The Danger Girl (1916)

Gloria Swanson looks at her most fresh and vibrant - and was only 17 - when she make this daft comedy. Her beau (Bobby Vernon) is receiving a bit of unwanted attention from the debonaire, but slightly predatory Helen Bray - unwanted by her at any rate, so she decides the best way to distract this man-grabbing woman is to dress as a man and do a little distracting of her own... The next ten minutes or so immerse us in a world of chaotic scenes amongst her wealthy set with loads of action, though not always with too much coherence, until quite an effective conclusion. It's got some beautiful old cars to look at, some true slap-stick comedy - and there is an engaging joie-de-vivre about the whole thing as couples make up and break up in a heart beat. This could easily be a pre-WWI equivalent of a night at a student disco - lots of folks, hormones all over the place, trying to pinch each other's partners - just this one has a wonderful turn from Swanson in a Tuxedo that is not to be overlooked...