“Funny Screen Experiences” by Louise Brooks

About one-hundred years ago today (depending on where you lived), American newspapers ran a syndicated piece attributed to Louise Brooks titled "Funny Screen Experiences," or "My Funniest Experience". One instance of this piece (shown below) was found in the Berkeley (California) Daily Gazette, where it was published on July 16, 1926. Another instance of this same article, under the title "My Funniest Experience", appeared in the San Francisco Bulletin on the same day.

Whatever it was titled, it also appeared on or around the same day in newspapers in Springfield, Massachusetts (7-14-26), San Antonio, Texas (7-16-26), Hammond, Indiana (7-20-26), Richmond, California (7-26-26), and elsewhere, including St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada (7-16-26) .

 

  

"Funny Screen Experiences" or  "My Funniest Experience" was a short-lived series of humorous anecdotes syndicated to various American newspapers by United Press, a wire service. The first piece in the series was attributed to Warner Baxter, and carried an editor's note which read, "This is the first in the series of brief stories by well known film stars, describing their most amusing studio experiences." Other pieces in the series appeared in July 1926 with a by-line attributed to Neil Hamilton (Beau Geste), Lois Wilson (The Great Gatsby), William Powell (Aloma of the South Seas), Renee Adoree (The Eternal Struggle), Aileen Pringle (Tin Gods) and Hale Hamilton. [I believe these are all Paramount productions.] Notably, the piece attributed to Ford Sterling also concerned The Show-Off. 

It is doubtful that Louise Brooks actually wrote her piece, despite the fact it has her by-line. Rather, the author of this piece was likely a Paramount publicist assigned to The Show-Off whose job it was to generate copy for newspapers which would, in turn, draw attention to Paramount’s new and forthcoming releases. The most than can be said about its authenticity is that it may have been based on an actual incident in which the set of The Show-Off was dressed with inappropriate books. It is also worth mentioning that Brooks was known to pass the time on set reading.

A variant instance of this same piece appeared in the Utica (NY) Observer Dispatch on July 18, 1926 under the title, "Light Reading Nearly Spoiled Flapper Scene: My Funniest Experience." 

 More about these and other spurious articles can be found on the Louise Brooks Society website page "Articles Attributed to Louise Brooks." 

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original content copyright © 2026. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  

Cinemages 3 : Six Talks on G. W. Pabst - a new acquisition -

For years, I have been hoping to acquire a copy of Cinemages 3 : Six Talks on G. W. Pabst. And now at last, I have done so. It is an obscure film journal published in New York City in 1955 by the Group for Film Study. The journal was edited by Gideon Bachmann.* 

I have wanted a copy ever since I saw it cited in the Barry Paris biography ever so long ago, but it has proven difficult to track down. (I had to pay a pretty penny for just this single issue.) The journal looks like what today we would call a 'zine -- it's typescript on pulpy paper reproduced by what seems like a photocopy machine, though photocopy technology wasn't available until 1959. Perhaps it's photostat or mimeograph? (I would assume relatively few were "printed." Additionally, it has that dusty-musty smell common in used book shops.) When the Group for Film Study put on screenings, copies of Cinemages were sold for 50 cents. (I paid more than 100 times that amount for my copy.)

This particular issue of Cinemages was given over to G.W. Pabst, and it features extensive interviews with six individuals who were contemporaneous with the director. They are Marc Sorkin, Paul Falkenberg, Jean Oser, Eugen Schuftan, Leo Lania, and the critic Siegfried Kracauer. (The later "interview" is merely a compilation of excerpts from Kracauer's earlier writings, including his famous 1947 book, From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film.)

What drew Paris' attention (and mine) is that the first two -- Sorkin and Falkenberg -- worked with Pabst on Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl. And they talk about those two films! Aside from Brooks' writings, eyewitness accounts by others involved in either production are rare. This is choice material. Besides the six interviews, there is also an introduction by Gideon Bachmann and an annotated filmography compiled by Gavin Lambert and the British Film Institute. (This was decades before IMdB and easy access to such information.)

Earlier, I mentioned that this journal was obscure. It is, and was -- but not so much so that Louise Brooks didn't have access to it. As a matter of fact, she quotes from the Paul Falkenberg interview in her 1965 piece, "Pabst and Lulu," which appeared in Sight and Sound. Interestingly, Brooks names Falkenberg in her article, but does not reference the film journal itself, writing "... one of his assistants, Paul Falkenberg, said in 1955". I had always wondered where, exactly, Brooks got that reference, and now I know.

