Main Cast: Clara Bow, Donald Keith, Mary Alden, Henry B. Walthall, Gilbert Roland
Release Year: 1925
Country: US
Run Time: 7rl minutes
Plot
Produced by Preferred Pictures on rental stages at FBO and on-location at Pomona College in Claremont, CA, The Plastic Age was Clara Bow's 15th and final release of 1925 and the comedy-drama that made her a major star. She plays Cynthia Day, the campus flirt whose "hotsy-totsy" lifestyle does not bode well for freshman Hugh Carver (Donald Keith), smitten with Cynthia from day one. The pride of his community, Hugh is expected to become a track star but late nights with Cynthia take too much out of him and Coach Henry (David Butler) is soon in despair. After yet another wild night at the local roadhouse, during which Hugh saves his romantic rival, Carl Peters (Gilbert Roland), from a police raid, Cynthia realizes the error of her ways and nobly refuses to see him again. Hugh quickly regains his athletic prowess, wins the big game for Prescott College and is rewarded with both self-respect and the love of a properly chastened Cynthia. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Review
According to producer B.P. Schulberg's young son Budd, who was on the set daily, Clara Bow elicited wolf calls from crew members and extras alike every time she appeared. "She was a very sexy-looking girl," recalled co-star David Butler. And it is easy to see why this most approachable of silent screen legends had such an impact on her co-workers. Clara is simply dynamite in The Plastic Age, whether playing the alluring campus vamp or the chastened supporter. The trouble is, her screen time is rather limited, most of the footage instead going to the tedious Donald Keith's rivalry with newcomer Gilbert Roland. Formerly known as Luis Antonio Damaso de Alonso, the latter was awarded his new moniker by Schulberg, who saw in him a cross between John Gilbert and Ronald Colman. Roland is just as hot-to-trot here as Clara, and it is probably no coincidence that the future "It" girl chose him as her offscreen companion rather than the bland Donald Keith, The Plastic Age's nominal male lead. The flirtatious Ms. Bow probably also noticed a very young Clark Gable, who is quite visible among the extras in a locker-room scene. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Hugh Carver (Donald Keith) is an athletic star and a freshman at Sanford College. During a hazing initiation by his fraternity brothers, he meets Cynthia Day (Clara Bow), a popular girl who loves to party and have a good time. She introduces him to the pleasures of illicit drinking, dancing at illegal roadhouses, and necking in the back seats of cars. A love-triangle develops between Day, Carver, and Carver's roommate, Carl Peters (Gilbert Roland), who also likes Day. Eventually, Peters gives up his crush on Day and reconciles his friendship with Carver.
Carver's grades, athletic performance and moral character begin to suffer as a result of his late nights and wild partying, and on a visit home, his strict father tosses him out of the house and tells him not to come back until he's 'made good'. After almost being arrested at a roadhouse raid, Day and Carver escape in her automobile, and Day realizes that her lifestyle is bad for Carver, so the two stop seeing each other.
Carver's school performance then improves greatly, and he leads his teammates to victory at the big football game at the end of the year. Peters tells Carver that Day still loves him, and that she has changed, becoming less wild and more mature. Day and Carver are reunited at the end.
Background
The Plastic Age was based on a 1924 book of the same name written by Brown University professor and popular novelist of the time, Percy Marks. Professor Marks' novels were about his students, the 'flaming youth in rebellion' of the twenties, who danced to wild jazz, drank from silver flasks, and had petting parties.
It was Preferred Pictures' biggest money-maker to date and a huge hit with audiences. Clara Bow became famous as a result of this film, and critics praised her performance as sensational. Because of her success, Adolph Zukor, head of Paramount Pictures, the biggest studio in Hollywood at that time, offered to merge with Preferred Pictures (a much smaller studio), and make Preferred's head B.P. Schulberg an associate producer at Paramount. Zukor was actually looking for star talent, as he had recently lost many of his biggest stars — Gloria Swanson had defected to United Artists, Roscoe Arbuckle's career had ended due to the Virginia Rappe scandal, and Wallace Reid had died from his morphine addiction. What Zukor actually wanted was The Plastic Age's sensational star, Clara Bow.[1]
The copy reviewed is the Image Entertainment DVD version produced by David Shepard and his company Film Preservation Associates, offered as a double-feature DVD with The Show-Off (1926). It was mastered from a 16mm print. The music score by Eric Beheim uses original arrangements of authentic music of the period.[2]
