Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Happy Halloween from the Louise Brooks Society

This sultry witch once appeared in a Louise Brooks film -- though not as a witch. Do you know who she might be ? And do you know in which Louise Brooks film she appeared ? Here's a clue: it was a very small part.

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. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Louise Brooks Society

This blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society™. Launched in 1995, the Louise Brooks Society is a pioneering fansite and online archive devoted to the legendary silent film star. The Louise Brooks Society operates with the consent of the Estate of Louise Brooks (Louise Brooks Heirs, LC), and have its permission to use the name and likeness of the actress. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. CONTACT: louisebrookssociety (at) gmail.com

Saturday, October 28, 2023

Pandora’s Box (Limited Edition Box Set) starring Louise Brooks due out October 30

Eureka Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, is due out on October 30th. This limited edition box set, which is limited to 3000 copies, is a UK release, which means it may not play on American Blu-ray players, i.e. you would need a region free player. (I ordered mine as soon as it was released, and just received my copy. I plan on writing a review next month.) More information on this new release can be found HERE.

The trailer for this new release, shown below, can be found on VIMEO. Otherwise, here is some information from Eureka:

In a role intended at one point for Marlene Dietrich (The Blue Angel), 22 year-old Louise Brooks (Diary of a Lost Girl), with her fragile beauty and iconic dark bob hairstyle, gives a performance decades ahead of its time and immortalised her as an icon. Largely condemned and censored upon its initial release for its daring treatment of sexuality and female desire, Brooks’ understated yet erotically charged performance, endures as among the most modern of the silent era.

Adapted from a pair of plays by Frank Wedekind, Pandora’s Box tells the story of prostitute Lulu, a free spirit whose open sexuality breeds chaos in its wake. When Lulu’s latest lover, the newspaper editor Dr. Ludwig Schon (Fritz Kortner, The Hands of Orlac), announces plans to leave her to marry a more respectable woman, Lulu is devastated. Cast in a musical revue written by Schon’s son, Alwa (Francis Lederer, The Return of Dracula), Lulu seduces Schon once more — only to have their tryst exposed, and Schon’s plans for a more socially acceptable marriage shattered. Left with no choice but to marry Lulu, Schon meets with tragedy on their wedding night. Lulu stands trial for the incident, facing years of imprisonment. With the aid of her former pimp (Carl Goetz, Tom Sawyer) an infatuated lesbian countess (Alice Roberts, The Merry Widower), and Alwa, she flees toward a fate of increasing squalor and peril, finally crossing paths one Christmas Eve with Jack the Ripper.

Reviled and bowdlerised at its debut, Pandora’s Box has since been recognised as one of the masterpieces of early German cinema. A sordid melodrama made with great style, it affirms G.W. Pabst as a daring and important director and Louise Brooks as one of cinema’s most exquisite and distinctive performers. The Masters of Cinema series is proud to present Pabst’s masterpiece in a new restoration on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Limited Edition Box Set - 3000 Copies
Limited Edition Hardcase featuring artwork by Tony Stella
Limited Edition 60-Page Book featuring new writing on the film by critics Alexandra Heller Nicholas, Imogen Sara Smith, and Richard Combs; alongside archival stills and imagery
1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a definitive 2K digital restoration
Optional English subtitles
Orchestral Score by Peer Raben
New audio commentary by critic Pamela Hutchinson
New visual appreciation by author and critic Kat Ellinger
New video essay by David Cairns
New video essay by Fiona Watson

One earlier Eureka release in their Masters of Cinema Series is their duel-format edition (DVD & Blu-ray) of Diary of a Lost Girl (Tagebuch einer Verlorenen), which came out a few years ago. More information on it can be found HERE.

Louise Brooks Society

Friday, October 27, 2023

Diary of a Lost Girl with Louise Brooks and a harpist in the UK

The Diary of a Lost Girl, the once controversial and still sensational silent film starring Louise Brooks, will be shown on Sunday, October 29th as part of the Stroud Art Festival in the UK. This special screening will be accompanied, uniquely so, by a harpist, Elizabeth-Jane Baldry. More information about this event can be fond HERE.

According to its website, the "unabashedly eclectic" Stroud Festival "weaves music, movement, song and film" in a journey across a the arts. Here is what they say about this event:

Stroud Arts Festival Presents

Silent Film: Diary of a Lost Girl

With live accompaniment from harpist Elizabeth-Jane Baldry

venue - Lansdown hall

Silent film with live music – why is it such a good night out?

Ask last year’s Stroud audience – it’s the sheer, extraordinary talent of Elizabeth-Jane Baldry!

