The Perfect Flapper

The Perfect Flapper

Directed by	John Francis Dillon
Written by	Jessie Henderson (story) Joseph F. Poland
Produced by	Earl Hudson
Starring	Colleen Moore Sydney Chaplin Phyllis Haver Lydia Knott
Production company	John McCormick Productions
Distributed by	First National Pictures
Release date	1924 (1924)
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

The Perfect Flapper is a 1924 American romantic comedy film directed by Earl Hudson and starring Colleen Moore.^[1] This was Moore's second "flapper film" after Flaming Youth. It was released after Through the Dark (made before Flaming Youth but in theaters after its release) and Painted People.

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Story

Young debutante Tommie Lou is unpopular. At her coming-out party, she turns to jazz antics to liven things up. After drinking punch spiked with alcohol (illegal at the time, as the film was made during Prohibition), she gets drunk and runs off to a road house with the husband of a friend. Nothing happens between them, but the action provokes a split between the husband and his wife. She contrives to get the couple back together, falling for the wife's divorce lawyer, and in the end everyone lives happily.

Cast

Colleen Moore as Tommie Lou Pember
Sydney Chaplin as Dick Trayle
Phyllis Haver as Gertrude Trayle
Lydia Knott as Aunt Sarah
Frank Mayo as Reed Andrews
Charles Wellesley as Joshua Pember
Carl D. Bruner as Minor Role (uncredited)
Babe London as Minor Role (uncredited)

Production

The film was made in the wake of the tremendous hit Flaming Youth. Originally intended to reunite the cast and crew of Flaming Youth, not everyone was available. The film was made as a comedy with dramatic undertones, while Flaming Youth had been a drama with comic aspects. To cash in on the popularity of Colleen's "flapper" character, the word "flapper" made it into the title. An additional draw was that the film showed a lot of skin.^[2] Sydney Chaplin was, of course, Charlie's older half-brother.

Reception

The film was generally well-received as good light entertainment: "...you have been entertained and not caused to think too much.”^[3] The film did not match the popularity of Flaming Youth: an accounting of the earnings of Colleen's pictures dated December 31, 1928 lists total earnings of Flaming Youth at $798,777 by 1928; The Perfect Flapper earned $531,008.56.^[4]

Preservation

A print of The Perfect Flapper is preserved at the Library of Congress along with a trailer.^[5]

References

^ Progressive Silent Film List: The Perfect Flapper at silentera.com
^ “Modern Girl Craves More Attention,” by Alma Whitaker, Los Angeles Times, March 23, 1924, page B22.
^ “Why a Flapper Flaps Herein Is Explained,” by Mae Tinee, Chicago Daily Tribune, June 10, 1924, page 21.
^ Legal File 13100A, Warner Bros. Archives, School of Cinema-Television, University of Southern California.
^ Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress, published by The American Film Institute, c.1978

Bibliography

Jeff Codori (2012), Colleen Moore; A Biography of the Silent Film Star, McFarland Publishing, (Print ISBN 978-0-7864-4969-9, EBook ISBN 978-0-7864-8899-5).