Excerpts from Gideon Bachmann's (GB) interview with Paul Falkenberg (PF), followed by a few bits from Bachmann's interview with Marc Sorkin (MS), can be found on the Louise Brooks Society Substack....

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 .... I found these interviews to be fascinating, even revelatory.... that Marc Sorkin only worked on part of Pandora's Box, that Louise Brooks (seemingly) wanted mood music while on set, that Falkenberg himself helped look for an actress to play Lulu, and a dozen other little details. 

For those who were wondering, over the years, Louise Brooks kept in touch with a few individuals involved with both Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl. Brooks exchanged the occasional letter and phone call with Pabst, as well as with Marc Sorkin, who was living in New York City in the 1950s. (Paul Falkenberg was also living in NYC in the 1950s, but I haven't seen any indication of them being in touch.) Brooks also was friends with Lothar Wolff, the publicist for both of her Pabst films. He too came to live in the United States, where he worked as an editor and producer.

* The sponsors for the Group for Film Study are given as Rudolph Arnheim, Jean Benoit-Levy, Rene Clair, Paul Falkenberg, David Flaherty, Abel Gance, Marcel L'Herbier, Siegfried Kracauer, Willim K. Everson, Hans Richter, Frank Stauffacher, Williard Van Dyke, and Herman G. Weinberg.

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original content copyright © 2026. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  

July 4th in the Life of Louise Brooks

Louise Brooks lived through some 78 July 4th celebrations of Independence Day, including the 150th anniversary in 1926 and the 200th in 1976. This rambling post looks at the July 4th holiday in the life of the actress.

In 1926, Brooks was back in New York City, after having completed work on It's the Old Army Game in Florida, where she met the film's director, Eddie Sutherland. The two became involved, and would marry a few weeks later on July 21. How exactly Brooks spent this particular July 4th we don't know, but I would guess it was with Eddie. 

And here is newspaper bit for It's the Old Army Game, which was showing at the Strand in Minneapolis, Minnesota (as well as many other cities and towns across America) on July 4th 1926. Brooks stardom was just starting to take off.

In 1976, Brooks was living in Rochester, New York, having moved there some years earlier. At this time in her life, she spent most of her time in her apartment, reading, writing letters, and working on her various writing projects (namely her essays and articles). Brooks liked to watch television and listen to the radio, and thus it's likely she watched some TV coverage of the American bicentennial. I remember that holiday, and media coverage was hard to escape.

One other event we can place with certainty on a July 4th occurred in 1968, when Brooks visited composer David Diamond at his Rochester home. Perhaps she attended an independence day gathering. According to the local newspaper, the weather in Rochester was partly sunny with a high in the low to mid 70s. It might have been a nice day to have an outdoor gathering. (Fans may recall Diamond from his memorable appearance in the 1998 documentary Louise Brooks Looking for Lulu.)

David Diamond in 1987

Speaking of the weather, among the miscellaneous items found in Brooks' papers was this reply from The Answer Man. According to its Wikipedia page, The Answer Man was a 15-minute radio program that aired from 1937 to 1956 on the Mutual Broadcasting System as well as in syndication. Questions submitted by listeners were answered on the air by Albert Mitchell, and those who sent questions not used in the program were given answers by mail.

Brooks had written a few brief notes on the reverse of this reply, including a couple of phone numbers. Given the context, I'll assume Brooks wrote to The Answer Man sometime prior to the show leaving the air in 1956, to which she received a reply by someone on staff with the initials of "jp". (I will also assume Brooks listened to the show while living in New York City. The Answer Man aired on WNBC  -- then operating on the 660 AM frequency -- in New York City from 1950 until the show's conclusion in 1956. The Answer Man aired twice a day from Monday through Friday: it ran as a 15-minute program, typically broadcast in the early afternoon at 1:30 PM and during the evening at 6:15 PM.)

As best I can figure, Brooks was in Peterboro, New Hampshire on July 4, 1923. That is where Denishawn had its summer camp. Seemingly, something of note happened in Peterboro on July 4, 1923 -- I say that because Brooks tried to recall what the weather was like that day. She even went so far as to send away for the information. (Time and again, Brooks tried to place her memories in the context of the weather. It was one way to help her set the scene in her earliest efforts at writing, especially when she was working on Naked on My Goat.) 

