By Raquel Stecher
Read The Roaring Twenties in Film, Part I here.
The Roaring Twenties was a decade of prosperity and indulgence. The U.S. was enjoying a post-World War I boom that brought social and cultural change and marked the decade as one of the most transformative of the 20th century. A technological boom saw advancements in the automobile and aviation industries. Prohibition made alcohol illegal and threatened to put a damper on everyone’s fun.
In turn, it created a cottage industry of dangerous bootleggers who smuggled booze all over the country. Partygoers were imbibing rum and bathtub gin in hidden speakeasies like there was no tomorrow. Women were enjoying more freedoms thanks to women’s suffrage and a feminist movement that began to take hold. Flappers, as they were often referred to, wore shorter skirt hems, fewer corsets, cloche hats, bobbed hair, finger waves, and could often be seen dancing the Charleston. Bright young things were incorporating fun colloquialisms like “the cat’s meow”, “the bee’s knees”, “banana oil”, “he’s a sheik” into their everyday conversations.
Jazz music was all the rage and musicians like Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Louis Armstrong, Paul Whiteman, and Jelly Roll Morton were in high demand. And no other entertainment medium was having as strong an effect on the public like movies were. Audiences flocked to their local movie theater to watch their favorite stars on the big screen. It can’t be underestimated the level of celebrity enjoyed by movie icons like Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo, Clara Bow, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks. Everything came to a halt when the October 1929 stock market crash ushered in the Great Depression.
The generations that followed would look back at the Roaring Twenties as a carefree time, but not one without its own set of challenges including gangster violence, police corruption, and racism. Many films about this era have been over the years. Let’s take a look at some of these 1920s-themed period pieces that are available to rent on DVD Netflix.
The Newton Boys (1998)
Richard Linklater’s western drama The Newton Boys (1998) is an under-appreciated gem. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Skeet Ulrich, and Vincent D’Onofrio as the Newton brothers, real life robbers that terrorized banks all over the US. The Newtons are a charming quartet of mischievous and fun-loving brothers. There is a lot of great action mixed with a bit of romance and a lot of brotherly love. The movie was shot on location in Texas.
It has some of the most authentic period clothing of any 1920s-themed movie I’ve ever seen. I particularly like how costume designer Shelley Komarov dressed Julianna Margulies, who plays McConaughey’s love interest. Definitely watch this one if you haven’t already.
The Cat’s Meow (2001)
The Cat’s Meow (2001) is Peter Bogdanovich’s take on one of the great scandals of early Hollywood. This fictional telling of Thomas H. Ince’s sudden demise aboard newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst’s yacht is a story of lust, jealousy, and the power of gossip.
Set in 1924 and told from the perspective of writer Elinor Glyn (Joanna Lumley), The Cat’s Meow imagines a love triangle between actress Marion Davies (Kirsten Dunst), her married lover Hearst (Edward Herrmann), and silent film comedian Charlie Chaplin (Eddie Izzard), with Ince (Cary Elwes) caught somewhere in between. The extended yacht party is hampered by Hearst’s controlling nature and the secrecy happening behind closed doors. Although filmed in color, all of the actors wear black and white costumes, which gives the film an old Hollywood vibe.
Chicago (2002)
The movie adaptation of Bob Fosse’s musical Chicago has a little bit of everything: an all-star cast, killer choreography, memorable songs, a spicy courtroom drama, and sexual energy that is literally bursting from the screen.
Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones star as an aspiring showgirl and established vaudeville star, respectively, who are on trial for murder and vie for the public’s attention by way of their corrupt lawyer (Richard Gere). The cast also includes Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, and Lucy Liu. The story was originally a 1926 play that author Maurine Dallas Watkins based off of two real life Chicago murder cases. Chicago was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won 6 including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Changeling (2008)
Directed by Clint Eastwood, Changeling stars Angelina Jolie as Christine Collins, a switchboard operator raising her son as a single mom. When her son goes missing, Christine works with a corrupt law enforcement system in search for him. They bring her a boy whom they claim is her son. No one believes Christine when she says that the child isn’t really hers, except for radio preacher Revered Gustav (John Malkovich), who advocates for her.
This harrowing story is unfortunately based on the real life missing person case and the 1928 Wineville Chicken Coop Murders. Eastwood’s film is very faithful to the original story, which makes for a tough watch.
The Great Gatsby (2013)
There’s nothing more representative of the era than F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby. There have been several adaptations of this great American novel and, while none of them get it quite right, Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation is by far the most fun to watch.
This lavish film explores the lives of the wealthy elite in 1920s New York. Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) will do anything to win back his old love Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan). Unfortunately for Gatsby, Daisy’s philandering husband (Joel Edgerton) stands in his way. The story is told through the perspective of Daisy’s cousin and Gatsby’s neighbor Nick (Tobey Maguire). In classic Luhrmann style, this lavish production goes all out with visual splendor, amazing costumes, and music that mixes the old with the new.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
Set in Chicago on a hot summer’s day in 1927, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom chronicles a pivotal moment in blues singer Ma Rainey’s (Viola Davis) career. The story takes place over one day and, while it’s based on a real recording session, it also includes fictional characters that add a heightened sense of drama to the film.
Chadwick Boseman, in his final performance, plays Levee Green, a trumpeter whose caught the eye of Ma’s girlfriend Dussie (Taylour Paige) and whose emotional volatility sends him on a downward spiral. Also in the cast are Glynn Turman, Colman Dingo, and Michael Potts as members of the Georgia Jazz Band. This is a terrific film, most notably for Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman’s performances, which earned them both Academy Award nominations.
Raquel Stecher has been writing about classic films for the past decade on her blog Out of the Past. She attends the TCM Classic Film Festival as well as other events where old movie fanatics get together to geek out. Raquel has been a devoted DVD Netflix member since 2002! Follow her on her blog Out of the Past or find her on Twitter @RaquelStecher and @ClassicFilmRead, Facebook, and Instagram.