Reckless Youth (1922 film)

Reckless Youth
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Directed by	Ralph Ince
Written by	Cosmo Hamilton Edward J. Montagne
Produced by	Lewis J. Selznick
Starring	Elaine Hammerstein Niles Welch Myrtle Stedman
Cinematography	John W. Brown Jules Cronjager
Production company	Select Pictures
Distributed by	Selznick Pictures
Release date	March 22, 1922 (1922-03-22)
Running time	60 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

Reckless Youth is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Elaine Hammerstein, Niles Welch, and Myrtle Stedman. ^[1]

Plot

As described in a film magazine, ^[2] Alice Schuyler (Hammerstein), a selfish flapper expelled from a convent school, goes to live with her crusty old aunt near New York City. Because of the restrictions placed on her, she runs away from home and finds shelter in the nearby home of John Carmen, a wealthy young bachelor. The only way out of the social difficulty that occurs to John is for them to get married. This they do and they live in his town house. Soon they begin to drift apart, she becoming infatuated with Harrison Thomby, a man about town, and a break finally comes when they meet at a cabaret. John goes to his county home and, in a mix up of taxi cabs, takes a chorus girl home with him. Alice arrives on the scene and refuses to listen to his explanations. She accepts an invitation from her friend and, while accompanying him to a dance, their taxi is wrecked and she is badly hurt. While unconscious, she dreams of being trapped on Harrison's yacht, and wakes to find herself in her husband's arms.

Cast

• Elaine Hammerstein as Alice Schuyler
• Niles Welch as John Carmen
• Myrtle Stedman as Mrs. Schuyler-Foster
• Robert Lee Keeling as Mr. Schuyler-Foster
• Huntley Gordon as Harrison Thomby
• Louise Prussing as Mrs. Dahlgren
• Frank Currier as Cumberland Whipple
• Kate Cherry as Martha Whipple
• Constance Bennett as Chorus Girl

Preservation

A tinted 35 mm print is held by George Eastman House, from material by the New Zealand Film Archive. ^[3] The print is incomplete, missing the first reel. Preservation was funded by a Save America's Treasures grant. ^[4]

References

1. Munden p. 706
2. "Reviews: Reckless Youth". Exhibitors Herald. 14 (16). New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company: 65. April 15, 1922.
3. "Reckless Youth". collections.eastman.org. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
4. "National Film Preservation Foundation: Reckless Youth (1922)". www.filmpreservation.org. Retrieved August 31, 2025.

Bibliography

• Munden, Kenneth White. The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1. University of California Press, 1997.

External links

• Reckless Youth at IMDb