A Clara Bow biopic is in the works. Variety reports that Silver Bullet Entertainment acquired movie rights to David Stenn’s book “Clara Bow: Runnin’ Wild’’ and is developing a film about the actress, who rose to fame in the 1920s and became known as the “It Girl.’’ The film will be produced by Mike Witherill of MJW Media and David Silver of Silver Bullet Entertainment.

Silver told Variety: “The Clara Bow story is one of the most intriguing stories in all of Hollywood,’’ he said. “She was an amazing actress and overcame countless obstacles in her rise to stardom. We have wanted to do this project for a long time.’’

It’s interesting to note that one of Bow’s earliest films — a whaling drama titled “Down to the Sea in Ships’’ — was filmed in Massachusetts. In Stenn’s biography, he writes how Bow spent 13 weeks away from home shooting the movie on location in New Bedford. It was only the second role of her career, but it proved to be an important one.

“Down to the Sea in Ships’’ premiered in September 1922. According to Stenn, it was popular among audiences but panned by critics, and enjoyed a “remarkable’’ 22-week run in New York. The critics did praise Bow’s performance. Stenn writes that it’s easy to see why: “Her work is wholly natural, lacking the mannered style of other actors. There’s a jolt of vitality when she appears on screen, a quality that would contribute heavily to her appeal.’’

See for yourself in this video of “Down to the Sea in Ships,’’ which features a teenage Bow on the brink of stardom.