Showing posts with label Colleen Moore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colleen Moore. Show all posts

Friday, March 17, 2023

Happy St. Patricks Day from the Louise Brooks Society

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, a treasure from my collection of silent film related books - Colleen Moore's copy of "Beggars of Life", inscribed by the celebrated hobo author Jim Tully to the celebrated bobbed actress "with the admiration of an Irish Rover to a whimsical girl who knew him when" in Hollywood, California, 1926.  I am not sure if this is a first edition; and sadly, the dust jack is in tatters. But still, the bookplate and inscription is what sets this book apart.

The original price of the book was $3.00, according to the label from the Hollywood Book Store which is pasted to the rear end paper. I bought this book years ago here in California. The used book shop was asking $90.00, but I remember asking them for a discount and getting it. For obvious reasons, this book is a treasured possession.

 
 

Of course, it was another bobbed-hair beauty, Louise Brooks, who went on to star in the film version of Beggars of Life just two years later.

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Three of a kind - More on Louise Brooks and Colleen Moore and Clara Bow

A follow-up to my previous post on Louise Brooks and Colleen Moore and Clara Box . . . and a brief excerpt from volume 1 of my forthcoming book, Around the World with Louise Brooks. The previous post, which I recommend everyone check out if they haven't already, concerned the regular  comparison made of Louise Brooks with Colleen Moore and Clara Bow. Such comparisons were not limited to the United States. In fact, they were made in Brazil, Finland and other countries. Here are a couple-three examples.


Just as Louise Brooks was sometimes compared to and even mistaken for Colleen Moore because of  their similar look, the actress was also sometimes paired with Clara Bow due to their not dissimilar screen personas – that of the flapper or modern young woman. This Paramount magazine ad from Brazil notes each actress' role in three films, including Brooks' role in Glorifying the American Girl. Despite being long considered for a role in the Florenz Ziegfeld-produced film, Brooks never appeared in its 1929 release (nor did Bow, who was also considered).


The Central and Republica theaters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil knew they were onto something special when they promoted "two stars in one day" featuring the "seductive" Bow and the "charming" Brooks – each featured in newly released Paramount films. Not sure which film or actress to choose? This newspaper ad suggests moviegoers must "decide for yourself".

This Finnish magazine portrait describes the “renowned Paramount star Louise Brooks” as a “self-assured flapper type” and a mix of both Clara Bow and Colleen Moore.

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Louise Brooks and Colleen Moore and Clara Bow too

In my last blog, I included a couple of 1934 clippings about Sue Read, a pretty, bob-haired young radio singer who was said to resemble Colleen Moore and Louise Brooks. It was an apt comparison, as the soprano and both actresses were pretty in a similar way, and both sported short, sharp bobs.

Colleen Moore
The Sue Read comparison was far from the first time that Brooks and Moore were spoken of together. Over the years, I have come across a number of instances of the two actresses being paired and compared. Usually, the association had to do with their similar hairstyle. And too, both played flappers on screen.

Another actress with whom Brooks was sometimes compared was Clara Bow. And again, over the years I have come across a number of instances of the two actresses being paired and compared in newspapers and magazines published not only in the United States, but also around the world. In fact, a few pages in my forthcoming two volume work, Around the World with Louise Brooks, addresses the Louise Brooks / Colleen Moore  & Clara Bow nexus.

I mention all this because just recently I came across a few clippings that take the Brooks and Bow comparison to a new length. In July 1927, the Selma Times in Selma, Alabama ran a couple of pieces on the local showing of It's the Old Army Game. And in both clippings, Brooks was described as Clara Bow's double!


"Clara Bow has taken the American public by storm with her personality and pep -- and now comes along the clever little Louise Brooks whom critics acclaim her nearest double." This copy was, no doubt, supplied by Paramount -- the studio for whom both actresses worked -- or some allied publicist. The above piece goes on to described Brooks as "Pert, pretty, peppy, snappy, talented, happy and 'bound to get there'."

