First you're another doe-eyed vamp...

circa 1925: Headshot portrait by Eugene R. Richee of American silent film actor Clara Bow (1905 - 1965)

Captured to perfection in this photo, Clara Bow was possibly the one star who personified "The Roaring Twenties" - the doe-eyed flapper, the independent woman, the simmering seductive beauty.

She was also one of the casualties of the "boom and bust" that occurred in the early days of Hollywood. Catapulted from a dreadful upbringing to become one of the biggest stars of the the glittering silent silver screen in films such as Mantrap in 1926 and It (hence her nick-name "The 'It' Girl") in 1927, she received rapturous reviews. Variety enthused thus: "Clara Bow! And how! What a 'Mantrap' she is! And how this picture is going to make her! Miss Bow just walks away with the picture from the moment she steps into camera range."

However, jealousy and perverse morality led to a huge backlash against her. It probably didn't help that her uninhibited "flapper" attitude collided head-on with the Great Depression and all that brought with it. One of the longest lasting (and by all accounts false) accusations against Miss Bow was that she single-handedly "serviced" an entire football team at an orgy, including a young John Wayne! Would that it were true.

Already wounded by the rumour mill, and by court cases accusing her of husband-stealing, the final blow to her career (from which she never recovered, ending her days in a secure sanitorium) was the arrival of the "talkies". For it was Clara Bow, with her dreadful Brooklyn accent totally unsuited to sound, that formed the basis for Miss Jean Hagen's fantabulosa performance as "Lina Lamont" in Singin' in the Rain...

Glamour of the Gods exhibition at The National Gallery

Clara Bow on IMDB

Lulu in Hollywood

Louise Brooks by E.R. Richee Modern platinum print from the original negative, 1929.

"A well dressed woman, even though her purse is painfully empty, can conquer the world."
Louise Brooks

Eugene Robert Richee, Paramount’s then head of portrait studio, took the picture above, and in doing so created an Art Deco icon and a style sensation. Women of the 1920s queued up to get their hair cut in Miss Brooks' classic "flapper" style, and the image influenced such disparate later stars as Liza Minnelli and Siouxsie Sioux.

As one reviewer puts it: "The porcelain-like complexion and white necklace against the pitch-black surroundings create a striking composition and image of the silent film star. This simplicity beautifully captures the spirit of the 1920s and reflects the eccentric character of the American actress."

Miss Brooks certainly was an outspoken and interesting character in her day:

"Love is a publicity stunt, and making love - after the first curious raptures - is only another petulant way to pass the time waiting for the studio to call.

When I am dead, I believe that film writers will fasten on the story that I am a lesbian... I have done lots to make it believable. All my women friends have been lesbians. But that is one point upon which I agree positively with Christopher Isherwood: There is no such thing as bisexuality. Ordinary people, although they may accommodate themselves for reason of whoring or marriage, are one-sexed. Out of curiosity, I had two affairs with girls – they did nothing for me."
Louise Brooks

The photograph is one of the most magnificent on display at the Glamour of the Gods exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery until 23rd October 2011.

The Allure of Louise Brooks

Miss Brooks' biography Lulu in Hollywood