Showing posts with label Evening Clothes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evening Clothes. Show all posts

Sunday, March 19, 2023

Evening Clothes, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1927

Evening Clothes, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1927. The film is a romantic comedy about a gentleman farmer who — spurned by his bride, goes to the big city to loose his rustic ways and win back his new wife. A stanza printed in advertisements for the film put it this way, “He was a French hick / Who didn’t please her / So he went to Paris and / Became a Boulevardier.” Louise Brooks plays a character called Fox Trot, a hot-to-trot Parisian who some described as a lady of the evening. More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks Society filmography page.

Adolphe Menjou, Louise Brooks, and Noah Beery Sr.

The making of the film coincided with Paramount’s transition from its East Coast facilities to the West Coast. Evening Clothes was the first film Brooks made in Hollywood, and at Paramount’s suggestion, the first in which she did not wear her signature bob hairstyle.

Evening Clothes was made to order for its star, Adolphe Menjou. And as with his similarly-themed prior films A Social Celebrity, Ace of Cads, The Sorrows of Satan, and Blonde or BrunetteEvening Clothes proved popular with moviegoers, though less so with critics. The New York Daily News stated “There are a couple of really subtle spots, however, which brighten up the film tremendously, raising it right out of the mediocre class,” while adding “Louise Brooks is a perfect knockout as a good-natured lady of the evening.” The New York Morning Telegraph quipped, ” . . . as it stands, this latest Menjou vehicle offers entertainment value equivalent to the Paramount admission charge.” Other New York papers were more positive. The New York Telegram called the film “a delightful little comedy,” while the New York Journal described it as “an entertaining comedy, with some good situations.” All-in-all, the film received a cool critical response, though it performed very well at the box office.

Thin story-line aside, many reviewers focused on the actors as well as Brooks’ new hairstyle. Among them was Regina Cannon of the New York American, “Louise Brooks is again cast as a ‘lady of the evening’ and makes her role pert and amusing. You won’t recognize Miss Brooks at first, for she is wearing her hair curled over her head. This is too bad, for it makes her look just like a thousand other attractive girls. Louise achieved distinction with her straight-banged bob.”

Louella Parsons of the Los Angeles Examiner added, “When you see the show girl, Louise Brooks, cavorting about with a frizzled top you will see why Famous Players Lasky is grooming her for bigger and better things. She fares much better than either Miss Tashman or Mr. Beery, who only appear at long intervals.” Welford Beaton of Film Spectator echoed Parson’s remarks, “There are three girls who do very well in Evening Clothes — Virginia Valli, Louise Brooks and Lilyan Tashman. . . . I was glad to see further evidence of Paramount’s dawning consciousness that Louise Brooks is not composed solely of legs. They work her from the knees up in this picture and it begins to look as if she were headed for a high place.”

Herbert Cruikshank, who wasn’t enthused about the film, nevertheless liked Brooks. He wrote in the New York Morning Telegraph, “It seems to me that Louise Brooks deserves first place. She is charmingly piquant as a chic little gold-digger who turns out to be a pretty good fellow after all — as many of the maligned sisterhood do. While her part is merely a filler, she seems to have built it up materially, and holds center stage in whatever scenes she has.”

And front-and-center is where Brooks’ next film placed her. Rolled Stockings — which featured Brooks in the lead — went into production just as Evening Clothes was opening around the United States.

Under its American title, documented screenings of the film took place in Australia, British Malaysia (Singapore), Canada*, China, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Japan, New Zealand, Panama, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, and the United Kingdom (England, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In the United States, the film was also presented under the title El Traje de Etiqueta (Spanish-language press) and Roupas Noturnas (Portuguese-language press).

