''Pampered Youth'' is a 1925 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by David Smith and starring

Cullen Landis James Cullen Landis (July 9, 1896 – August 26, 1975) was an American motion picture actor and director whose career began in the early years of the silent film era. Biography James Cullen Landis was the middle of three siblings (two sons and ...

, Alice Calhoun, and

Allan Forrest Allan Forrest Fisher (September 1, 1885 – July 25, 1941) was an American silent film actor. Life and career Allan Forrest Fisher starred in 119 films, mostly silent, between 1913 and 1932. He appeared in films such as '' The Torch Bearer'', ...

. It is an adaption of the 1918 novel ''

The Magnificent Ambersons ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington, the second in his ''Growth'' trilogy after ''The Turmoil'' (1915) and before ''The Midlander'' (1923, retitled ''National Avenue'' in 1927). It won the Pulitzer Prize for ficti ...

'' by

Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels '' The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and '' Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulit ...

. It was one of the final films produced by

Vitagraph Studios Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, ...

before the firm was absorbed into Warner Bros.

Plot

As described in a review in a film magazine, twenty-five or thirty years ago, every small town boasted of its Amberson family, whose home was the show place and whose every move made news. Major Amberson's (King) daughter Isabel (Calhoun) loves Eugene Morgan (Forrest), but he gets himself in disgrace by performing a drunken serenade, and leaves town. Isabel marries Wilbur Minafer (MacDonald), a poor second choice, who makes a very passable husband. Not loving her husband, Isabel centers all of the love in her heart upon her son George, who naturally grows from a very spoiled young boy into a despicable young cad. His extravagances eventually deplete the Amberson fortune. When his father dies, George resents his mother's love for Morgan, who has returned as a prosperous automobile manufacturer. George has come to love, however, Morgan's daughter Lucy (Merriam). The death of Major Amberson forces George to go to work, bringing about his regeneration. Then there is the heroic rescue of Isabel by Morgan when the home in which she lodges burns. The final tableau suggests the rehabilitation of George.

Cast

Preservation

The complete feature is a

lost film A lost film is a feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing char ...

. However, a 28 minute abridgement survivesLibrary of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''Pampered Youth''
/ref> and it was included on the Criterion edition of ''

'' Blu-Ray release.

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.

External links

*
Review of the ''Magnificent Ambersons'' Criterion release
1925 films 1925 drama films Silent American drama films Films directed by David Smith (director) American silent feature films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films Vitagraph Studios films 1920s American films {{silent-film-stub