A flapper's wild ride through three men, one corpse, and the courtroom finale of 1926.
Sandy McNeil adopts strictly unconventional jazz ethics and against the wishes of her parents runs with a fast young set. An auto breakdown after a party places her in a compromising situation, and she grudgingly marries a wealthy suitor of her father's choice. When her husband's cruelty results in the death of her child, she leaves him and meets Ramon, an architect with whom she becomes infatuated. The return of his former mistress causes her to seek refuge with her cousin Judith, where she falls in love with Douglas, Judith's sweetheart. As Sandy refuses to return to Ramon, he shoots her and then kills himself. Douglas, taking the blame for her sake, is tried for murder, but Sandy rises from her sickbed and confesses in court; she succumbs after restoring Judith to Douglas.
Acting
Madge Bellamy's wide-eyed flapper energy carries pure melodrama.
Production
Glimpses of actual 1926 party culture, unfiltered by later codes.
Director
Harry Beaumont
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This pre-Code flapper film slipped through before the Hays Code clamped down in 1934, letting Sandy actually enjoy sex and pay for it brutally.
Madge Bellamy was a huge silent star who famously called talkies 'a terrible thing' and essentially sabotaged her own career rather than adapt.
US
