Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Louise Brooks' first movie review

On this day in 1925, Louise Brooks received her first review as movie actress.* Though  not listed in the credits, the Los Angeles Times took note of her brief appearance in the The Street of Forgotten Men when its anonymous critic wrote, "And there was a little rowdy, obviously attached to the 'blind' man, who did some vital work during her few short scenes. She was not listed." 

The paper was referring to Brooks, whose less than 5 minutes of screen time in the Herbert Brenon-directed film went uncredited. It was her first part in a film. She played the role of a  gangster's moll.



* Brooks had been mentioned earlier on in various newspapers and magazines for her appearances as a dancer and showgirl. The above named review was her first in connection with a film.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Louise Brooks in Love Em and Leave Em screens Oct 9

The 1926 Louise Brooks film, Love Em and Leave Em, will be shown in Fremont, California at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum on October 9, 2010. The listing for this rare screening was just announced on the Niles website at http://www.nilesfilmmuseum.org/sept-oct2010.pdf


This Frank Tuttle-directed film is quite good. It is one of Brooks' best American silents. The last time Love Em and Leave Em was publicly screened in the Bay Area was on November 21, 2006 in the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Public Library. That screening was held in conjunction with the SFPL exhibit, "Homage to Lulu," which celebrated the Brooks' centenary.

Prior to that, the film has enjoyed numerous screenings in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. The film's local exhibition record, as best I could figure it, is thus:

California in Pittsburg (Dec. 14, 1926); California in Richmond (Dec. 26, 1926); National in San Jose (Dec. 29, 1926 – Jan. 1, 1927); American in Oakland (Dec. 31, 1926 special midnight matinee showing); Hub in Mill Valley (Jan. 1, 1927); Princess in Sausalito (Jan. 2-3, 1927);  New Stanford in Palo Alto (Jan. 6-7, 1927); Granada in San Francisco (Jan. 8-14, 1927); Majestic in Benicia (Jan. 9, 1927); Virginia in Vallejo (Jan. 9, 1927); Novelty in San Bruno (Jan. 12, 1927); Strand in Los Gatos (Jan. 20-21, 1927); Sequoia in Redwood City (Jan. 21, 1927); Casino in Antioch (Jan. 23, 1927); Peninsula in Burlingame (Jan. 29, 1927); California in Livermore (Jan. 30, 1927); American in Oakland (Feb. 5-11, 1927); Regent in San Mateo (Feb. 11-12, 1927); Mountain View Theatre in Mountain View (Feb. 12, 1927); New Fillmore in San Francisco (Mar. 12-13, 1927); New Mission in San Francisco (Mar. 12-13, 1927); Richmond in Richmond (Mar. 13, 1927); California in Berkeley (Mar. 20-22, 1927 with While London Sleeps); Chimes in Oakland (Mar. 29-30, 1927 with A Regular Scout); Lorin in Berkeley (Apr. 2, 1927 with The Night Patrol); Alhambra in San Francisco (Apr. 2-3, 1927); Castro in San Francisco (Apr. 7-8, 1927); Coliseum in San Francisco (Apr. 9, 1927); West Portal in San Francisco (Apr. 16, 1927); Balboa in San Francisco (Apr. 23, 1927); Strand in Berkeley (Apr. 23, 1927); Irving in San Francisco (Apr. 24, 1927); Alexandria in San Francisco (Apr. 28-29, 1927); Washington in San Francisco (May 1, 1927); Plaza in Oakland (May 1, 1927 with The Western Whirlwind); Metropolitan in San Francisco (May 12-14, 1927 with The Timid Terror); Roosevelt in San Francisco (May 15, 1927); Fairfax in Oakland (May 31, 1927 with White Black Sheep); Excelsior in San Francisco (June 6-7, 1927); New State in San Francisco (June 6-7, 1927 with The Gorilla Hunt); Rivoli in Berkeley (June 8, 1927 with Flesh and the Blood); New Balboa in San Francisco (June 12, 1927); Metropolitan in San Francisco (June 18, 1927); and Pompeii in San Francisco (July 31 – Aug. 1, 1927); Century in Oakland (Nov. 1-2, 1927).

And then, in more recent years, the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley (Sept. 30, 1979); and Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley (Mar. 15, 1981 as part of the series “The American Films of Louise Brooks”). This latest screening is another addition to the record.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Pandora's Box screens in Kansas City, MO

Pandora’s Box will be shown on Thursday, September 2 at 6:30pm at the Tivoli Cinema in Kansas City, Missouri. The screening is part of a “Silent Film Series” sponsored by the Tivoli Cinemas and the University of Missouri – Kansas City Department of Communication Studies. All seats are $4.00 / free for UMKC Students / Staff with ID. Tickets are available day of show only at the Tivoli box office. Details at http://www.tivolikc.com/silentfilmseries.html

Thursday, August 26, 2010

New Huffington Post article: why I published Diary of a Lost Girl

I've just posted a new article on the Huffington Post discussing why I self-(re)published my Louise Brooks edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl. . . .
What originally drew me to the book was the fact that it was the basis for the 1929 German film of the same name. That silent film stars Louise Brooks. She's an obsession of mine, as anyone who knows me is all too well aware. I'm always going on about her ... And I'm always looking into some facet of her life and career. I was curious about what seemed to me an otherwise obscure book. Why did the great German director G.W. Pabst make it into a film? What would he have seen in it?
The article can be found at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-gladysz/a-lost-girl-a-fake-diary-_b_694263.html

Then and now: Tagebuch einer Verlorenen (1907 edition) and The Diary of a Lost Girl (2010 edition).

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Louise Brooks Society mentioned in TimeOut Chicago

The Louise Brooks Society was mentioned in TimeOut Chicago. The magazine ran a story titled "Silent films get a new life online, but not everybody’s celebrating," by Christina Crouch. The article discusses Louise Brooks, Pandora's Box, and the internet. Read more at http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/film/88270/silent-films-gain-new-life-on-the-internet#ixzz0xgHg0eVs

Monday, August 23, 2010

Louise Brooks commemorative bronze medal

A commemorative bronze medal depicting Louise Brooks is currently for sale on eBay. These burnished bronze medals, of European origin (?), don't show up all that often. I don't know much else about them. Does anyone?

Image hébergée par servimg.comImage hébergée par servimg.com

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Diary of a Lost Girl available on Scribd

My new "Louise Brooks" edition of Margarete Bohme's The Diary of a Lost Girl is now available through the website Scribd.

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