The Wild Party (1929) User Reviews

If you like the early talkies you'll like this one

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 16 August 2010]

In fact, on some levels it is a fascinating look at college girls at play at the end of the roaring twenties. The year is 1929 and the place is mythical Winston College, an all-girl school. Stella Ames (Clara Bow) is the most popular girl in school and life of the party, Helen Owens (Shirley O'Hara) is the smartest girl in school, and Faith Morgan (Marceline Day) is a trustee of sorts in the dorm where the girls live who is given to lecturing Stella and has a very stern outlook on life. All of the girls get along pretty well with the exception of one who seems to delight in snooping and gossiping - her antics enter heavily into the plot. The romance here is an unlikely one between young professor of anthropology Dr. Gilmore "Gil" (Fredric March) and party girl Stella. The relationship starts out antagonistically due to an incident a few months before Gil came to the college. A mishap in the sleeper car of a train had a sleepy Stella getting up in the middle of the night for a drink of water and returning to the wrong berth - Gil's, in fact. She's determined to get even with him for teasing her at the time, and is surprised when he doesn't seem to know she's alive.

The college stag dance with girls dancing with girls in which Stella and her two buddies enter the stag dance in a sort of conga line dressed in sequined bathing suits, raccoon skin coats, and high heels is truly an iconic moment in late 20's film. The story should hold your interest although there is nothing truly unique about it, and I thought that the acting and direction were quite good for an early talkie. Sure, Bow has a very noticeable New York accent, but it suits her in this and the other early talkie roles I've seen her in as it accentuates her brashness. Director Arzner keeps things moving by not letting a dead camera just hang there while actors endlessly speechify as is common in other films from this same year. As for the plot devices, there's a rowdy roadhouse, a near-attempted rape, a shooting, dorm fire-drills and head counts at embarrassing moments, and one of the girls falling asleep on the beach with a man at a party until 4AM and then losing the page of a letter in which she is writing about the incident. Wherever did that piece of paper go? I'd definitely recommend this to early talkie fans.

Clara's first talkie

[JenniferA585 · 5/10 · 5 September 2006]

I'm going to have to disagree with the person who said you should watch it without the sound. You can tell its a early talkie and that all of the actresses are trying very hard to make the transition. Clara Bow was a sensational actress but she had a very hard time with sound. Its a cute film if you don't over analyze it too much. And its fun to hear what Clara sounded like. You can kind of hear her Brooklyn accent if you listen really hard. It is cheesy but its 1929! You weren't allowed to do anything in 1929! Clara is great and its unfortunate that she retired by the time she was 27. The Wild Party is about girls who don't take college seriously until Clara, who's kinda like the queen bee, meets Frederic March, who is her professor. Its fun to see what life may have been like in the early years of sound. Clara was so talented and beautiful.

Bow Talks!

[wes-connors · 6/10 · 5 August 2008]

Wild party girl Clara Bow (as Stella Ames) has plenty of fun at the "Winston" college for young women. Parties and roadhouse jaunts are the college girls' preoccupation. On the train trip to "Winston", Ms. Bow recalls accidentally climbing into bed with fellow traveler Fredric March (as James "Gil" Gilmore). As it turns out, Mr. March is the school's new Professor of Anthropology. Bow and her housemates see the good-looking teacher arrive, and immediately become interested in anthropological matters. Eventually, Bow and March fall into each other's arms, which threatens their student and teacher status at the college.

Bow's first "talkie" was not unsuccessful, although it is sometimes recalled as a failure. Perhaps, detractors are recalling Bow's subsequent talking features. Strangely, she became more unnatural, hesitant, and uneven in later films. Possibly, she was rattled by negative reviews. However, by 1931, Bow's performances became more assured. By then, unfortunately, it was too late for the huge audiences attending "The Wild Party" to appreciate her efforts.

"The Wild Party" is a more than respectable talking film debut; while undeniably silly, it was a fun "college youth" film. Bow wasn't going to be young forever, obviously; but, she could still carry out the college hi-jinks. March and the supporting cast perform well. And, Paramount assigned a woman, Dorothy Arzner, to direct the film.

Watch for one notably silent word "mouthed" the film. When Bow and the women are in the back seat of the car, they see March walking in the street, and Bow exclaims, "----!"

