Showing posts with label The Street of Forgotten Men. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Street of Forgotten Men. Show all posts

Monday, August 7, 2023

The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond

My new book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond, has just been published and is now available on amazon.com and other websites. More information and a link to purchase may be found HERE.

There is much to recommend about The Street of Forgotten Men, which was both a popular and critical success at the time of its release. The film is based on a story by a noted writer of the time; it was made by a significant director, shot by a great cinematographer, and features a fine cast which includes a future screen legend at the very beginning of her career. Altogether, there are many points of interest. My book is a deep dive into the history of one film - its literary source, its making, its critical reception, and its surprising, little-known legacy. It is the primary intention of this book to show how one film might be exemplary of film-making and film culture during the silent era.

However, there is more to this story.... One of John Donne's famous poems begins "No man is an island entire of itself; every man / is a piece of the continent, a part of the main". To me, what Donne's verse says about humanity is what I believe about significant works of art, including films. Everything is connected in some way, in that nothing is created in a vacuum. I have kept Donne's lines in mind while writing this book. If anything, this book achieves one thing - it places
The Street of Forgotten Men in the rich cinematic and cultural context of its time. Does such a context elevate this particular film as a work of art, or as a cinematic achievement? Not necessarily. But then, that was not my goal.
 
I had long thought of writing a book about
The Street of Forgotten Men, and have been unknowingly gathering material for years, if not decades .... With the film's restoration, it should begin to make its way into the stream of available films. I hope this book prompts the interest of film buffs and film scholars alike, and acts as a companion work for those who have the opportunity to see the film. I also wrote this book for another reason, because it is a book I would like to read about this or any film. Does it matter that The Street of Forgotten Men is a lesser film in the larger scheme of things, or in the history of film? No. Because, no film is an island.

The book's description reads: 

The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond is a deep dive into the history of a single film - its literary source, its making, exhibition history, critical reception, and, most surprising of all, its little known legacy. Few film titles become a catchphrase, let alone a catchphrase which remained in use for half-a-century and resonated throughout American culture. The Street of Forgotten Men (1925) is one such film.

This provocative stab at realism was described as "strange" and "startling" at the time of its release.
The Street of Forgotten Men was directed by Herbert Brenon, who is best known for Peter Pan, The Great Gatsby, Beau Geste, Laugh, Clown, Laugh and other early classics. The film was shot by Harold Rosson, one of the great cinematographers whose credits include Gone with the Wind and Singin' in the Rain. And, it features a stellar cast (Percy Marmont, Mary Brian, Neil Hamilton) which includes a future screen legend at the very beginning of her career (Louise Brooks).

The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond tells the story of the film in rich, historical detail. As this book shows, this forgotten gem is exemplary of film making & film culture in the mid-1920s. Along with vintage clippings and unusual images - including rare production stills and location shots, this new book features all manner of historical documents including the short story on which the film was based, the scenario, a rare French fictionalization, newspaper advertisements, lobby cards, posters, and more. Among the book's many revelations:

-- Multiple accounts of the making of the film - suggesting what it was like on the set of a silent film.
-- A survey of the film's many reviews, including one by the Pulitzer Prize winning poet Carl Sandburg, another by a contributor to Weird Tales, and another by Catholic icon Dorothy Day, a candidate for sainthood.
-- Newly revealed identities of some of the film's bit players - a noted journalist, a future screenwriter, a soon to be famous actress, and a world champion boxer - which include accounts of their working on the film. There is also the story of Lassie's role in the film (no, not that Lassie, the first screen Lassie).
-- A look at the music associated with this silent film: the music played on set, the music depicted in the film, the music heard before the film was shown, and the music played to accompany the film itself (including the rare Paramount cue sheet and an alternative score).
-- And more... from the film's censorship records to its mention on the floor of Congress to its showing in multiple churches to its purchase by the United States Navy to a notice for the film's last documented public screening - at, of all places, a Y.M.C.A. in Shanghai, China in 1931 - six years after its release!

The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond includes dozens of illustrations and images and features two forewords; one is by noted film preservationist Robert Byrne, whose restoration of The Street of Forgotten Men saved it from undeserving obscurity. The other, by acclaimed film historian Kevin Brownlow, is an appreciation of Herbert Brenon which reveals little known details about the movie drawn, in part, from his correspondence with Louise Brooks.

