Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1924
The Perfect Flapper
Buy The Perfect Flapper now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'The Perfect Flapper' is a 1924 American romantic comedy film directed by Earl Hudson and starring Colleen Moore.[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/P/PerfectFlapper1924.html Progressive Silent Film List: 'The Perfect Flapper'] at silentera.com 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'.
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
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.Modern Girl Craves More Attention, by Alma Whitaker, 'Los Angeles Times', March 23, 1924, page B22. 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.Why a Flapper Flaps Herein Is Explained, by Mae Tinee, 'Chicago Daily Tribune', June 10, 1924, page 21. 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.Legal File 13100A, Warner Bros. Archives, School of Cinema-Television, University of Southern California.
Preservation
A print of 'The Perfect Flapper' is preserved at the Library of Congress 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', [https://web.archive.org/web/20110804231956/http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-4969-9 McFarland Publishing], (Print , EBook ).
Buy The Perfect Flapper now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1924