****** The Wild Party (4/6/29) Dorothy Arzner ~ Clara Bow, Fredric March, Joyce Compton

Clara Bow First Talkie

[springfieldrental · 7/10 · 26 June 2022]

Actress Clara Bow, so confident and frolicking in her silent films, looked upon talkies with trepidation. With no stage experience, Bow relied on her visual spunkiness to mesmerize the public. The Brooklyn born and raised actress felt her accent and a slight stammer had the potential of slamming her film career shut when she was placed before a recording device. One of Hollywood's top female silent movie stars faced an uncertain future when she appeared in a Paramount Pictures' early talkie, April 1929 "The Wild Party."

Dorothy Arzner was given the director's assignment to handle the skittish Bow. After her successful directorial debut in March 1927's 'Women of Fashion,' Arzner directed three more silents before Paramount offered her the "The Wild Party." When Bow heard herself on playback after she was given a brief screen test talking into a microphone, the actress said, "How can I be in pictures with a voice like that?" Assured she was fine, Bow was handed an 100-page script she had to memorize within two weeks before filming. On the set, the opening days were difficult for her. Today's viewers can readily witness her lack of confidence and uneasiness in the new medium. She immediately hated talkies. "They're stiff and limiting," Bow remarked. "You lose a lot of your cuteness, because there's no chance for action, and action is the most important thing to me."

She found herself on the sound stage more conscious about where the microphone was than delivering her lines. Arzner came up with the idea of suspending the microphone on the end of a fishing rod (one of many reports crediting a number of people, including Lionel Barrymore, of innovating the first boom mic) and having it follow her. The results were better, but the actress occasionally looked up to spot the mic. "We had quite a time in the beginning," Arzner remembered, "because to be aware of the pantomime which she was accustomed to, then have words to remember, was very difficult for her."

Playing opposite Bow was actor Frederic March, in only his second credited feature film. A banker turned actor, he first appeared on the Broadway stage, then turned to Hollywood in the late 1920s. In the film, he's a professor at an all-women's college who falls for Bow, even though her behavior is opposite of his. She's equally attracted to him, but several adventures occur placing roadblocks in their relationship. March ended up as one of cinema's most respected actors, nominated by the Academy five times for Best Actor, earning two wins.

Paramount premiered "The Wild Party" with a special public appearance by Bow at the 4,200 seat Brooklyn Paramount Theatre. Ever a comic, she said in a short speech before the movie played, speaking in her heavy New York City accent, "I hope youse all prouda me." Variety didn't see anything particularly wrong with her voice, stating "it was good enough to survive the transition to sound." But another critic lambasted her, describing her voice possessing a "harsh tonal quality that is not very easy on sensitive eardrums." Her talking debut, however, was a financial success as the public continued to envelop her engaging personality.

Much better than the rating led me to expect

[Philipp_Flersheim · 7/10 · 18 January 2022]

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed watching 'The Wild Party'. It is not a brilliant film, but it is much better than I expected after having looked at some of the reviews here and having tried a couple of other early talkies (though none as early as this one). So what did I like about it? First of all Clara Bow of course. She comes across just as well as on silent film; in fact, I think she managed the transition to talking pictures excellently. Some contemporary and later reviewers disliked her New York accent. I don't, though admittedly English isn't my first language and I am no good at recognising regional accents. Her voice itself - occasionally criticised too - is perfectly alright as far as I am concerned. Her acting style is natural, not overdone - at least after the first couple of scenes, where she looks a bit nervous. All in all she is credible as a college student. The other female actors do very well, too. Most dialogue (again, after the actors got the first one of two scenes behind them) sounds fine - far better than the stilted and unnatural lines in the few talking scenes in 'Lonesome' for example, which came out only one year before 'The Wild Party'. The plot is nice enough. There are some enjoyable twists and turns and a reasonably satisfying conclusion. I am saying 'reasonably satisfying' because this conclusion involves the male lead actor, Fredric March, who I think was miscast in the role of professor Gilmore. He is supposed to be very much focused on academia and research, but that does not mean that he absolutely has to be quite so stuffy, boring and downright unfriendly (he does not even greet, let alone welcome the students in his new course). It beats me why all the girls go crazy about him.

'The Wild Party' is of course also interesting because it shows, if not what all-women colleges were like in the late 1920s, then at least how the general public assumed students and professors to behave. My, how things have changed! There is this professor, Gilmore, who saves the character played by Clara Bow from being gang raped by a group of drunks. His reaction? He says he worries about his position at the college. A moment later he passionately kisses Clara. THAT is what would make him worry today. Evidently the general public thought it was fine for members of faculty to have romantic relations with students (even though the college is implied to have frowned upon this kind behaviour). Well, at any rate, I liked 'The Wild Party'. It is definitely the most enjoyable early (i.e. Pre-1933) talkie I have watched so far. I recommend it.

