The Flapper (1920)

Genevieve 'Ginger' = is a misbehaving young girl, ill-suited for her quiet and conservative small town, so her father has her sent away to a boarding school,which proves to be an even worse influence. She meets boys, sneaks out to parties, and becomes embroiled in all manner of criminal hijinks, all while trying to find a 'prince' for herself...


There are a lot of locations to =, and a lot of characters to keep straight, which makes understanding what's going on a bit hard sometimes. The relative simplicity of the plot mitigates this a bit, but it can = you at times. My biggest issue with this is that it made the movie feel a bit unfocused at times. One scene it's focusing on Ginger's schoolgirl adventures, then her romance with =, then her criminal = in the big city, etc. All fun plotlines, and = watching, but not all get as much focus as I'd have wanted.


The Flapper's sense of humour is a joy to watch. The comedy ranges from =  to devilishly funny =, including some that you'd struggle to imagine once the Hays code came into play! Nothing too = of course, but pretty surprising for the 1920s, or at least our understanding of the decade.




Bill E. Forbes (a name which may or may not be a pun), who's a likeable dope. To him, using a rocking horse for 10 years is all the experience he requires to go and try the real thing! =, but I like the optimism and spunk! He's the perfect mix of naive and clumsy, and nice and romantic, cutting a = but dashing enough figure.


While it can be a bit = at times, The Flapper doesn't = from  of having multiple =  and sets.  small town, cloistered school, snowy outdoors, and the bustling metropolis.

The visuals to this movie also extend beyond the places, and into the aesthetic too. The title cards here are all loads of fun, and very personalised to the characters or scene, with many one-off illustrations too. This all extends a great look to the movie, which wouldn't have been boring with plain old intertitles, but is greatly improved by these snazzy ones.

And lastly, for a movie from the 20s called The Flapper, I bet anyone watching would be expecting a veritable wardrobe of cool outfits! There aren't a lot, but plenty for any = enthusiast to see, and the characters are never looking drab or dull.

The acting here is plenty of fun. Exaggerated without being obnoxious, and the players all deliver fun and lively performances. Olive Thomas si the best as the somewhat naughty but good-hearted lead. She had a great head on her shoulders!

The Flapper opened up the decade of the 1920s very well, setting the scene for what was to follow. Now, 100 years later in 2020 (bloody hell, has it really been that long??) this remains not only a perfect time capsule to this time gone by, but a great little film to enjoy, especially as an intro to silent cinema...