Hoopla

Fresh-faced student Richard Cromwell (as Chris Miller) jumps off a train, to join father Preston Foster (as Nifty Miller)'s traveling carnival. Mr. Foster wants his son to stay away from the sleazy side-show folk, and pursue his interest in becoming a lawyer; but, Mr. Cromwell wants to spend some quality time with his dad. With the kid around, Foster must move bed-partner Minna Gombell (as Carrie) to other quarters; so, she slips under the covers with Clara Bow (as Lou). Ms. Gombell doesn't appreciate losing her bed-space to Cromwell; so, she asks Ms. Bow to seduce him. Bow says she doesn't want to be a "cradle robber", but changes her mind for $100.00.

Bow and Cromwell try to make it believable, after her swimming scene (to their credit); but, watching them is like watching Mae West seduce Charles Ray. A re-make of "The Barker" doesn't seem like an inappropriate vehicle; however, "Hoop-la" exploits the plumper Bow's past and (at the time) notoriety. This is precisely the kind of exploitation Bow should have been moving away from, at this point in her career. Not an awful film, all things considered. But not enough for Bow to carry on after all the "Hoop-la". So Bow, born within only two years of Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and Katharine Hepburn… sadly, retired.

***** Hoop-la (11/30/33) Frank Lloyd ~ Clara Bow, Richard Cromwell, Preston Foster

Despite lucrative offers from the big studios, Clara Bow had already decided to quit the movies by the time she made this. With CALL HER SAVAGE she had proven she was a good actress so just went through the motions with this to fulfil her contract.

Fox Film didn't seem to know what they were doing in 1933 other than to try anything to keep going and make money. They bought the rights to a successful play called The Barker starring Walter Huston as a carnival barker. That play also had Claudette Colbert in a minor role as a tarty carnival dancer who seduces the barker's son and Fox switched the emphasis from focusing on the barker to the dancer so they could showcase, for the last time their cash cow, Clara Bow.

The revised story still allowed the character of the father, played with empathy and emotion by Preston Foster to develop into a real person whom you can care about. Apparently Fox tried to get Walter Huston to reprise his role from the stage production; had that come off, this may have turned out to be something very special but Foster does a reasonable job. His role however was diluted by the greater screen time given to Clara Bow. That whiffed a little of desperation by having their star constantly undressing and putting her in the scantiest of scanty outfits. They were getting their money's worth from her before she retired to live on her husband's ranch in the mid-west. Whilst one one hand it's a shame to see how she allowed herself to exploited for blatant titillation, it has to be admitted that her final 'Snake Hips' outfit is the stuff that young men's and indeed old men's dreams are made of.

The story might have worked as a play but not as a film. It's impossible to believe that any of this nonsense could happen. It's also impossible to believe that anyone as wet and pathetic as the son character could exist, let alone that Clara Bow's firecracker character could fall in love with such an utter drip.

It's sad that after CALL HER SAVAGE, in which she was fantastic, Fox didn't give her something as good to go out on instead of this. HOOPLA isn't a bad film, it's made well, acted well but hardly a fitting end for such an icon of cinema.

It's a tragedy that this should be Clara Bow's final film. She certainly had many years of good work ahead of her. She lights up the screen whenever she appears. She has wonderfully dramatic as well as comedic scenes here. Unfortunately, as much cannot be said about other cast members performances. Her final "snake hips" costume is the most revealing onscreen apparel of her career.

A brazen fairground dancer finds herself falling for the son of the show's manager after accepting $100 to make him fall for her. Clara Bow's final movie sees her give a winning performance, even though her brassy showgirl is no romantic fit for Richard Cromwell's wet-behind-the-ears youth. The movie starts out strongly, but becomes increasingly formulaic as its story unfolds. Worth watching just to see the fat lady being loaded onto the train!

Very few performers can take an ordinary or above average script and make the movie stand out and make you want to see it again. I think Clara Bow was one of the few actresses that had that ability- not just with this film (and this story arguably centers around the father-son characters, not Clara's), but many of the others throughout her career. Without Clara in the part of Lou, this is just an average pre-Code film that would have been long forgotten (they certainly weren't trying to put anything by the censors in this one- a skinnydipping scene, Clara undressing, and Nifty's girlfriend upset because she can't spend the night with him because he doesn't want his son to know- by 1935 the Hays Office would would not permit any of this on screen). Watching her seduce the naive son of the carnival barker was fun to watch, as was the scene when she gets busted by a cop and a father for conning a ring from another young man. Hoopla does provide an interesting glimpse into carney life and rail travel in the early 1930s. The supporting cast is fine, particularly Richard Cromwell as Nifty, but I think with a little more effort on the writing and direction this could have even better.

Although this may be one her better sound films, I wouldn't rate it at quite at the same level of Clara's best silent films, It and Mantrap, but it's still enjoyable. Clara clearly thrived in the silent environment and some have said that dialogue and the the constraints of the early sound stages restricted the uninhibited It girl. Maybe so, but I would argue that much of that can be attributed to the average material she was given to work with. This actress was capable of much more if she had been cast in better roles throughout her career. According to her biographer, Clara was not enthusiastic about making Hoopla, she just wanted to get it over with so she could fulfill her contract to Fox and retire. Regardless, if you are a Clara fan or just a fan of pre-Code films, odds are you will enjoy this one. I know I did and will watch Clara again and again!