Another piece which ran a couple of days later also described Brooks as Clara Bow's double, despite the fact that Brooks better resembled Colleen Moore rather than Bow, who was a vivacious redhead who sported a somewhat different hairstyle. In this second piece, Brooks is described as "piquant pert little Louise Brooks." It also mentions that Brooks, or is it Bow, "who takes in the local sheiks."


I think the "double" comment had more to do with a perceived similarity in personality, rather than physical appearance. It's too bad that the two actresses never appeared in a film together. The closest they ever came to doing so was in It's the Old Army Game -- Brooks replaced Bow -- and in the original casting of Glorifying the American Girl, in which both were set to star. The latter film was made later with an entirely different cast.

Had the two starred together in a film, they would have ignited the screen - talk about flammable nitrate! Both had "IT". They would have also offered a study in .....

Friday, May 24, 2019

Colleen Moore celebration at Niles Essanay Film Museum

If you are a fan of Louise Brooks, chances are you also have an appreciation for Colleen Moore. . . . On May 25, the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont, California is celebrating the great bobbed-hair actress with a day of her films. It is an event you won't want to miss!


Saturday, May 25, 3:30 pm
A Special Day with Colleen Moore
Hosted by Joe Yranski
Book signing by Jeff Codori, author of Colleen Moore: A Biography of the Silent Film Star

Suggested member donation $5, not yet member $7 BUY TICKETS

Frederick Hodges (piano)
So Long Letty (1920, Christie Film Company, DVD) In this farce comedy based upon the hit stage play, Colleen Moore and T. Roy Barnes are a seemingly mismatched couple living next door to another couple, Walter Hiers and Grace Darmond, of similar temperament. The couples switch partners in the pursuit of happiness. First time on our screen.

Preceded by: A Tribute to Colleen Moore (1979) A special reel of rare clips.


MORE COLLEEN MOORE
Saturday, May 25, 7:30 pm
Suggested member donation $5, not yet member $7 BUY TICKETS

Jon Mirsalis (Kurzweil keyboard)
Her Wild Oat (1927, First National, 35mm) Colleen Moore plays the owner/operator of a lunch wagon who decides to splurge on a vacation among the rich at the Hotel Coronado. She is snubbed at first by the other guests, but when she impersonates a duchess, things heat up. First time on our screen.

Preceded by shorts:
Life in Hollywood #2 (1927, Goodwill Pictures) Colleen Moore
A Roman Scandal (1919, Christie) Colleen Moore


Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Silent film star Colleen Moore

Colleen Moore (1899-1988) was one of the most popular and beloved stars of the American silent screen. Remembered primarily as a comedienne in such films as Ella Cinders (1926) and Orchids and Ermine (1927), Moore's career was also filled with dramatic roles that often reflected societal trends. A trailblazing performer, her legacy was somewhat overshadowed by the female stars that followed.

 

Jeff Codori - author and Colleen Moore researcher extraordinaire - maintains an impressive website devoted to the actress. Jeff's site can be found at http://www.colleenmoore.org/  He has put a lot of work into the site, and it contains lots of pictures and lots of interesting text. I would encourage everyone to check it out.

Also, well worth checking out is Jeff's biography of the actress, Colleen Moore: A Biography of the Silent Film Star (McFarland). The book is available in soft-bound and Kindle editions.

Ten years of research went into the creation of this book, giving the most complete account of her childhood and film career to date, including a look behind the scenes of many of her films, as well as a look at the evolution of her studio First National, and how it's fortunes were affected by the actress'. Many never-before seen photos, including family photographs and candids, are included. It is a must-have for silent film and Colleen Moore enthusiasts.

I have seen only a few of Colleen Moore's films, and they are delightful! I think they compare favorably to those of Marion Davies, another undervalued performer. I wish more Colleen Moore films were in circulation. Like Louise Brooks, she is something extra special.


