Thursday, May 8, 2014

Cool pic of the day - Louise Brooks

Louise Brooks - fashion photo by Eugene Richee

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

New Natalie Merchant song about Louise Brooks

I've been a longtime fan of Natalie Merchant, both for her work as a solo artist and for her earlier recordings with 10,000 Maniacs. That's why I was thrilled to learn that today, May 6th, Nonesuch Records will release Natalie Merchant's sixth solo album. This self-titled and self produced collection of 10 new and original songs is her first offering in 13 years. And what's more, it features a song "about" Louise Brooks. The song is titled "Lulu."


Merchant describes her writing style as "empathetic." The songwriter may as well have been talking about Louise Brooks when she described her new album as one that reflects on "love gained and lost, regret, denial, surrender, greed, destructiveness, defeat, and occasional triumph." A recent biographical statement reads 
Her musical approach mirrors the interplay between her alternately inward and outward-looking lyrics. Deeply personal moments are juxtaposed with more overt social commentary, though the lines are often intriguingly blurred like on “Lulu,” a look at silent screen icon Louise Brooks. “By writing ‘Lulu’, I tried to compress her colossal life into a few verses of a song. She was such an intelligent, sensuous woman, and intuitive artist born years before her time. She was hedonistic and unapologetic, headstrong and impulsive. She rose to dizzy heights of international stardom and fell into a life of hand to mouth subsistence and seclusion only to be rediscovered and revived again before her death.
According to an May 5th article about Merchant in the Wall Street Journal, "She also found inspiration in the lives of other women—one track, "Lulu," was written after she read the 1982 memoir Lulu in Hollywood by Louise Brooks, a dancer and early film star who made the bob haircut famous in the 1920s.

"She was born so far ahead of her time," Ms. Merchant said. "She was sensual and hedonistic and ended up alcoholic and living on the Lower East Side in a small apartment. Everyone remembers Charlie Chaplin, but she's been forgotten. I think it illustrates the temporal nature of fame."

According to earlier articles I've come across on the web, Merchant has played the song a few times in concert, and it has been well received. I've heard it online, and I like what I've heard. The song's lyrics includes a number of references to incidents in Brooks' life.

Merchant has announced a summer tour in support of her new album. Among the stops is the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 25. Noteably, Louise Brooks danced on the stage of that theater as a member of the Denishawn Dance company, on October 2, 1922 and March 12, 1923 and December 29, 1923 (two performances).

I hope to include "Lulu" and the instrumental track that proceeds it, "Lulu (an introduction)," on RadioLulu, once I've gotten my copy of Merchant's new album. More about Merchant and her music may be found on her website.


Monday, May 5, 2014

Italian television adaption of The Canary Murder Case

Here is La Canarina Assassinata, a Italian television adaption of The Canary Murder Case. The 1929 film version featured Louise Brooks as the Canary. This more recent adaption, from the 1970s, has a "Jazz Age" feel about it.


La Canarina Assassinata was shown in September 1974 on the Public Radio and Television Company (RAI1), together with two other Philo Vance films, La fine dei Green (The Greene Murder Case) and La morte del signor Benson (The Benson Murder Case). The films starred Giorgio Albertazzi, a famous Italian actor; both he and the Canary, blonde Virna Lisi, are still active today. Here is the Italian Wikipedia page for the series, and here is a page featuring the DVD release. Thanks to Gianluca for a heads up on this film.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Tiny Dynamite - Slicing the old Louise Brooks

Tiny Dynamite is an Italian electronic music group who have issued an EP called Slicing the old Louise Brooks. Haven't been able to find out much about them. Their four track EP,  released 15 August 2013, can be listened to or downloaded here.

01.Slicing the old Louise Brooks (Chainsaw Version) 02:27
   
02.Love 'Em and Leave 'Em (Pepi's Rolled Stockings Silent Version) 03:12

03.Pandora's Box (The Cleaner) 01:17
   
04.Slicing the old Louise Brooks (Minipimer Version) 01:39 


Saturday, May 3, 2014

King of Gamblers - A round up of reviews

King of Gamblers was officially released on this day in 1937. The film is an underworld crime drama about the slot-machine racket and the crusading reporter who uncovers it. The film was sometimes referred to and was shown under the title Czar of the Slot Machines. [This 1937 film should not be confused with a later release, King of the Gamblers, from 1948.]