This year we welcome her back to the Lansdown Hall with another iconic black and white silent film, powerfully enhanced by her specially composed score which she plays live throughout the screening.
A late masterpiece of the silent era, and a tragic story of corruption and middle class hypocrisy in pre-Nazi Germany, this film and its star, Louise Brooks, has gained cult status with film-lovers through the ages.

Notice: not suited to under 12s

Louise Brooks Society

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, to screen in Youngstown, Ohio on October 29

Pandora's Box, the frequently revived 1929 silent film starring Louise Brooks, will be shown at the Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown, Ohio on Sunday, October 29th at 2:30 pm. Live musical accompaniment for this event, which is expected to draw more than 1500 people, will be provided by Jay Spencer. More information about this event can be found HERE.

Here is some more information about this special screening from the host website:

"Pandora’s Box is a ~~1928~~ 1929 silent film based on two plays by Frank Wedekind; Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box. Louise Brooks plays Lulu, who is a wickedly charming showgirl and the mistress of a wealthy publisher, Dr Ludwig Schön. A tragic series of events is set into motion when Schön finds Lulu entertaining another man. In his attempt to end his relationship with Lulu, Schön confesses he is engaged to another woman. An intense argument results in Lulu shooting and killing him. Now on the run, Lulu’s downward spiral devastates everyone around her.

Organist Jay Spencer has been playing the organ at the Canton Palace Theatre since the early 90s, and performing with Silent films there for thirteen years. In addition to performing on the organ, Spencer has also spent a great deal of time volunteering at the Palace Theatre, from concessions to ticket taker, he says he 'loves everything about it [the theatre]'. Spencer prepares his repertoire for silent film accompaniment by watching the film several times and then utilizing popular music from the era to compliment the themes and characters of the films.

The E.M. Skinner Pipe Organ, Opus 582 is the only remaining Skinner organ in the area. The organ features a four manual consoles, 67 stops, and nearly four thousand pipes that vary from the smallest which is the size and weight of a #2 pencil to the largest which is 30 inches by 32 feet and weighs 750 pounds. There are 58 ranks altogether."

Built in 1926, the Stambaugh Auditorium is a grand space. I wish I could be there. Tickets are on sale now on the Stambaugh Auditorium website. Tickets cost $7 with a $3 service fee, and refreshments will be available to purchase.

Louise Brooks Society

Saturday, October 21, 2023

A Louise Brooks Booksigning in Seattle, Washington

A reminder that I will be signing books from 6:00 to 6:45 pm in the lobby of the Paramount theater in Seattle, Washington on Monday, October 23, ahead of the Seattle Theater Group screening of HE Who Gets Slapped, which I will introduce. This screening is part of the STG's "Silent Movie Mondays" series. More information about the event can be found HERE.

Seattle's 2,807-seat Paramount (located at 9th Avenue and Pine Street) is a gorgeous venue which opened in March of 1928. I am certainly looking forward to seeing it for myself.

This will be my first book signing for my recently published book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. I will also have copies available of three of my earlier books, Louise Brooks, the Persistent Star, as well as Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, and Now We're in the Air: A Companion to the Once "Lost" Film.

I also plan on having two of my Louise Brooks rubber stamps with me, and will gladly stamp books as well. I hope any and all silent film and Louise Brooks' fans turn out for this special event. I have been told that a few hundred tickets have already been sold!

Louise Brooks Society

Thursday, October 19, 2023

An Unusual Clipping Picturing Louise Brooks

It is kinda funny that. . . with all the news of late regarding unions, labor, and strikes . . . that I just recently came across this newspaper clipping picturing Louise Brooks, and her reported encounter with striking laborers in Chicago. This particular piece appeared in Missouri's Carthage Evening Press on Tuesday, August 7, 1928. I have never seen this image of Brooks.

The caption reads: "Here is Louise Brooks, film star, with her famous 'naughty eyes' in action. Miss Brooks stopped off for a few hours in Chicago on her way to New York, heard talk of a pending porter's strike, and thereupon demonstrated her ability to carry off anything with the greatest of ease."

All too often, these sort of random feature photos of celebrities in usual situations were little more than publicity, or bally-who. However, I was able to confirm that there was considerable news coverage given to a proposed national strike by Pullman porters in the summer of 1928. So who known, perhaps Louise Brooks did lug her own luggage -- though this picture looks a bit staged.