I'll finish with this July 4, 1982 newspaper clipping from McComb, Mississippi. Just a few months earlier, Brooks' Lulu in Hollywood was published. And in its wake reviews, articles, and columns like this one devoted to the actress appeared in newspapers just about everywhere. I can imagine Brooks feeling a sense of accomplishment and excitement that her book, something she had worked on for years and which meant a great deal, had been published and was garnering good reviews. Louise Brooks had long wished to be a writer....

 

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original content copyright © 2026. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, to screen on July 30th in London

Pandora's Box, Louise Brooks' great screen triumph, will be shown at Wilton's Music Hall in London one month from today, on July 30th. This special screening will feature a live piano score by Christopher Eldred. More information about this event, including ticket availability, can be found HERE. 

Otherwise, here is what the venue says about the event: 

"Louise Brooks stars as the effortlessly seductive Lulu, a high class courtesan and dancer who brings destruction to the Berlin bourgeoisie with her turbulent love affairs, both male and female.   

Heavily censored in its day, G.W. Pabst‘s 1929 Weimar masterpiece nonetheless launched flapper icon Brooks to international stardom and Pandora’s Box still feels incredibly modern today, ranking amongst the Guardian’s top 100 films of all time. 

Experience this rare special screening with live piano score by Christopher Eldred."

More about Pandora's Box can be found on the Louise Brooks Society website on its Pandora's Box (filmography page). 

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original content copyright © 2026. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Where else to find the Louise Brooks Society online

For the last number of months I've been rebuilding the Louise Brooks Society's social media presence. (Regular readers of this blog know why.) And so, here is a refresher of where else to find the LBS.

Besides its widely praised website at www.pandorasbox.com, the LBS also has this longstanding blog and a YouTube account as well as a more recently established Substack. Each are rich in content. 

All of the LBS's 20+ social media accounts are listed on the LBS website's Social Media page. The LBS has accounts on Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.... As of today, the two primary social media accounts are its Bluesky and Instagram accounts. Each has drawn more than 1000 followers. 

On a more modest scale, there is also the reestablished Facebook group. 

I hope you'll take the time to explore one or more of these accounts. And please remember to like and subscribe. Everything helps.

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original content copyright © 2026. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

The books that Louise Brooks read and / or owned

For more than a few years now, I've been keeping lists of book that Louise Brooks either owned, read, or is know to have owned and / or read. Brooks never kept a list herself, so what I have compiled is gathered from a number of sources -- such as the archive at the George Eastman Museum (to whom Brooks gifted her film books) and the archive at Wichita State University (who have her personal books). Other books are referenced in both vintage and contemporary newspaper and magazine articles, in Brook's letters, in the Barry Paris biography, etc....

I have handled a few books over time, and currently own two. The one I have owned the longest is The Twenties in Vogue, by Carolyn Hall and a foreword by Gloria Swanson. (This first edition hardback was published in 1983 by Harmony Books. For those interested, inexpensive used copies can be found online, including amazon.) My copy includes a few handwritten annotation by Brooks. The half-title page has three annotations (as shown) including a notation mentioning that the book was a gift from the New Yorker editor William Shawn received on September 27, 1983. Below it, the actress signed her name, and added "Rochester, N.Y." (Shawn edited the essays in Lulu in Hollywood, and wrote that book's original foreword.)

Louise Brooks gave away many of her books, even valuable ones, and said so. There is, as well, a notation on the title page. "To Marge - all my love - Louise - September 28, 1983." This notation suggests Brooks gave the book away the day after she received it, and seemingly after recording that her picture (the Edward Steichen portrait) appears on page 89 and her name (in the index, now underlined) on page 158.

On page 104, Brooks also wrote the name of George Gershwin next to a portrait of the composer. And as well, on pages 134 and 135, in the chapter "New Books for Your Morning Room Table", Brooks checked off a number of titles. They were A Passage to India by E.M. Forester, Antic Hay by Aldous Huxley, An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser, To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, Death in Venice by Thomas Mann, and Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh. I would guess these were books Louise had read. Not checked off were Fiesta by Ernest Hemingway, The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie, Anna Livia Plurabelle by James Joyce, and Living by Henry Green. (I am pretty sure Brooks had read other Hemingway.)

