| The Perfect Flapper | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | John Francis Dillon |
| Produced by | Earl Hudson |
| Starring | Colleen Moore Sydney Chaplin Phyllis Haver Lydia Knott |
| Distributed by | First National |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film English intertitles |
The Perfect Flapper was a 1924 comedy film starring Colleen Moore. This was Colleen's second "flapper film" after Flaming Youth. It was released after Through the Dark--which had been made before Flaming Youth but did not make it to the theaters until after—and Painted People. The film is considered lost.
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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.
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.[1] Sydney Chaplin was, of course, Charlie's older half-brother. The film was generally well-received as good light entertainment: "...you have been entertained and not caused to think too much.”[2] The film did not match the popularity of Flaming Youth.(An accounting of the earnings of Colleen’s pictures dated December 31, 1928 lists to total earnings,of Flaming Youth ($798,777 by 1928). The Perfect Flapper earned $531,008.56.[3]