Happy New Year from the Louise Brooks Society

Happy New Year from the Louise Brooks Society.

Silent era classical music

I recently picked up a copy of Aubert: Orchestral Works, a collection of five shorter works by Louis Aubert (1887 - 1968). I had not heard of this French composer, but I stumbled upon this CD and was drawn to the cover (which depicts Charlie Chaplin) as well as the interestingly titled second work on the disc, "Cinema, six tableaux symphoniques." According to the liner notes, this symphonic suite is taken from a ballet first staged in 1953, and each movement or episode in the work depicts a moment in the history of film. The movements are titled "Cinéma, six tableaux symphoniques Douglas Fairbanks et Mary Pickford," "Cinéma, six tableaux symphoniques Rudolph Valentino," "Cinéma, six tableaux symphoniques Chaplin et les Nymphes Hollywoodiennes," "Cinéma, six tableaux symphoniques Walt Disney," etc.... This music is charming and easy to listen to, and will appeal to those who may like Debussy or Ravel.



The liner notes refer to another French composer with whom I was not familiar, Charles Koechlin (1867 - 1950), and his "Seven Stars Symphony." According to the Wikipedia entry on Koechlin, the "Seven Stars Symphony" (1933) was "inspired by Hollywood" and "He was fascinated by the movies and wrote many 'imaginary' film scores and works dedicated to the Hollywood actress Lillian Harvey, on whom he had a crush. He also composed an "Epitaph for Jean Harlow." This webpage contains additional information on Koechlin. And this English-language Russian webpage has some really interesting material.

One doesn't often come across classical music inspired by the early cinema, especially that dating from the time. Is anyone familiar with this composer or their filmic compositions? I would like to track down some of Koechlin's work.

Louise Brooks Society is on Twitter @LB_Society

The Louise Brooks Society is on Twitter @LB_Society.

 As of today, the LBS is followed by more than 3000 individuals. Are you one of them? Why not join the conversation? Be sure and visit the official LBS Twitter profile, and check out the more than 3,800 LBS tweets! For those who like to follow the flow, the LBS twitter stream can also be found in the right hand column of this blog.

And that's not all. 

RadioLulu ♪♫♬♪

also has a Twitter account at @Radio_Lulu. 

           As of now, RadioLulu is followed by more than 3000 individuals, and has posted more than 175 tweets!This recently established account tweets about Louise Brooks and music as well as additions to

RadioLulu - the long running online radio station of the Louise Brooks Society
at live365.com/stations/298896 Check them both out! 

And for those who want to, check out the Twitter account of Thomas Gladysz, founding director of the Louise Brooks Society, at @thomas_gladysz 

A poem from Cuba about Louise Brooks

Since Cuba is in the news of late, I thought to rerun this post from the past: A webpage from Cuba once featured a handful of poems "about" eary film stars, including one "about" Louise Brooks! There were also poems "about" Theda Bara, Buster Keaton, Mary Pickford, Mae Murray, Charlie Chaplin and others. The poems are by Carlos Esquivel, a contemporary Cuban writer. Here is the Brooks' piece (whose title translates as "A Love Letter to Louise Brooks").

                                                      UNA CARTA DE AMOR PARA LOUISE BROOKS

Nada me une a ti sino lo que está más lejos:

el padre que no pude decir abrácense hijos,

esta sequía que ya aburre

 y junta las hebras de dormir con las de estar muertos,

ese perro recién nacido por los golpes y la fragilidad

de los apostadores,

y el trueno que no nos deja un águila viva.

Nada une como secar la pólvora en que hemos estado a salvo

mientras guardan en los sepulcros las hachas húmedas por la sangre

de otras muchachas.

Condenado a ser un hombre triste,

como un mensajero que se acoda

en la tribu enemiga, viviendo fuera de los muertos que le pertenecen,

doloroso y elegido en esta religión de olvidarte,

en la tierra que huele a abalorios, a coz,

advenedizo ante el oráculo y el agua áspera de las consignas.

Pero no soy quien cae de rodillas

y echa fuera de la armadura su presagio de vejez.

Sólo soy quien declara su amor como el prisionero

apostado a soñar con lo imposible.

Ya la madre no pensará en nosotros,

y en las misas los tambores llamarán a la fornicación,

heridos por el ácido de las absoluciones

y por los peñascos de quienes vaticinan

una zona blanca para los esqueletos amados.