One of Fred's firsts, not bad, but not really good either...

[purplecrayon · 5 October 2002]

This is the 35th or so Fredric March movie I have seen to date...and the earliest one. I must say overall I was not impressed with it. Fred was handsome to be sure...but his part was not very challenging or deep for him. He was fine in the movie though...wonderful voice, got to see him in knickers again (other time in the Marriage Playground)...hey, if I were at a college and he was a professor, I would be like Clara and her pals; take his class just because he's such a swell guy!!

About Clara Bow...I didn't think she was so great,you could tell she was definately meant to be a silent actress with all her facial and eye expressions, and I have no idea why Fred fell for her instead of her friend Helen, who was more of a nice and sweet girl. I found Clara very boisterous, rebellious; I did not like her voice or manner or personality. I found the clothing styles in this film hilarious!! Did people actually wear that kind of stuff??? And it surprised me how Clara looked like she could be a modern person, a person of now, I think because her hairstyle was so different--more frizzy and loose.

This is not a film that leaves you sighing at the wonderful acting or story...it left me just thinking, "that was interesting..." It is in no way Fredric's best. For that, see him in The Eagle and the Hawk, The Best Years of Our Lives, Smilin' Through, Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, We Live Again...there are many others out there besides this one. Still and all, I am glad to have seen this, Fred's 2nd talkie.

Early Clara Bow Feature

[CinedeEden · 6/10 · 29 September 2022]

This film was not box office poison as people flocked to the Theater to hear the "IT" girl talk for the first time. During filming of the feature to capture clara bows voice as she moved they straped the mic on a fishing pole creating the boom mic we know today. It is so interesting to see college girls in the 1920s its such a fascination maybe because Im college aged as the time im writing this review. Clara bows voice is not what you expect, i feel like people expected something cute, and squeeky kind of like jean Harlow. While this is a very early talkie you can see many actors including bow still act as if it were a silent picture.

The "It" Girl's first talkie doesn't quite have "It"

[rduchmann · 5/10 · 5 June 2000]

Clara Bow's first talkie demonstrates that it was not her voice or lack of talent which torpedoed her career in the very early 1930s, though she is not as winning here as in some of her silents (see IT). A group of slutty sorority sisters set their caps for new professor Fredric March (eerily similar to the plot of a German film which played US drive-ins in the 70s as SMARTY PANTS). Do you think he'll end up with one of the supporting players or with the femme lead?

A bit on the hokey side, and despite the come-on title, it doesn't even have a WILD PARTY. Bow looks slightly mature for a college girl, but check out Jack Oakie as a frat rat. To paraphrase Bluto, he looks like about 27 years of college shot to hell. More a curio than a classic, but tech credits are OK and the film is quite limber, under Dorothy Arzner's direction, for a 1929 talkie. For Bow at her most appealing, you still have to turn to silent films (see IT, again).

A sign of "Its" time

[KanterTheShark · 10/10 · 13 August 2001]

The first thing I had to wonder, just prior to watching "The Wild Party" was whether or not it was based on the novelette I'd ripped through, just a month or so ago: The Wild Party by Joseph Mancuso March--originally published in 1928. Discovering that this was a very different story was my only disappointment.

It often seems that no small number of people, out there, don't want to give the early days of Hollywood the credit it so richly deserves. And that's sad; as sad as, say, the somewhat dark story behind "It" Girl, Clara Bow--whose mother considered slitting the girl's throat when Clara declared her she wanted to be an actress.

(Fortunately that didn't happen. If it had, film fans of today might not have an inkling of a clue that, even way back then--in the days that would become infamously known as "The Great Depression"--girls just wanted to have fun.)

Clara Bow plays her role of mischievous college girl, Stella Ames, to-the-hilt. And a young, debonaire Frederic March as straight-laced college professor Gilmore is her perfect counterpart.

The way the two begin seeing eye-to-eye may be said to be expected, but not totally predictable--because the antics of Stella Ames and her sorority sisters provide just the right element of subplot. If there was any one flaw in this gem, it was that the sound quality was often so scratchy, I was unsure, now and again, what one actor or another had said.

