Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts

Friday, January 27, 2023

Street of Forgotten Men & Transactions of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, part two

In a previous post, I mentioned that in the course of my research into the history of The Street of Forgotten Men (Louise Brooks' first film), I came across a rather interesting article in the January 1926 issue of  Transactions of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, a trade journal. I thought the article interesting because it not only touched on Louise Brooks' life story, but it also illuminates the experience faced by motion picture exhibitors in the silent film era.

The previously mentioned article, “An Exhibitor’s Problems in 1925,” was authored by Eric T. Clarke, the Director of the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, New York (Louise Brooks' future home). The article focused on how an exhibitor went about selecting appropriate films for their venue. Notably, The Street of Forgotten Men was mentioned in Clarke’s article. 

The following year in the same journal, Clarke followed up his article with a similar piece, "An Exhibitor’s Problems in 1926,” and again, The Street of Forgotten Men was mentioned! I think Clarke's January 1927 article is interesting, as it gives a thoughtful, man-in-the-trenches, perspective -- something we don't often see. Double click on the individual pages to call up a larger version of the image.

 

 





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.

Monday, January 23, 2023

Street of Forgotten Men & Transactions of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, part one

In the course of my research into the history of The Street of Forgotten Men (Louise Brooks' first film), I came across a rather interesting article in Transactions of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, a trade journal. I think the article interesting because it not only touches on Louise Brooks' life story, but it also illuminates the experience faced by motion picture exhibitors in the mid-1920s, the silent film era.

The article, “An Exhibitor’s Problems in 1925,” was authored by Eric T. Clarke, the Director of the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, New York. (Louise Brooks future residence.) The article focused on how an exhibitor might select appropriate films which might draw an audience. Clarke’s 16-page piece was, in fact, the text of an earlier talk given before the S.M.P.E. (Society of Motion Picture Engineers), to which was added the transcript of the discussion which followed Clarke’s address. 

Notably, The Street of Forgotten Men, and its merits as a film, were mentioned in Clarke’s article, as were some of the other films in circulation in 1925. Double click on the individual pages to call up a larger version of the image.









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.

Sunday, July 12, 2020

Remembering Jack Garner, film critic and friend of Louise Brooks

Word came one week ago of the passing of Jack Garner, the longtime Rochester Democrat and Chronicle film critic and friend to Louise Brooks. (Read that post HERE.) Since then, Jack has been on my mind. I met him only once, but considered him a friend and am grateful for the many kindnesses he showed me and my Louise Brooks Society. There is more I want to say.... but first let me offer my sincere condolences to his wife, Bonnie. I never met her, regrettably, but through Jack's many Facebook posts, I feel I knew her at least a little bit. Jack and Bonnie were married nearly 50 years, which is a beautiful thing.

Jack Garner at the Little Theater in Rochester, NY - via radio station WXXI
There is more I would like to say about Jack..., especially his unique friendship with Louise Brooks. As mentioned, Jack was a longtime writer for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. As a local Rochester journalist, Jack enjoyed a special friendship with Louise, and wrote about the actress on a number of occasions. A search through the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle archive turns up more dozens of hits while searching under the combined terms of "Jack Garner" and "Louise Brooks".

The earliest piece I came across by Jack was dated April 9, 1980. On that date, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle ran a syndicated article by Bob Thomas on Kenneth Tynan's recently released book, Show People, which included Tynan's famous New Yorker profile of Louise Brooks, "The Girl in the Black Helmet." Jack added an adjunct article offering the local angle on Tynan's widely reviewed and bestselling book, namely Brooks' thoughts on being profiled by one of the most famous critics in the world. Jack's article, "He writes divinely", quotes Brooks extensively. And it is filled with gems of information from " 'I wrote 92 letters to him,' Miss Brooks said yesterday", to "College students ring my bell and ask me to write their term papers. I get lots of interesting offers like that." 


At the time, Jack's by-line described him as the "D&C Popular Arts Editor." But no matter what he covered, if there was a Louise Brooks' angle, Jack seemed to include it. For an April 1980 article on Erte, Jack spoke with the famous designer, writing He also remembered designing for Louise Brooks, when she was in George White's Scandals, on Broadway. 'She was very, very charming'." Jack's article continued, "Miss Brooks, an acclaimed star of early films, lives in retirement in Rochester. When told of Erte's comment, she remembered: 'When I was in Scandals in 1924, George White went over to Paris and had Erte design the costumes for the chorus girls. They arrived in enormous boxes at great expense backstage. I don't know what Parisian dressmakers thought, but the dresses didn't fit at all. They were all too small."