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. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Saturday, August 5, 2023

The Street of Forgotten Men screens at the Museum of Modern Art in New York

The Street of Forgotten Men will be shown on August 7th at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The special screening of the recent restoration of the film, will feature a special musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin. More information about this event can be found HERE.

As just about any Louise Brooks fan might know, The Street of Forgotten Men  is a 1925 film which marks Brooks' screen debut. Even though her on screen time is just a couple of minutes, this Herbert Brenon film is well worth seeing. I could say more, but much of wat I could say can be found in my just about to be published book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond.

The NY MOMA website states:

"The Street of Forgotten Men. 1925. USA. Directed by Herbert Brenon. Screenplay by Paul Schofield, John Russell. With Percy Marmont, Mary Brian, Neil Hamilton, Louise Brooks. Restored by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, from a print held by the Library of Congress. 76 min.

Herbert Brenon’s 1925 urban melodrama holds its place in film history as the first screen appearance of Louise Brooks, unbilled but unmistakable as a gangster’s moll whose sudden appearance enlivens the film’s final reel. Brenon, one of the most acclaimed directors of the ’20s (Beau Geste, A Kiss for Cinderella) here works with material that might have been written for Lon Chaney and Tod Browning: Easy Money Charley (Percy Marmont) makes a solid living posing as a one-armed amputee begging along the Bowery, but his heart of gold is awakened when a dying prostitute asks him to look after her young daughter—who quickly grows into beautiful Mary Brian, causing problems for everyone involved. The film was shot largely at Paramount’s Astoria studios, with a couple of side trips to Fifth Avenue."


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. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Update on The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond

I am pleased to reveal a new, slightly revised cover for my forthcoming book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. I am also pleased to announce I have finished writing and editing the book. Actually, I finished in early March, and have spent the time since then (not only dealing with an internet troll) but also proofing the text one last time, tinkering with the layout, and indexing the book. I have never indexed a book before, and admit it was both an interesting as well as a laborious experience.* As of today, I have only to finalize a few small details before publication.

It was also during March that I received a last piece to the book, something I had been hoping to include and did not announce until it was in hand.... As some may notice, my now completed book will feature two forewords. One is by Robert Byrne, the noted film preservationist (Sherlock Holmes, etc...) whose efforts to restore The Street of Forgotten Men saved it from certain obscurity. Without him, this book would not have been possible.

The second foreword is by Kevin Brownlow, the acclaimed film historian, author, documentary filmmaker, and Academy Award Honoree -- the only individual in history honored with an Oscar for his work as a film historian. I am thrilled that Kevin agreed to write a forward to my book, and even more thrilled that Kevin revealed little known details about the film drawn from his correspondence with Louise Brooks, who played a bit part in the film -- her first!


I am grateful to both Byrne and Brownlow. And, I am grateful to those who donated to my book's GoFundMe campaign. Through their generosity, I have been able to acquire a number of rare images for inclusion in my book. I would also like to thank Byrne for allowing me to include a few screen grabs from the film. A few include Louise Brooks. While others include some of the uncredited bit players who appear in the film and who I was able to identify.

As I am about to close this campaign, let me shout "last call." If you would like to donate, please do so within the next few days. The book's GoFundMe campaign can be found HERE.

  • Any donation, however small, will be very much appreciated.
  • Donate $20.00 and receive an acknowledgment in the completed book.
  • Donate $40.00 and receive an autographed, softcover copy of the completed book, as well as an acknowledgment (USA only).
  • Donate $100.00 and receive an autographed, softcover copy of the completed book, an acknowledgment, and an autographed copy of my earlier book, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film (USA only).

* The main body of the book came in at 338 pages, excluding the front matter and back matter (which comes to more than 30 pages). At times, indexing was a slog only made bearable by "Desert Island Discs." I wish to acknowledge the online archive of the long-running BBC program. While indexing my book, which took a couple-three weeks, I listened to dozens of past episodes, some dating back to the 1970s, and that helped pass the time. What a pleasure it was to listen to conversations with David Sedaris, Jimmy Page, Gloria Swanson and so many others.