The film stars Claire Trevor (as nightclub singer Dixie Moore), Lloyd Nolan (as reporter Jim Adams), Akim Tamiroff (as gangster Steve Kalkas), Buster Crabbe (as Eddie), Helen Burgess (as Jackie Nolan), Evelyn Brent (as Cora), and Natalie Moorhead (as woman at table). Scenes with Louise Brooks playing the role of Joyce Beaton were cut, and it is not known if they still exist.

Though only a "B" picture from Paramount, King of Gamblers was given "A" treatment by noted director Robert Florey. The film was based on a story by Tiffany Thayer, who is best known today for his novel Call Her Savage, the basis for the 1932 Clara Bow film, as well as for being a founder of the founder of the Fortean Society. King of Gamblers was scripted by Doris Anderson with uncredited contributions by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur.

With its expressionist flourishes, King of Gamblers might be considered an early example of film noir (attention Eddie Muller). When first released, the film was both praised and condemned. Some noted its realism, while others thought it too violent. Here is a round up of magazine and newspaper reviews and articles drawn from the Louise Brooks Society archive.

Evelyn Brent and Louise Brooks pose for a
publicity photo for King of Gamblers

author unknown. Hollywood Reporter, April 13, 1937.
--- "This is an excellent crime melodrama on the program level that, without departing radically from established plot elements, progresses by so much fresh and believable episode and builds for such high suspense that it will win general approval."

author unknown. Box Office, April 24, 1937.
--- "Given the benefit of superior production, this film is meaty but highly entertaining fare."

author unknown. Motion Picture Review, May, 1937.
--- "Such a picture as this has no constructive social value."

anonymous. "Monitor Movie Guide." Christian Science Monitor, May 1, 1937.
--- "Sociological aspects of the theme are quite overshadowed by melodramatics which may prove too violent for the more sensitive."

author unknown. Philadelphia Exhibitor, May 1, 1937.
--- "Above average racketeer story, this is packed with fast action, suspense."

Southern California Council of Federated Church Women. Fox West Coast Bulletin, May 8, 1937.
--- "Not wholesome. Waste of time."

anonymous. "King of Gamblers Exciting Film On Screen At Allyn." Hartford Courant, May 21, 1937.
--- "Three personalities who until a short time ago were among the obscurities of filmdom but are now definitely headed for the peaks of stardom, appear in the principal roles in King of Gamblers, the exciting, at times startling and occasionally almost too brutally realistic. . . ."

author unknown. National Council of Jewish Women, May 25, 1937.
--- "Excellent direction of a well chosen cast adds materially to this interesting expose of 'slot machine' racketeers."

C(risler), B. R. "At the Criterion." New York Times, July 3, 1937.
--- "Unscrupulous editing and the conscienceless substitution of camera angles and mechanical dissolves for ideas and genuine suspense have made a superficially presentable melodrama out of King of Gamblers at the Criterion."

Lusk, Nobert. "Unheralded Film Lauded by Broadways." Los Angeles Times, July 10, 1937.
--- "An unpretentious picture that tops in interest and appeal those which arrive on Broadway with benefit of ballyhoo."

anonymous. "A Brisk Drama Of Gamesters Clicks at Met." Washington Post, July 31, 1937.
--- "The cold chills and icy thrills of King of Gamblers make the Metropolitan air-conditioning quite superfluous. If you are one for hard-boiled homicides mixed in with your entertainment, this show will give you a good time and a half."

author unknown. "King of Gamblers, by Thayer, Racket Expose, Is at the Capitol." Atlanta Constitution, August 1, 1937.
--- "Tiffany Thayer, one of America's outstanding writers on crime and rackets, comes through with another winner in King of Gamblers, a during story of the slot machine racket as it exists in many cities, which opens a week's engagement at the Capitol theater...."

Friday, May 2, 2014

How to kiss Louise Brooks . . . .

How to kiss Louise Brooks . . . . with musical accompaniment by Sixpence None the Richer.


Thursday, May 1, 2014

May Day: Louise Brooks and the Daily Worker

Upon their release, the films of Louise Brooks were reviewed in all manner of publications, from fashion magazines in the United States to fascist newspapers in Europe. They were also noted in the pages of the Daily Worker, a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA.

Publication of the Daily Worker began in 1924. While it reflected the prevailing views of the Communist party, attempts were made to make it appear that the paper reflected a broader spectrum of left-wing opinion. The Daily Worker covered the arts, and one-time poet Whittaker Chambers, Native Son novelist Richard Wright, and musician Woody Guthrie were all contributors at different times. At its peak, the newspaper achieved a circulation of 35,000.



