Around the World with Louise Brooks : Where and how her films were distributed

Fourteen of the twenty-four films in Louise Brooks' filmography were Paramount productions. That includes all of her American silent films except Just Another Blonde (1926) and A Girl in Every Port (1928); for those two productions, Brooks was loaned out to other studios. Just Another Blonde was a First National production, while A Girl in Every Port was a Fox production.

After her return from Europe, where Brooks made three films for a three different European studios, Brooks more-or-less returned to work in Hollywood, where she appeared in films for Warner Bros. Educational, Universal, Colombia, and Republic. Only two of her seven later sound films, It Pays to Advertise (1931) and King of Gamblers (1937), were Paramount productions. The former was done to complete her Paramount contract. Her role in the latter was small, and her part was eventually cut in it's domestic release.

[As is known, the domestic and foreign prints of films sometimes differed - even substantially, both in content (camera shots and plot points) and length. As is revealed in my forthcoming book, Around the World with Louise Brooks, there is some evidence that the actress' role in King of Gamblers may have been retained in some copies of the film's overseas release.]

As my forthcoming book shows, Brooks' films were shown all around the world, even in regions and countries where one might not think American films would have drawn much interest. As a powerhouse American studio, Paramount films were especially well distributed around the globe. In fact, it was something of which the studio was quite proud; over the years, they even published a few in-house journals showing just how far and wide their films were seen. Publications like Paramount Around the World and Paramount International News gathered news and publicity for Paramount films from far and wide. There were even nation specific publications, like Australia's Paramount Punch.

What's interesting is how Brooks was promoted in other countries. Combing through these and other publications, I came across some remarkable material. Did you know, for example, that giant roadside billboards promoted Brooks' Love Em and Leave Em in Australia? Or that crowds lined-up around the block to see The Canary Murder Case in Japan? (Brooks had a substantial following in Japan.)

The page reproduced below notes the many countries where Paramount films were shown. Notice, for example, how the office in Japan was also responsible for distribution to Korea, China, and the Philippine Islands. How the office in Cuba was also responsible for distribution to Porto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the West Indies. And how the office in Italy was also responsible for distribution to Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria.

This post will be continued, and will look at Brooks' and Paramount's presence in the Middle East.  .....