Beggars of Life, with Louise Brooks, screens in NYC TODAY

Sorry about the late notice, but thought some might want to know .... Beggars of Life (1928), the terrific William Wellman film starring Louise Brooks, will be shown at Film Forum in New York City later today. 

Wellman’s long-thought-lost silent, starring Louise Brooks and Wallace Beery and featuring dazzling location work on speeding trains, screens on Sunday, January 22 at 3:10 pm! The film will be shown with live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner and a special pre-recorded introduction by Leonard Maltin & Bruce Goldstein. More information HERE.

From the Film Forum website: 

Partial inspiration for Sturges’ SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (screening immediately after).
♪ Silent, with live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner
Pre-recorded introduction by Leonard Maltin, with Bruce Goldstein

U.S., 1928
Directed by William Wellman
Starring Louise Brooks, Wallace Beery, Richard Arlen
Based on Outside Looking In, a stage play by Maxwell Anderson, adapted from Jim Tully’s 1924 autobiographical book, Beggars of Life
Approx. 81 min. DCP.

On the run after killing a molesting stepfather, dressed-as-a-boy Louise Brooks is befriended by Richard Arlen and falls in with Wallace Beery’s band of hoboes. Long-thought-lost silent classic, with Brooks’ best pre-German work (director G.W. Pabst was so impressed by her screen presence that he soon cast her in PANDORA'S BOX) and dazzling location work on speeding trains.  The set-up of a young woman impersonating a boy, traveling with hoboes on a box car, may have inspired Preston Sturges to re-create it — this time, with Veronica Lake dressed as a boy — in SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS. 

“A rowdy, violent, romantic adventure…The bladelike Brooks, domineering with a mere glance, looks right at home in a man’s suit… [Wellman] has an eye for the physical and moral degradation of the persecuted and despised.”
– Richard Brody, The New Yorker

If you love this film as much as I do, be sure and check out my 2017 book, Beggars of Life: a Companion to the 1928 Film. It is available on amazon all around the world.

This first ever study of "Beggars of Life" looks at the film Oscar-winning director William Wellman thought his finest silent movie. Based on Jim Tully’s bestselling book of hobo life—and filmed by Wellman the year after he made "Wings" (the first film to win the Best Picture Oscar), "Beggars of Life" is a riveting drama about an orphan girl (screen legend Louise Brooks) who kills her abusive stepfather and flees the law. She meets a boy tramp (leading man Richard Arlen), and together they ride the rails through a dangerous hobo underground ruled over by Oklahoma Red (future Oscar winner Wallace Beery). "Beggars of Life" showcases Brooks in her best American silent—a film the "Cleveland Plain Dealer" described as “a raw, sometimes bleeding slice of life.” With more than 50 little seen images, and a foreword by William Wellman, Jr.

"I can say (with head bowed modestly) that I know more about the career of director William A. Wellman than pretty much anybody anywhere -- always excepting my friend and co-author John Gallagher -- but there are things in Thomas Gladysz's new book on Wellman's Beggars of Life that I didn't know. More important, the writing is so good and the research so deep that even when I was reading about facts that were familiar to me, I was enjoying myself hugely." -- Frank Thompson, co-author of Nothing Sacred: The Cinema of William Wellman

"Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film is a quick, satisfying read, illustrated with promotional material, posters and stills as well as press clippings. In these pages, Gladysz takes us through the making and the reception of the film and clears up a few mysteries too.... Beggars of Life is a fascinating movie, made by some of the silent film industry's most colourful characters. This highly readable book will deepen your enjoyment and understanding of a silent Hollywood classic." -- Pamela Hutchinson, Silent London

"I cannot help but give this an enthusiastic two thumbs up. It really is the perfect companion, before or after you have seen the film. The volume might be slim, but, it is packed with information and rare photographs. It has been impeccably researched and beautifully executed.... This is a thorough examination of the film from start to finish and written in a breezy style that is not only informative, it is a very entertaining read." -- Donna Hill, Strictly Vintage Hollywood

"Read your book. I love it. It is thorough and extremely interesting. The art work is compelling." -- William Wellman, Jr., author of Wild Bill Wellman

"Gladysz has written a brief but informative book .... offers a profound and true insight." -- Jack Garner, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

"For this film, including details on what is known about the original recorded soundtrack, I highly recommend Thomas Gladysz's book Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film." -- Rodney Sauer, Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra

"There is an affordable and highly recommended book that goes perfectly with the blu ray. Gladysz, director of the Louise Brooks Society, has written a companion book to the movie that features a wealth of information, insight, and photos.  It really puts this film into historical perspective and helps to further understand and more deeply appreciate its status as a  screen classic." -- James Neibur, film historian and author

 

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited.