title: The Flower Thief
text: # The Flower Thief
  
  The Flower Thief is a 1960 underground film directed by Ron Rice.
  
  ## Production
  
  Shot in 1959 in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood and using surplus 16mm film, the film features non-professional actors like Taylor Mead and Eric "Big Daddy" Nord, and Beat poets living in North Beach such as Bob Kaufman. Skippy Alvarez, who worked at Vesuvio's Bar and lived at The Swiss American Hotel, appears in the film. She had just returned from attempting to bail Bob Kaufman out of jail. She spoke about how she wished the North Beach police would leave the Beats alone & quit hassling them.
  
  