It Girls, Flappers, Jazz Babies & Vamps

File this under not to be missed: Film Forum in New York City is about to launch "It Girls, Flappers, Jazz Babies & Vamps," a two week, thirty-one film series featuring sex symbols of the Twenties and early Thirties. Along with a 35mm presentation of Louise Brooks in Pandora's Box (with live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterneron on March 19th), the series features Clara Bow, Joan Crawford, Colleen Moore, Miriam Hopkins, Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Stanwyck and others. "It Girls, Flappers, Jazz Babies & Vamps" runs Friday, March 11 through Thursday, March 24.

The festival was programmed by Bruce Goldstein, the hea dof Film Forum, and is presented in association with the Library of Congress. Here is the line-up of films.

MARCH 11 FRI (DOUBLE FEATURE)
TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932, Ernst Lubitsch) 35mm
Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis, Herbert Marshall
2:15, 5:45, 9:30

GIRLS ABOUT TOWN (1931, George Cukor) 35mm
Kay Frances, Joel McCrea, Lilyan Tashman
12:30, 4:00

MARCH 11 FRI (SEPARATE ADMISSION)
MANTRAP (1926, Victor Fleming) Restored 35mm print courtesy UCLA Film & Television Archive
Clara Bow, Ernest Torrence, Percy Marmont
7:30 ONLY*
*Introduced by Clara Bow biographer David Stenn, Live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner

MARCH 12 SAT (DOUBLE FEATURE)
TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932, Ernst Lubitsch) 35mm
Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis, Herbert Marshall
12:30, 4:00, 9:30

GIRLS ABOUT TOWN (1931, George Cukor) 35mm
Kay Frances, Lilyan Tashman, Joel McCrea
2:15

MARCH 12 SAT (SEPARATE ADMISSION)
SO THIS IS PARIS (1926, Ernst Lubitsch) 35mm print courtesy Library of Congress
Patsy Ruth Miller, Lilyan Tashman, Monte Blue, André Beranger
5:50 ONLY*
*Live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner

MARCH 12 SAT (SEPARATE ADMISSION)
CALL HER SAVAGE (1932, John Francis Dillon) Restored 35mm print courtesy Museum of Modern Art
Clara Bow, Thelma Todd, Gilbert Roland
7:30*
*Introduced by Bow biographer David Stenn

MARCH 13 SUN (DOUBLE FEATURE)
THE BLUE ANGEL (1929, Josef von Sternberg) 35mm. In German with English subtitles
Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings
3:10, 7:20

A WOMAN OF AFFAIRS (1928, Clarence Brown) 35mm. Silent, with original synchronized musical score
Greta Garbo, John Gilbert
1:00, 5:20

MARCH 14 MON (DOUBLE FEATURE)
"GET INTO OUR SHORTS" co-presented by The Vitaphone Project
2:20, 6:00
Introduced by Ron Hutchinson

FOLLOW THRU (1930, Laurence Schwab & Lloyd Corrigan) 35mm print, preserved by UCLA Film & Television Archive
Nancy Carroll, Zelma O'Neal, Jack Haley, Charles "Buddy" Rogers
12:30, 4:10

MARCH 14 MON (SEPARATE ADMISSION)
THE PATSY (1928, King Vidor) 35mm print courtesy Library of Congress
Marion Davies, Marie Dressler, Lawrence Gray
8:10 ONLY*
*Live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner

MARCH 15 TUE (DOUBLE FEATURE)
THE BARKER (1928, George Fitzmaurice) 35mm print courtesy UCLA Film & Television Archive
Dorothy Mackaill, Betty Compson, Milton Sills
12:30, 3:35, 6:40

SAFE IN HELL (1931, William Wellman) 35mm print courtesy Library of Congress
Dorothy Mackaill, Donald Cook
2:10, 5:15, 8:20*
*Introduced by David Noh

MARCH 16 WED (DOUBLE FEATURE)
OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS (1928, Harry Beaumont) 35mm. Silent, with original musical soundtrack
Joan Crawford, Dorothy Sebastian, Anita Page, Johnny Mack Brown
2:45, 6:45

MADAM SATAN (1930, Cecil B. DeMille) 35mm
Kay Johnson, Lillian Roth, Reginald Denny
12:30, 4:30, 9:00

MARCH 16 WED (SEPARATE ADMISSION)
JOAN CRAWFORD'S PRIVATE HOME MOVIES - PART I
6:45 (precedes Our Dancing Daughters)
Introduced by Casey LaLonde

MARCH 17 THU (DOUBLE FEATURE)
POSSESSED (1931, Clarence Brown) 35mm
Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Wallace Ford
12:30, 3:45, 7:00

OUR MODERN MAIDENS (1929, Jack Conway) 35mm. Silent, with music score
Joan Crawford, Rod La Rocque, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
2:10, 5:20, 9:15