Other articles and snippets of conversation with Brooks followed over the years. There was the time in 1982, for example, when the George Eastman House hosted its Festival of Film Artists. Receiving awards were Joan Bennett, Maureen O'Sullivan, Luise Rainer and Sylvia Sydney, all of whom attended the special event, and three actress kept away by illness, Myrna Loy, Dolores Del Rio, and Louise Brooks. In his follow-up piece on the event, Jack wrote, "Before Friday night's awards, Rainer asked me to escort her for a visit with another recipient, Louise Brooks, who is ill in bed in her North Goodman Street apartment." Jack noted that the "two great actresses hit it off marvelously...." while mentioning a few topics of their conversation. Garner also reported that Brooks had been visited by Sylvia Sydney, accompanied by John Springer, and Joan Bennett, sister of Brooks old friend, Barbara Bennett.

Louise Brooks passed away in Rochester in August of 1985, and Jack Garner's reportage led the paper's multi-article, mutli-page coverage, which began not surprisingly on page one. "Her Rochester Years, Remembered by Film Critic Jack Garner" was one of a small handful of fascinating articles.


It would be great if the many articles about Brooks by Jack (and others) at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle were gathered up into a book, something under the title Lulu in Rochester. I think I once suggested something to that effect to Jack, but he explained that it was the paper and not himself that owned the copyright on the material. Nevertheless, it would make for a fascinating read. Long live Louise Brooks.

                                 And long live Jack Garner.

Friday, January 24, 2020

Louise Brooks at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1977 and 1980

I concluded my previous post concerning a book about avant-garde women of the 1920s by posting a picture of Herbert Bayer's extraordinary 1929 photomontage, "Profil en face." I thought it appropriate to show the use of Louise Brooks' image within modernism, specially the work of an artist associated with the Bauhaus.
Herbert Bayer's "Profil en face" (1929)
After finishing the blog, I thought to spend a bit of time web surfing and followed a link someone had just posted to Facebook and checked out an article on one of my favorite websites, Open Culture. The 2016 article, Every Exhibition Held at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Presented in a New Web Site: 1929 to Present, detailed a digital exhibition archive which presents various materials such as installation photos, checklists, brochures, and catalogs related to every show mounted at the famed New York City museum.

Skipping through MoMA's remarkable exhibition history, I came across a show called "Herbert Bayer: Photographic Works." I have always liked this artist, and checked out the supporting materials. Guess what I found? Bayer's little-known photomontage was included in the exhibit, and there was Louise Brooks' image (or at least half her profile) hanging in the Museum of Modern Art in New York between October 31, 1977 and January 29, 1978.

Some of Bayer's most iconic images - photograph by Katherine Keller

I was excited. And though I already own two other books on Bayer's work, I tracked down a second-hand copy of the out-of-print catalog for this particular show and ordered it. Hopefully, it might contain some information on Bayer's use of Brooks' image.

I continued my tour of MoMA's exhibition history and came across another show which included not one, but two images of Brooks. This exhibit, "Hollywood Portrait: Photographers, 1921–1941" ran December 5, 1980 to February 28, 1981.  It included the famed pearl portrait taken by Eugene Robert Richee, as well as another publicity portrait of Brooks in men's clothing taken around the time she made Beggars of Life.

Hollywood photography at its best - photograph by Mali Olatunji


This particular exhibit, one of a number of nifty film related exhibits mounted by MoMA, was put on at the height of the Brooks' revival prior to her death. The pearl portrait is third from the left.

More great Hollywood photography - photograph by Mali Olatunji
The Beggars of Life publicity portrait of Brooks is sixth from the left. And below is a larger view of the image.

I find it very interesting that Brooks' image was included in exhibits at NY MoMA. I hadn't known they were ... but more than that, it shows Brooks herself to be part and parcel of 20th century modernism, and not just a cult figure within the realm of film history. That is fascinating!

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Greetings from a Rochester Louise Brooks Fan

The other day, the Louise Brooks Society received an email from Tim Madigan, Professor and Chair of Philosophy at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York. Aside from his academic interests, Tim is also a self-professed major fan of Louise Brooks. On October 2, spoke about Louise Brooks at the Rochester Public Library (see previous post).

Tim wrote, "Many thanks for giving my October 2nd talk about Louise Brooks at the Rochester Public Library a shout-out on your website. I have long been an admirer of your work on Brooks and I had some fear and trembling giving a talk about her at the Rochester Public Library, knowing that at least some of the people attending would be far more learned about her life and career than I am. But it turned out to be a nice gathering and I actually reconnected with some folks I hadn’t seen in several years. I also met with Tim Moore, who filled me in on local Brooks activities I was unaware of."

Tim continued, "There was some method to my madness in giving the presentation. At its end I made a modest proposal that the Rochester Public Library have an annual Louise Brooks Event (or Happening), of which mine could be the first. I’d also like to see the library have a dedicated Louise Brooks Room, with photos and other memorabilia (perhaps including, in a case, some of the library books she annotated).... As I mentioned in my talk, like many others I’ve been obsessed with Brooks for decades and often teach about her in my Philosophy through Film courses at St. John Fisher College. I also held a 100th birthday party for her in 2006, complete with a cake with her image on it. And as the attached photo demonstrates, her image can be found throughout my office, including a photo of me visiting her grave at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery."

