Reading around

Since finishing A Beautiful Fairy Tale: the Life of Lois Moran, by Richard Buller, I have been reading around. I have been dipping into three books of late, skimming or reading chapters or chunks of the book that interested me. One of them is Allan Dwan: the last pioneer by Peter Bogdanovitch. (Yes, that Peter Bogdanovitch. The acclaimed movie director started his career in film writing books.) Though not so well known today, Dwan made many highly regarded films in the silent and early sound era. Among his silents are Robin Hood, Stage Struck, Manhandled, Tin Gods, The Iron Mask, etc.... Dwan worked with Gloria Swanson, Douglas Fairbanks, Marion Davies, and others - and Bogdanovitch's book is an interesting, quick survey of his accomplished career. Another book I've been reading from is Malcolm St. Clair, by Ruth Anne Dwyer. Clair was responsible for such hits as Are Parents People?, The Grand Duchess and the Waiter, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, as well as three films featuring Louise Brooks, A Social Celebrity, The Show-Off and The Canary Murder Case. The extensive material from Dwyer's book on The Canary Murder Case is especially interesting.

The book that I have been looking at most recently is Hollywood and the Culture Elite, by Peter Decherney. Published by Columbia University Press, this somewhat academic book takes a look at the little known connections between the film industry and various professors, academic institutions, museums and other members of the so-called cultural elite. "Peter Decherney explores the development of a symbiotic and unlikely relationship between the film industry and America's stewards of high culture. Formed during Hollywood's Golden Age (1915-1960), this partnership ultimately insured prominent places in American culture for both the movies and elite cultural institutions. As the book delves into the ties between Hollywood and various cultural institutions, an intriguing cast of characters emerges, including the poet Vachel Lindsay, Hollywood producers Adolph Zukor and Joseph Kennedy, Nelson Rockefeller, and film curator Iris Barry."  I'm skimming this book for factual material regarding the beginnings of film criticism / film history. (The book is not bad.)

I recently scored an inexpensive copy of An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in Early American Films: 1895-1930, by Denise Lowe. The book is worthwhile as a reference work (if gotten cheap), as it brings together much information. I immediately checked out the entry on Louise Brooks, however, and discovered a factual error. (Brooks' second husband was identified as "Deering Doyle.") There were a few other slight mistakes in the Brooks' entry, and I ran across typos in other entries. Nevertheless, it is a 623-page book I am glad to have. Has anyone else checked out this book ? Opinions ?



And today I received in the mail a copy of Lina: DeMille's Godless Girl, by Lina Basquette. I hadn't even known this book existed until a week ago, when I was scouring the bibliography of An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in Early American Films. I immediately ordered a used copy - the book was published by a small press in 1990, and is scarce. (I managed to get a signed copy - and paid dearly for it.) Basquette is an interesting figure in 1920's film history. She was married to Sam Warner (of the Warner Bros.), and appeared in some 50 motion pictures includingCecil B. DeMille's sensational The Godless Girl (with Marie Prevost). I first became aware of Basquette through the Barry Paris biography. Basquette and Brooks appeared together in the Ziegfeld Follies in 1925. Basquette writes of that time, "Louie the Fourteenth did not have a long run and after it closed Ethel Shutta and I were put in the current edition of the Follies at the New Amsterdam. To bolster publicity for the show, we arrived at the theater in taxies accompanied by sirens and motorcycle police. Then as now, publicity stunts were used wherever possible." I am looking forward to reading more from this book.

Yesterday I went to the library

Yesterday I went to the library, where a half-dozen inter-library loans were waiting. I got some good Denishawn material (articles, reviews, and advertisements) from the Rockford Republic (from Rockford, Illinois) and St. Joseph Gazette (from St. Joseph, Missouri). I also went through a couple of months of the Daily Progress (from Charlottesville, Virginia), as I had recently come across a fleeting reference to a little known Denishawn performance which took place in the Summer of 1923. Apparently, this particular performance on the campus of the University of Virginia was occasioned by that fact that Robert Gorham, who was then a member of Denishawn, had been a student at this historic university a couple of years earlier. (While Louise Brooks was a member of Denishawn, the dancers had summers off; the company only toured during the Fall, Winter, and Spring months.)

