Friday, January 13, 2006

Prix de Beaute on DVD



Kino will be releasing Prix de Beaute (1930) on DVD on March 7, 2006. Run time is 88 minutes. (Black & White, Subtitled, NTSC, Region 1.)

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Aileen Pringle comic strip

Speaking of comic strips, here is a curiousity I recently came across. It dates from September, 1931.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Diana Serra Cary: The million dollar baby

There is an article in today's London Independent newspaper about Baby Peggy. Its worth reading. According to the article, "Baby Peggy was able to reinvent herself. As Diana Serra Cary, she has become a respected journalist and film historian, often mining her own past in her work. She is not the last living silent movie star (fellow child actor Frank "Junior" Coghlan is still alive, as is the silent actress Barbara Kent) but she is the only one still seen regularly in public."

Cary's memoir What Ever Happened to Baby Peggy? is quite good. I read it and "fell in love" with this adorable and talented child star. Her life, however, was something of a tragedy. Cary is very nice in person. I had a chance to meet her a few times, and even hosted her for an event at the bookstore where I work. She was also a guest at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival a few years back, where her four books set a record for most sold during her booksigning. Cary's groundbreaking book on fellow child star Jackie Coogan is also recommended . . . . Somewhere I have some snapshots of Cary and I . . . . (And of course, I asked her about Louise Brooks. Cary never met her, but knew of her. Cary starred in a film with Clara Bow, Helen's Babies, and had much to say about the IT girl.)

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Atlantic City Pageant march

I just got a CD of John Philip Sousa's music for wind bands. The disc contains a track of some interest, The Atlantic City Pageant March (1927). According to the linear notes, "During Sousa's final years, beginning in 1926, the band often played summer engagements at Atlantic City's Steel Pier. The Atlantic City Pageant March was written at the request of the city's mayor, and honoured the famous Atlantic City Beauty Pageant." That's a little less then two years after Louise Brooks and Famous Players-Lasky were in Atlantic City filming The American Venus, whose story centered on the Pageant.



Curiously, this is not the first time I have come across an instance of Sousa "shadowing" Brooks . . . . I recently noticed - while looking in the Independence Daily Reporter - that Sousa and his band performed in Independence, Kansas just a week or so after Brooks and Denishawn had danced there in January, 1924. (The paper reported that the band concert was the next big happening in town after the dance recital.) Another time, I came across a screening ofEvening Clothes in Chicago. At that 1927 event, Sousa's band performed onstage prior to the film being shown.

Monday, January 9, 2006

Lulu in Berlin

A mini website devoted to Louise Brooks' work in Germany can be found at www.louisebrooks.de.vu/   There is some nifty stuff to be found there. Check it out.

Sunday, January 8, 2006

LA Time article on bizarre pre-Kong movie

The Los Angeles Times has a long, interesting story about a bizarre gorilla movie that pre-dates King Kong by three years, called Ingagi. This earlier film has many scenes similar to those in King Kong, but it contains even more racist and lurid human-ape sexual innuendo than the more famous movie that followed. Click here to read the article.

Wednesday, January 4, 2006

Paramount Pictures cardboard fan

This nifty Paramount Pictures cardboard fan (the handle is not pictured) dates from the late 1920s, and measures  8" x 9". It likely was given away at a theater, as few were air conditioned back then. This promotional fan pictures Louise Brooks, Clara Bow, Pola Negri, Florence Vidor, Bebe Daniels, Esther Ralston and Lois Moran. [For sale on eBay - at a premium.] Cool.

Tuesday, January 3, 2006

Ron Goulart's Comics History Magazine

Help! I am looking for issues #1 (winter 1996), #2 (Spring 1997), and #3 (Summer 1997) of Ron Goulart's Comics History Magazine. This little known periodical features a three part article on Dixie Dugan which I would like to read. ( Inspired by Louise Brooks, Dixie Dugan was a popular comic strip which began in the late 1920's.) I am having a bit a trouble trying to track down copies of Comics History Magazine. The only library in the country which seemingly owns this publication is Michigan State University, but these copies reside in their special collections. And thus, cannot be loaned. I would happily accept photocopies of the articles. Does anyone have copies of the magazine?

Monday, January 2, 2006

Collegeville fifth-graders present 20th Century showcase

Louise Brooks as an historical figure . . . . An article in the today's Benton Courier (from Benton, Arkansas) reports that local fifth graders recently dressed-up to celebrate the 20th century. "Students dressed in costumes representing celebrities of the decade or in costumes reflecting the popular dress, jewelry and hairstyles of their decade. Celebrities included Wilbur and Orville Wright, Woodrow Wilson, Charlie Chaplin, Al Capone, John Dillinger, Greta Garbo, Louise Brooks (a flapper), Dorothy from the Wizard of OzLittle Orphan Annie, Andrew J. Moyer, Uncle Sam, General Mark W. Clark from World War II, Audrey Hepburn, Rosa Parks, Amy Carter, Richard Nixon, Coretta Scott King, Bill Gates and Bill Clinton."
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