"I think there were about 40 or so folks in attendance, some of whom remembered seeing Louise when she was still able to walk the streets of Rochester. At some point I hope to type up the remarks I made."

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Reminder - Reluctant Icon Louise Brooks event set for Wednesday, October 2

A reminder that the upcoming Louise Brooks event at the Rochester, New York Public Library. The event, "Reluctant Icon: Louise Brooks (1906-1985)" is set to take place on Wednesday, October 2 in the Kate Gleason Auditorium in Rochester's Central Library. Start time is 6:00 pm, and the event is expected to run one hour.

Rochester resident Tim Moore took these pictures of the some of the library's in-house promotion for the event.

According to the library website: "2019 marks the 90th anniversary of Louise Brooks’ most famous film, Pandora’s Box, a print of which has been newly restored. In this presentation, Tim Madigan will discuss how a young girl from Kansas came to Weimar, Germany to play the iconic role of Lulu in that movie, as well as how she later moved to Rochester, where she spent the rest of her life, becoming a noted chronicler of Hollywood and a figure of mystery. He’ll also discuss her depiction in the 2012 novel The Chaperone and its 2018 movie version, and why she lives on as a modern-day muse.

Tim Madigan is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at St. John Fisher College where he regularly discusses Pandora’s Box in his “Philosophy through Film” course." The event is free and open to the public. More information may be found HERE.


As many Louise Brooks fans should know, Louise herself visited this library on many occasions. She was a great reader of books, and at least a few of the books she checked out (and even annotated) still resides on the library shelves. The Central library also has a small collection of books and movies related to Brooks, including copies of some of the publications of the Louise Brooks Society.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Lulu In Rochester, new play about Louise Brooks and James Card, debuts October 18

Geva Theatre / The Festival of New Theatre in Rochester, New York has announced its schedule of upcoming productions, and one in particular stands out for those interested in Louise Brooks. On Friday, October 18th the festival presents Lulu in Rochester by Allison Gregory. The play, the story of two Rochester icons, was commissioned especially for the 2019 Festival of New Theatre.

I was in touch with Gregory back in February, when she contacted me with a question about the silent film star.  In researching Brooks, Gregory had consulted the Louise Brooks Society website. She wrote, "Thank you for your wonderful website; it is truly a treasure trove for anyone interested in Louise Brooks and silent film of the era.... This website, the many links and books referenced here, and the folks at the Eastman Museum have been hugely helpful." I am looking forward to hearing more about Gregory's new work, and would love to hear from anyone who attends.

Lulu in Rochester
by Allison Gregory
Friday, October 18 at 7pm

Inspired by real-life, Lulu in Rochester follows the fascinating partnership between famously reclusive silent-film star Louise Brooks and acclaimed Eastman Museum film curator James Card. When James persuades his irreverent idol to move to Rochester and watch her celebrated films for the first time, Louise must confront the myths and perceptions that have shaped her life, and shed light on the mystery of why ‘Lulu’ inexplicably disappeared at the height of her fame.

The Festival of New Theatre takes place October 8 through 20 on the Fielding Stage of the Geva Theatre Center, located at 75 Woodbury Blvd. The Festival of New Theatre is a mix of new works by playwrights from across the country. The plays are presented concert-style, with actors at music stands and facing the audience. Admission is free; reservations are required. Call (585) 232-4382 or visit gevatheatre.org for information.

Allison Gregory’s plays have been produced widely and she has received commissions, grants, and development from Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Kennedy Center, South Coast Repertory, Indiana Repertory Theatre, the Skirball-Kenis Foundation, GEVA, Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT Theater, and elsewhere. Her work has been the recipient of the Julie Harris Playwriting Award.

Monday, September 9, 2019

Reluctant Icon: Louise Brooks at Rochester Public Library

Thanks to Rochester resident Tim Moore for tipping us off to the upcoming Louise Brooks event at the Rochester, New York Public Library. The event, "Reluctant Icon: Louise Brooks (1906-1985)" is set to take place on Wednesday, October 2 in the Kate Gleason Auditorium in Rochester's Central Library. Start time is 6:00 pm, and the event is expected to run one hour.

Tim, a dedicated and longtime Brooks' fan, risked life and limb to take these pictures of the some of the library's in-house promotion for the event.

According to the library website: "2019 marks the 90th anniversary of Louise Brooks’ most famous film, Pandora’s Box, a print of which has been newly restored. In this presentation, Tim Madigan will discuss how a young girl from Kansas came to Weimar, Germany to play the iconic role of Lulu in that movie, as well as how she later moved to Rochester, where she spent the rest of her life, becoming a noted chronicler of Hollywood and a figure of mystery. He’ll also discuss her depiction in the 2012 novel The Chaperone and its 2018 movie version, and why she lives on as a modern-day muse.

