The Flapper is a 1920 American silentcomedy film starring Olive Thomas. Directed by Alan Crosland, the film was the first in the United States to portray the "flapper" lifestyle, which became a cultural craze or fad in the 1920s.
Sixteen-year-old Genevieve 'Ginger' King (Thomas) is living in a very wealthy family in the boring town of Orange Springs, Florida with her younger siblings, where her unchaperoned decision to drink a soda with a young male is considered scandalous. Because of her questionable behavior and yearning for a more excitable life, Ginger's father decides to send her to a boarding school in Lake Placid, New York. Mrs. Paddles' School for Young Ladies is administered by the strict disciplinarian, Mrs. Paddles (Marcia Harris).
Contemporary advertisement for The Flapper. May 8, 1920
Despite the strictness there, the girls have fun getting into flapper-lifestyle trouble including flirting. Richard Channing (William P. Carleton), an older man, rides past the seminary every day, prompting romantic fantasies among the schoolgirls. When Ginger connives a sleigh ride with Channing, she lies to him about her age, saying she is "about twenty". Ginger is quickly charmed and becomes enamored with him. Ginger soon gets into trouble with the headmistress by sneaking out to the local country club where Channing is having a party. One of her schoolmates, Hortense (Katherine Johnston), who is described as “a moth among the butterflies”, informs on her. Hortense’s actual motive for doing this is to get the headmistress out of the way so she can rob the school's safe and flee with her crooked boyfriend Thomas Morran (Arthur Housman).[2] Acting on a vaguely worded note she receives, Ginger—while traveling home from school—goes to a hotel in New York City where Hortense and Thomas are staying. They force her to take some suitcases for safekeeping, cases that contain stolen valuables, including fancy clothes and jewelry.
Knowing that Channing has gone to Orange Springs on a yachting trip, Ginger decides to use the clothes and jewels to present herself as a more-mature, well-dressed “woman of experience” when she returns home.[2] Her plan backfires, and her father believes she is lying when she says it is all a joke. Detectives then show up wanting to know why she has stolen loot; and both her young admirer Bill and Channing think she has really become a wicked woman. Hortense and her crooked boyfriend now turn up in Orange Springs to reclaim their ill-gotten loot. Their subsequent capture by the police clears Ginger's name and restores her reputation.
The Flapper
The events in the lives of Ginger King and another character are presented as incidents in a (non-fiction) newsreel at the end of the movie.
Frances Marion wrote the screenplay, which is credited with popularizing the slang term “flapper” throughout the United States in the 1920s.[3]
Olive Thomas appeared in only two films after The Flapper. She died in Paris in September 1920.[4]
Reception
The Film Daily gave it an overall positive review on May 23, 1920, praising the acting of Olive Thomas. Its main criticism was regarding the editing and the conclusion of the film, writing that the story was "cleverly written with many amusing situations, but latter reels should be compressed".[5]
Copyright status and home media
The Flapper, originally a “six-reeler”, is no longer under copyright and is now in the public domain.[2][6] In 2005, The Flapper was released on Region 1 DVD by the Milestone Collection as part of The Olive Thomas Collection.[7]
Athole Dane Shearer Hawks was a Canadian-American actress and socialite, who was the sister of motion picture star Norma Shearer and MGM film sound engineer Douglas Shearer.
Olive Thomas was an American silent-film actress, art model, and photo model.
Monkey Business is a 1952 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn, and Marilyn Monroe. To avoid confusion with the unrelated 1931 Marx Brothers film of the same name, this film is sometimes referred to as Howard Hawks' Monkey Business.
Julia Faye Maloney, known professionally as Julia Faye, was an American actress of silent and sound films. She was known for her appearances in more than 30 Cecil B. DeMille productions. Her various roles ranged from maids and ingénues to vamps and queens.
It Had to Be You is a 1947 American comedy romance film directed by Don Hartman and Rudolph Maté and starring Ginger Rogers and Cornel Wilde. It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. A marriage-shy sculptor meets the boy of her childhood dreams, now a firefighter.
Joan Marsh was an American child actress in silent films between 1915 and 1921. Later, during the sound era, she resumed her acting career and performed in a variety of films during the 1930s and 1940s.
The Bohemian Girl is a 1936 comedic feature film version of the opera The Bohemian Girl by Michael William Balfe. Directed by James W. Horne and Charles Rogers, and it was produced at the Hal Roach Studios, and stars Laurel and Hardy, and Thelma Todd in her final film role. This was also the only appearance of Darla Hood in a full-length feature produced by Hal Roach.
"I Wanna Be Loved by You" is a song written by Herbert Stothart and Harry Ruby, with lyrics by Bert Kalmar, for the 1928 musical Good Boy. It was first performed on September 5, 1928 by Helen Kane, who was the inspiration for the cartoon character Betty Boop. "I Wanna Be Loved by You" was chosen as one of the Songs of the Century in a survey by the RIAA to which 200 people responded. One of Marilyn Monroe's most famous musical performances is her singing the song in Billy Wilder's classic 1959 farce Some Like It Hot.
Virginia Lee Corbin was an American silent film actress.
Evelyn Selbie was an American stage actress and performer in both silent and sound films.
Ruth Clifford was an American actress of leading roles in silent films whose career lasted from that era into the television era.
Marcia Mae Jones was an American film and television actress whose prolific career spanned 57 years.
Claire McDowell was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 350 films between 1908 and 1945.
Hessy Doris Lloyd was a British actress. She appeared in The Time Machine (1960) and The Sound of Music (1965).
Vera Lewis was an American film and stage actress, beginning in the silent film era. She appeared in more than 180 films from 1915 to 1947. She was married to actor Ralph Lewis.
Black Oxen is a 1923 American silent fantasy / romantic drama film starring Corinne Griffith, Conway Tearle, and Clara Bow. Directed by Frank Lloyd, the film is based on the controversial best-selling 1923 novel of the same name by Gertrude Atherton.
Mary Field was an American film actress who primarily appeared in supporting roles.
Prodigal Daughters is a 1923 American silent societal drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. The film stars Gloria Swanson and was directed by Sam Wood. It is based on a novel of the same name by Joseph Hocking.
Louise Emmons was an American character actress. She appeared in several films between 1914 and 1935.
Claire Carleton was an American actress whose career spanned four decades from the 1930s through the 1960s. She appeared in over 100 films, the majority of them features, and on numerous television shows, including several recurring roles. In addition to her screen acting, she had a successful stage career.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
