Anita Loos and the Talmadge Girls

Recently finished reading The Talmadge Girls by Anita Loos. This book is an anecdotal biography of film stars Norma Talmadge and Constance Talmadge (and to a lesser extent Natalie Talmadge, the sister who married Buster Keaton). It is a very good read. I liked Loos' writing so much (her own life story is intertwined with that of the Talmadge sisters) that I followed it up with a dip into the recently published Anita Loos Rediscovered. Some day I will have to read more about Loos' life and career. She is a really interesting figure.

Two films

I recently rented two films which I watched for the first time ever. They were Cabaret (1972) and Mephisto (1981). Each depicts Germany in the 1920's and 1930's. I liked Cabaret a good deal, but found Mephisto interesting but a little slow.

Stanford University

This month, I made four trips to the library at Stanford University. I have been wanting to visit this large academic library - located about an hour south - for some time. 

I browsed "the stacks" - examining the large collection of books on film and film history. I found a number of interesting German and French titles which included fresh bits of information on Brooks and her three European films. I also found some interesting books on the German writer Frank Wedekind, author of the Lulu plays. 

No trip to a library would be complete without a search through periodicals! I looked through bound issues of old Italian and German film magazines, as well as some French and English newspapers on microfilm. I also looked through issues of the Stanford University student newspaper dating from the 1920's. All of these sources yielded a smattering of articles, reviews and advertisements.

Neve Campbell plans to portray Louise Brooks

This news item has been making the rounds . . . . 

"Neve Campbell plans to portray Louise Brooks, the bob-haired beauty who emerged from George White's Scandals and the Ziegfeld Follies and escaped flapper roles in Hollywood to achieve acclaim in Germany in G. W. Pabst films like Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl (both 1929) before becoming a recluse. Ms. Campbell has bought Lulu, a biographical screenplay by Peter Nickowitz and Bill Oliver, titled after the nymphomaniac portrayed by Brooks (1906-1985) in Pandora's Box. Ms. Campbell is looking for a director and for financing, according to a Reuters - Hollywood Reporter report."

Barry Paris on WQED

I just clicked on the WQED link on the Barry Paris page of Louise Brooks Studies and noticed that the station is once again being broadcast over the internet. Barry Paris has a show on this radio station on Sunday afternoons. Check it out.