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, December 29, 2022

Reminder post: GoFundMe Launched for new Louise Brooks related book

First off, a BIG thank you to the thirteen individuals who have made a donation to my GoFundMe campaign towards the publication of  my forthcoming book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond.The $400.00 goal has been reached, and surpassed by $60.00 !

And a gentle reminder to those who thought about donating but have not had a chance that it's not too late to do so.... I am still working on finishing the book, and any donation, no matter how small, will help. 

Those who donate $20.00 or more will be acknowledged by name in the book, and those who donate $40.00 or more will received an acknowledgement and an autographed, softcover copy of the book (USA only). The GoFundMe page is located HERE.

As many of you may know, I have been working on a new book titled The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. This approximately 350-page book is a deep dive into the history of a single film – its literary source, its making, its exhibition history, its critical reception, and its surprising cultural impact.

I am hoping to raise a few hundred dollars to purchase the rights to a small number of archival images that I hope to include in my forthcoming book, which is due out in early 2023. Any donations over the goal will be used to help defray costs already incurred. A draft of the front and back covers of the book are pictured below. (The price of the book is not yet set.)  

Though little known today, the 1925 silent film, The Street of Forgotten Men, was a popular and critical success at the time of its release. The film is based on a short story by a noted writer (George Kibbe Turner); it was made by a significant director (Herbert Brenon), shot by a great cinematographer (Hal Rosson), and features a fine cast (Percy Marmont, Neil Hamilton, Mary Brian) which includes a screen legend at the very beginning of her career (Louise Brooks). In many ways, The Street of Forgotten Men is exemplary of filmmaking & film culture in the mid-1920s. This new book tells its story in rich, historical detail. Along with dozens of rare images, my book contains all manner of vintage documents, clippings and advertisements as well as a foreword by Robert Byrne. (This noted film preservationist is responsible for the 2022 restoration of The Street of Forgotten Men, which debuted earlier this year at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.) Among the book's many revelations
  • A detailed account of the making of the film - what it was like on the set of a silent film.  
  • A thorough survey of the film's many reviews, including one by a Weird Tales contributor, and another by Catholic icon Dorothy Day, a candidate for sainthood.  
  • Identification of a handful of the film's uncredited, bit players, including a noted journalist, a screenwriter, and a world champion boxer.
  • The story of Lassie's role in the film (no, not that Lassie, the first Lassie). 
  • The role music played in the making and exhibition of this silent film.  
  • How the film's title entered into 
  • The story of how future film legend Louise Brooks came to appear in the film - her first! 
  • And so much more... from censorship records to its mention on the floor of Congress to a French fictionalization to a clipping noting the film's last documented showing, at a Navy Y.M.C.A in Shanghai, China in 1931 !
The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond is a book every silent film fan will want to own. It is also a must read for anyone interested in Louise Brooks.
 
The GoFundMe page is located HERE.
 
The Louise Brooks Society blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society. (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

Monday, December 26, 2022

Re: Boxer Harry Lewis, and a Happy Boxing Day from the Louise Brooks Society

Happy Boxing Day from the Louise Brooks Society. For those who may not be familiar with the term, "Boxing Day" is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (today - December 26). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It originated in Great Britain and is celebrated in a number of countries that previously formed part of the British Empire.

Playing on the word "boxing" - namely the combative sport in which two people throw punches at one another, I discovered that a once famous boxer appeared alongside Louise Brooks in her first film, The Street of Forgotten Men (1925). Like Louise Brooks, Harry Lewis (1886-1956) also played an uncredited bit part in the film; he as a saloon patron and witness to the fight between the characters Easy Money Charlie and Bridgeport White-Eye. Brooks unnamed character was a moll to Bridgeport White-Eye. 

Harry Lewis was once a pretty famous boxer, having been the Welterweight Champion of the World from 1908 to 1911. Lewis, who also boxed in the lightweight and featherweight divisions, fought around the world, including a losing match to French boxing great Georges Carpentier in Paris in 1911. Today, Lewis is rated the sixth-greatest welterweight of all time; he was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008.

