Rolled Stockings, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this
day in 1927. The film is a drama set among students at the fictional
Colfax College. It was one of a number of similarly-themed films aimed
toward the youth market of the 1920s. Besides Louise Brooks, who was
then 20 years old, its cast included a few of Paramount's "junior stars"
-- then up-and-comers Richard Arlen, James Hall, Nancy Phillips, and El
Brendel. Brooks plays the love interest of two brothers, one a fop, the
other an athlete.
More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks
Society website filmography page.
To add verisimilitude,
Rolled Stockings
was largely filmed on and around the campus of the University of
California, Berkeley. It also includes footage of actual crew races
between the University of California and the University of Washington.
A summer release, the film proved popular wherever it was shown. Harrison’s Reports, a film industry trade journal, described Rolled Stockings as "a light comedy drama of college life" that was "Pretty good entertainment for the hot weather." The Chicago Tribune
named it one of the six best films of June, 1927. Not surprisingly, the
film found a receptive audience in college towns across the country.
The critic for the Ann Arbor Times News, for example,
appreciatively stated "The three stars, Louise Brooks, James Hall and
Richard Arlen are so thoroughly likable and the story so different from
the usual line of college bunk, that Rolled Stockings proves to be a delightful bit of cinema entertainment."
Rolled Stockings was a cut above many of the other motion pictures about the younger generation. The Seattle Times
praised the film, noting "Paramount’s ‘youth’ picture, which is now at
the Coliseum Theatre, has everything -- a thrilling college crew race,
some exciting automobile scenes, snappy comedy, a good love story and
lots of pep." Regina Cannon of the New York American proclaimed,
"This is another college story and it is realistic enough to be
entertaining. . . . Louise Brooks is seen for the first time in a
‘straight’ role. This child is so smartly sophisticated that it has
seldom been her lot to portray anything but baby vamps on the screen.
She has an unusual personality which the camera catches and magnifies,
dresses snappily and makes the most of her every movie moment.”
Critics
were divided on Brooks, the star of the film. Some noted her "provoking
presence" and "demure charm, with its tricky suggestion of mild
sophistication." The Los Angeles Examiner wrote, "Louise Brooks
is utterly adorable as Carol Fleming. She is exactly the type college
boys swoon over. She displays a sincerity in her work that has been
absent from her previous roles. Though this particular part offers
little opportunity to show any great acting, she measures up splendidly
in the few scenes that border on the emotional." Across town, the Los Angeles Daily Illustrated News
stated "Louise Brooks, judging by this film, is destined to go a long
way. She has some of Colleen Moore's qualities with a dash of Florence
Vidor thrown in, and a lot of her own distinctive personality."
The New York Daily Mirror
countered, stating "Louise Brooks looks remarkably like Clara Bow,
though she lacks the famed pep of our national flapper." The Washington Times
went even further, "The leading role is borne by Louise Brooks and the
part could have been better cast. Miss Brooks has the bad habit of
stalking through her screen parts like an automaton and her face is
devoid of emotion under all circumstances." In a piece titled "Louise
Brooks Shows Acting Ability in Rivoli Feature," Mark K. Bowman found
middle ground in the Portland Oregonian, "In the past Miss Brooks
has been accused of strutting instead of acting, but it is apparent in
this latest picture that she is endeavoring to do less posing, which is a
promising move."
SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:
--
The film was based on a topical story, "Sheiks and Sheibas," by
Frederica Sagor. Along with raccoon coats, flagpole sitters, goldfish
swallowers, hip flasks, and ankle watches, rolled stockings worn by
women were one of the many fads of the Jazz Age.
-- Rolled Stockings was first called Sheiks and Sheibas, but the title was changed because it conflicted with a First National property.
At different times, different trade journals reported that Monty Brice
and then Frank Strayer would direct the film, with Charles "Buddy"
Rogers and Sterling Holloway among the cast.
-- Sally Blane, who had an uncredited part in Rolled Stockings, was born Elizabeth Jane Young and was the sister of actress Loretta Young.
-- Grover Jones, a gag man, doubled as director while the Rolled Stockings
company was on location in Berkeley, California. Director Richard
Rosson was summoned to Hollywood by the death of his mother and Jones
took the microphone and directed shots of the California-Washington boat
race.
-- Years later, in an
interview, Brooks said director Richard Rosson didn't want to direct the
film, and in fact, didn't even want to be a director. "He'd been Allan
Dwan's assistant, and it was an assistant that he wanted to be. During
[this picture] he sat sweating, with a trembling script. There wasn't
enough Bromo-Seltzer to float him out of his chair."
More about the film can be found on the recently updated Louise Brooks
Society website filmography page.
THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com).
Original content copyright © 2026. Further unauthorized use
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