Tim Madigan is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at St. John Fisher College where he regularly discusses Pandora’s Box in his “Philosophy through Film” course." The event is free and open to the public. More information may be found HERE.


As many Louise Brooks fans should know, Louise herself visited this library on many occasions. She was a great reader of books, and at least a few of the books she checked out (and even annotated) still resides on the library shelves. The Central library also has a small collection of books and movies related to Brooks, including copies of some of the publications of the Louise Brooks Society.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Two Louise Brooks films to show in Buffalo, NY at Western New York Movie Expo and Memorabilia Show

Not one, but two Louise Brooks films will be shown at the upcoming Western New York Movie Expo and Memorabilia Show in Buffalo, New York.

It's the Old Army Game (1926), a classic silent comedy starring W. C. Fields and Louise Brooks, will be shown at noon on Friday, August 2nd. Pandora's Box (1929), considered one of the great movies of the silent era, will be shown on Saturday, August 3rd. Both films will be shown in the screening rooms of the Buffalo Grand Hotel as part of the Western New York Movie Expo and Memorabilia Show, which starts in just a couple day. Both films will feature live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis.



Jeff Rapsis returns for a fourth year to accompany several silent movies on his electronic keyboard. Rapsis will be at the Expo from August 2nd through the 4th. Some of the works he’ll accompany include multiple shorts featuring comedians Charley Chase and Fatty Arbuckle; a Laurel and Hardy program; Eric von Stroheim's classic The Wedding March (1928), starring Fay Wray; Josef von Sternberg's The Docks of New York (1928); and Buster Keaton's The Cameraman (1928). The full schedule of silent and sound films is listed below.

(Included among the talkies are a pair of films featuring Leon Errol – Brooks stage co-star in Louis XIV, as well as the little known Keystone Hotel (1935) – with The Show-Off star Ford Sterling and  Ben Turpin and The Keystone Cops. Also on the schedule is Nancy Steele is Missing! (1937), starring Victor McLaglen, Peter Lorre, Walter Connolly, and June Lang. This programmer was often paired with King of Gamblers, another 1937 programmer from which Brooks' role was cut. Here a rare chance to see the film, which stars the star of A Girl in Every Port.)

There will be three screening rooms inside the Buffalo Grand Hotel for the event, which also has a  dealer's emporium where one can buy memorabilia including posters, photos, magazines, movies and TV shows on 16 mm film, as well as equipment.



The Western New York Movie Expo takes place from Aug. 1 to 4 at the Buffalo Grand Hotel, 120 Church St. Tickets are $35 to $40 for the full event or $12 a day ($6 Sunday). To learn more about Jeff Rapsis, visit silentfilmlivemusic.blogspot.com. And to learn more about the Expo, visit wnymovieexpo.com. 

THE MAIN SCREENING ROOM schedule
Thursday, Aug 1st
7:00 p.m. SO DEAR TO MY HEART Bobby Driscoll, Burl Ives, I.B. Tech (John Millen collection) (80 minutes)
8:30 p.m. IF I HAD A MILLION (1932) W. C. Fields, Allison Skipworth, George Raft. Gary Cooper (90 minutes) (Stu Fink collection)
10:10 p.m. JET PILOT (1957) John Wayne in Howard Hughes aviator directed by Jos. Von Sternberg I.B.Tech
(1 hour 53minutes)

Friday, Aug 2nd

10:00 a.m. THE WHOLE TOWN’S TALKING dir. John Ford-Edward G. Robinson (Grant Golden collection) (93 min.
11:45 a.m. GOODNIGHT NURSE – Keaton & Arbuckle
12:00 noon IT’S THE OLD ARMY GAME (1926) W.C. Fields & Louise Brooks - accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis
1:00 - Lunch Break

2:00 p.m. CAPTAIN BOYCOTT (1947) Stewert Granger, Kathleen Ryan (93 minutes) (Dave Barnes collection)
3:45 p.m. MUM’S THE WORD Charley Chase with Oliver Hardy accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis
4:05 p.m. LIMOUSINE LOVE (1927)Charley Chase silent classic / accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis
4:30 p.m. SPECIAL DELIVERY (1925) Eddie Cantor in a comedy directed by Arbuckle accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis
5:40 p.m. WAY OUT WEST (1937) Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson (67 minutes)
6:45 - Dinner Break


8:00 P.M. LAUREL & HARDY; THE REAL “STAN AND OLLIE” session #1
 accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis
THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY back by requests from two years ago is this classic pie fight to end all pie fights!
Including the complete second reel not seen in 90 years!
WHY GIRLS LOVE SAILORS Laurel & Hardy rare early silent with restored English titles (Ottinger collection)
THE SLEUTH Stan Laurel complete 2-reel version (Ottinger collection)
MARRIED TO ORDER Chase & Oliver Hardy in an early 1917 appearence! (Ottinger collection)
9:10 P.M THE LODGER starring Liard Cregar, Merle Oberon, George Sanders, Cedrick Hardwicke (90 minutes)
10:45 P.M. DR. BLOOD’S COFFIN (1961)dir Sidney J. Furie stars Kleron Moore, Hazel Court / I.B. Tech (92 min.)