Like other sports celebrities of the time, including Carpentier, Lewis took a stab at acting. A bit in Exhibitors Herald reads, “Harry Lewis, former middleweight boxer, who acted as a comedy taxicab driver in Richard Dix’s Manhandled and in Herbert Brenon’s Street of Forgotten Men, is again behind the meter in W.C. Field’s latest starring picture, The Potters, just being completed at the Paramount Long Island studio under the direction of Fred Newmeyer.” (Exhibitors Herald, 12-25-1926)


(Left above) Boxer Harry Lewis, pictured early in his career. Courtesy of Wikipedia (Right above) Actor Harry Lewis, pictured far right wearing a cap, and two other background players during the fight scene near the end of The Street of Forgotten Men. Courtesy of San Francisco Silent Film Festival

(Left below) Harry Lewis, as a denizen of the Bowery (aka the street of forgotten men), observes an injured Bridgeport White-Eye (played by John Harrington), who is seen staggering along the bar of the Dead House as other forgotten men look on. Courtesy of San Francisco Silent Film Festival

The fight scene and its fallout (spoiler alert, Bridgeport White-Eye goes blind!) is also observed by various down and out Bowery locals, including saloon keep Diamond Mike, played by Riley Hatch, and Bridgeport White-Eye's sporty-looking moll, played by Louise Brooks – who is seen wearing a cloche hat with a question mark pin. (Below) Louise Brooks, Riley Hatch, and others observe the fight. Courtesy of San Francisco Silent Film Festival
 

All this information, newly revealed, comes from my forthcoming new book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. I have launched a GoFundMe page for this project which is located HERE. Please consider donating making a donation, no matter how small. 


Notably, Harry Lewis is not the only boxer to have appeared in a Louise Brooks film. Another noted box turned actor, Edward "Gunboat" Smith, appeared in a minor role in the second film in which Louise brooks appeared as a gangster's moll, The City Gone Wild (1927). Edward "Gunboat" Smith (1887 – 1974) was an Irish American boxer, film actor and later a boxing referee. During his career, Smith faced twelve different Boxing Hall of Famers a combined total of 23 times. Among the all-time greats he faced were Jack Dempsey, Harry Greb, Sam Langford, and Georges Carpentier. 

Another boxer turned actor who appeared in a film featuring Louise Brooks was Victor McLaglen, the star of A Girl in Every Port (1928). Victor McLaglen (1886 – 1959) was a British boxer-turned-Hollywood actor. He was known as a character actor, particularly in Westerns, and made seven films with John Ford and John Wayne. McLaglen won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1935 for his role in The Informer. Before he got into acting, McLaglen earned a living as a wrestler and heavyweight boxer in Canada and elsewhere. According to Wikipedia, one of his most famous fights was against heavyweight champion Jack Johnson in a six-round exhibition bout at the Vancouver Athletic Club on 10 March 1909. This was Johnson's first bout since winning the heavyweight title from Tommy Burns. Between bouts, McLaglen toured with a circus, which offered $25 to anyone who could go three rounds with him. After World War I, he continued boxing, including a defeat at the hands of British champion Frank Goddard. His final fight was a loss by knockout to Arthur Townley in October 1920. McLaglen finished his professional career with a record of 16 wins, eight losses, and a draw. 

There are other boxers associated with the films of Louise Brooks, like Jim Tully, the author of Beggars of Life (1928), who once worked as a semi-pro boxer and later wrote a novel on the subject, called The Bruiser. But that may be a story for another day.

The Louise Brooks Society blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society. (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

GoFundMe Launched for new Louise Brooks related book

Greetings fans of Louise Brooks and the silent film era. I have launched a modest GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to help me complete my forthcoming book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. The GoFundMe page is located HERE.

I am hoping to raise $400.00 to purchase the rights to a small number of archival images that I hope to include in my forthcoming book, which is due out in early 2023. Any donations over the goal will be used to help defray costs already incurred. A draft of the front and back covers of the book are pictured below. (The price of the book is not yet set.) Here's how you can help:

  • Any donation, however small, will be very much appreciated.
  • Donate $20.00 and receive an acknowledgment in the completed book.
  • Donate $40.00 and receive an autographed, softcover copy of the completed book, as well as an acknowledgment (USA only).
  • Donate $100.00 and receive an autographed, softcover copy of the completed book, an acknowledgment, and an autographed copy of my earlier book, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film (USA only).


As many of you may know, I have been working on a new book titled The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. This approximately 350-page book is a deep dive into the history of a single film – its literary source, its making, its exhibition history, its critical reception, and its surprising cultural impact.