About half way through microfilm for July, I came across a couple of articles about the performance. One article printed the program notes for the evening, and from what I could discern, Brooks did not participate. Also, she wasn't mentioned in any of the articles, as was Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Martha Graham, Lenore Scheffer, Charles Weidman and accompaniest Lois Horst. I wonder, why weren't Brooks and the other Denishawn dancers present? What was Brooks doing during the Summer of 1923?

I also went through some microfilm of the New Orleans Item, and the Spokesman Review (from Spokane, Washington), where I gathered a couple more film reviews. Then, I went through three years of microfilm of McCall's magazine. (Yes, the same McCall's our mothers and grandmothers read!) While reading A Beautiful Fairy Tale, the biography of Lois Moran, author Richard Buller (who I just recently had the pleasure to meet) mentioned that critic Robert Sherwood had written about Stella Dallas in the pages of the magazine. I was intrigued, as I didn't know McCall's covered films! As it turned out, starting in 1926, the future Pulitzer Prise winning playwright wrote about one "film of the month" every issue. His picks included Stella Dallas, The Big Parade, The Sorrows of Satan, The Circus, etc. . . . The only Brooks' film mentioned was The Show-Off,which received his "also recommended" notation in December, 1926 and January, 1927.

HE Who Gets Slapped

Once again, I am watching the perverse film, He Who Gets Slapped (1924), which is showing on TCM. The film stars Lon Chaney, John Gilbert, Norma Shearer and Ford Sterling. Each are excellent in their roles. If you haven't seen this sublime film, you should!

Referenced in China Daily

Louise Brooks was referenced in the July 6th edition of China Daily. In an article on hair entitled "China's first lady of long hair reveals scalp secret," Zhao Feifei wrote " The styles date from the 16th, 18th or early 20th century down to a quiff right out of the 1960s, a bob in the style of Louise Brooks  . . . . " Louise Brooks is certainly a world wide cultural icon.

SFSFF first day

Lots of fun last night at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. The 1926 Harold Lloyd film, For Heaven's Sake (1926), was screened to applause and laughter. Suzanne Lloyd, Harold's granddaughter and the author of three books about the great comedian, was on-hand to introduce the film. (She was interviewed on-stage by Frank Buxton. As a young man, Frank was the bartender in a play called "Three Men on a Horse" with Buster Keaton in 1949. He then went on to a highly accomplished career in TV and films, including working with Woody Allen and writing, producing and directing shows like "The Odd Couple," "Happy Days," and "Mork and Mindy.") Suzanne Lloyd was also on hand to sign books. We chatted a bit at the booktable. (This is the forth event I have done around one of her books.) Suzanne is very nice, and told stories about her grandfather - who raised her, and a trip they took together with King Vidor and Colleen Moore, her godmother.

I was working the booktable, and other friends dropped by to say "hello." Philip Ituarte, the Jeanne Eagels expert, was up from Los Angeles. At long last, I was able to pass along an "as told to" article on excercise by the actress, "How I Keep Fit," which I came across in the Hollywood Daily Citizen. This 1927 piece includes sage observations such as "I do the 'bear-walk' before every performance." Be sure and check out his Jeanne Eagels website at www.jeanneeagels.com. Also stopping by was my old pal, Remy Charlip - the dancer and acclaimed children's book author. A long time ago (when he was part of the Merce Cunningham dance company), Remy also worked as an arttist designing book covers. He, along with his friend Edward Gorey, worked for Doubleday - and designed many memorable dust jackets. Among Remy's designs is the original cover for Buster Keaton's autobiography.

I am looking forward to today's festival. Hopefully, I will be able to see a film or two.

