The Plastic Age | 1925 | Comedy-drama, Romance

Title: The Plastic Age | 1925 | Comedy-drama, Romance Director: Wesley Ruggles Studio: B. P. Schulberg Productions Starring: Clara Bow, Donald Keith, Gilbert Roland, Mary Alden, Henry B. Walthall Based on: The Plastic Age by Percy Marks Release Date: December 15, 1925 Runtime: 73 Format: Silent, black-and-white; English intertitles Country: United States Language: Silent Genres: Comedy-drama, Romance --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Freshman arrival and initiation 00:15:00 Campus courtship and speakeasy nightlife 00:35:00 Slipping grades and athletic setback 00:55:00 Breakup, reflection, and resolve 01:10:00 Big game and reconciliation --- Summary: Hugh Carver, a promising freshman athlete, enters Prescott College and falls for Cynthia Day, a vivacious campus favorite. Drawn into parties and roadhouses, Hugh’s studies and performance suffer, straining his family ties and friendships. A near brush with the law and Cynthia’s difficult self-reckoning prompt change. Hugh regains his footing, leads his team at the climactic game, and he and Cynthia reunite, the story framing collegiate excess and reform as rites of passage in the 1920s. --- Background: Adapted from Percy Marks’s 1924 bestseller about American campus life, the film was produced by B. P. Schulberg and scripted by Frederica Sagor Maas and Eve Unsell. It was shot in the summer of 1925, including location work at Pomona College and studio work in Hollywood, and released on December 15, 1925. The Plastic Age became Clara Bow’s breakthrough, accelerating her rise to stardom later cemented at Paramount. A preserved 35mm print is held by UCLA’s Film & Television Archive via the Packard Humanities Institute. --- Trivia: Clark Gable appears briefly as a student extra in a locker-room scene early in his career. The novel The Plastic Age was a major 1924 bestseller and controversial for its depiction of hazing, partying, and “petting,” helping drive interest in the film adaptation. Location filming included Pomona College in Claremont, California, lending authenticity to the collegiate setting. The film’s success came at the end of Bow’s extraordinarily prolific 1925, during which she appeared in 14 releases. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Release: December 15, 1925 Original Studio / Distributor: B. P. Schulberg Productions / Preferred Pictures Copyright Status: Public Domain Renewal: Unknown --- Hashtags: ThePlasticAge ClaraBow SilentFilm PublicDomain WesleyRuggles 1920s ClassicCinema Source page: https: //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Plastic_Age_(1925).webm Direct media URL: https: //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/The_Plastic_Age_%281925%29.webm