Though little known today, the 1925 silent film, The Street of Forgotten Men, was a popular and critical success at the time of its release. The film is based on a short story by a noted writer (George Kibbe Turner); it was made by a significant director (Herbert Brenon), shot by a great cinematographer (Hal Rosson), and features a fine cast (Percy Marmont, Neil Hamilton, Mary Brian) which includes a screen legend at the very beginning of her career (Louise Brooks). In many ways, The Street of Forgotten Men is exemplary of filmmaking & film culture in the mid-1920s. This new book tells its story in rich, historical detail. Along with dozens of rare images, my book contains all manner of vintage documents, clippings and advertisements as well as a foreword by Robert Byrne. (This noted film preservationist is responsible for the 2022 restoration of The Street of Forgotten Men, which debuted earlier this year at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.) Among the book's many revelations
  • A detailed account of the making of the film - what it was like on the set of a silent film.  
  • A thorough survey of the film's many reviews, including one by a Weird Tales contributor, and another by Catholic icon Dorothy Day, a candidate for sainthood.  
  • Identification of a handful of the film's uncredited, bit players, including a noted journalist, a screenwriter, and a world champion boxer.
  • The story of Lassie's role in the film (no, not that Lassie, the first Lassie). 
  • The role music played in the making and exhibition of this silent film.  
  • How the film's title entered into 
  • The story of how future film legend Louise Brooks came to appear in the film - her first! 
  • And so much more... from censorship records to its mention on the floor of Congress to a French fictionalization to a clipping noting the film's last documented showing, at a Navy Y.M.C.A in Shanghai, China in 1931 !
The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond is a book every silent film fan will want to own. It is also a must read for anyone interested in director Herbert Brenon, actress Louise Brooks, etc.... The GoFundMe page is located HERE.
 
The Louise Brooks Society blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society. (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

Monday, October 17, 2022

Something of a Mystery: Religious Interest in a Louise Brooks Silent Film

 
As readers of this blog likely know, I am working on a book titled The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. It is coming along well. I have some 60,000 words completed scattered across some 270 pages - the book will be heavily illustrated. I also have a draft cover, which is shown below.

In the course of my research I have come across something of a mystery, that is, religious interest in The Street of Forgotten Men. I suppose it makes sense in a way, as the Herbert Brenon film has as themes the notions of self-sacrifice and redemption. But I wonder, were other films, besides Cecil B. de Mille's The Ten Commandments, subject to similar interest? 

In the course of my research I have found that the Herbert Brenon film was shown in churches on a few occasions; it was also the inspiration for sermons, and most perplexing of all, there were stereopticon slides reportedly illustrating scenes from the film which churches could get a hold of and show as a visual aid while a pastor delivered a related lecture. Who made these slides? Where did they come from? And what's more, a few weeks before the film's debut at the Rivoli theater in Nedw York City, director Herbert Brenon gave something of a sneak peak look at the film inside a church!

Might anyone know anything more about this sort of thing - churches showing films? And might anyone know anything more about the source and nature of the illustrated slides shown in churches, which turn out to be mostly Congregational. (I had an email exchange with an historian of the Congregational church. But he too was stumped.)

What follows is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, which may provide some additional context with which to some this minor mystery. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.  My email address is LouiseBrooksSociety {at} gmailDOTcom

******

Though The Street of Forgotten Men debuted at the Rivoli theater on July 19, 1925 that may not have been the first time the public got a look at the film, or parts of it. A few weeks prior to its debut, the film was the focus of an event at the Chelsea Methodist Episcopal Church in New York City. Newspaper descriptions of this June 28 event vary. According to a piece published in the New York Herald Tribune, “Scenes from the new picture, The Street of Forgotten Men, will be shown at the night service to-morrow.” The next day, the New York Times ran a somewhat different bit which stated, “Herbert Brenon, a director of motion pictures with the Paramount Picture Corporation, will describe a new picture, The Street of Forgotten Men, this evening at the ‘Happy Sunday Evening’ service.”

The Church that hosted the event was headed by the Reverend Dr. Christian F. Reisner, a well-known preacher sometimes described as “colorful.” Reisner was an exponent of so-called new methods, and believed in showmanship when it came to preaching. After the first World War, he penned a syndicated article which stated religion should take pointers from the theater, suggesting the ablest sermons may be staged behind the footlights. He also authored books with titles like The Church as a Social Center and Church Publicity: the modern way to compel them to come in. A few weeks prior to the June 28 event, Reisner was the subject of some press attention when he proposed building a skyscraper dedicated to Christianity which was to be known as the Broadway temple. 