Baba Yaga

Thanx to my friend voxylou I was able to view Baba Yaga (1973), an Italian film based on the comix of Guido Crepax. In this sometimes surreal, very 70's, almost gothic film, Isabelle De Funes plays the bobbed-hair Valentina. She resembles Valentina more than she looks like Louise Brooks (the inspiration for Valentina, the comix character by Crepax). Also appearing in the film is Oscar-nominee Caroll Baker. Along with the movie was a brief Italian documentary about Crepax and the comics. Louise Brooks is mentioned. Has anyone else ever seen Baba Yaga? Apparently, it is available on DVD in the United States and Canada. For those keeping score, here is the IMdb page on the film.

Saved from ignominy

Here is a link to an excellent article by Mick LaSalle which appeared in today's San Francisco Chronicle. It is about Leatrice Fountain, the daughter of John Gilbert, and her campaign to restore her father's reputation. The article can be found athttp://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/07/06/DDGMIDI4JU1.DTL ( Pictured below is Gilbert and his one time lover, Greta Garbo. )



[ FYI: After the screening of The Big Parade at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Leatrice Fountain will be signing copies of Dark Star - the rather excellent book she wrote about her father. Though the book is now out-of-print and somewhat hard-to-find, two dozen copies will be for sale courtesy of the author and The Booksmith. ]

Travelling radio station

Here is another item I found in the Riverside Daily Press. This 1927 article talks about radio station 6XBR, the "travelling broadcast station of Warner Brothers" (see the truck pictured above), which was to visit Riverside and broadcast live from the sight of a motion picture production (featuring Patsy Ruth Miller and others). In my research, I've come across references to other early radio broadcasts from Hollywood. I wonder if any records exist of such programs? And if the programs themselves still exist ? I wonder if Louise Brooks ever appeared on radio in the 1920's or early 1930's? Any radio buffs out there familiar with these earliest days of radio ?

Another Sacramento trip

I'm just back from the California State Library in Sacramento, where I spent a day looking at microfilm in search of  yet moreLouise Brooks material. Though I didn't find alot of stuff, I did find a few really choice items. Quality, rather than quantity, ruled the day.

I continued my survey of California newspapers. This time, I went through more than three years of the Riverside Daily Press, where I found a handful of short articles and advertisements for Brooks' silent American films. The Riverside Daily Press was a typical small town newspaper, and the articles were largely composed of studio supplied copy. Nothing special . . . . nothing I hadn't seen before. It was only when I came to 1929 and a March screening of The Canary Murder Case that things got interesting. By then, the paper had gotten its own film critic. In "Canary Murder Case Brimfull of Mystery," local reviewer Rex Dane would write "Louise Brooks, as the Canary, the murdered woman; James Hall and Jean Arthur are excellent in their roles."

I then moved on the Santa Ana Register, which was far less productive than the Riverside paper. This small town had only a couple of theaters, and most films only played for two or three days. I went through the first six months of 1926 and was about to give up when I came across a rather unusual advertisement. It was for a screening of The American Venus and It's the Old Army Game! This Paramount double feature is one of the few instances from the 1920's (that I've come across) of two Brooks' films being played on the same bill. I wonder how many Santa Ana patrons noticed the petite brunette wth the distintive bob?

I figured little could be gained by looking at anymore of the Santa Ana Register, so I turned to the Los Angeles Examiner. Previously, I had uncovered a bunch of film reviews in this big city newspaper. So this time, I decided to search for news items which corresponded to articles I had already uncovered in the Los Angeles Times. I found small pieces on Brooks' marriage and divorce, her 1932 bankruptcy, and the time in 1927 that she was the guest of honor at the Montmarte Cafe. Good stuff, but nothing new . . . . And then - I found something that really floored me.



This 1940 article told how Brooks' suspicions of an ex-con led to his arrest "on suspicion of grand theft and issuing bad checks." Brooks herself had lost $2000 in what the paper described as a $147,000 "big Hollywood swindle." I hadn't ever seen this article, let alone this image of Brooks - and so, was very pleased to find it. (For more on this curious incident in Brooks' life, see pages 386-387 of the Barry Paris biography.)

I plan on returning to Sacramento at the end of August to look for more news items, and more film reviews on other California newspapers.