Louise Brooks Society

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Loulou (aka Pandora's Box) airs on French television tonight

Loulou (aka Pandora's Box) will be shown on French television tonight at 8:50 pm on the Ciné+ Classic station. An article in L'Obs describes the film as "One of the most legendary films in the history of cinema." The article goes on to state (in translation) "Louise Brooks, who plays the main role, has become the very symbol of evil beauty, devastating sexuality and, thanks to her (unusual) physique, the most toxic passion." The L'Obs article, « Loulou », naissance d’une femme fatale, can be found HERE.

Curiously, the article describes Brooks hairstyle as a "pixie haircut," and also claims that the Nazi's "burned" the film. I think they might mean censored. Here is an old French advert for the film.

If you don't live in France or can't catch the film on television, take note that the film will released on Blu-ray in the UK at the end of the month. This forthcoming release is part of the Masters of Cinema series from Eureka. More information can be found HERE.

Louise Brooks Society

Sunday, October 15, 2023

Broadway All Agog! Wichita Beauty May Become Charlie Chaplin's Leading Lady

This noteworthy article, "Broadway All Agog! Wichita Beauty May Become Charlie Chaplin's Leading Lady," appeared on the front page of the Wichita Daily Eagle 98 years ago today -- on October 15, 1925. It is a reprint of an article which appeared in the New York Daily Mirror the day before. I don't think I have ever seen it before.

Years ago, when I went to New York City to research Louise Brooks, I made a point of scouring every New York newspaper, especially those which were printed in 1924 and 1925. New York then had seven, English-language daily newspapers, as well as a handful of other non-English language papers. I was in search of articles and reviews relating to Brooks appearance in the George White Scandals and Ziegfeld Follies, as well as other mentions of the actress not related to those stage shows. I recall the Daily Mirror, a tabloid, was difficult to get at, as a complete run of it has not survived. Thankfully, this particular article has come down through time by having been syndicated to and reprinted in another newspaper with a particular interest.

Almost a couple of months later, the Wichita Daily Eagle ran another article about Louise Brooks. With so much water then under the bridge, and having realized the fallout her brief dalliance with Chaplin had caused, the young actress distanced herself from "that Chaplin person." Years later, both parties spoke positively of one another.

Louise Brooks Society

Friday, October 13, 2023

HE Who Gets Slapped screens October 23

Thomas Gladysz here: I will be in Seattle, Washington on October 23 to introduce He Who Gets Slapped (1924) at the Paramount theater. This Seattle Theater Group Presentation, which is part of their Silent Movie Mondays series, will showcase one of my favorite silent films as well as one of the great sad clown films of all time. And what's more, Tedde Gibson will provide musical accompaniment to the film on the Mighty Wurlitzer. After the film, Tedde and I will chat. Please join us. If you live in the Seattle area, this is a not to be missed event, as I promise to deliver a "special" introduction. More information at https://www.stgpresents.org/calendar/event/5243

Based on the play by Leonid Andreyev and directed by Victor Seastrom, He Who Gets Slapped stars the dashing John Gilbert, the lovely Norma Shearer, and the truly pathetic Lon Chaney. And in a key supporting role is Ford Sterling, one of the original Keystone Cops and the star of the 1926 Louise Brooks film, The Show-Off.

I also wanted everyone to know that prior to the film, I'll be signing books in the Paramount lobby from 6:00 to 6:45 pm. I will have copies of most all of my books, including a supply of my newest, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. I will bring along my Louise Brooks rubber stamps and stamp a Brooks for whoever buys a book.

Louise Brooks Society

Thursday, October 12, 2023

The 100 Greatest Film Books of All-Time

The Hollywood Reporter has released a list of the 100 greatest film books of all time, as determined by a jury of 300 "Hollywood heavyweights." The list is made of of books largely about the contemporary film industry (aka Hollywood), thought there are a handful focusing on film history and individuals from the past -- including Louise Brooks. As a matter of fact, Louise Brooks' own Lulu in Hollywood came in at number 44 on the list. Aside from Brooks, the only other silent film star is Charlie Chaplin, whose Autobiography tied for 61st. (Notably, as well, Brooks is the only silent film star pictured in the article's banner image, seen below. In addition, Brooks is depicted on the cover of another book on the list, Vito Russo's The Celluloid Closet, which tied at number 22.) The list of books can be found HERE. I encourage everyone to check it out.


Illustration by The Sporting Press, via The Hollywood Reporter

Of Lulu in Hollywood, the Hollywood Reporter stated, "Like a comet, this American actress with a trademark black bob burned brightly (she was one of the biggest stars of the 1920s, especially in the German films Pandora’s Box and Diary of a Lost Girl) and then was gone — until she resurfaced late in life as a writer. This collection of essays captured the frustrations of being a liberated woman in early Hollywood." Brooks' 1982 book received a respectable 34 votes.