Given the subject of The Street of Forgotten Men, the June 28 event may have served as a lure to bring in donations toward Reisner’s ambitious building plans – which included housing and services for the poor. Whatever its intention, there is little known about the event itself. Either Brenon gave a short talk in which he described his “new picture,” or the director spoke and an unknown number of scenes from the film were shown. In either case, Brenon was on hand to introduce the film in what might amount to a kind of “sneak-peak.” Curiously, at the same event, Reisner also gave a short talk titled “Motion Picture Dangers.”

A few months later, the film was the focus of another event which occurred at the Lewis Avenue Congregational Church in Brooklyn. On October 18, the Rev. Allison Ray Heaps gave a “sermon lecture on The Street of Forgotten Men.” (Brenon was not known to have attended this event.) A brief article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle stated, “Lantern slides from the motion picture will be used to illustrate this story of the old Bowery life.” The Chat, another Brooklyn paper, also carried a piece on the Lewis Avenue sermon. In it, the local paper gave a description of the film which suggests what the various churches which put on similar events may have seen in Brenon’s production. “Sunday, evening 8 p.m., The Street of Forgotten Men. This is the story of a man living in the old Bowery of New York City who by a combination of the virtue of self-sacrifice and the spirit of unselfishness was able to rise into newness of life, realize an ideal, and render a service to his fellowmen. Percy Marmont impersonates the ‘forgotten man.’ The slides are from the motion picture production.” Notably, this event, which incorporated a slide show of unknown origin, took place during a week in which the film was showing in Brooklyn at four second run theaters, the Peerless, Ablemarie, Farragut, and Eden Movies.


The event at the Lewis Avenue Congregational Church was in all likelihood repeated a few weeks later, though at a different venue. On November 7, Universalist pastor Thomas Edward Potterton, D.D. gave an illustrated lecture on The Street of Forgotten Men at the Church of Our Father. (The following week, the two churches once more shared sermons and slide shows. On November 14, each presented a “colored lantern slide” retelling of Channing Pollock’s play, The Enemy.)

Church interest in The Street of Forgotten Men wasn’t limited to New York City or Brooklyn. Nor was it restricted to a lantern slide-sermon format. In fact, interest extended to the West Coast, and sometimes included either a straight-forward sermon or a screening of the actual film.

According to a short write-up in the Los Angeles Times, a well-known local pastor, Dr. G. A. Briegleb, was scheduled to deliver an evening sermon on “The Gold Rush and the Street of Forgotten Men” at the Westlake Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. Like Reverend Reisner of New York, Briegleb seemed to be a proponent of employing new methods in spreading the word. He also spoke on off-beat topics which hinged on the premise "what would Jesus do," as in what would Jesus do if he was on the city council, or owned a newspaper. The prelude sermon set to take place ahead of his October 10, 1925 sermon tied to “The Gold Rush and the Street of Forgotten Men” was "What Would Jesus Do if After Marriage He Discovered That He Was Wedded to the Wrong Woman?" 

A year later, another preacher and another church made use of the film. The Los Angeles Times reported “The motion picture The Street of Forgotten Men, and an address by Dr. James Lash will feature [at] the services tomorrow evening at the Hollywood Congregational Church. Salvador Baguez will be the soloist.” [Might Baguez also have accompanied the film? It is not known if these and other church screenings were silent, or featured musical accompaniment.]


An earlier screening of The Street of Forgotten Men inside a church took place in New Britain, Connecticut. The film itself had shown in New Britain in October, 1925 at the local Palace theater. Some six months later, it returned to town, where it was shown on a Sunday evening at the city’s historic South Church, then a Congregational denomination. A newspaper advertisement for the April 25, 1926 event billed the film as “A Picture of Unusual Human Interest.”