Elsewhere, Evening Clothes was shown under the title Un Homme en Habit (Algeria); El hombre del frac (Argentina); Eine Pariser ehe (Austria); Un homme en habit (Belgium, French) and Een Man in Habijt and Een Man in een Habijt (Belgium, Dutch); De Casaca e Luva Branca (Brazil); Las que no aman (Chile); El traje de etiqueta (Costa Rica); El Traje de Etiqueta (Cuba); Vecerní odev and Muž ve Fraku (Czechoslovakia); Ein Frack Ein Claque Ein Madel (Danzig); I kjole og hvidt (Denmark); In Rok (Dutch East Indies); El Marques de la Moda (Dominican Republic); Un Homme en Habit (Egypt); Mõistueaubielu and Mõistueaubielu abielu and Vernunftehe (Estonia); Frakkipukuinen herra and Parisin yökahviloissa (Finland); Un Homme en Habit (France); Ein Frack ein Claque ein Mädel (Germany); Estélyruha and Frakk És Klakk (Hungary); Il signore della notte and Signore della notte (Italy); 夜会服 or Yakai-fuku (Japan); Aprehķina laulības and Der Liebling der Gesellschaft (Latvia); Un Homme en HabitEin Frack, Ein Claque, Ein Madel! (Luxembourg); El traje de etiqueta (Mexico); In Rok (The Netherlands**); I Kjole og Hvitt (Norway); Szkoła Paryska (Poland); De Casaca e Luva Branca (Portugal); El Traje de etiqueta and El vestido de etiqueta and Vestido de etiqueta (Spain); En herre i frack (Sweden); L’homme en habit and Un homme en habit (Switzerland); and Un Homme en Habit (Vietnam).

* The film was banned in Quebec, Canada because of “concubinage” – the suggestion of interpersonal or sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple are not or cannot be married.

** When the film was shown in The Netherlands in 1929, a cut was made to the film and screenings were restricted to those 18 and over.


SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

—  Evening Clothes is based on a French play L’homme en habit by Andre Picard and Yves Mirande which debuted in Paris on March 25, 1920. The Man in Evening Clothes, an English-language version of the play translated by the noted actress Ruth Chatterton, had a brief Broadway run at the Henry Miller Theatre beginning on December 5, 1924.

—  Evening Clothes had its world premiere at the Metropolitan theater in Los Angeles, California on March 4, 1927. Adolphe Menjou was in attendance at the special event, as was the noted poet and then current French ambassador to the United States, . Each were introduced from the stage. It’s now known if Brooks was in attendance at the premiere.

Arnold Kent (billed as Lido Manetti) had a small role in the film. He began his film career in Italy after having started as a stage actor. (Among his Italian credits were Quo Vadis and a few diva films directed by Augusto Genini.) In the mid-1920s, he moved to Hollywood and worked as a contract player at Universal and later at Paramount. He died in Hollywood in 1928 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

—  In 1931, Paramount produced two sound versions of the play at their studios in Joinville, France. A Spanish-language version, Un caballero de frac, was directed y Roger Capellani and Carlos San Martín and starred Roberto Rey and Gloria Guzmán. And a French-language version, Un home de habit, directed by René Guissart and Robert Bossis, starred Fernand Gravey and Suzy Vernon. Only the Spanish-language film was released in the United States. Additionally, in 1938, Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder outlined a treatment of the play, but nothing seems to have come of an American remake.

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.

Friday, September 10, 2021

Another Louise Brooks-related mystery

In 1927, Louise Brooks' mother went on tour. Myra Brooks joined the Chautauqua circuit, an adult education / social movement that brought culture to small towns and communities across the United States with speakers, musicians and entertainers of all kinds. As such, Myra Brooks spoke in Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee on the topic "The Girl of Today." (I will detail her tour in a later post.) 

Not surprisingly, local newspapers often referred to Myra as the Mother of the film star / "screen favorite" / young actress Louise Brooks. Once, in a slip of purple prose, Myra was even referred to as the Mother of "the charming queen of filmland." However Myra's daughter was referred to, certainly the highlight of Myra Brooks' Summer long tour was likely Benton Harbor, Michigan. The local newspaper, the News Palladium, even profiled the visiting speaker.

This article was the most significant coverage Myra Brooks received for her Chautauqua activities. It is also typical of what was written about her. It repeats many of the same talking points found in other articles published around the Midwest.

However, what stands out is the articles reference to Myra Brooks being the author of a "widely read" book, Health, Beauty, and Psychology. The article also mentions that Myra Brooks is an associate editor of The Golden Rule, a publication based in Chicago, and that she writes a regular column and weekly article. The mystery here is that no copy of Health, Beauty, and Psychology has ever been found. And what's more, I have never been able to find any of Myra Brooks articles, let alone issues of The Golden Rule. Other articles about Myra Brooks from the Summer of 1927 also mention the Golden Rule magazine, and the fact that she was a writer, but no others mention the book. In one instance, an article mentions that Myra Brooks is "a contributor to Golden Rule and Psychology of Health Magazines." Unless it is a mistake, this line suggests there were two magazines!

In his biography of Louise Brooks, Barry Paris also mentions that no copy of Health, Beauty, and Psychology is known to exist. My guess is that if it exists, it wasn't so much a book (of which there would likely be at least a record somewhere), but some sort of self-published booklet, like Louise's own The Fundamentals of Good Ballroom Dancing. Neither titles are listed on World-Cat, nor the Library of Congress online listings.

I think I was able to find out a little something about The Golden Rule, but could not lay my hands on any issues in order to read any of Myra Brooks reported contributions. If this is the same magazine, then The Golden Rule to which Myra contributed was first printed in 1919 by George Williams in Chicago. It was overseen by Napoleon Hill, the famous self-help author whose books include Think and Grow Rich (1937), one of the biggest selling books of the 20th century.

If anyone can access issues of The Golden Rule (from 1927, or 1926) and locate any of Myra Brooks' writings, that would be GREAT! And if anyone can located a copy of Health, Beauty, and Psychology, that would be even better. I am curious to know if they reference Louise Brooks. 

[Making matters more difficult, there was a populist poet of the time named Myra Brooks or Myra Brooks Welch who authored uplifting verse like "The Touch of the Master's Hand." Try searching for Myra Brooks and you will likely encounter the other Myra Brooks. Which explains why our Myra Brooks often had her name listed as Myra M. Brooks while on tour.]

A few weeks after Myra Brooks' August 1927 lecture in Benton Harbor, the 1927 Louise Brooks' film, Evening Clothes, opened at the local Liberty Picture theater. And in what was a first and only occurrence, the article about the film led with a reference to the actress' Mother!



Wednesday, May 5, 2021

A Kartoon or Komic, and a Kinema Karol mentioning Louise Brooks

As I have mentioned many times in the past, one comes across all kinds of unusual and interesting stuff while researching a subject from the past. That goes for Louise Brooks, as well.

First up, here is a cute Paramount promotional cartoon titled "The Family Selects a Movie" which references Evening Clothes, the 1927 Adolphe Menjou film which features Louise Brooks. The actress herself is not mentioned. Nevertheless, it is rather charming, and speaks to how Paramount saw their films in the American marketplace.

Next up is a bit of verse, with the last piece, "My Best Girl" by Fussy in Beachy Head, England  referencing Louise Brooks (and Clara Bow). These "Kinema Karols" were published in an English film magazine, and also contain a bit of period charm. (And, if I am not mistaken, the Laurel and Hardy caveman still just below the date is from Flying Elephants, a two-reeler from 1928. That film is notable as the only other film in which Brooks' American Venus co-star, Fay Lanphier, made an appearance.)


Wednesday, December 9, 2020

And another nifty new Louise Brooks related find #3

During this pandemic era, I continue to stay home and conduct what research I can over the internet. And recently, I came across a few items which I had never seen before. I thought I would share them with readers of this blog. Here is the third installment in a short series of new finds.

This new find has to do with a rare personal appearance by Louise Brooks while she was a film star. By my count, Brooks made less than five or six such appearance. On most of these occasions, she appeared on stage prior to the showing of a film. On November 5, 1926, for instance, Brooks made a personal appearance at a benefit pre-release midnight showing of We're in the Navy Now at the Rialto Theater in New York City; We're in the Navy Now was directed by Brooks' then-husband, Eddie Sutherland, who was also on hand. (As were Paramount stars Betty Bronson, Ricardo Cortez, Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher, William Powell, Evelyn Brent, and Philip Strange. And Helen Morgan sang!) The event was a benefit showing in aid of the New York American Christmas and Relief Fund.

