The Flapper

Socialite Genevieve King (Thomas) is a big fish in the little pond of Orange Springs, Florida. When her conservative father, Senator King (Warren Cook), sends her to a Northern boarding school, the headstrong adolescent tries to fit in. Going to Miss Paddles’ all-girl establishment isn’t a total wash-out: Genevieve’s hometown beau, Bill E. Forbes (Theodore Westman Jr.), attends a nearby military academy and the flighty Genevieve shares her classmates' colective crush on the school’s neighbor, horseman Richard Channing (William P. Carlton Jr.). When Channing cantors by like a Greek God, Genevieve palms herself off as a grown-up and wrangles an invitation to an adult soiree. At the same time, fellow pupil Hortense (Katherine Johnston) and her lover, Tom Morran (Arthur Housman), are hatching a plot to rob Miss Paddles’ safe. After leaving the campus to retrieve Genevieve, Miss Paddles returns to discover the robbery. Aware of Genevieve’s reputation for hijinks, Hortense and Tom try to dupe her into acting as their courier. They lure Genevieve by telegram to a hotel in Manhattan then casually ask if she'd transport a suitcase to her hometown. As Genevieve carouses at the hotel restaurant, Channing senses that the would-be flapper is in over her head. After impressionable Genevieve discovers the stolen items in the suitcase and Hortense’s incriminating love letters, she simply retreats to hearth and home. When law enforcement officers stop by the King mansion, Genevieve’s impersonation of a scarlet lady knocks everyone for a loop.

Contemporary audiences have Milestone Films and the dedicated work of film restorationists for the opportunity to enjoy former-Follies beauty Thomas playing a madcap teen. An enchanting comedienne, she lampoon the flaming youth Culture of the 1920s and makes an adorable spectacle of herself as her faux-sophisticated Genevieve King tries to be a saucy, knowing Elinor Glyn sirl and falls woefully short. leave a comment --Robert Pardi