Arrived in the mail . . .

A bunch of nifty stuff arrived in the mail during the last few days. . . . Amanda sent photocopies of a dozen clipping - some vintage and some contemporary - and some I had never seen before. Thank you very much, Amanda!

I also recieved a copy of London Magazine (more a literary journal than a traditional magazine) which I had purchased over the internet from an English book dealer. This issue from 1966 contains a rather interesting article, "Daisy and Lulu," which compares and contrasts the heroines of Inside Daisy Clover and Pandora's Box. Very interesting, and an early example of contemporary writing about Brooks. There really isn't much from the 1960's that I have found. (One of the other fascinating pieces in this issue is an essay on Bob Dylan by Angela Carter - very smart stuff indeed. The juxtaposition of the two articles lead me to wonder . . . if "Daisy and Lulu," which Carter might well have read having an article of her own in the same issue, might have served as a kind of introduction to Louise Brooks for the novelist. Or perhaps, Carter had seen one of the screenings of Pandora's Box in London in the mid-1960's, which this article references. Whatever the case, Angela Carter - one of the seminal British fiction writers of the post-war era, went on to idolize Louise Brooks and write about the actress in various works. Perhaps this article or those screenings were the genesis of Carter's interest.)

Also arriving in the mail was the newly released three DVD set of  Brooks' movies from Carlotta Films. Nice packaging, and lots of extras are included on the discs. I have to reprogram my DVD player (the discs are region 2), and will relay my impressions on this important new French release sometime soon.

After a long wait and considerable expense, I also acquired the screenplays to two early Brooks' films, The American Venus and Love 'Em and Leave 'Em. They arrived in the mail today after a wait of nearly two months! The screenplay for The American Venus is especially interesting, as this is a lost film. So far, by hook and by crook, I have acquired the screenplays, scripts, or continuity for six other Brooks films - mostly later efforts. Among them are The Canary Muder Case, Windy Riley Goes Hollywood and God's Gift to Women. I wonder how many still exist.