Another such occasion took place on April 9, 1927, while Brooks and the cast and crew of Rolled Stockings were filming in Berkeley, California; this time, Brooks (and James Hall) made a personal appearance prior to a screening of Evening Clothes at the nearby American theater in Oakland, California. Here is the advertisement for the occasion.


My new find documents the time in July 1927 when Brooks and other Paramount stars were asked (by the studio, no doubt) to attend the Pacific Coast premiere of the Emil Jannings' film, The Way of All Flesh, at the Criterion theater in Los Angeles. I don't know if Brooks appeared on stage, or merely was in the audience - but this was a special occasion as all loge seats for the evening cost $1.65, a large amount at a time when most seats cost less than one dollar.

Besides Emil Jannings himself (making his first American stage performance to mark his first Paramount film) were other Paramount stars such as Pola Negri, Clara Bow, Fay Wray, Bebe Daniels and others - including Brooks' past and future co-stars Esther Ralston (American Venus), Wallace Beery (Now We're in the Air, Beggars of Life), Noah Beery (Evening Clothes), Fred Kohler (City Gone Wild), Chester Conklin (A Social Celebrity), and Adolphe Menjou (A Social Celebrity, Evening Clothes). Their names are all listed at the bottom of this newspaper advertisement.

Incidentally, also possibly present was Frederico Sagor Maas, who penned the story behind The Way of All Flesh. Notably, Maas also wrote the story that served as the basis for Rolled Stockings. I first met Frederica at a publisher's lunch at Musso & Franks in Hollywood in 1999. Enthused about her then forthcoming book, I arranged to put on an event with Maas at the bookstore where I worked in San Francisco. It was her first  bookstore event. Because she was nearly blind and 99 years old, we sat together and I interviewed Maas before a a modest those enthusiastic store crowd. Later we went out to dinner and she told stories about Clara Bow, Joan Crawford, Eric von Stroheim and others, as well as what it was like to work in early Hollywood. Be sure and check out her recommended memoir, the Shocking Miss Pilgrim. The following day, she did a booksigning at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, something I helped arrange, and she sold more than 60 books in flash. No "swell fish" there.


To mark the occasion, the bookstore I worked at used to issue trading cards in conjunction with the various events we put on. Here is the card for Frederica Sagor Maas, which depicts her in the 1920s, around the time she worked with the film legends mentioned above. I treasure my autographed copy of her book, and my autographed copy of her trading card. Here is a LINK to the blog I wrote about her when she died in 2012 at the age of 111.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Evening Clothes - A Round-up of Reviews

Evening Clothes, Louise Brooks' eighth film, was officially released on this day in 1927. The film is a comedy-drama about a French gentleman farmer who, spurned by his bride, goes to Paris in order to become sophisticated enough to win her back. The film is lost, as are all of Brooks' films from 1927.

Evening Clothes was directed by Luther Reed. Adolphe Menjou played Lucien d'Artois, Virginia Valli was Germaine, Noah Beery played Lazarre, and Louise Brooks was Fox Trot. Notably, this is one of the rare silent films films in which Brooks did not appear in her signature bob. And not surprisingly, many reviewers and critics of the time commented on the actress' different hair style.


Evening Clothes proved popular in its day. Here is a round up of newspaper and magazine reviews and articles drawn from the Louise Brooks Society archive.

Parsons, Louella O. "Evening Clothes an Entertaining Story." Los Angeles Examiner, March 5, 1927. --- "When you see the show girl, Louise Brooks, cavorting about with a frizzled top you will see why Famous Players Lasky is grooming her for bigger and better things. She fares much better than either Miss Tashman or Mr. Beery, who only appear at long intervals."

