This interview had to be shared on Silent-ology at some point, and what better time than Gatsby Month? F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mr. “Jazz Age” himself and popularizer of the universally well-known flapper, shares his thoughts on how the flapper had evolved throughout the 1920s and gives his analyses of some of the most iconic “Flaming Youth” actresses. It’s a classic!

At the time the interview was taken in 1927, I believe that Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald were living in Hollywood, having left the charms of Paris and the French Riviera to head home to the U.S. in December 1926. By January 1927 they had moved into a bungalow on the grounds of the Ambassador Hotel, provided by United Artists who wanted Scott to write a “flapper picture.” (While the piece did come out in July 1927, fan magazines sometimes took months to publish an interview, I’ve found.) Initially the Fitzgeralds had a lot of fun meeting the stars and getting wined and dined at various soirees, but by March they were heading to a rented mansion in Delaware–Zelda was complaining about being bored.

This 1927 interview is a delightful confirmation of how we’ve imagined this charming, fast-living celebrity couple to be. The interviewer notes Scotty’s debonair looks (and happily admits she’s crushing on him!) and mentions Zelda’s Southern drawl. Zelda’s apparently just had a Black Bottom dancing lessons (the most popular 1920s dance after the famous Charleston) and there’s a joke early on regarding three empty bottles of Bourbon. Scott just had an extensive interview the day before and worried he was all out of pithy statements–so naturally he delivers some amazingly eloquent observations, my favorite of which is at the very end.