Speaking of Colleen Moore films, on Saturday September 6th at 7:30 pm, Why Be Good? (1929) will be screened in Los Angeles. In this, her final silent film, Colleen Moore plays a wild flapper with a dubious reputation, who, after a vivacious night of dancing, finds herself romantically linked to her boss’s son. Why Be Good? contains a Vitaphone soundtrack with sound effects and synchronized music, chiefly hot jazz and Twenties dance music played by such period greats as Jimmy Dorsey, Phil Napoleon, Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang. The big-budgeted film, filled with beautiful art deco sets, features a young Jean Harlow as a prominent dress extra.

Long believed to be a lost film, it was rediscovered though the perseverance of film historian Joseph Yranski and Ron Hutchinson, the founder of the Vitaphone Project. The search began when Yranski interviewed Moore, who told him that a copy of the film survived in an Italian film archive. Hutchinson was able to find the 16” Vitaphone discs containing the soundtrack, and the task of locating the missing picture began. Gian Luca Farinelli of Cineteca di Bologna contacted Matteo Pavesi of Cineteca Italiana di Milano, who graciously allowed access to the 35mm nitrate dupe negative for the restoration at L’Immagine Ritrovata in conjunction with Warner Bros.

Be sure and check back tomorrow for another Colleen Moore related blog . . .  about how Moore and Louise Brooks were sometimes confused.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Recommended New Releases for the Louise Brooks Fan

It’s that time of the year when critics, journalists, bloggers and others issue their "Best of" lists - the year’s recommended new releases in the world of books, movies, music and more. Here's the best of 2012 with a twist, exceptional new releases for fans of the silent film star Louise Brooks.

Like last year, 2012 saw the release of a small but distinguished number of new releases related to the legendary silent film star. Prominent among them is Laura Moriarty's widely acclaimed bestselling novel, The Chaperone, as well as a handful of DVD's including the first ever DVD release of Brooks' last film, Overland Stage Raiders. Fans of the actress will want to check out all of these recent releases.


In 1922, only a few years before becoming a famous silent-film star, fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks left Wichita, Kansas to study dance in New York City. Accompanying Brooks was her thirty-six-year-old, somewhat stodgy neighbor, who acted as chaperone. Based on these few facts, Laura Moriarty has penned a captivating, quietly powerful, and moving historical novel about these two woman and the summer they spent together which changed them both. Both critically acclaimed and a New York Times bestseller, this new book is highly recommended. Also available as an audio book read by actress Elizabeth McGovern. (Riverhead)



DVD-R: God's Gift to Women, directed by Michael Curtiz

It's no secret that Louise Brooks appeared in mostly mediocre sound films. With her career in decline, the one-time silent era star took what roles came her way in the sound era. God's Gift to Women, one of three films she made in 1931, is easily the actress' best talkie. It is also an enjoyable pre-Code romp, a comedy about romance with an impressive cast that includes Frank Fay, Laura La Plante, Joan Blondell, Charles Winninger, Yola d'Avril and Margaret Livingston (Brooks' voice double in The Canary Murder Case). Brooks doesn't have a very big part in this farce, but she makes an impression in a bedroom scene when some of the film's pulchritude gets into a cat fight.  (Warner Archive)


BOOK: Valentina come Louise Brooks. Il libro nascosto, edited by Vincenzo Mollica and Antonio Crepax.