Bienvenidos, dirán los niños,

y rezaremos ardiendo los sepulcros,

vueltos a callar en la carne y en la madera,

derribados por el coraje y la orina con que el hijo nos condenaba.

La sangre debe unir todo lo que en mí se hunde.

Debajo de esta barba de príncipe, mi corazón intacto

a las arrugas y a los zarcillos,

derramándose por las moras y los herbolarios,

húmedo de las concubinas que  habrán cobrado mi locura.

El corazón cercado,  como el tonto pájaro de Atamelipa.

Nada me une a ti sino lo que ruedea devolviéndose.

Augurar también que nos pregunten,

que en el vientre y los muslos un hijo nos pertenezca.

Nada me une más a ti que lo que no existe,

una espalda que imagino como única mentira,

y una muchacha con su cuerno de caza terminando la historia.

Quién sabe con qué esperanza tendremos el alcohol,

y la garganta hará un incendio para hacernos olvidar,

para sentarnos ante el poema

e inventar un grito.

Happy holidays from the Louise Brooks Society

Happy holidays from the Louise Brooks Society.

Herb Weidner Cold Times

Darkness, Fog and Despair ... from the movie "Lulu" by G.W. Pabst with Louise Brooks. Music f. Oboe in d-minor .742a. Merry Christmas.

Francis Lederer: Recipe for Ginger Beef

Francis Lederer co-starred with Louise Brooks in the German-made film, Pandora's Box (1929). In the 1930's, Lederer moved to Hollywood, were he acted in many films and developed a following. Lederer had enough of a following over the years that he was asked to contribute to a booklet of the time, What COOKS in Hollywood (1949). Also featured in the book is Claire Trevor (who co-starred in King of Gamblers), Bing Crosby, Loretta Young, Lucille Ball, Gary Cooper, Kirk Douglas, Barbara Stanwyck, Frank Sinatra, Shelley Winters, Roy Rogers, Warner Baxter, Joan Crawford, William Holden, Joan Bennett, Betty Hutton, and Fred MacMurray, among others.

Presented here is Lederer's recipe for Ginger Beef, alongside Dorothy Lamour's recipe for Chipped Beef Rarebit. Lamour can be heard singing, not cooking, on RadioLulu. Enjoy, and bon apetit.

Louise Brooks - Egyptian advertising flyer

Here is a recently acquired treasure, an advertising piece from Cairo, Egypt circa 1930. This is only the second instance the LBS has come across of an image of Louise Brooks in Egypt from the silent or early sound era. The Cinema Jardin theater lasted at least into the years of the second World War (see theater ticket below), while a Cafe Cinema Jardin is in business in Cairo today. This bit of ephemera was bought on eBay from an Egyptian dealer.

Louise Brooks, flappers, and evolution

It's not unsual, while looking through newspapers and magazines of the 1920's, to come upon articles about flappers (of which Louise Brooks was considered a prime example). Incredibly, flappers (young women with a decidely modern outlook) were seen as a "threat" to society. (As was "evolution" and the idea that humanity could be related to apes and monkeys.) Many of the articles I have come across about flappers are of the finger-wagging variety.

I couldn't help but notice "Flapper Monkey Too Untrained for Matrimony; Her Three Babies Died." This is certainly one of the most ridiculous pieces I have ever read.

Louise Brooks inspires character in new mystery novel

According to Canadian author Caroline Kaiser, Louise Brooks was a major source of inspiration for the beautiful ghost Constance in Kaiser's recently released mystery novel, Virginia's Ghost (Lavaliere Press). Here is a description of the book drawn from Amazon.

Antiques specialist Virginia Blythe of Gable & Co. Auctioneers is working late one night when she hears mournful wailing. Following the sound to its source, she gasps in astonishment: a breathtakingly beautiful flapper who looks like a refugee from an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel is lingering in the shadows of the company’s basement. Later the disconsolate young woman returns to offer Virginia her diary, written in 1928. It reveals she’s the ghost of wealthy Toronto socialite Constance Pendleton. What is Constance trying to tell her? Intrigued, Virginia curls up with the diary and begins dipping her toes into the elegant opulence of Constance’s Jazz Age world. But suddenly things go terribly awry at Gable & Co. Just as Virginia’s preparing for a blockbuster auction, some valuable porcelain mysteriously goes missing and her job is on the line. 