I'll guess and say the "Marge" to whom the book is dedicated was the neighbor upstairs who is prominently mentioned in the Paris biography. They were close, and Marge helped the then elderly Brooks on a number of occasions. 

[For those wondering, I purchased this book on-line some years ago -- likely from someone who got it from Marge or her estate.] Here are a few scans from my copy.

 

The other book I own which once belonged to Louise Brooks is Best Stories to Tell Children by Sara Cone Bryant. It is inscribed on the first free end-paper "To Louise Brooks from Momma Xmas 1912". This book was given to Brooks when she was just 6 years old. It too is a first edition, having been first published in 1912 and priced at $1.25.) I can imagine little Louise reading the book, or having it read to her.

Out of curiosity, I did a little research on the author. Sara Cone Bryant was a once well known American lecturer, teacher, and writer. She wrote children's books in the early 20th century. She also supported and took a leadership role in women's suffrage. (That latter fact, I feel, is interesting in view of the fact that Brooks' mother was the person who likely found this book at a local Cherryvale store. I wonder if Louise's mother, Myra, knew of Sara Cone Bryant. To learn more about this author, check out her Wikipedia page. And to check out or even read the book itself, check out its Internet Archive record.

[For those wondering, this book was recently gifted to me by the Estate of Louise Brooks after it having sat in a Wichita, Kansas attic for decades.] Here are a few scans.

 

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original content copyright © 2026. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Louise Brooks Coming Attraction Slides page updated

The Louise Brooks Society page devoted to coming attraction slides has been updated. I've added a bit of new information, re-arranged a couple of slides, and added a link to a must view video, which I have also embedded below. 

What are coming attraction slides? The answer, simply put, is that they were the equivalent of today's previews or trailers. During the silent and early sound era era, glass slides were projected in theaters as a means of alerting the audience to a venue’s future offerings, or coming attraction. 

The Louise Brooks Society page devoted to coming attraction slides collects examples of slides for every one of the actress' American silent and sound films -- except It Pays to Advertise and Windy Riley Goes Hollywood. There are 38 slides shown. There are also scans of placeholder images for Evening Clothes (variant slide), as well as God's Gift to Women and When You're in Love. I don't know if there were slides created for any of Brooks' three European films. As of today, none have turned up.

If you are interested in coming attraction slides, the one site you simply MUST VISIT is Robert Byrne's Starts Thursday. It is an amazing site which contains an informative history of coming attraction slides, as well examples of more than 11,000+ beautifully scanned slides. One could spend days looking at the many different slides. And yes, these are a number of examples of Louise Brooks related slides, including some not pictured here. The history of glass slides was surveyed by Byrne in 2026 in an video talk presented by the San Francisco Film Preserve. It can be found on YouTube HERE.  Also well worth a visit is the Coming Attraction Lantern Slides (W. Ward Marsh collection) at the Cleveland Public Library. Though a smaller collection, it is a treasure trove of imagery collected by Marsh, a Cleveland newspaper critic who also happened to have reviewed a number of Brooks' film for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. And for a little more background, there is this 2014 article on SLATE. 

 

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original content copyright © 2026. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Celebrating the first day of Summer with Louise Brooks

It's the first day of summer! To help everyone enjoy the new season and warm temperatures, here are some images of Louise Brooks at the beach.

As a member of Denishawn, in 1923. Louise Brooks is second from right.
Martha Graham is center. This picture was likely taken in 
New England near the Atlantic coastline.

 

As a Paramount actress, in 1927. Louise Brooks is center, with Sally Blane (left)
and Nancy Phillips (right). Picture taken in So. California on the Pacific Coast.

Another in Southern California in 1927, with Sally Blaine.

A candid at the historic Cavalier Beach Club, Virginia Beach, VA in 1929.

In a scene from Prix de beaute, filmed in France in 1929.
I would guess this was taken on the Mediterranean.

At the beach in 1933, at the Atlantic Ocean.

In the last picture shown above, Louise Brooks is shown standing on an Atlantic Ocean beach while walking her dog, a terrier. The women she is talking with, also shown in profile to the left, is Lois Long (aka "Lipstick"), the well known New Yorker writer who was once married to the New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno. (When this picture was taken, Long and Arno were divorced.) It is interesting to note that as late as 1933, Brooks was still wearing her hair in a bob and rather short.

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original content copyright © 2026. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.