Still, this in no way detracts from the film's overall quality. (One must taken into account, after all, that 1929 was the infancy of the "talkie" era). Come to think of it, I can

only imagine what a "wild party" '29 must've been for many Hollywood executives and stars alike--the huge stock market crash aside!

Clara "marches" to her own "bow".

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 26 July 2018]

This notorious early talkie dismisses the often believed falsehood that Clara Bow's voice ruined her sound film career. While it's obvious that she is not from the best finishing schools, Bow's voice is fine, and her acting talent suited to talking pictures. As one of the most vibrant of party girls at an all girl's college, Bow knows how to make an entrance, knows how to attract a man, and knows how to deal with the jealous girls who don't have "it". There's very little plot here other than her immediate attraction to an anthropology professor (the handsome but dull Frederic March) and the scandal that it causes the university. This is more worthy for the lengthy party sequence at the beginning, a costume ball where overly dressed college girls "jazzing" it up are all of a sudden upstaged by the chorus girl outfits worn by Bow and her entourage. The sexual misunderstandings of the basic plot are rather innocently portrayed, and Bow ultimately comes out to be a decent girl who like Jessica Rabbit was simply "drawn that way".

March's performance isn't so much bad as it is just dull when compared to Bow's effervescent acting. His character is written as stuffy and nearly sexless, so when the romantic clinch does happen between the two, it is eye rolling and completely unbelievable. The writing for Bow's character is much more character driven, with various elements revealed about her even early on to indicate the decent girl behind all the rah-rah'ing and boo-boo-be-doing that she does. I'd love to see a college dorm room like the one they apparently have the party in here; It looks like something out of an early movie musical rather than something you'd see at any Ivy league school, let alone some prim and proper all girls's school. The performances of the basically forgotten actresses as the other female students are believable, with a combination of "types" thrown in to show that not every female college freshman was there simply to land a man. Had March been directed to give his character more soul or even smiled once or twice just to give a little wink to the audience, I would have given this a higher rating, but as it stands, I have to call this a fascinating relic that stands up on some merits but mostly falls on the part of its dull leading man who would go on to much more fascinating roles over the next 40 something years.

"You've Had an Eyeful of "IT" - Now Get an Earful"!!!

[kidboots · 8/10 · 24 October 2010]

....urged the ads at the time.

What planet are some of these reviewers on - "it is best played with the sound down", "Clara Bow was an actress who could not succeed in talkies"!!! "The Wild Party" was easily Clara's best from her early talkie period and showed that she had nothing to fear from the "talkies" - her Bronx twang was how the movie going public expected her to sound. Her popularity had reached it's peak and "The Wild Party" stuck to Bow's tried and true formula. As the film's production progressed, Clara became more distraught about how her voice recorded. With the influx of stage stars and vocal coaches, the atmosphere was not conducive to confidence - "the only star who didn't fear the mike was Rin Tin Tin"!! Clara need have no fear - her voice was successful, critics praised her and when cinemas played the movie, business skyrocketed - everyone wanted to hear her talk.

Sizzling with vivacity, Clara plays Stella Ames, the most madcap and popular girl at college. She is eager to tell of an adventure that happened to her on a train - she gets into the wrong sleeping compartment and comes face to face with Fredric March - who just happens to be the new Professor of Anthropology, James Gilmore!!!

After being ejected from a college costume party for being skimpily dressed, Stella and her pals end up at a roadhouse where they meet a group of rowdy drunks. Things get out of hand and Stella finds herself in real trouble when she becomes a "decoy" so her friends can escape. She is rescued by Gil, who then lectures her on the merits of hard work and diligence Vs her wild ways and bringing the college into disrepute. Things go from bad to worse when an essay that Stella has worked on all night is held up to ridicule and worse - plagiarism!!! by Gil to the entire class!! Stella plunges into a round of parties, but in the meantime Gil is shot by those same drunken rowdies who return looking for vengeance. There is never a dull moment as Stella visits a recuperating Gil but Evie (Joyce Compton), the college snitch, finds Stella's shoe buckle in the bushes. She also finds some love letters written by Helen, the "good girl" of college, who is hoping to take out the top prize but if the letters are revealed she won't stand a chance. Stella comes to Helen's aid and claims the letters are her own and as the movie draws to a close, she and Gil are on a train, planning their future in the Malayan jungle!!!

The plot was jammed pack with action - what, I suppose, the picture going public really thought college was like in those times. The movie also introduced a couple of "likely lads" - Phillips Holmes as Stella's "wild party" date and Jack Oakie as a drunken college bore. There was Marceline Day as prim and proper Faith, Adrienne Dore, who seemed most at ease in front of the camera, as Babs and Shirley O'Hara, who as Helen, had a reasonable part and proved to be a natural actress - this was her last film!!

