Pampered Youth was one of the final films produced by VitagraphCompany of America before they were absorbed into Warner Bros. Tarkington's novel was also the basis for the 1942 RKOproduction, The Magnificent Ambersons, directed by Orson Welles andstarring Joseph Cotten and Tim Holt. Only portions of the silent film version exist in a Pathescope 9.5mm home digestversions of Vitagraph feature films believed not to survive in their originallength and format. The home versions are reduced to one or two reels of 9.5mmfilm, with run times of 10 to 20 minutes. The full-length Vitagraphoriginals are thought 'lost', and that the digests are the only remainingversions.

Twomajor alterations of Pampered Youth from the novel on which it is based are thetitle itself and the family name, from the “Ambersons” of the book to the“Minafers” in the film. While the reviews from the time were kind, comparison to other films made at the same period cannot beavoided, especially concerning the camera work, which was credited to DavidSmith and Stephen Smith, Jr. The photography of Pampered Youth is primitive,featuring fixed, distant camera views, which don’t allow for any nuances orsubtleties by the actors. Considering some of the cutting-edge film techniquethat was already in regular use by 1925, this deficiency of skill wasundoubtedly due to either lack of imagination or laziness on the part of the director.The result is a glaring flaw in the interpretation of the sweeping saga ofTarkington’s original novel, for which he was awarded the 1919 Pulitzer prizefor literature. The core theme of the story is the rejection of modernity bythe protagonist, George Minafer (portrayed by Cullen Landis), a spoiled,selfish scion who must eventually lose his family’s fortune, suffer poverty andsocial shame, and then be redeemed by the story’s end.

But the surviving, snipped versions of Pampered Youth that are commerciallyavailable are missing almost one hour of the original film, having been reducedto only 24 minutes, as compared to the original 7 reels of film that wasreleased in 1925. Almost ten full minutes of the surviving, chopped film istaken-up by the climatic fire scene, thus eliminating much of the prior plotexplanation and making little sense. This makes comparisons to the acclaimedre-make in 1942 by Orson Welles (titled as the novel The Magnificent Ambersons)very difficult to justly contrast or compare. But from the perspective of filmpreservation and the performances of Alice Calhoun, Cullen Landis, CharlotteMerriam, Wallace McDonald and a very young Ben Alexander, the surviving copiesof Pampered Youth are precious, indeed.