Greetings fans of Louise Brooks and the silent film era. I have launched a modest GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to help me complete my forthcoming book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. The GoFundMe page is located HERE.
I am hoping to raise $400.00 to purchase the rights to a small number of archival images that I hope to include in my forthcoming book, which is due out in early 2023. Any donations over the goal will be used to help defray costs already incurred. A draft of the front and back covers of the book are pictured below. (The price of the book is not yet set.) Here's how you can help:
- Any donation, however small, will be very much appreciated.
- Donate $20.00 and receive an acknowledgment in the completed book.
- Donate $40.00 and receive an autographed, softcover copy of the completed book, as well as an acknowledgment (USA only).
- Donate $100.00 and receive an autographed, softcover copy of the completed book, an acknowledgment, and an autographed copy of my earlier book, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film (USA only).
As many of you may know, I have been working on a new book titled The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. This approximately 350-page book is a deep dive into the history of a single film – its literary source, its making, its exhibition history, its critical reception, and its surprising cultural impact.
Though little known today, the 1925 silent film, The Street of Forgotten Men,
was a popular and critical success at the time of its release. The film
is based on a short story by a noted writer (George Kibbe Turner); it
was made by a significant director (Herbert Brenon), shot by a great
cinematographer (Hal Rosson), and features a fine cast (Percy Marmont,
Neil Hamilton, Mary Brian) which includes a screen legend at the very
beginning of her career (Louise Brooks). In many ways, The Street of Forgotten Men is exemplary of filmmaking & film culture in the mid-1920s. This new book tells its story in rich, historical detail.
Along with dozens of rare images, my book contains all manner of
vintage documents, clippings and advertisements as well as a foreword by
Robert Byrne. (This noted film preservationist is responsible for the
2022 restoration of The Street of Forgotten Men, which debuted earlier this year at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.) Among the book's many revelations
- A detailed account of the making of the film - what it was like on the set of a silent film.
- A thorough survey of the film's many reviews, including one by a Weird Tales contributor, and another by Catholic icon Dorothy Day, a candidate for sainthood.
- Identification of a handful of the film's uncredited, bit players, including a noted journalist, a screenwriter, and a world champion boxer.
- The story of Lassie's role in the film (no, not that Lassie, the first Lassie).
- The role music played in the making and exhibition of this silent film.
- How the film's title entered into
- The story of how future film legend Louise Brooks came to appear in the film - her first!
- And so much more... from censorship records to its mention on the floor of Congress to a French fictionalization to a clipping noting the film's last documented showing, at a Navy Y.M.C.A in Shanghai, China in 1931 !
The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond is a book every silent film fan will want to own. It is also a must read for anyone interested in director Herbert Brenon, actress Louise Brooks, etc.... The GoFundMe page is located HERE.
The Louise Brooks Society blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society. (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further unauthorized use prohibited.
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