Saturday, Aug 3rd
10:00 a.m. PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1936) Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong (81 minutes) (John Millen collection)
11:30 a.m. THE LAVENDER HILL MOB Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway (80 minutes) (Dave Barnes collection)
1:00 - Lunch Break

2 :00 p.m. PANDORA’S BOX directed by G.W. Pabst starring Louise Brooks (1 hour 50 minutes) accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis
4: 00 p.m. ARSENIC & OLD LACE staring Cary Grant, Peter Lorre – directed by Frank Capra 1:50
6:00 - Dinner Break

7:30 p.m. MODERN TIMES Charles Chaplin (90 minutes) (Dave Barnes collection) 90 minutes
9:00 p.m LAUREL & HARDY; THE REAL “STAN AND OLLIE” session #2

HELPMATES Laurel & Hardy (20 minutes)
CHICKENS COME HOME Laurel & Hardy (25 minutes)
TWICE TWO Laurel & Hardy (20 minutes)
10:10 P.M. THE PALEFACE – Buster Keaton with live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis
10:20 P.M. THE CAMERAMAN (1928) Buster Keaton with live music score by Jeff Rapsis (70 minutes) accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis
11:30 A.M.MONSTERS WE’VE KNOWN AND LOVED narrated by Joseph Cotton-Great clips! (25 minutes)
THE GREAT HORROR & SCIENCE FICTION TRAILER SHOW

SCREENING ROOM "B" schedule
Thursday, Aug 1st - room "B"

7:00 p.m CHICAGO DEADLINE (1949) Alan Ladd, Donna Reed in a film noir classic (89 minutes)
8:45 p.m 

THE GANG’S ALL HERE (1943) Alice Faye, Benny Goodman Sheila Ryan I.B. Tech (1 hour 43 minutes)

10:45 p.m. CHARLEY CHASE TALKING COMEDY FEST - “Mr. Bride” others t.b.a.
11:45 p.m. CHUCK CHAN THEATER Pt. 1 starring Sidney Toler in DARK ALABAI (61 minutes)
Friday, Aug 2nd - room "B"
10:00 a.m. THE ERRAND BOY(1961) Jerry Lewis, Brian Donlevy, Benny Rubin, Joe Besser, Fritz Feld (90 minutes)
11:30 a.m. A KILLER WALKS (1952) Lawrence Harvey, Susan Shaw, Laurence Naismith –thriller (60 minutes)
12:30 - Lunch Break

1:30 p.m. GREAT RADIO COMEDIANS interviews & clips -Jack Benny, Burns & Allen, Edgar Bergan, Jim “Fibber McGee” Jordon, many more Color
3:00 p.m. HERE WE GO AGAIN (1942) Fibber McGee & Molly, Edgar Bergan, Harold Peary (76 minutes)
4:20 p.m. CRIME SMASHER (1943) Frank Graham, Edgar Kennedy, Gale Storm, Mantan Moreland (60 minutes)
5:30 p.m BURNS & ALLEN TV SHOW LIVE
6:00 - Dinner Break

7:00 p.m. NANCY STEELE IS MISSING Peter Lorre, Victor McLaglen (90 minutes) (Dave Domagala collection)
8:45 p.m. CHUCK CHAN THEATER Pt. 2 Warner Oland in rarley seen “CHARLIE CHAN IN PARIS“ (70 min)
10:00 p.m. I DREAM TOO MUCH Lily Pons, Henry Fonda, Eric Blore-musical (Grant Golden collection) 97 minutes

Saturday, Aug 3rd - room "B"
10:00 a.m. EARLY HITCHCOCK documentary w/ highlights of Hitchcock’s British period 1920’s-30’s
10:30 a.m THE MEN WHO MADE THE MOVIES– ALFRED HITCHCOCK (Ray Faiola collection)
11:30 a.m. 12:30 - Lunch Break

1:00 p.m. WHERE’S BUNTER? Very rare Sidney Howard science-fiction comedy short
1:20 p.m. LITTLE BIG SHOT (1952) Ronald Shiner, Victor Baring, Danny Green- British comedy (90 minutes)
3:00 p.m SEVEN DAYS IN MAY (provided the guest author is confirmed) shown in conjunction with Rod Serling biographers’ forum (2 hours
5:00 - Dinner Break
7:00 p.m ROD SERLING-TWILIGHT ZONE 60th ANNIVERSARY host Mike Pipher
& guest authors
9:00 p.m THE MOVIE CRAZY YEARS Golden age of W.B. Studios with interviews & clips COLOR
10:40 p.m I LOVE A MYSTERY –1945 – 1st of the series – Jim Bannon, George Macready, Nina Foch – 75 min

