Update on The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond

I have been hard at work on my new book about Louise Brooks' first film, The Street of Forgotten Man: From Story to Screen and Beyond. So far, I have 259 pages completed, which includes some 56,000 words and dozens of images, many rare. I figure the book will come in under 300 pages; the finish line is well in sight. I also have a draft of the cover, which I hope to share at a later date. It is pretty nifty.

I think this new book will be akin to two of my earlier books, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, and Now We're in the Air: A Companion to the Once "Lost" Film -- though far more substantial. 

I am currently working on the chapter which surveys the film's critical reception in the United States. While doing so, I have run across a few rather unusual newspaper advertisements promoting a showing of The Street of Forgotten Men. Here they are.

The two-day run of The Street of Forgotten Men was extended a day when management of the Empress theater in Owensboro, Kentucky learned Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush wouldn’t arrive in time, having been mis-shipped from St. Louis. 

Imagine being able to attend a showing of The Street of Forgotten Men where two of the film's main stars, Mary Brian and Neil Hamilton (later Commissioner Gordon in the original Batman TV series) make a personal appearance before a screening of the film at the American theater in Oakland, California. Had I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1925, I would have been there in a heartbeat!

I would be willing to bet that this striking ad drew the attention of moviegoers, a few of whom might have wondered if the T-Rex was attacking London's street of forgotten men ! Or maybe not. 

Nevertheless, these are just a few of the many rather cool newspaper advertisements which are featured in The Street of Forgotten Man: From Story to Screen and Beyond. There are others, however, which are a bit more unusual. More on that later.... I will post a few more bits and pieces from the book in the coming months, including an intriguing new discovery regarding the film. Stay tuned.

Lastly, check out this 1926 page from the Rock Island Argus, from Illinois. The Street of Forgotten Men is showing at the Majestic (see the smaller advertisement to the lower left). And so is another Louise Brooks' film, The Show Off, at not one but two theaters!

 

This blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further use prohibited.