It (Silent) (with Bonus Short, "Felix the Cat in Pedigreedy")

The story of a shopgirl who uses her sex appeal to flummox the rich and wealthy. All the girls at Waltham's Department Store are obsessed with a story in Cosmopolitan about "IT" - an undefinable quality that makes one irresistible to the opposite sex. They all agree curvy, big-eyed redhead Betty Lou has "IT" - a hypothesis that is proven true when the boss, Cyrus Waltham, asks her out to dinner. Betty's manic, pixie-ish ways (which include taking a pair of scissors to her dress during dinner) infatuate Waltham, making his rich snob friend Monty jealous. He plants a fake news story in the paper claiming that the department store magnate's new girlfriend is secretly an unwed mother, causing Cyrus to jilt Betty. To get back at him, she crashes his latest yachting party drunk and laughs in his face. When the yacht crashes into another boat, placing everyone into danger, the two are forced to come clean and admit their true feelings for each other.

The iconic Clara Gordon Bow (1905-1965) was born to a life of humble poverty in Brooklyn, New York. An avid cinemagoer in her teens, she entered a movie magazine's "Fame and Fortune" contest in hopes of escaping her dreary home life. Winning through sheer determination, she was soon cast in her first hit, Down to the Sea in Ships (1922). Several more successes followed, including Black Oxen (1923), My Lady of Whims (1925), Free to Love (1925), Dancing Mothers (1926) and Kid Boots (1926), before Bow starred in It, by far her most famous picture - to the extent that she was forever known as "The It Girl" afterwards! Inspired by the real-life Cosmopolitan article by Elinor Glyn that the girls are seen reading in the film, Clara's character, with her bobbed haircut, shapely figure, and free-spirited lifestyle, became the role model of choice for young women in the 1920s. English actor William Austin, who plays Monty, originated the character of Batman's butler, Alfred, in the 1943 movie serial. His likeness is used in the comic books to this very day.

BONUS: Felix the Cat in Pedigreedy (1927): Felix wants to join the prestigious Four Hundred Club (a real-life listing of the most connected and powerful figures in New York high society.) The famous feline proves his lineage goes all the way back to the days of Christopher Columbus by literally pulling up the roots of his family tree.

• silent films