STG's Silent Movie Mondays: Flapper Era Series to Feature CHICAGO & More

STG proudly presents its Silent Movie Mondays: Flapper Era Series, running throughout the month of June. Fun and frolic are in store when leading ladies from the Flapper Era and Jazz Age strut their stuff on the screen. The series kicks off on June 13 with the 1927 classic CHICAGO, long-believed a lost film, until a perfect print was rediscovered in Cecil B. DeMille's private collection in 2006. On June 20, STG will screen the first film in the United States to portray the "flapper" lifestyle, THE FLAPPER, featuring a screenplay by Frances Marion who is also credited with coining the term "flapper." Rounding out the series on June 27 is WHY BE GOOD?, the slightly naughty romantic comedy that was also thought to be lost until it was discovered in an Italian archive in the 1990s and restored by Warner Brothers in 2014. All three screenings will take place at 7 pm and will be followed by a CineClub post-screening discussion in The Paramount Lobby Bar. Attendees are encouraged to come sporting their vintage 1920s attire!

About the Films:

In CHICAGO (1927), the sexy, jazz-loving and dressed-to-kill Roxie Hart (Phyllis Haver) has a doting, handsome husband in Victor Varconi; not to mention a gold-digging affair on the side with Eugene Pallette, who pays and pays, eventually with his life. Put on trial for murder, Roxie secures lawyer Billy Flynn, equal part mob "mouthpiece" and publicity agent. When Roxie hits the headlines, the courtroom theatrics begin. Frank Urson signed CHICAGO as director, although it is substantially the work of Cecil B. DeMille and his A-list technical staff that brought this story to film from the 1926 hit Broadway play by Maurine Watkins. Though many know the long-running award-winning Broadway musical and film that were spawned decades later, this 1927 version was long-believed to be a lost film, until a perfect print was discovered in Cecil B. DeMille's private collection. It was restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in 2006. Tedde Gibson will accompany on the Mighty Wurlitzer organ and pre-film songs will be performed by Taryn Darr who played Roxie in the Village Theatre production of CHICAGO. A CineClub discussion will follow the film in The Paramount Lobby Bar.

Directed by Alan Crosland, THE FLAPPER is a 1920 American silent comedy that was the first film in the United States to portray the "flapper" lifestyle, soon to become a 1920's fad. Frances Marion wrote the screenplay and coined the term "flapper," and star Olive Thomas was considered the first flapper in both film and real life. A Ziegfeld Follies performer who later married Jack Pickford, Thomas was one of the most popular darlings of New York and Hollywood at the time. Beloved by famed producer David O. Selznick, she was considered the most beautiful girl in New York, and her death from mercury poisoning in Paris at the age of 25 was considered the first "Hollywood Scandal." It is said her ghost still haunts the New Amsterdam Theatre. Donna Parker will accompany on the Mighty Wurlitzer organ and there will be a pre-film costume parade and selected winners of Best Flapper attire. A CineClub discussion will follow the film in The Paramount Lobby Bar.

"Why be good when it's so much more thrilling to be bad?" asked the ad campaign for WHY BE GOOD? (1929), a slightly naughty and oh-so-knowing silent movie celebration of the flapper era. The vivacious and charming Colleen Moore, star of Flaming Youth, again captures the rebellious flamboyance of the '20s playing Pert Kelly, a shop girl who wins the heart of the boss' son and thus the intrigue and raucous fun begin. Considered a lost film, this romantic comedy, directed by William A. Seiter, was discovered in an Italian archive in the 1990s and was restored by Warner Brothers in 2014. Christian Elliott will accompany on the Mighty Wurlitzer organ. A pre-film lobby dance will take place with "Charleston" lessons by Sister Kate Dance Company, directed by Robin Nunnally, and on-stage music by the Greg Ruby band featuring the music of Frank D. Waldron, Seattle jazz pioneer. A CineClub discussion will follow the film in The Paramount Lobby Bar.

Ticket Information

Tickets are now on sale. Individual films are $10 GA (not including fees). A 3-film package to view all screenings is $24 (not including fees). Available online at Tickets.com, 24-hour ticket kiosks located outside the Paramount, Moore, and Neptune Theatre, Sonic Boom Records in Ballard, in person at the Paramount box office, or may also be purchased by phone at 1-877-STG-4TIX.

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