Dancing Mothers

A typical 'saucy' 20's comedy with a rather innocuous story hiding behind a racy title. Everybody in it is filthy rich (both the Westcourt family and dissolute playboy Gerald Naughton have butlers) and there's plenty of dancing but little else when they get their partners back home.

The use in the title of the plural belies the fact that the plot centres on just one mother: Ethel Westcourt, played by Alice Joyce. (We do not see how her friend Mrs Mazzarene, played by Dorothy Cumming, spends her nights out, but her story - as well as Naughton's - would doubtless have been far naughtier than Ethel's.)

If Ethel's daughter Kittens (played by Clara Bow with an infectious kinetic charm the character would otherwise largely have lacked) had kept her trap shut in the incredible climactic scene in Naughton's lair where most of the cast's paths eventually collide, Ethel would not have been forced to call the bluff of both Kittens and her straying, tombstone-faced banker father Hugh (played by Norman Trevor) in the abrupt unexpected ending, which could only have been possible if Ethel had enjoyed considerable financial means of their own.

This little melodrama concerns a mother and her daughter falling for the same man. Mum's been the good little "stay-at-home" while her daughter and husband do the town. But Mum gets her revenge! Alice Joyce is very good as mum, and the ending is quite politically subversive - but it is the wonderful Clara Bow who steals the picture. Her vitality, as a little flapper, is mind-blowing, her beauty unsurpassed, and her gowns magnificent. Worth seeing just for the scene on the couch when Clara lies back laughing amongst the cushions - it'll make your heart race.

Dancing Mothers is unique in two ways...its ending and showing how women have minds and opinions of their own. While most Hollywood Melodramas of this period had happy, "Pollyanna-ish" endings...Dancing Mothers strays in a most realistic and refreshing way. The Mother (Alice Joyce), tired of being taken for granted, goes out on her own and leaves her selfish daughter (Clara Bow) and husband (Norman Trevor) behind. an ending that todays audiences do not have a hard time swallowing, but audiences of the 1920's expected everything to be tied up in pretty Hollywood ribbons and all made good. And bravo for those who chose to have a woman hold her own and stand up for herself and not give in to what societal norms would dictate. Strong women were not too very typical in the silent era.

Dancing Mothers is definitely a product of its time. It is the era of the flapper, when morality flew out the window and people were up for having a good time. Alice Joyce plays Ethel Westcourt, a lonely wife and mother whose family abandons her for the fun of nightclubs. Her daughter Kittens (Clara Bow) is particularly wild and pays far too much attention to playboy Jerry Naughton (Conway Tearle). Ethel decides she's tired of waiting around the house; she takes matters into her own hands and goes to the club her daughter frequents. There, she gets close to Jerry, in an attempt to lure him away from her daughter, but her plan backfires when he falls for her but her daughter just won't let go.

Famous today simply for the presence of effervescent Bow, this movie is an entertaining look into the Roaring Twenties era that she symbolizes. Bow takes up quite a lot of this film, which is exciting, since most of her early appearances are scant at best. Joyce makes a good impression as well; she is beautiful and a competent actress.

The music score provided by Grapevine Video isn't bad at all and suits the film nicely.

clara bow plays "kittens westcourt," a spoiled girl of wealthy parents. she spends her evenings dancing and partying all night long at clubs, which her father also attends. her mother stays at home wondering why her family is so selfish, and neglectful towards her. one day a friend tells mom to start living it up. she takes this advice and is soon off to the dance clubs herself. kittens and mother then proceed to compete for the same man's affections. above average clara bow film. she is not the lead actress in the film, but she has lots of screen time. clara is funny, full of energy, and just wonderful.