provided damning accounts of his abusive behaviour and seduction of her whilst she was underage.<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>

What was the reaction to the move to California?<\/h3>\nUntil the film companies showed up and replaced a landscape of rolling fields and orchards with sprawling studio lots and sets, Hollywood was a farming town.<\/p>\n