This Italian book was the companion publication to "Valentina Movie," an exhibit held this past summer at the Palazzo Incontro in Rome. It featured the work of the late Italian comix artist Guido Crepax, a longtime admirer of Louise Brooks. The exhibit detailed the influence the actress had on the creation and development of Crepax's best known creation, Valentina, a popular character who appeared in numerous comic strips, graphic novels, books, and spin-off films. Whether or not you read Italian, the dedicated fan will want to own this illustrated book. (Fandango Libri)





Louise Brooks' film career came to an end in 1938 with a supporting role in Overland Stage Raiders, a B-western starring a young John Wayne. This new release marks the film's first official release on DVD and Blu-Ray. (It had been released on VHS some years ago, and is now hard to find.) Said to be only for the John Wayne or Louise Brooks completist, Overland Stage Raiders (presented here in a 1950's revival print) is worth watching at least once. Brooks, 32 years old and sporting a new look, is still alluring and holds her own in what is essentially a guy's film. (Olive Films)





While a young man in the early 1980s, Berkal had the almost unique experience of meeting and befriending  the then older and reclusive Louise Brooks. The story of that friendship is chronicled in this self-published, ebook-only release. (It is also referenced in Barry Paris' 1989 biography.) Benevolent Siren is a brief recounting, which in the end leaves you wanting more. (Smashwords) Also keep in mind Youthful Places, a small collection of poetry also by Berkal. It contains "MLB," a poem about and dedicated to the actress. (Amazon Digital Services)




DVD/BluRay: La Canarina Assassinita (Canary Murder Case), directed by Malcolm St. Clair. 

The Canary Murder Case (1929), with Brooks in the title role of the "Canary," has not yet been released on DVD in the United States. But it has been, at least twice, in Italy. This new release is the latest out of Europe. Not seen at time of review. (Ermitage Cinema) Also keep in mind Mystery Movies Series of 1930's Hollywood, by Ron Backer. This recommended book opens with The Canary Murder Case and details the many subsequent Philo Vance films which followed. (McFarland)






This collection of academic essays on popular German literature of the late nineteenth century includes "Taking Sex to Market: Tagebuch einer Verlorenen: Von einerToten and Josefine Mutzenbacher, Die Lebensgeschichte einer wienerischen Dirne, von ihr selbst erzählt," by the English academic Elizabeth Boa. The essay, by a noted German scholar whose fields of interest include Frank Wedekind, looks at the book which was the basis for the 1929 Louise Brooks' film, The Diary of a Lost Girl.  That book was Margarete Bohme's Tagebuch einer Verlorenen, a controversial bestseller which sold more than 1.2 million copies. In its review of this new book, the Times Literary Supplement said, "The essays are often fascinating and always informative. The best of them make their arguments against the forgetting of their once-bestselling authors exciting. They share a passion for getting to the bottom of why, in or outside Germany, we know so little about books that were, in the main, not just flashes in the pan, as they often endured for up to a century." That's true for Boa's take on Bohme's still valuable and provocative work. (Camden House)

ALSO KEEP IN MIND....


Colleen Moore was the cute-as-a-button silent era actress who first achieved stardom in Flaming Youth (1923). It was in that film, in which Moore plays a flapper, that the actress first sported bobbed-hair. That was also a couple years before Louise Brooks entered films and made her own mark. Both actresses were known for their signature look, a straight bob with bangs, and that fact has led some to wonder who first wore the iconic hair style. Codori discusses that question and more in this appealing biography. (McFarland)




Mae Murray, popularly known as "the girl with the bee-stung lips," was a fiery presence in silent-era Hollywood. Renowned for her sultry beauty, Murray rocketed to stardom as a dancer with the Ziegfeld Follies before entering films. She appeared in The Delicious Little Devil (1919), Jazzmania (1923), and most famously, The Merry Widow (1925). With the coming of sound, her career went into decline, and eventually Murray found herself nearly destitute. The parallels with Louise Brooks' career are striking. This highly recommended biography, featuring much original research, includes never before published observations about Murray drawn from Brooks' letters to Kevin Brownlow.  (University Press of Kentucky)

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Colleen Moore website



Jeff Codori - silent film buff, researcher, and Colleen Moore fan - has launched a major new Colleen Moore website. The site can be found at http://www.colleenmoore.org/  Jeff has put a lot of work into the site, and it contains many pictures and lots of text. I would encourge everyone to check it out. And what's more, Jeff is working on a book on the actress. Perhaps you can help ?
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