Yorke, Hal. "Evening Clothes Presents Menjou at Metropolitan." Los Angeles Daily Illustrated News, March 5, 1927.
--- "Louise Brooks - yes, the one you dream about - is as alluring and pert as ever."

anonymous. "Menjou Picture Outstanding for Hirsute Effects." Los Angeles Times, March 6, 1927. --- "Louise Brooks, who plays one of the featured roles in the picture, has sacrificed the distinctive bob."

Taylor, Ken. "You'd Hardly Know Menjou with a Beard." Los Angeles Evening Express, March 7, 1927.
--- "Louise Brooks, whose haunting vivacity has necessitated the restringing of more than one male's heartstrings." - review in Los Angeles, California newspaper

Kreisman, Louise. "Evening Clothes At the Metropolitan." Daily Bruin, March 10, 1927.
--- "Louise Brooks, as a curely headed chorus girl . . . The rest of the time she excells in flippancy and heartlessness." - review in UCLA student newspaper

Beaton, Welford. "High School Girls Select Mr. Menjou." and "Some Good and Not So Good Direction." Film Spectator, March 19, 1927.
--- "There are three girls who do very well in Evening Clothes - Virginia Valli, Louise Brooks and Lilyan Tashman. . . . I was glad to see further evidence of Paramount's dawning consciousness that Louise Brooks is not composed solely of legs. They work her from the knees up in this picture and it begins to look as if she were headed for a high place."

anonymous. "Adolphe is Himself Again." New York Telegram, March 21, 1927.
--- "It is a delightful little comedy. . . . Virginia Valli and Louise Brooks (permanently waved) appear both provocative and Parisienne as the leading ladies." 

Hall, Mordaunt. "Bankruptcy and Love." New York Times, March 21, 1927.
--- "Ms. Brooks, with a change in her eyebrows and curly hair, is stunning."

Cannon, Regina. "Menjou's Beard Surprise in Film Evening Clothes." New York American, March 22, 1927.
--- "Louise Brooks is again cast as a 'lady of the evening' and makes her role pert and amusing. You won't recognize Miss Brooks at first, for she is wearing her hair curled over her head. This is too bad, for it makes her look just like a thousand other attractive girls. Louise achieved distinction with her straight-banged bob."

C., O. "The Current Cinema." New Yorker, March 26, 1927.
--- short mention in film column "Louise Brooks makes herself more able than usual by the aid of a trick haircut."

O., H.H. "Stage and Screen." Ann Arbor Times News, April 10, 1927.
--- "Louise Brooks, as Fox Trot, a pert little inhabitute of the Parisian cafes, adds her usual snappy characterizations."

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

On this day in 1927, Evening Clothes had its world premiere

On this day in 1927, Louise Brooks' eighth film, Evening Clothes, had its world premiere at the Metropolitan theater in Los Angeles, California. Adolphe Menjou was in attendance at that special event, as was the noted poet and then current French ambassador to the United States, Paul Claudel. Brooks was not reported to have been there.

Evening Clothes was officially released on March 19, 1927. The film is a comedy-drama about a French gentleman farmer who, spurned by his bride, goes to Paris in order to become sophisticated enough to win her back. The film is lost.

Adolphe Menjou played Lucien d'Artois, Virginia Valli was Germaine, Noah Beery played Lazarre, and Louise Brooks was Fox Trot. The film was directed by Luther Reed, and notably, the film's cinematographer was Hal Rosson. The great cameraman was once married to actress Jean Harlow (from 1933 to 1934), and is best known for his work on the 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz. Ah, to be able to watch Evening Clothes today!



Friday, December 13, 2013

Speaking of Louise Brooks and Latvia . . .

Yesterday's post got me thinking about Louise Brooks and Latvia. I searched on "Latvian newspaper archive" and found that the National Library of Latvia has a number of Latvian newspapers scanned and available online. One of the newspapers, Latvijas Kareivis, from the capital Riga, covered the 1920's and 1930's.

Though the paper is not keyword searchable, I did a quick visual search and noticed that many American films were shown in the Latvia capital. While I spotted a number of Clara Bow images, I unfortunately didn't come across any images or references to Louise Brooks. Here is a typical example of what I found. I am not certain, but the image in the upper right hand corner featuring Adolphe Menjou  may be from the lost 1927 Louise Brooks film, Evening Clothes. (To see a better and complete image of this August 24, 1929 newspaper, visit this page.)

