The Exalted Flapper (1929) Review: Sue Carol is a lot of fun here

You should probably watch this if you have a soft spot for the late 1920s when everyone was obsessed with being modern. It’s perfect for a rainy Sunday when you don’t want to think too hard about plot holes.

If you hate silent films where people exaggerate every single emotion with their entire bodies, you will absolutely loathe this one. It’s very much a product of its time, for better and mostly for worse.

Sue Carol plays Princess Izola, and she is honestly doing the absolute most in every single frame. Every time she blinks, it feels like she’s trying to send a Morse code message to the back of the theater. 👸

She wants to be a flapper, which in 1929 meant wearing a lot of beads and looking slightly bored while holding a cigarette. The way she handles a cigarette in one scene is so awkward; it’s like she’s holding a tiny, dangerous firecracker she doesn't know how to light.

The movie starts in some fictional kingdom that looks like it was decorated by someone who had only seen pictures of Europe in a very old, dusty book. The sets have this weirdly flat quality to them, almost like the actors might accidentally knock over a castle wall if they sneeze too hard.

I found myself staring at the background extras more than the main actors sometimes. There is one guy in the ballroom scene who just looks deeply confused about where he is supposed to stand. He keeps shuffling two inches to the left, then two inches back to the right. 🕺

It reminds me a bit of the energy in Rouged Lips, but with a lot more royal jewelry involved. The stakes feel incredibly low, even when the 'scandal' happens.

The plot is basically: Princess wants fun, parents want her to marry a boring Duke, Princess runs away to be a 'normal' girl. We’ve seen this a thousand times, but there is something sweet about how earnest it is.

Barry Norton plays the love interest, and he’s... fine, I guess? He has that very specific 1920s 'leading man' face where he looks like he’s made of porcelain and might break if he smiles too wide.

There is a scene where Izola is trying to act like a commoner, and she’s just so bad at it. She treats a regular chair like it’s a golden throne, and it’s genuinely funny, though I’m not sure if the director meant it to be. 😂

The pacing gets a bit sluggish in the middle when they spend way too much time on these long, flowery title cards. I found myself checking my phone a couple of times because the text was just so wordy for no reason.

One thing that really stuck out to me was the hats. The hats in this movie are unhinged. 👒

There is one hat that Irene Rich wears that looks like a literal architectural project gone wrong. It’s so big I’m surprised she didn’t tip over during her big dramatic speech.

Speaking of Irene Rich, she plays the Queen and she’s actually the best part of the movie. She has this way of looking at her daughter that says 'I love you but you are being incredibly annoying right now' without saying a word.

It doesn't have the grand scale of something like Metropolis, obviously. It’s a small, fluffy thing that feels like it was filmed over a long weekend.

The 'jazz' elements feel a bit forced, like the writers heard about jazz but hadn't actually heard any yet. The band in the club scene looks like they are playing at a funeral but with slightly faster arm movements. 🎷

I noticed a small mistake in one of the dining scenes where a glass of water disappears and reappears between shots. It’s the kind of thing that makes you feel like a detective when you spot it.

The movie gets much better once the royal family stops pretending to be important and starts acting like a regular messy family. There’s a moment toward the end where the King looks at his scepter and just looks tired of the whole thing. 👑

The romance is the weakest part, mostly because I didn't really care if they ended up together or not. They have about as much chemistry as two pieces of dry toast.

But Sue Carol’s energy is infectious enough to carry it through the boring parts. She has this spark that makes you understand why she was a star back then.

It’s not a movie that will change your life or make you think deeply about the human condition. It’s just a movie about a girl who wants to cut her hair and dance, which is honestly relatable enough.

The ending is exactly what you think it is, no surprises there. It wraps up in a very neat, very 1929 way that feels a bit too perfect.

If you're looking for a deep dive into silent cinema, maybe try The Purple Mask instead. But for a light snack of a film, this works just fine.

I’m still thinking about that one extra who didn't know where to stand. I hope he eventually found his spot. 🧐

• The Best Part: The absolute chaos of the hats.
• The Worst Part: The romance feels like an afterthought.
• Watch it if: You like flapper fashion and silent era overacting.

Overall, it’s a decent way to spend an hour, even if you forget most of it by the next morning. It has a charm that you just don't find in modern stuff, mostly because modern movies aren't this unashamedly silly.

The cinematography is pretty basic, with a lot of flat lighting that makes everyone look a bit pale. But hey, that was the style at the time, I suppose.

Just don't expect it to be a lost masterpiece. It's just a fun, slightly clunky relic of a time when the world was changing fast and movies were trying to keep up.