Each of the books featured on the list also contained a suggestion for related reading: the title paired with Lulu in Hollywood is The Kindness of Strangers, by Salka Viertel. I don't know how or why this otherwise excellent memoir was chosen, but certainly a much better choice, and a far more influential & germane book would have been Louise Brooks, by Barry Paris. The latter was / is a key work in keeping a spotlight on the actress. And, in my humble opinion, it too should have been included on the list. It is a truly great biography.

I would also like to make another point: while it is true that this "collection of essays captured the frustrations of being a liberated woman in early Hollywood," Louise Brooks was NOT "one of the biggest stars of the 1920s". She was only a second tier star, an up-and-coming actress whose career / moment in the spotlight lasted only a few years. Her standing in Europe, after having appeared in the German films Pandora’s Box and Diary of a Lost Girl, was certainly greater than in America, but that standing only lasted a couple of years, from 1929 to 1930.

via The Hollywood Reporter

Brooks' standing in film history rests on her rediscovery. That is her story. And notably, one of the books which aided that rediscovery, Kevin Brownlow's The Parade's Gone By ..., is ranked at number 12 on the Hollywood Reporter list. What's more, Brooks received a special acknowledgment in Brownlow's classic work, which reads, "I owe an especial debt to Louise Brooks for acting as a prime mover in this book's publication."

I would like to toot my own horn here a bit.... Lulu in Hollywood was published in hardback in 1982. It was reviewed widely and sold well, and was reprinted in paperback. It remained in print for a number of years before eventually going out-of-print. This is the life-story of many books. They come and they go. The same with the Barry Paris' biography of the actress, which is truly superb. If you consider yourself a fan of the actress and haven't read both books, then you are missing out.

Believe it or not, but there was a time in the late 1990s when both Lulu in Hollywood and the Barry Paris biography were out-of-print. Both books could be hard to find, especially for some fans, and nice, 1st edition copies of both books started to command high prices. As the head of the Louise Brooks Society, I led a grass roots campaign to bring both books back into print. And succeeded.

Due to my efforts, both Lulu in Hollywood and the Barry Paris biography were reprinted by the University of Minnesota Press in smart looking new editions in the year 2000, and each have remained in print ever since. I am proud of this bit of cultural activism, and I even received an acknowledgement in both books.

If you haven't yet read Lulu in Hollywood or the Barry Paris biography, or for that matter Kevin Brownlow's The Parade's Gone By...., then do so today. Each book is available for purchase online or may be borrowed through your local library. The Hollywood Reporter list is chock-full of good reading and recommendations. Check it out HERE.

And, if you are looking for another good book to read, might I also recommend my just published book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. It is a deep dive into the history of Brooks' first film, and what's more, it features a foreword by Kevin Brownlow, who in 2010 the Hollywood Reporter notes "became the first film preservationist ever awarded an honorary Oscar." Who knows, maybe someday, my new book will make a list of worthwhile books.

Louise Brooks Society

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

New Novel Imagine's Life of Director G.W. Pabst

I am beginning to see articles about a new novel imagining the life of German director G. W. Pabst. Lichtspiel, by the internationally acclaimed German writer Daniel Kehlmann, is already being termed a "masterpiece." (As of now, the book is not available in the United States.)

The novel largely focuses on the years in which the Austrian-born Pabst, unable to leave Germany, continued making films while the Nazi regime was in power. Pabst's earlier life, including the years in which he made films with Garbo, Asta Nielsen, and Louise Brooks, is depicted in flashbacks.

Here are links to articles about the new book in the Berliner Morgenpost, the Basler Zeitung, NZZ Magazin, and Falter. Notably, each of these (and other) reviews make mention of "„Die Büchse der Pandora“ die US-amerikanische Schauspielerin Louise Brooks."

Kehlmann's novel Die Vermessung der Welt (translated into English as Measuring the World, 2006) is the best selling book in the German language since Patrick Süskind's Perfume was released in 1985. According to The New York Times, it was the world's second-best selling novel in 2006.

His subsequent novels reached the number one spot on German bestseller list, and each were translated into English. Interestingly, Kehlmann collaborated with Jonathan Franzen and Paul Reitter on Franzen's 2013 book The Kraus Project, a book of translations of Karl Kraus's essays. Notably, in 1904, Kraus aided Frank Wedekind in his first ever staging in Vienna of his controversial play Pandora's Box, which was later turned in a film directed by Frank Wedekind and starring Louise Brooks.

Louise Brooks, second from left, with G.W. Pabst, far right (though he was a leftist).

Louise Brooks Society