Monday, December 9, 2013

Louise Brooks on a ladder in Hollywood

A picture of Louise Brooks (on a ladder) alongside actor Adolph Menjou and Evening Clothes director Luther Reed is included in this months Los Angeles Magazine. The three are pictured outside of "The Barn" in Hollywood, the site of Cecil B. DeMille's production of The Squaw Man, said to be the first feature film shot in the greater Los Angeles area. Production of Evening Clothes took place in January of 1927. The historic snapshot was likely taken around that time. (Thank you to film historian Mary Mallory for tipping us off to this clipping.)


And here is a snapshot of Christy Pascoe and Thomas Gladysz (Director of the Louise Brooks Society) outside The Barn many years later. This historic building is located just across the road from the Hollywood Bowl. Should you ever visit Tinsel Town, be sure and pay a visit.


Sunday, October 10, 2010

Yours for only $3,000

This exceptional art deco style insert poster for the 1927 Louise Brooks film, Evening Clothes, is for sale on eBay. I do admit, I haven't seen anything like it before. The seller is asking $3,000. These posters were originally available from Paramount for 25 cents. (Apparently, they could be leased for such a price - as indicated at the bottom of the poster.) This poster measures 14" x 36".

Monday, September 20, 2010

A different look

Paramount didn't quite know what to do with Louise Brooks. Perhaps that is why they gave her a different look in Evening Clothes, a 1927 romantic comedy starring Adolphe Menjou and Virginia Valli.That's Brooks - without her signature bob - on the far right. This image is for sale on eBay.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Follow up: Jacques Arnaut

I have finally finished "visually skimming" all 607 pages of Jacques Arnaut, a 1933 French novel by Leon Bopp. (See this blog as well as this earlier blog for the story so far.) I failed to find the brief reference to Louise Brooks which I know exists in this book. As I don't read French, visually skimming is the best I could manage.

My inter-library loan copy of this rare book is coming due. Thus, my search to contextualize the reference will have to wait. Perhaps, one day, should I ever obtain a keyword searchable copy of the text, I may yet uncover the passage which refers to the actress. (If anyone could help with this matter, it would certainly be appreciated.)

On to other things . . . . Speaking of early 20th century French literature, did you know that the acclaimed French writer Paul Claudel saw the 1927 Brooks' film, Evening Clothes?

Claudel, a poet, dramatist, and diplomat as well as the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel (who was muse to Rodin) attended a special screening of Evening Clothes in Los Angeles on March 7, 1927. The event was held at the Metropolitan Theatre, the largest movie theater in Los Angeles at the time.

The film's story concerned a French gentleman farmer who goes to Paris to win back the affections of his bride. The premiere, and the presence of the French writer, generated a considerable amount of press as Claudel was, at the time, the French ambassador to the United States. A few weeks later, on March 21st, he appeared on the cover of TIME magazine.

As a celebrated writer and as an ambassador, Claudel was something of a celebrity. Newspaper coverage of the event noted his attendance as well as that of the film's star, Adolphe Menjou. Each were introduced from the stage. If there are any Paul Claudel scholars out there who are aware of the author having written about this event - I would love to hear from you. There was no mention of Brooks herself being in attendance, though its possible, as she was living in Southern California at the time. 

[A couple of days earlier, Evening Clothes had its world premiere at the Metropolitan. Menjou was in attendance at that event as well, and according to newspaper articles at the time, he made his way through the crowds unnoticed wearing a beard.]

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Today

I spent half-a-day at UC Berkeley, where I went through two-and-a-half years of Neie Freie Presse, a daily newspaper from Vienna, Austria. All I managed to find, however, was a single 1928 review and advertisement for Eine Pariser Ehe, which shown in the United States as Evening Clothes (1927). I was lucky to spot this, as the Austrian title differs from the German title, Ein Frack Ein Claque Ein Mandel. The review did not mention Louise Brooks.

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