Highly Recommended.

Promoting the myth of the virtuous whore...

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 12 December 2011]

I know my summary sounds very harsh, but that is the idea promoted in this film--an idea that was popular in the days just before Hollywood's Production Code was strengthened. In these early talkies, you could have a VERY active sex life and still be a good girl--something completely forbidden in later films due to this Code. It's a weird dichotomy but one that keeps this and films like it from every being boring.

The film is set on the campus of a girls' college. It seems that many of the young ladies take a class with a certain professor (Frederic March) because he's so gosh-darned handsome. As for the Professor, he's sick of it--and is brutally strict in his grading. He is serious about his work. It is obvious that one of the girls in particular (Clara Bow) is infatuated with him--yet she also exasperates him with her flighty ways and lack of interest in her coursework. All Clara wants to do is think and talk about men as well as have a VERY good time! One night, Clara leads a group of girls in some raucous behaviors that get them thrown out of a party. So, with their risqué costumes, they head to a roadhouse--and are all very nearly gang-raped! The ladies scatter and the gang of sex-crazed men chase Clara into the woods. She is able to escape only because her Prince Charming (March) arrives in the nick of time and slugs a couple of them and they beat a hasty retreat. Afterwords, Clara kisses him passionately....and he LIKES it! Is there any chance for their love? And, what will the school do when and if they discover this? And, what about Clara's friend--the bookish goody-goody? She gets herself involved in a VERY innocent scandal that might get her expelled? If you care, tune in to this strange and wild film.

This film earns a 4 but it's not that easy to sum up the film. Technically speaking, the acting was occasionally bad and the writing was a bit cheesy--hence the 4. On the other hand, although it's a bad movie, it IS entertaining and fun...in a low-brow sort of way. I see it as a must for lovers of Pre-Code excess but a film that will probably leave most others unfairly assuming early talkies were pretty crappy. Since I love Pre-Code films and Clara Bow, it's a must, though I must admit that her acting was, at times, a bit suspect.

The past lingers on

[jaykay-10 · 29 July 2001]

Among those players who were both willing and able to make the transition from silents to talkies we cannot include Clara Bow. This picture rather vividly and graphically shows why. Her acting style is eminently suited to silent films, relying as it does on exaggerated gestures, mannerisms and facial expressions. Accompanied by dialogue, as it is here, such a style seems forced, and badly overplayed. The situation is not helped at all by Fredric March's very low-key performance as her leading man.

If you're going to watch this film, try it with the sound off. You won't miss much, and Clara's acting will be much easier to take.

The Wild Party review

[JoeytheBrit · 4/10 · 4 May 2020]

Because of the self-consciousness of her performance, Clara Bow's sparkling personality goes only some way towards salvaging this boring early talkie about shenanigans in a girl's college. She's a party girl out for a blast who falls for stuffy young anthropology professor Frederic March (hopelessly miscast and sporting the saddest of moustaches). The acting by all but March is uniformly awful.

Virtuous Teacher Falls in Love with Student

[view_and_review · 3/10 · 26 February 2024]

1929 was a bad year for movies. I think the transition from silent films to talkies was a rough one. As a result we got some rudimentary plots, choppy dialogue, and bad sound. "The Wild Party" (TWP) is no exception.

TWP stars Clara Bow as Stella Ames. She attends Winston College, an all-girls school, and she's the most popular girl there. She's also mischievous, and part of her mischievousness is using her sexuality. The main plot is the inappropriate relationship she gets into with Professor James Gilmore (Fredric March), her anthropology professor.

Professor Gilmore, or Gil as Stella calls him, is painted as a man with integrity. So, even though he falls in love with his student and kisses her on two occasions, he doesn't let that affect his objectivity in grading her assignments. So I guess the relationship is alright then, right?

TWP simply wasn't good. It wasn't compelling and I had no real interest in either main character. Then it got very predictable.

Towards the end Stella's roommate Helen (Shirley O'Hara) lost a letter that would get her in trouble with the board should they find it. At that point I didn't even need to see the rest. Since this movie both Fredric March and Clara Bow went on to do more projects. As for Fredric March, I've seen him in some decent movies. As for Clara Bow, I've yet to see her in anything good.

Free on Internet Archive as "Stella's Virtue"