The Silent Cinema: Parisian Love (1925)

Directed by Louis Gasnier. Cast: Clara Bow, Donald Keith, Lillian Leighton, Lou Tellegen, J. Gordon Russell, Hazel Keener. Released August 1, 1925. Running time: 70 minutes

"Parisian Love" was directed by Louis Gasnier, who had helmed some Max Linder comedies in his native France, and later directed everything from the Cary Grant adventure "The Last Outpost" to the notorious "Reefer Madness." It features Clara Bow as Marie, an apache dancer who gets in with a gang along with her boyfriend Armand (Donald Keith). When they go to rob the wealthy Professor Marcel (Lou Tellegen), he recognizes Armand as a boy who came from wealth himself. Realizing Armand has fallen in with the wrong crowd, he kidnaps him, turns the others over to the police, and plans to cultivate the injured young man whom he realizes is one of culture and breeding who can be removed from the undesirables with whom he had been keeping company. Marie avoids the police and poses as a maid in the Professor's home to be close to the recuperating Armand. Marcel tries to fix up a confused Armand with his friend Jean (Alyce Mills). When Marie sees them kissing, she believes Armand has forgotten her and she takes on the role of an aristocrat to trick Marcel into falling in love and marrying her.

The contrived Victorian approach to the narrative has little appeal, except as history, with the understanding that such setups as this were indeed a part of that period's culture. Apparently the idea that a wealthy man who falls in with a bad crowd is superior to a commoner who does the same, is a look at the sort of class system that was long out of date even when this film was released. Its intention was to present another culture and its perspective. On that level it does well. However, the idea of Marie plotting to marry Marcel as a trick to get even with his taking Armand from her is far-fetched even for the silent era.

Donald Keith started out in Al Christie short comedies under the name Frances Feeny, and by the time of this 1925 drama, was in the process of transitioning to more serious roles in features under the Keith name. His work in films like "The Plastic Age," "The Way of All Flesh," and "Top Sergeant Mulligan" is more notable than this film. Lou Tellegen never did seem to register too solidly in films, or in real life romance, penning the sarcastically titled memoir "Women Have Been Kind" in 1931. He committed suicide by stabbing himself with scissors a few years later.

Much has been written about the outrageous and sordid life of Clara Bow, but she is quite certainly one of the most appealing screen performers of the 1920s. This is years before her later classics "It" and "Wings," but made during a time when she was at her busiest, appearing in 15 features in 1925 alone, and remaining quite productive throughout the silent era. Certainly the best thing in "Parisian Love," she is especially strong when exhibiting tough leadership among the boys in the street gang. It is she who makes the film as good as it can be.

"Parisian Love" was considered lost until the end of the 20th Century when it was restored and made available on a DVD with one of Clara Bow's earlier film appearances, "Down To The Sea in Ships" (1922). This DVD remains available and can be purchased at this link: Clara Bow Silents