Sunday, Aug 4th - room "B"
10:00 a.m. FIVE AGAINST THE HOUSE (1955) Guy Madison, Kim Novac, Alvy Moore, Wm. Conrad (84 minutes)
11:30 a.m. SHE GETS HER MAN (1945) Joan Davis and Leon Errol in a comedy-murder mystery (74 minutes
1:00 p.m. – Show concludes


SCREENING ROOM "C" schedule
Thursday, Aug 1st - room "C"

7:00 P.M. ANIMATION SPECIALTIES Session # 1 approximately 60minutes

8:15 P.M. MUSIC ON FILM MARATHON Session # 1 / 60 minutes 

9:30 P.M. THE SHORTY CARUSO Super 8mm FOLLIES Session # 1
11:00 P.M. STUFINK’S ROCK ‘N’ ROLL ON FILM FESTIVAL

Friday, Aug 2nd - room "C"
10:00 A.M. THE JIMMY DURANTE SHOW
10:30 A.M. MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY starring Danny Thomas with guest star Dean Martin
11:00 A.M. WAYNE & SCHUSTER TAKE AN AFFECTIONATE LOOK AT THE MARX BROTHERS
12:00 - Lunch Break
1:00 P.M. MUSIC ON FILM MARATHON Session #2 / 60 minutes
2:00 P.M. THE DONNA REED SHOW – two episodes with Buster Keaton
2:55 P.M. LEON ERROL COMEDIES – “SWEET CHEAT” Leon’s trips to Buffalo are under suspicion by his wife, Dorothy Granger! Also CRIME RAVE and CUTIE ON DUTY
4:00 P.M. SHANTYTOWN (1943) starring Mary Lee, John Archer, Marjorie Lord, Billy Gilbert, Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer
5:15 p.m. – Dinner Break
7:00 P.M. EDGAR KENNEDY COMEDIES – “Dummy Ache” with Lucille Ball, “Hold Your Temper”, and “Merchant of Menace”
8:15 P.M. SEEIN’ RED starring Red Skelton with A. Robins “The Banana Man”
8:35 P.M. KEYSTONE HOTEL(1937) Ben Turpin, Ford Sterling, Vivian Oakland, Hank Mann, The Keystone Cops
9:00 P.M. THE DAY THE BOOKIES WEPT (1939) Joe Penner, Betty Grable (65 minutes)
10:15 P.M. THE RED SKELTON HOUR guests Terry-Thomas and musical guest Dusty Springfield
11:10 P.M. JACK BENNY COMEDY HOUR SPECIAL with Dick Van Dyke, Bob Hope, Senior Wences, The Marquis Chimps

Saturday, Aug 3rd - room "C"
10:00 A.M. COLUMBIA COMEDIES – Andy Clyde in “A MINER AFFAIR” with Mel Blanc, GIT ALONG LITTLE ZOMBIE Hugh Herbert & Dudley Dickerson,
MR. NOISEY starring Shemp Howard in a remake of Charley Chases’ “The Heckler”.
11:15 A.M. Emaciated comedian Tom Howard in a pair of short comedies “GROOMS IN GLOOM” and “THE WRONG BOTTLE”.
12:10 - Lunch Break
1:00 P.M. THE SHORTY CARUSO Super 8mm FOLLIES Session # 2
5:00 p.m. – Dinner Break
7:00 P.M. AUCTION RESULTS POSTED on all silent bids
7:30 P.M. THIS IS THE ARMY (1943) restored version – Ronald Regan, Irving Berlin, COLOR (120 minutes)
9:30 P.M. THIS’LL MAKE YOU WHISTLE (1936) sta

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Diary of a Lost Girl starring Louise Brooks to screen at NY MoMA

The Museum of Modern Art in New York City will screen the 1929 Louise Brooks film Diary of a Lost Girl on Tuesday, April 9th at 7:00 p.m. The screening is part of a new film series and accompanying poster exhibition called "What Price Hollywood" which looks at the nature of sexual politics on the screen. More information about this screening can be found HERE.



The MoMA website describes the "What Price Hollywood" series this way: "During the studio system’s 'golden age,' subtle, empowered star turns by Barbara Stanwyck, Louise Brooks, Bette Davis, Gloria Grahame, and others simultaneously upheld gender norms and hinted at alternative models of sexual identity. Yet later players, like Peggy Cummins in Gun Crazy, Marlene Clark and Duane Jones in Ganja & Hess, or Divine in Female Trouble, were given license to subvert gender limitations altogether."

While Diary of a Lost Girl speaks to the "nature of sexual politics on the screen," it is an odd fit, as it was neither a Hollywood film nor a film of the American "studio system’s 'golden age'," which most of the other films in the series are.... (It is also the only silent film included in the series.) Among the other films being shown in this worthwhile series are The Good Fairy (1935), directed by William Wyler, A Free Soul (1931), directed by Clarence Brown, The Scarlet Empress (1934), directed by Josef von Sternberg, and of course What Price Hollywood (1932), directed by George Cukor.

