Clara Bow's grandmother has an adulterous affair with the leader of a wagon train. Her mother sires her illegitimately with a "half-breed". Claiming the sins of the parents are passed to the children, the movie has us believe that Bow is a wild hellion as a result. Her Texan father sends her to a finishing school in Chicago to learn manners. Instead she marries a rich playboy who marries her to spite the girl he really loves. Bow lives the life of a kept woman for a while, but leaves him and ends up poor with a child who dies tragically. Then she inherits all her father's money. This is a really wild pre-code melodrama that features everything but the kitchen sink. I normally like these, but this one just felt really sloppy and poorly made. Worth a look for pre- code antics and Bow's zesty performance, but not a great example of pre- code film making.
Review of Call Her Savage