MARCH 17 THU (SEPARATE ADMISSION)
JOAN CRAWFORD'S PRIVATE HOME MOVIES - PART II - WORLD PREMIERE!
7:00 (precedes Possessed)
Introduced by Casey LaLonde

MARCH 18 FRI (DOUBLE FEATURE)
BLONDE VENUS (1932, Josef von Sternberg) 35mm
Marlene Dietrich, Cary Grant, Herbert Marshall
12:30, 4:10, 9:30

SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1932, Josef von Sternberg) 35mm
Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong, Clive Brook
2:30, 7:50

MARCH 18 FRI (SEPARATE ADMISSION)
IT (1927, Clarence Badger) 35mm
Clara Bow, Antonio Moreno, Gary Cooper
6:10 ONLY*
*Live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner

MARCH 19 SAT (DOUBLE FEATURE)
BABY FACE (1933, Alfred E. Green) 35mm print courtesy Library of Congress
Barbara Stanwyck, Theresa Harris, George Brent
2:20*, 5:45*, 9:50
*Introduced by Bruce Goldstein

RED-HEADED WOMAN (1932, Jack Conway) 35mm
Jean Harlow, Chester Morris, Lewis Stone
12:30, 4:00

MARCH 19 SAT (SEPARATE ADMISSION)
PANDORA'S BOX (1929, G.W. Pabst) 35mm
Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, Francs Lederer
7:20 ONLY*
*Live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner

MARCH 20 SUN (DOUBLE FEATURE)
GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (1933, Mervyn LeRoy) 35mm print courtesy Library of Congress
Joan Blondell, Ginger Rogers, Warren William, Ruby Keller, Dick Powell
3:20, 7:30

DAMES (1934, Ray Enright) 35mm print courtesy Library of Congress
Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick, Powell
1:30, 9:30

MARCH 20 SUN (SEPARATE ADMISSION)
PICCADILLY (1929, E.A. Dupont) 35mm
Anna May Wong, Gilda Gray, Cyril Ritchard
5:20 ONLY*
*Live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner

MARCH 21 MON (DOUBLE FEATURE)
CHICAGO (1927, Frank Urson & Cecil B. DeMille) DCP
Phyllis Haver, Victor Varconi
2:20, 6:30*
*Live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner at 6:30 show (Soundtrack at 2:20)

WHY BE GOOD? (1929, William A. Seiter) DCP.
Silent with original musical score.
Colleen Moore, Neil Hamilton
12:30, 4:40, 8:50

MARCH 22 TUES (DOUBLE FEATURE)
GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (1933, Mervyn LeRoy) 35mm print courtesy Library of Congress
Joan Blondell, Ginger Rogers, Warren William, Ruby Keller, Dick Powell
2:20

DAMES (1934, Ray Enright) 35mm print courtesy Library of Congress
Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell
12:30, 4:20

MARCH 22 TUES (SEPARATE ADMISSION)
SYNTHETIC SIN (1929, William A. Seiter) DCP
Colleen Moore, Antonio Moreno
6:15 ONLY*
*Live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner - with original Vitaphone soundtrack for final reel only. Introduced by Joseph Yranski.

MARCH 23 WED (DOUBLE FEATURE)
CHICAGO (1927, Frank Urson & Cecil B. DeMille) DCP
Phyllis Haver, Victor Varconi
2:20

WHY BE GOOD? (1929, William A. Seiter) DCP.
Silent with original musical score
Colleen Moore, Neil Hamilton
12:30, 4:40

MARCH 23 WED (SEPARATE ADMISSION)
SADIE THOMPSON (1928, Raoul Walsh) 35mm
Gloria Swanson, Lionel Barrymore
6:30 ONLY*
*Live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner

MARCH 23 WED (SEPARATE ADMISSION)
CALL HER SAVAGE (1932, John Francis Dillon) Restored 35mm print courtesy Museum of Modern Art
Clara Bow, Glibert Roland
8:30

MARCH 24 THU (DOUBLE FEATURE)
LOOSE ANKLES (1930, Ted Wilde) 35mm print courtesy Library of Congress
Loretta Young, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
12:30, 3:20, 7:40*
*Introduced by Mike Mashon of the Library of Congress

EMPLOYEE'S ENTRANCE (1933, Roy Del Ruth) 35mm print courtesy Library of Congress
Loretta Young, Warren William, Alice White, Wallace Ford
1:50*, 4:40, 9:00*
*Introduced by Bruce Goldstein

MARCH 24 THU (SEPARATE ADMISSION)
GET YOUR MAN & Silk Lingerie (1927, Dorothy Arzner) 35mm prints courtesy Library of Congress
Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers
6:10 ONLY*
*Live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner. Introduced by Mike Mashon of the Library of Congress

Beggars of Life - Three recordings of the popular theme song to the 1928 Louise Brooks film

And here is what that recording sounded like..... Yesterday's post, depicting an early UK newspaper advertisement for "Beggars of Life" by the Troubadours, promoted only the most popular recording of the song. There exists at least three others, and perhaps more. One other was by Scrappy Lambert, a popular vocalist of the time. And another was by Seger Ellis. And yet another was by the Bar Harbor Society Orchestra, which featured the great Ben Selvin.