Of course, it is always good to see a Louise Brooks film on the big screen, even if it is shoe-horned into a film series it doesn't quite fit into. Nevertheless, I will give the MoMA writers credit for describing the film as few do, notably in its use of the word "rape"

Diary of a Lost Girl. 1929. Germany. Directed by G. W. Pabst. 35mm. Silent. 125 min.

"After a teenager (Louise Brooks) is raped and impregnated by her father’s colleague, she refuses to marry her attacker and is sent by her father to a hellish reformatory. Following 1928’s Beggars of Life, Diary of a Lost Girl marks a particularly powerful and socially minded period of Brooks’s brief but electric career."


I don't know if the exhibition part of "What Price Hollywood" contains any posters related to Louise Brooks. For those interested in learning more, check out the Louise Brooks Society website and its Diary of a Lost Girl filmography page. Also, the film is available on DVD / Blu-ray (with an audio commentary by your's truly, Thomas Gladysz). Also, back in 2010, I edited and wrote the introduction to the "Louise Brooks edition" of The Diary of a Lost Girl, the sensational / controversial book on which the film was based. Both can be found on amazon.

Friday, March 29, 2019

The Chaperone opens in New York City today, with special guest appearances

The Louise Brooks inspired film The Chaperone opens around New York City later today today. For more information and ticket availability, including which New York theaters the film is playing, visit thechaperonefilm.com and click on the "Theaters" tab.

And what's more, fans can catch Q & As with star Elizabeth McGovern and director Michael Engler at select NYC screenings of #TheChaperone today and tomorrow! If you can't make these screening, console yourself and be sure and check out this radio piece on WBUR, "From 'Downton Abbey' To 'The Chaperone': A Conversation With Julian Fellowes And Elizabeth McGovern."


A few days earlier, The Chaperone premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York - which is ironic since the former curator of film at NY MOMA once told Brooks in the 1940s that Pandora's Box had little value, and wouldn't add it to the Museum's film collection. More on The Chaperone's star studded premiere can be found on the Daily Mail website HERE and HERE.

The Chaperone is based on Laura Moriarty's best-selling novel of the same name. It was adapted for the screen by Downton Abbey creator and writer Julian Fellowes and directed by Michael Engler, who also directed the new Downton Abbey movie.

The film tells the story of the teenage dancer and future film star Louise Brooks, played by Haley Lu Richardson, who moves from Wichita, Kansas to study dance in New York City at the famed Denishawn school under the tutelage of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. Brooks is accompanied by a respectable society lady from her hometown, played by Elizabeth McGovern, who finds her life transformed by the experience. Both on a quest.

If you like all the red carpet fashion shots in the Daily Mail stories, then you will certainly want to check out  this story from Beyond Fashion Magazine, "Candice Donnelly Talks Designing Costumes for the PBS Masterpiece Premiere Feature Film The Chaperone."

Photo by Barry Wetcher  Courtesy of PBS Distribution
Photo by Barry Wetcher  Courtesy of PBS Distribution
Photo by Barry Wetcher  Courtesy of PBS Distribution

And for good measure one more time (in case you haven't seen it), here is the official PBS trailer to the film, which gives a good sense of the film's attention to historical detail, both in terms of clothing and fashion and interior settings. 

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Louise Brooks debuts in The Street of Forgotten Men


When The Street of Forgotten Men premiered at the Rivoli in New York City in July of 1925, Louise Brooks was dancing in the Summer Edition of the Follies at the nearby New Amsterdam theater. The film played two weeks, and reportedly took in $60,000 in admissions. That was during a time when ticket prices were well under one dollar. Here is the advertisement for that engagement.


Cinefest the annual movie convention held in Syracuse, New York is set to screen Herbert Brenon's The Street of Forgotten Men on Thursday, March 15th at 8:55 pm. This is a rare opportunity to see Louise Brooks in her very first screen role! It is an event not to be missed. 

The Street of Forgotten Men opened in Syracuse in November, 1925 at the Eckels. The local pseudonymous film critic, the "Film Girl," writing in the Syracuse Herald, called the film gripping and a "remarkable production." Here is the advertisement for that engagement.


Friday, February 17, 2012

Louise Brooks in Beggars of Life screens in New York City

Beggars of Life is a film whose reputation is picking up steam.

Directed by William Wellman the year after he made Wings (the first film to win an Academy Award), Beggars of Life (1928) is a gripping drama about a girl (Louise Brooks) dressed as a boy who flees the law after killing her abusive stepfather. On the run, she rides the rails through a male dominated hobo underworld in which danger is always close at hand. Picture Play magazine described the film as "Sordid, grim and unpleasant," though added "it is nevertheless interesting and is certainly a departure from the usual movie."

Beggars of Life will be screened on February 20th as part of Film Forum's Wellman Festival. It is a great opportunity to see a rarely screened film not readily available on DVD.

