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The Flapper

  • 1920
  • 1h 28m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
399
YOUR RATING
The Flapper (1920)
ComedyRomance

Ginger grows up in a slow town. Because of her wild attitude, her father decides to send her to a strict boarding school. Despite the strictness, the girls have fun getting into flapper life... Read allGinger grows up in a slow town. Because of her wild attitude, her father decides to send her to a strict boarding school. Despite the strictness, the girls have fun getting into flapper lifestyle trouble including flirting.Ginger grows up in a slow town. Because of her wild attitude, her father decides to send her to a strict boarding school. Despite the strictness, the girls have fun getting into flapper lifestyle trouble including flirting.

  • Director
    • Alan Crosland
  • Writer
    • Frances Marion
  • Stars
    • Olive Thomas
    • Theodore Westman Jr.
    • William P. Carleton
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    399
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Alan Crosland
    • Writer
      • Frances Marion
    • Stars
      • Olive Thomas
      • Theodore Westman Jr.
      • William P. Carleton
    • 16User reviews
    • 7Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos68

    Olive Thomas in The Flapper (1920)
    Olive Thomas in The Flapper (1920)
    Olive Thomas in The Flapper (1920)
    Olive Thomas in The Flapper (1920)
    Olive Thomas in The Flapper (1920)
    Olive Thomas in The Flapper (1920)
    Olive Thomas in The Flapper (1920)
    Olive Thomas in The Flapper (1920)
    Olive Thomas in The Flapper (1920)
    Olive Thomas in The Flapper (1920)
    Olive Thomas in The Flapper (1920)
    Olive Thomas in The Flapper (1920)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Olive Thomas
    Olive Thomas
    • Genevieve 'Ginger' King
    Theodore Westman Jr.
    • Bill Forbes
    William P. Carleton
    William P. Carleton
    • Richard Channing
    • (as W.P. Carleton)
    Warren Cook
    • Senator King - Ginger's Father
    Katherine Johnston
    • Hortense
    Arthur Housman
    Arthur Housman
    • Tom Morran - The Eel
    Louise Lindroth
    • Elmina Buttons
    • (as Frances Marshall)
    Marcia Harris
    Marcia Harris
    • Mrs. Paddles
    Charles Craig
    • Reverend Cushil
    Bobby Connelly
    Bobby Connelly
    • King Jr
    Maurice Steuart
    • Schoolboy
    • (as Maury Stewart Jr.)
    Aleene Bergman
    • Schoolgirl
    • (uncredited)
    Barbara Butler
    • Schoolgirl
    • (uncredited)
    Mildred Cheshire
    • Schoolgirl
    • (uncredited)
    Russell Hewitt
    • Schoolboy
    • (uncredited)
    Dorothy Kent
    • Schoolgirl
    • (uncredited)
    Eileen Percy
    Eileen Percy
    • Schoolgirl
    • (uncredited)
    Athole Shearer
    • Schoolgirl
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Alan Crosland
    • Writer
      • Frances Marion
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A then-unknown, but very recognizable Norma Shearer has an uncredited bit part as one of Ginger's boarding school chums.
    • Connections
      Featured in Gangster Empire: Rise of the Mob: Chicago and the rise of Al Capone (2013)

    User reviews16

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Flappers' Image First Captured and Defined on Celluloid
    One of several meanings of the term 'flapper' is a teenage girl. Less flattering definitions include young prostitutes and female dancers. Most likely, a combination of the varying interpretations of 'flapper' resulted in the look and lifestyle of a segment of the female population during the 1920's which symbolized the departure from the traditional matronly ethos of generations past.

    The development of 'flappers' emerged after the trauma of World War One. Their iconic image received a huge boast in Selznick Pictures' May 1920 "The Flapper." Young actress Olive Thomas plays cinema's first epitome of the Jazz Age's independent women, beginning with her scene midway in the movie. As a schoolgirl traveling on break, she's invited by an another schoolmate and her boyfried to a nightclub. She tries on the 'flapper' outfit contained in the luggage the couple demands she transport back to her father's home in Florida, where they secretly plan to pick up the stolen goods. Seeing an older man she admired back in school at the club, Thomas, wanting to impress him, exhibits all the mannerisms of future flappers by smoking a cigarette in public and acting cool.

    The Frances Marion script was capitalizing on an emerging trend just in its early stages. But seeing the rebellious and confident Thomas as a young woman adopting a flapper image solidified the movement going forward.

    "The Flapper" was Thomas' last viewable surviving movie she made (She acted in a later lost film, 'Darling Mine,' and a posthumously-released film, 'Everybody's Sweetheart," which is currently unavailable for public viewing.). At 25, Thomas and her husband Jack Pickford, Mary's brother, took what they called their second honeymoon in France. Their marriage, a tempestuous one at best, was filled with fights and tender make-ups ever since they had been married in October 1916. During their stay in Paris, the two returned to the hotel room on the night of September 5, 1920, after an evening of heavy drinking. According to Pickford, who was prescribed a topical medication for syphilis sores, Thomas mistook the French label on the container for water or as a sleeping liquid, despite its gooey substance, and swallowed some. The poisonous mercury bichloride solution was fatal, killing her five days later in a Paris hospital.

    The media had a field day on the cause of her death. Sensational headlines screamed accusations from suicide to her being murdered by Pickford in order to claim her life insurance. The French police investigated all the circumstances behind the incident and, with the autopsy report, confirmed her death was accidental. "Olive and I were the greatest pals on Earth," lamented Pickford. "Her death is a ghastly mistake."

    On the way back to the States with her body, Pickford had been rumored to have attempted suicide, so distraught was he. In an emotionally crowded funeral service in New York City, women fainted and several onlookers were crushed rushing to view her casket. Thomas is buried in a crypt at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.
    helpful•3
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    • springfieldrental
    • Oct 8, 2021

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 10, 1920 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Neiskusno devojče
    • Filming locations
      • Miami, Florida, USA
    • Production company
      • Selznick Pictures Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 28 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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