Lost American Silent Treasures

The contemporary acclaim given this film is epitomized by the review of Julian Johnson of Photoplay who wrote "I do not recall that the silver screen has ever offered anything better than this and few pieces as good."

Lon Chaney and, to a lesser extent, Thomas Meighan, became first-rank film stars from their roles.

Ford remembered this film fondly. He liked it so much that he directed a 1948 remake, 3 Godfathers, starring John Wayne.

John Ford and Harry Carey made 21 feature films between 1917 and 1921; only four are known to survive mostly intact.

The social code of the time would not tolerate the sexual relationship of a white woman and a native man. The dramatic tension resulting from this social restraint generated public interest in the film which was successful at the box office.

The film may have had an alternate ending in which the young man is actually white brought up as a native, so that the couple's union would be socially acceptable. This deus ex machina device was commonly used for stories in which a happy ending was desired for a mixed race couple.

There were earlier movies about flappers, but Flaming Youth was the first to be popular and financially successful and is credited as the first film focusing on flappers. The film is credited with initiating a cycle of movies about flappers. The film's publicity played up the racier angles: "neckers, petters, hot kissers, pleasure mad daughters and sensation seeking mothers…". Colleen Moore was lauded for her vivid performance as a jazz-devoted flapper.

In a 1931 article, F. Scott Fitzgerald stated that Flaming Youth was the only film that captured the sexual revolution of the Jazz Age.

Although this film is not "lost", much of the footage shot by von Stroheim was destroyed shortly after the film was made. What remains is a powerful depiction of the corrosive effects of "greed".

Of a reported original 200,000 feet of film, 47,000 feet were gradually cut out by Stroheim. Director Rex Ingram cut the film to a length of 18,000 ft. The studio reduced the film to a final length of approximately 10,212 ft. No complete copies are known to survive.

The film contained epic sweep, fast action, thrills, humor, sentiment, and a tender love story.

The relationships in the love triangle involving Charles Farrell, Charles Emmett Mack, and Mary Astor provide the romantic focus of the plot. George Bancroft and Noah Beery provide the comedy.

By 1925, author Anita Loos had been a scenarist for 13 years. In 1925, she wrote the diary of gold-digger Lorelei Lee as a serial for Harper's Bazaar magazine. The book form sold very well. Loos turned the book into a Broadway play. She wrote the the scenario and titles for the movie. Ruth Taylor, a pretty young actress who had been appearing in comedy shorts for Mack Sennett since 1925, was cast as Lorelei Lee. Great comic actors, including Holmes Herbert, Ford Sterling, Mack Swain, Chester Conklin, and Trixie Friganza, fill the supporting cast.

Mordaunt Hall, the film reviewer of the New York Times, praised the "splendid pictorial translation of the book" and called the film "an infectious treat".

Charles Mordaunt of the New York times praised the film for its convincing portrayal of love and passion. The film held the attention of the audience from the first scenes.

The film was released as talking pictures were becoming dominant. A few months after its release, the Fox Studios withdrew the film from circulation and produced a new version with some talking sequences. Neither version survives.