WET AND WARMER (which was released February, 1921 BTW) was far from the
previous film before REPORTED MISSING. There were three more
Lehrman-Produced comedies for First National: A KICK IN THE HIGH LIFE,
PUNCH OF THE IRISH (both released March, 1921), and A GAME LADY
(released in July, 1921, although it may have been made earlier as it
starred Lloyd Hamilton who had left Lehrman for Educational the year
before). This ended Lehrman's contract with First National.
People only went from one film to another when they had another film to
go to. Lehrman was without a series after July. I have an announcement
in the MPW dated July 30th, 1921 announcing Lehrman signing with Myron
Selznick to write and direct four features starring Owen Moore. The last
paragraph states "Just when production on the first Moore-Lehrman farce
comedy will begin depends on the progress Mr Lehrman makes in writing
the story and developing the preliminaries of production.". This could
mean they were far from ready for production and the scandal might have
back-burnered the first(and, as it turned out, only) Moore-Lehrman
feature until the first part of 1922.
Do we know whether REPORTED MISSING was shot on the west or the east
coast? I have no conclusive evidence either way, but the cast indicates
that it might have been shot in the East, and the picture's title
writers all worked for New York newspapers.
So Lehrman may have gone back east anytime in August 1921, to prep and
shoot a picture that finally came out in April 1922.