Film

It

Name: It
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Released: 1927
Cast: Clara Bow, Antonio Moreno, William Austin, Priscilla Bonner, Jacqueline Gadsden

Other titles called It: the 2017 film.

Romantic comedy
Light-hearted

A 1927 silent comedy about a working-class shopgirl who uses charm and audacity to capture her wealthy boss's heart. Snappy, flirtatious, and surprisingly modern in its feminism—a woman pursues what she wants without apology. Essential viewing for understanding the Jazz Age and Clara Bow's incandescent screen presence.

TMDb rating

3.5

If you liked this

Breakfast at Tiffany's1961

Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly charms her way through Manhattan with the same confidence and wit. A romantic comedy about a woman who knows her own power and uses it, wrapped in style and humor.

But Slower paced than It, and Holly's story has a melancholy streak that undercuts the froth.

Sabrina1954

A chauffeur's daughter transforms herself and plays two wealthy brothers against each other. Same DNA: a woman of modest means outmaneuvering the rich through intelligence and personality rather than money.

But Audrey Hepburn again, which means it skews toward elegance over the rowdy energy of silent comedy.

Funny Face1957

Hepburn as a bookish woman swept into the fashion world by a photographer, then turning the tables. Romantic, witty, and genuinely charming about a woman claiming space in a world not built for her.

But A musical, so it stops for songs—beautiful ones, but not everyone wants their comedy punctuated that way.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from It

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Metropolis1927

Both are 1927 masterpieces that survive because their creators understood that film itself—movement, light, presence—is the medium's true language. Neither needs sound.

Made the same year as It but from a different world—a German expressionist science-fiction epic about class struggle. Visually overwhelming, morally complex, and a reminder that 1927 cinema could go anywhere.

But Bleak, heavy, and genuinely grim in places. No charm, no romance, no jokes. A completely different register.

Singin' in the Rain1952

The apotheosis of silent-film-era comedy translated into the early talkie. Joyous, inventive, technically dazzling, with the same spirit of playful mischief that animates It.

But It's about the industry, not a love story, and the tone is ebullience rather than romance.

The General1926

Buster Keaton's masterpiece, made just before It, is silent comedy at its most ingenious. A perfect complement—see the male alternative to Clara Bow's approach to winning an audience.

But Keaton's appeal is deadpan and physical; if you prefer dialogue and personality, this may feel cold.

Safety Last!1923

Harold Lloyd hanging from a clock face, but the heart is a romantic comedy where a working man charms his way upward. Silent, hilarious, and surprisingly touching about ambition and love.

But The famous stunt sequences overshadow the story; some viewers come for the gags and find the romance thin.

The Gold Rush1925

Chaplin's Tramp in the frozen north, chasing love and fortune with equal desperation. Silent comedy at its most poignant and funny, with genuine emotional stakes.

But Chaplin's sentimentality goes deep; if you want pure froth, the tragedy will feel heavy.

Gigi1958

A young woman trained from childhood to be a courtesan rebels and insists on love instead. Vintage musical about female agency, wit, and refusing to accept the role others write for you.

But A musical in a different key entirely—more operatic and less impudent than It.

Roman Holiday1953

Audrey Hepburn as a princess who escapes her gilded cage for a day of adventure and romance with a reporter. Charming, witty, and built on a woman's desire to live freely.

But Melancholic ending; and the appeal is Hepburn's grace rather than Clara Bow's brash magnetism.

Kiki's Delivery Service1989

Both celebrate the freedom and scrappiness of a young woman newly arrived in a city, refusing to be diminished, winning people over through personality rather than compliance.

Hayao Miyazaki's anime about a young witch arriving in a new city with only her wits and determination. Joyful, gorgeously animated, and spiritually the direct descendant of Clara Bow's protagonist—a young woman making her own way.

But Animation, for one; and the tone is warmer and more melancholic than It's snappy comedy.

One from the Heart1982

Both films are in love with cinema as spectacle rather than realism. They prioritize style, surface, and the sheer fun of watching someone perform. Not a single scene in either feels like life; both feel like art, and revel in it.

Coppola's ravishing, strange musical about a Las Vegas couple on the brink. Neon-saturated, theatrical, utterly artificial—a love story told through color and artifice the way It is through gesture and presence.

But Visually intense and stylized to the point of abstraction; some find it more interesting to look at than to feel.