Beggars of Life is based on the 1925 novelistic memoir of the same name by Jim Tully, a once celebrated "hobo author" whose own reputation is also on the rise. Kent State University Press in Kent, Ohio (Tully's one-time hometown) has launched an ambitious program of reissuing the author's books, including Beggars of Life -- his best remembered work. They have also recently published an excellent biography of the author called Jim Tully: American Writer, Irish Rover, Hollywood Brawler. The book includes a forward by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, who calls it "hugely important." 

Coincidentally, Tully biographers Paul J. Bauer and Mark Dawidziak are speaking about the author at New York University's Ireland House on February 23 at 7 pm. More info here.

Though shot as a silent, Beggars of Life has the distinction of being considered Paramount's first sound film: a synchronized musical score, sound effects, and a song were added at the time of its release. Early advertisements for the 1928 film even boasted "Come hear Wallace Beery sing!" The gravel-voiced character actor and future Oscar winner plays Oklahoma Red, a tough hobo with a soft heart. Richard Arlen, who the year before had starred in Wings, plays Brooks' romantic interest. 

Beggars of Life is a film about the desperate and the downtrodden. And in some ways, it anticipates films made during the Depression, which was just a few years off. Among them is Wellman's own Wild Boys of the Road, from 1933. It too is included in the Wellman Festival.


2012-02-17-Beggars_Life_1928_301_sil70.jpg
Richard Arlen and Louise Brooks in Beggars of Life.

In 1928, Beggars of Life was named one of the six best films for October by the Chicago Tribune, and, it made the honor roll for best films of the year in an annual poll conducted by The Film Daily. Nevertheless, it is little known today and its grim story set among disheveled tramps drew mixed reviews upon release. One Baltimore newspaper said it would have limited appeal, quipping, "Tully tale not a flapper fetcher for the daytime trade."

Louella Parsons, writing in the Los Angeles Examiner, echoed the sentiment when she stated, "I was a little disappointed in Louise Brooks. She is so much more the modern flapper type, the Ziegfeld Follies girl, who wears clothes and is always gay and flippant. This girl is somber, worried to distraction and in no comedy mood. Miss Brooks is infinitely better when she has her lighter moments." Her cross-town colleague, Harrison Carroll, added to the drumbeat of disdain when he wrote in the Los Angeles Evening Herald, "Considered from a moral standpoint, Beggars of Life is questionable, for it throws the glamour of adventure over tramp life and is occupied with building sympathy for an escaping murderess. As entertainment, however, it has tenseness and rugged earthy humor." 

Critics in New York were also divided on the merits of Beggars of Life, so many of them instead focused on Brooks' unconventional, cross-dressing role. Brooks, it should be noted, was something of a local celebrity in the 1920s. The actress had lived in New York in the mid-twenties while appearing with the George White Scandals and Ziegfeld Follies. And, more often than not related to some outrageous behavior or a scandal, she also managed to get her name or picture in the paper on more than a few occasions. 

Mordaunt Hall, in the New York Times, noted, "Louise Brooks figures as Nancy. She is seen for the greater part of this subject in male attire, having decided to wear these clothes to avoid being apprehended. Miss Brooks really acts well, better than she has in most of her other pictures."

The New York Morning Telegraph penned, "Louise Brooks, in a complete departure from the pert flapper that it has been her wont to portray, here definitely places herself on the map as a fine actress. Her characterizations, drawn with the utmost simplicity, is genuinely affecting." While Quinn Martin of the New York World wrote, "Here we have Louise Brooks, that handsome brunette, playing the part of a fugitive from justice, and playing as if she meant it, and with a certain impressive authority and manner. This is the best acting this remarkable young woman has done."

Indeed, it was Brooks' best acting and her best silent film prior to her heading off to Germany to star in Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl (both 1929). It is on those two films, each directed by G.W. Pabst, that Brooks' reputation rests.

Girls dressed as boys, pastoral life gone wrong, the mingling of the races, desperation depicted among the glitz and glamour of the twenties -- there is a lot of friction and a lot going on in Beggars of Life. It's a more than worthwhile film and one well worth watching. And, until a few years ago when the George Eastman House blew-up its sole surviving 16mm print to 35mm, Beggars of Life had been little seen. 

Wellman was one of the great directors -- and he made a lot of great movies; among them are Wings (1927), The Public Enemy (1931), A Star is Born (1937), Beau Geste (1939), Roxie Hart (1942), The Ox Bow Incident (1943), and Battleground (1949). Actor and author William Wellman Jr., who has recently completed a biography of his father and is introducing some of the movies at the Wellman Festival, stated via email, "Beggars of Life was one of my Father's favorite silent films. He loved it. He talked about it a great deal with appreciation and GUSTO." 


Beggars of Life will be screened on February 20th as part of Film Forum's William Wellman Festival. Start time is 8:35 pm. Musical accompaniment will be provided by Steve Sterner. Film Forum is located at 209 West Houston St., west of 6th Ave.
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