''The Perfect Flapper'' is a 1924 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by Earl Hudson and starring

Colleen Moore Colleen Moore (born Kathleen Morrison; August 19, 1899 – January 25, 1988) was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era. Moore became one of the most fashionable (and highly-paid) stars of the era and helped po ...

. This was Moore's second "

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptab ...

film" after ''

Flaming Youth Flaming Youth can refer to: * ''Flaming Youth'' (novel), a 1923 novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams * ''Flaming Youth'' (film), a 1923 film based on the novel starring Colleen Moore and Milton Sills * Flaming Youth (band) Flaming Youth were a Britis ...

.'' It was released after '' Through the Dark'' (made before ''

'' but in theaters after its release) and '' Painted People''.

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 Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

), 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

Production

The film was made in the wake of the tremendous hit ''

''. Originally intended to reunite the cast and crew of ''

'', not everyone was available. The film was made as a comedy with dramatic undertones, while ''

'' 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. 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.” 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 ''

'' at $798,777 by 1928; ''The Perfect Flapper'' earned $531,008.56.

Preservation

A print of ''The Perfect Flapper'' is preserved at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

along with a trailer.''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

References

Bibliography

*Jeff Codori (2012), ''Colleen Moore; A Biography of the Silent Film Star''
McFarland Publishing
(Print , EBook ).

External links

* *

at silentfilmstillarchive.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Perfect Flapper 1924 films 1924 romantic comedy films Films directed by John Francis Dillon American silent feature films American romantic comedy films Lost American films First National Pictures films American black-and-white films Films with screenplays by Joseph F. Poland 1924 lost films Lost romantic comedy films Flappers 1920s American films Silent romantic comedy films Silent American comedy films