"Beggars of Life," by The Troubadours.

"Beggars of Life," by Scrappy Lambert.

"Beggars of Life," by the Bar Harbor Society Orchestra (featuring Ben Selvin) with vocal by Irving Kaufman.

In honor of the Dodge Brothers live musical accompaniment to Beggars of Life

In honor of the Dodge Brothers live musical accompaniment to the William Wellman film, Beggars of Life (1928, starring Louise Brooks) at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England on March 7. . . . here is a few related clipping from the English press dating from the late 1920s.  This particular advertisement for a recording of the Beggars of Life theme song, as performed by The Troubadours, appeared in the Yorkshire newspaper in January, 1929.

Louise Brooks and Gary Cooper, what might have been

Here is an uncommon publicity picture of some of Paramount's junior stars. I would guess it dates from later 1927, or early 1928. A smiling Louise Brooks sits in the middle of the picture, on the far left of the bench. And to her left is none other than Gary Cooper, who early on was considered for a role in Beggars of Life (which would co-star Brooks). I would guess Cooper was considered for the role that eventually went to Richard Arlen.

Beggars of Life screens in the UK on March 7

The sensational 1928 William Wellman film, Beggars of Life, starring Louise Brooks, will be shown at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England on March 7. The Dodge Brothers will provide live musical accompaniment. More info and a link to tickets HERE.

"Experience classic silent films with world class live music accompaniment in the Royal Albert Hall’s intimate Elgar Room. The Elgar Room’s silent films live music series continues with a special screening of the Louise Brooks classic Beggars of Life with live music accompaniment from The Dodge Brothers. The Dodge Brothers are an Americana-drenched quartet comprising:

Aly ‘‘Dodge’ Hirji (acoustic guitar, mandolin)

Mike ‘Dodge’ Hammond (lead guitar, lead vocals, banjo, dobro)

Mark ‘Dodge’ Kermode (double bass, harmonica, ukulele, accordion, vocals)

Alex ‘Dodge’ Hammond (washboard, snare drum, percussion)

and featuring special guest Neil Brand (piano).

"Their motto, ‘death and trains a speciality’, has never been more appropriate than to William Wellman’s legendary 1928 film Beggars of Life, a tale of depression-era, rail-riding hobos played by the iconic Louise Brooks, Richard Arlen and the great Wallace Beery." Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the British Film Institute, said "Never has a film and a band been more perfectly matched than Beggars of Life and the Dodge Brothers – deep dish Americana, rail-riding hoboes and Louise Brooks – they were made for each other."

Tone poem: "Louise Brooks et l'amour" by Roland Jaccard

Tone poem: from 2013, "Louise Brooks et l'amour" by Roland Jaccard, a French author responsible for the first ever book about the actress, Louise Brooks: Portrait of an Anti-Star.

Louise Brooks and New Confessions, by William Boyd

Another novel which features the iconic image of a dreaming Louise Brooks sitting in a chair with books scattered on the floor about her is William Boyd's The New Confessions. First published in 1987, the edition pictured here was issued by Penguin in the UK in 2010.

According to the publisher, "In this extraordinary novel, William Boyd presents the autobiography of John James Todd, whose uncanny and exhilarating life as one of the most unappreciated geniuses of the twentieth century is equal parts Laurence Stern, Charles Dickens, Robertson Davies, and Saul Bellow, and a hundred percent William Boyd.

From his birth in 1899, Todd was doomed. Emerging from his angst-filled childhood, he rushes into the throes of the twentieth century on the Western Front during the Great War, and quickly changes his role on the battlefield from cannon fodder to cameraman. When he becomes a prisoner of war, he discovers Rousseau's Confessions, and dedicates his life to bringing the memoir to the silver screen. Plagued by bad luck and blind ambition, Todd becomes a celebrated London upstart, a Weimar luminary, and finally a disgruntled director of cowboy movies and the eleventh member of the Hollywood Ten. Ambitious and entertaining, Boyd has invented a most irresistible hero."

I haven't yet read this book, but according to a friend as well as various reviewers, a Louise Brooks-like character also figures in the story. Have you read this book?

William Boyd is the author of ten novels, including A Good Man in Africa, winner of the Whitbread Award and the Somerset Maugham Award; An Ice-Cream War, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and shortlisted for the Booker Prize; Brazzaville Beach, winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize; Any Human Heart, winner of the Prix Jean Monnet; and Restless, winner of the Costa Novel of the Year.