Here are a couple citations for Louise Brooks' films from the pages of the Daily Worker. Surprisingly, the paper did not write-up Beggars of Life.

anonymous. "Screen Notes." Daily Worker, February 18, 1928.
--- brief write-up about A Girl in Every Port

Gaynor, Edward. "Tamiroff Displays Ability in King of Gamblers." Daily Worker, July 5, 1937.
--- film review in which Akim Tamiroff is noted as having studied acting in Moscow and Louise Brooks is listed as a member of the cast (despite the fact her role was cut)


Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Books for sale - Louise Brooks and the Jazz Age

Looking for something good to read? Want to learn more about Louise Brooks, silent film, or the Jazz Age? The Louise Brooks Society has a small number used books for sale of interest to the dedicated fan. These are titles found at used book stores and thrift shops. Some are hard to find, some less so. Each are in good to very good condition. First come, first served. To place an order via PayPal, please send to tgladysz AT pandorasboxDOTcom

Louise Brooks (hardcover, 1st edition)
by Barry Paris
-- A must read, the ultimate biography of Louise Brooks. This edition, with illustrations, was published in 1989. Purchase this item and receive a free copy of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2012 program with Louise Brooks on the cover (see below), as well as 2013 San Francisco Silent Film Festival program containing an essay on Prix de Beauté.

One copy available
$30.00 (includes shipping & handling within the USA)


Lulu in Hollywood (hardcover, 1st edition)
by Louise Brooks
-- Brooks' own collection of autobiographical essays. This edition, with a photo insert, was published in 1982. Introduction by William Shawn. Purchase this item and receive a free copy of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2012 program with Louise Brooks on the cover (see below), as well as the 2013 San Francisco Silent Film Festival program containing an essay on Prix de Beauté.


One copy available
$25.00 (includes shipping & handling within the USA)
 
Lulu in Hollywood (softcover)
by Louise Brooks
-- Brooks' own collection of autobiographical essays. This edition, with a photo insert, was published in paperback in the 1980s. Introduction by William Shawn.



A few copies available
$12.00 (includes shipping & handling within the USA)

Louise Brooks: Portrait of an Anti-Star (signed softcover)
edited by Roland Jaccard
-- scarce first book on the actress, contains writings by and about Louise Brooks and Lulu along with 90 illustrations, edited by the noted French film critic and novelist. This rare copy SIGNED by Roland Jaccard. Purchase this item and receive a free copy of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2012 program with Louise Brooks on the cover (see below), as well as the 2013 San Francisco Silent Film Festival program containing an essay on Prix de Beauté, and a copy of Photoplay Edition by Emil Petaja.



One copy available
$300.00 (includes shipping & handling within the USA)


The Lulu Plays and Other Sex Tragedies (softcover)
by Frank Wedekind
-- This volume, translated from the German by the noted English poet Stephen Spender, includes Earth Spirit, Pandora's Box, Death and the Devil, and Castle Wetterstein. Hard to find. Purchase this item and receive a free copy of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2012 program with Louise Brooks on the cover (see below).


One copy available
$25.00 (includes shipping & handling within the USA)


San Francisco Silent Film Festival (softcover)
2012 program
-- This illustrated 88-page program, with Louise Brooks on the cover, contains an illustrated 2-page essay on Pandora's Box by Thomas Gladysz. Purchase this item and receive a copy of the 2013 San Francisco Silent Film Festival program which contains an essay on Prix de Beauté.


A few copies available
$10.00 (includes shipping & handling within the USA)


The 1920s (hardcover)
by American Heritage
-- A nostalgic look back at the Jazz Age This special issue of American Heritage runs 112 pages and includes informative essays and many illustrations.



A few copies available
$12.00 (includes shipping & handling within the USA)


This Fabulous Century 1920-1930 (hardcover)
by Time-Life Books
-- A nostalgic look back at the Roaring Twenties. This 288 page book includes informative essays and lots of illustrations about the fashion, celebrities, culture, cars and crime of the era. Recommended. [Be the first to buy you'll also receive This Fabulous Century 1910-1920 for free.]


A few copies available
$15.00 (includes shipping & handling within the USA)


The 20's (softcover)
by Frederick J. Hoffman
-- A very interesting look at the literature and writing of the 1920s.




One copy available
$12.00 (includes shipping & handling within the USA)

Monday, April 28, 2014

Cool Pic of the Day: Louise Brooks, a white dress

Here is the "Cool Pic of the Day" - Louise Brooks, her portrait, softly focused, a white dress


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