A Thanksgiving themed post from the Louise Brooks Society

Louise Brooks shows on Thanksgiving Monday

In Canada in 1927, the Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated on different days on a regional and even local basis. Nationally, the holiday was set to take place on July 3rd. But as the above advertisement from Nanaimo, British Columbia shows, a special showing of Rolled Stockings was announced for the local Bijou theatre on an alternate holiday – Monday, November 7th. (... Some thirty years after this Thanksgiving Day screening, the Governor General of Canada issued a proclamation stating the Thanksgiving holiday would henceforth be observed throughout the nation on the second Monday in October.)

In the United States, Thanksgiving takes place on the last Thursday in November. And south of the border on November 24, 1927, the popular Louise Brooks comedy Now We're in the Air was showing in Appleton, Wisconsin. The film, which the Appleton Post-Cresent described as a "nonsense opera", was going over "big," according to the local newspaper. The advertisement for Fischer's theatre proclaims "After that Thanksgiving Day Dinner Come on Down," noting Brooks is the "leading lady and how she leads." Notably, the accompanying short film is Love Em and Feed Em (starring Max Davidson & Oliver Hardy); its title is a take off on Brooks' 1926 film, Love Em and Leave Em.

Appleton moviegoers who couldn't get enough of Louise Brooks could return to Fischer's the following Saturday or Sunday, where another 1927 Brooks film, The City Gone Wild, was showing. How's that for a cinematic feast? Elsewhere around the United States in 1927, The City Gone Wild was showing on Thanksgiving Day in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Walnut theatre, while Now We're in the Air was showing in Allentown, Pennsylvania at the Strand. (If you live in either of those towns, get in your time machine and travel back to catch a screening of these now "lost" films.) Or, if you live in Bloomington, Illinois, you can take in The City Gone Wild at the Irvin theatre, as the turkey bordered advertisement below shows. (It remarkable that the local Bloomington newspaper had enough turkey dingbats to set a border.)

On Thursday, November 29th - Thanksgiving Day in 1928, the recently released Louise Brooks film Beggars of Life was showing in Hartford, Connecticut. The Hartford Courant newspaper ad below notes the "special holiday bill" at the Central theatre would be shown at 2:30, 6:30, and 8:30 pm, but incorrectly states the film stars Noah Berry. In actuality, the film starred Noah Beery's younger brother, future Oscar winner Wallace Beery!

In traditional clothing in Beggars of Life

Wherever you live in the United States or Canada, and however you celebrate the holiday, happy Thanksgiving from the Louise Brooks Society. And don't forget, the Louise Brooks inspired film, The Chaperone, will be shown on Thanksgiving afternoon on PBS. Check you local TV listing for the time and channel.