Flaming Youth — the complete film
The film that fixed Colleen Moore's flapper image became a cultural shorthand for the 1920s; nearly all nine reels are now gone.
Quick facts
- Existence state
- Officially Gone
- Peak stage
- general availability
- Research confidence
- high
- Last verified
What it was
The complete version of a formally released nine-reel silent drama starring Colleen Moore.
A young woman tests modern relationships against the unhappy marriages and double standards around her.
Existence timeline
First National acquires Warner Fabian's novel.
John Francis Dillon directs Colleen Moore.
Editing begins on the nine-reel release.
The film receives an enthusiastic public response.
The complete distribution version is lost.
The Library of Congress preserves the pool sequence.
Why it ended
The complete feature was lost; only roughly one reel, including its celebrated swimming sequence, is known to survive.
Last confirmed trace
A Library of Congress fragment, stills, advertisements and reviews preserve its best-known visual moments.
What it left behind
Even in fragmentary form, Flaming Youth remains central to histories of the screen flapper and 1920s youth culture.
How we classified it
The archive unit reached normal public release or operation and is no longer obtainable in its original public form.
Verified normal public availability maps to 100 under Arrival Score V1.
Sources & verification
Last reviewed 2026-08-01. Sources are linked so readers can inspect the evidence directly.