One of the last documented screenings of The Street of Forgotten Men in the United States also took place in a church. The Central Congregational Church in Atlanta, Georgia, whose services were headed by Witherspoon Dodge and described as “cheerful and refreshing,” occasionally showed films on Sunday evenings under the banner of “Religious Movies” or “Free Motion Pictures.” In 1928, the year the Atlanta church screened The Street of Forgotten Men, it also screened other popular pictures such as the Milton Stills, Doris Kenyon feature Men of Steel (1926), Reginald Deny’s Fast and Furious (1927), Raoul Walsh’s The Wanderer (1925), and the Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack adventure film Chang (1927). On April 29, the church screened The Street of Forgotten Men, believing, perhaps, its theme of self-sacrifice an uplifting one – or perhaps, the church simply hoped to draw new congregants by providing what it thought was wholesome entertainment. 

Generally speaking, most churches didn’t advertise their Sunday services in their local newspaper, so it is difficult to know just how many other churches either screened The Street of Forgotten Men, or made use of some form of the related, illustrated sermon / lecture. 

However, a few did advertise their church services, and in doing so, created a paper trail of sorts. The Street of Forgotten Men was the subject of Dr. J.R. Macartney’s Sunday morning sermon at the First Presbyterian church in Waterloo, Iowa on May 15, 1927. The North Congregational Church in Portsmouth, New Hampshire presented the film story, “illustrated by stereopticon,” on April 22, 1928, with this presentation being preceded by an organ recital. The Street of Forgotten Men was also the subject of an evening sermon at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Camden, New Jersey on September 16, 1928. And on April 28, 1929, a stereopticon lecture of The Street of Forgotten Men was given at the Congregational Church in Burlington, Vermont. 

In some communities, local newspapers published the text of sermons given at local churches. On October 28, 1929 the Rev. Walter Krumwiede gave a sermon at the Grace Lutheran Church in Rochester, New York which referenced the film, stating “Yet we know that there stretches through life a terrible highway called The Street of Forgotten Men, where countless numbers of defeated and enslaved men and women go, with weakness in their bodies, darkness in their mind, and terror in their soul.” This reference to the film within a sermon is among the early usages of the film's title as a colloquialism.

One last documented reference to the film occurred on January 24, 1934, when the Rev. C. H. Bloom, an evangelical, spoke on the subject of The Street of Forgotten Men at the Church of Christ in Sayre, Pennsylvania. As with these few others, his sermon received a short write-up in the local paper. Remarkably, this sermon took place nine years after the film was released, and some six years after its last documented screening in the United States.

This blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further use prohibited, especially by aggregators.

Friday, September 2, 2022

Update on The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond

I have been hard at work on my new book about Louise Brooks' first film, The Street of Forgotten Man: From Story to Screen and Beyond. So far, I have 259 pages completed, which includes some 56,000 words and dozens of images, many rare. I figure the book will come in under 300 pages; the finish line is well in sight. I also have a draft of the cover, which I hope to share at a later date. It is pretty nifty.

I think this new book will be akin to two of my earlier books, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, and Now We're in the Air: A Companion to the Once "Lost" Film -- though far more substantial. 

I am currently working on the chapter which surveys the film's critical reception in the United States. While doing so, I have run across a few rather unusual newspaper advertisements promoting a showing of The Street of Forgotten Men. Here they are.

The two-day run of The Street of Forgotten Men was extended a day when management of the Empress theater in Owensboro, Kentucky learned Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush wouldn’t arrive in time, having been mis-shipped from St. Louis. 

Imagine being able to attend a showing of The Street of Forgotten Men where two of the film's main stars, Mary Brian and Neil Hamilton (later Commissioner Gordon in the original Batman TV series) make a personal appearance before a screening of the film at the American theater in Oakland, California. Had I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1925, I would have been there in a heartbeat!

I would be willing to bet that this striking ad drew the attention of moviegoers, a few of whom might have wondered if the T-Rex was attacking London's street of forgotten men ! Or maybe not. 

Nevertheless, these are just a few of the many rather cool newspaper advertisements which are featured in The Street of Forgotten Man: From Story to Screen and Beyond. There are others, however, which are a bit more unusual. More on that later.... I will post a few more bits and pieces from the book in the coming months, including an intriguing new discovery regarding the film. Stay tuned.

Lastly, check out this 1926 page from the Rock Island Argus, from Illinois. The Street of Forgotten Men is showing at the Majestic (see the smaller advertisement to the lower left). And so is another Louise Brooks' film, The Show Off, at not one but two theaters!

 

This blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further use prohibited.

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