The worst, however, is yet to come. A shocking murder spins the eccentric world of the auction house into chaos. Struggling to make sense of it all, Virginia turns increasingly to the secrets of the diary. Virginia’s Ghost is a tale of ghastly crime, euphoric love, and devastating betrayal in which two women transcend time to affect each other’s lives in startling ways.

Louise Brooks Society supports Net Neutrality

An important message worth repeating: The Louise Brooks Society supports Net Neutrality. Without it, the LBS and other small websites and content providers would be lost among the wilds of cyberspace. Read more about net neutrality at http://www.whitehouse.gov/net-neutrality

Nameographs: Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford and Mae Murray

Nameographs from 1928: Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford and Mae Murray and others.

Flapper Clothes: 1928 Perspective

Mark Tansey painting features Louise Brooks?

Back on December 12, 2004, the New York Times ran a half-page spread on the highly regarded contemporary painter Mark Tansey and a recent work of his entitled "West Face." (Click here to read the article and see an image of the painting.) 

According to the article, " 'West Face' appears to be a suavely rendered picture of a band of hikers trudging up a snowy mountainside. But look closely, and you'll find a landscape treacherous with puzzles, paradoxes, hidden images and allusions." 

Among the hidden images, reportedly, are portraits of various philosophers, and, of Louise Brooks. I see the portraits (including the one that is supposedly Brooks), but I don't quite recognize the actress. What do you think?

Hey Mark Tansey, did you put Louise Brooks face in your painting?

Early Modern Dance: Denishawn Images

There is a real nice collection of Denishawn images on Flickr. These images are exotic, erotic and visually very interesting. How I wish someone would publish a pictorial book devoted to Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, and the Denishawn Dance Company. By the way, Louise Brooks can be seen in at least two of the images gathered on Flickr.

Save up to 25% on The Diary of a Lost Girl (Louise Brooks edition)

Celebrate the season with 12 days of super holiday savings. Click the link below for a chance to win incredible savings of up to 25% off all print books, including The Diary of a Lost Girl (Louise Brooks edition).  Scratch to win now! Happy holidays from your friends at Lulu.com and the Louise Brooks Society

Scratch and Win Now »

Louise Brooks: Time for a winter coat

Louise Brooks suggests its time to get out your winter coat

New DVD features 1931 Louise Brooks' film Windy Riley Goes Hollywood

Alpha Video has released volume 3 in its DVD series devoted to "Ultra Rare Sound Shorts." This installment, which retails for only $7.98, is described as a "collection of hilarious sound shorts from the vaults of Hollywood."

I haven't seen this recent release yet, though I hope to get a copy sometime soon. The three films found on this budget release are:

Love Your Neighbor (1930): Mrs. Brown is admitted into a leading social club whose motto is "Do A Good Deed A Day." During her acceptance speech she manages to make mortal enemies with the wife of her husband's biggest client. Starring Charlotte Greenwood, Lloyd Hamilton, Wilfred Lucas and Dot Farley. Directed by William Watson.

One Yard To Go (1930): Red Gable All-American sits on the sideline during the big game because his coach thinks he's too love sick over his recent romantic break-up to play. With the game on the line, coach relents and sends in Red to save the day. Rushing for the winning touchdown he suddenly fumbles the ball when over the loudspeaker comes the voice of the very girl who broke his heart! Starring Bobby Vernon, Marjorie Beebe, Frank Eastman, Cyril Chadwick and Dot Farley. Directed by William Beaudine.

Windy Riley Goes Hollywood (1931): Race promoter Windy Riley kidnaps a movie star to create a publicity scandal and win himself a job in a Hollywood studio. His ill-conceived scheme goes terribly wrong. Starring Louise Brooks and Jack Shutta. Directed by William Goodrich (Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle).

Please note: This product is made-on-demand by the manufacturer using DVD-R recordable media. Almost all DVD players can play DVD-Rs (except for some older models made before 2000) - please consult your owner's manual for formats compatible with your player. These DVD-Rs may not play on all computers or DVD player/recorders. To address this, the manufacturer recommends viewing this product on a DVD player that does not have recording capability.