A Social Celebrity, featuring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1926

A Social Celebrity, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1926. The film is a romantic comedy about a small town barber who follows his heart and heads to the big city where he hopes to join high society. Louise Brooks plays the barber’s love interest, a small town manicurist who also heads to the big city to become a dancer. The film is the third in which Brooks appeared, the second for which she received a screen credit, and the first in which she had a starring role. More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks Society filmography page.

The film was originally set to star Greta Nissen, a Norwegian-born dancer. When she quit the film early in its production, Brooks’ part was rewritten and she took on the role of the female lead. It was a huge break for the 19 year old Brooks and a turning point in her career, as the barber, played by Adolphe Menjou, was one of the biggest stars of the time. In reviewing the film, many critics took special note of Brooks, and thereafter she was regarded as a rising star and someone to watch.

The critic for Exhibitor’s Herald noticed the actress. “Louise Brooks is the third person in the cast. This odd young person who worked with Ford Sterling in that screaming interlude of The American Venus is a positive quantity. She may become a sensational success or a sensational flop, but she is not the kind of player who simply goes along. She’s a manicure girl in this one, later a night club dancer, and she’s unfailingly colorful. I have a personal wager with another member of the staff that she goes up instead of down, both of us agreeing that she’s a moving personality but differing as to direction.” Mae Tinee of the Chicago Tribune also noticed the actress, “Louise Brooks, who plays the small town sweetheart who want to make a peacock out of her razor-bill, is a delightful young person with a lovely, direct gaze, an engaging seriousness, and a sudden, flashing smile that is disarming and winsome. A slim and lissome child, with personality and talent.”

The critic for the Boston Evening Transcript echoed those comments. “In this instance the manicure is no less provocative a morsel than Miss Louise Brooks, remembered for her bit in that specious puff-pastry, The American Venus. Miss Brooks has anything but a rewarding task in A Social Celebrity. Yet it would be ungracious not to comment on the fetching qualities of her screen presence. She affects a straight-line bang across the forehead with distressingly piquant cow-licks over either ear. Her eyes are quick, dark, lustrous. Her nose and mouth share a suspicion of gaminerie. Her gestures are deft and alert — perhaps still a shade self-conscious. In body she is more supple than facial play and her genuflectory exertions in the Charleston might well repay the careful study of amateurs in that delicate exercise.”

A Social Celebrity received many positive reviews, though a few critics thought it too similar to Menjou’s earlier efforts. At it’s New York City premiere, the film proved popular at the 2000 seat Rivoli theater, where it brought it nearly $30,000 during its one week run. (This was at a time when most tickets would have been priced at less than a dollar.) The film critic for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported the line for tickets “began at the ticket office and extended to a spot somewhere in the middle of 7th Ave. and 49th St.”

Under its American title, documented screenings of the film took place in Australia (including Tasmania), Bermuda, British Malaysia (Singapore), Canada, China, Hong Kong, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, New Zealand, Panama, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Trinidad, and the United Kingdom (England, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland,  Scotland, and Wales). The film was also promoted under the title The Social Celebrity (China & India), and A Sociál Celebrity (Czechoslovakia). In the United States, the film was reviewed as Una Celebridad Social (Spanish-language press).

Elsewhere, A Social Celebrity was shown under the title Au suivant de ces messieurs (Algeria); Figaro en sociedad (Argentina); Der Bubikopfkünstler (Austria); Au suivant de ces Messieurs (Belgium, French) and Aan de Volgende Dezer Heeren (Belgium, Dutch); Desfrutando a alta sociedade (Brazil); Figaro en sociedad (Chile); Un Figaro de Sociedad (Cuba); Sociální osobnost (Czechoslovakia); I laante fjer and Storfyrstinden og hendes kammertjener (Denmark); Au suivant de ces messieurs (Egypt); Parturi frakissa and Frakkipukuinen parturi and Barberaren i frack  (Finland); Au suivant de ces messieurs (France); A Szalon Figáró (Hungary); Un barbiere di qualità (Italy); 三日伯爵 (Japan); Der Liebling der Gesellschaft (Latvia); Der Schaum-Cavalier (Luxembourg); Figaro en sociedad (Mexico); De Dameskapper (Netherlands); Shingle-eksperten (Norway); Disfrutando a Alta Societade (Portugal); Figaro en sociedad (Spain); En Sparv i tranedans (Sweden); Au suivant de ces messieurs (Switzerland); and Au suivant de ces messieurs (French Indochina / present day Vietnam).

 SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

— Early on, Paramount promised the up-and-coming Nissen equal billing with Menjou in A Social Celebrity. However, “The temperamental Greta insisted on arriving at the studio one hour late every day,” according to the Brooklyn Norgesposten. Menjou, a major star, was forced to wait for the young actress and complained to director St. Clair. Soon enough, Nissen quit and returned to Broadway to resume her career as a dancer. (The friction caused by Nissen’s departure didn’t seem to spoil a budding romance between the dancer and director — at least not in the short-term. The Brooklyn Norgesposten reported that the couple were frequenting New York’s artists’ clubs. And in early May a Broadway gossip columnist hinted that Nissen might wed the Paramount director.)

— Early scenes set in were actually shot on Long Island in the village of . The exterior of Spontowiz’s Barber Shop on Main Street, the local trolley line — the Delphi, Indiana, and other aspects of the historic Long Island community were featured in the film. (According to press reports from the time, the film’s director and star spent the better part of two weeks touring Long Island looking for a stand-in for Delphi.)

— To lend verisimilitude, Fred Graff, hairdresser and barber-in-chief at the Paramount Long Island studios, was cast in the film. He can be seen “manipulating the sheers” in scenes shot at the Terminal Barber Shop (located at Broadway and Forty-second Street) in Manhattan.

— Also appearing in a bit part was Agnes Griffith, who won a contest sponsored by Famous Players Lasky and the New York Daily News. This was the first film role for Griffith, a diminutive brunette with a short bob. She later appeared in New York (1927).

— While A Social Celebrity was playing at the Rivoli, Menjou appeared on WGBS, the Gimbel Brothers radio station in NYC. According to newspaper reports, Menjou spoke about the film and the scenes shot locally on Long Island. (If he were to have mentioned his co-star, this broadcast would likely mark the first time Brooks name was mentioned on the radio.)

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 © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, to be shown in Saugerties, New York

Lulu sure gets around.... There has been a flurry of screenings of Pandora's Box of late, with the latest announced for just a few days from now. 

The recently released restoration of Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, will be shown at the Orpheum Theater in Saugerties, New York beginning on March 29 and continuing through March 31. For those not familiar, Saugerties is a town in the northeastern corner of Ulster County in New York state. It is about a 110 mile, two hour drive north from New York City. More about this screening can be found HERE.

According to the UpstateFilms.org website:

"Louise Brooks smolders as Lulu in this era-defining, hyper-stylized German silent film wherein a beautiful showgirl’s indulgence brings about her ruin… but how lovely that downfall looks! Lesbians, killers, and modern dance all weave through Lulu’s adventures on her way down the rabbit hole of depravity. Originally received as scornful and debaucherous, the film is now seen as a landmark of cinema. (dir. G. W. Pabst, Germany, 1929, 141 min)"

“There are few tragic heroines more alluring than Lulu, the heartbeat of Georg Wilhelm Pabst’s Pandora’s Box, brought to life by a performer whose image—the winsome, mischievous eyes, the glossy, art-deco bob—remains a symbol of sexual charisma and freedom….To watch her today is to become her prisoner all over again. She’s as dismissible as a moonbeam.” – Time

The Orpheum Theater (at 154 Main Street) is an historic venue. It opened in 1908 as a vaudeville house, before changing over to movies in the 1920s. As newspapers from the period have not been digitized, I have not been able to determine if any of Louise Brooks films were shown there in the 1920s.

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 © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, screens in Louisville, KY on March 29 and 30

Lulu continues to get around, and around.... It's nice to see her in art museums. The newly released but not new digital restoration of the 1929 silent film, Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks as Lulu, will be shown on Friday and Saturday, March 29 and 30th, at Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. There is no word about any musical accompaniment. More information about this event can be found HERE. (this info links includes a small gallery of images from the film.)

Here is what the event venue says:  

New Digital Restoration
Pandora’s Box (Die Büchse der Pandora)
Directed by G. W. Pabst

Friday, March 29, 6 pm | BUY TICKETS

Saturday, March 30, 3 pm | BUY TICKETS

$12 | $8 Speed members

“G. W. Pabst’s extraordinary, erotic and tragic adaptation, Pandora’s Box, owes to the electrifying, photogenic and iconic presence of Louise Brooks”—Wally Hammond, Time Out

One of the masters of early German cinema, G. W. Pabst had an innate talent for discovering actresses (including Greta Garbo). Perhaps none of his female stars shone brighter than Kansas native and onetime Ziegfeld girl Louise Brooks, whose legendary persona was defined by Pabst’s lurid, controversial melodrama Pandora’s Box.

Sensationally modern, the film follows the downward spiral of the fiery, brash, yet innocent showgirl Lulu, whose sexual vivacity has a devastating effect on everyone she encounters.

Daring and stylish, Pandora’s Box is one of silent cinema’s great masterworks and a testament to Brooks’ dazzling individuality. 1929, Germany, DCP, with English intertitles, 141 minutes. Recommended for 16+.

Restored from the best surviving 35mm elements at Haghefilm Conservation under the supervision of the Deutsche Kinemathek with the cooperation of George Eastman Museum, the Cinémathèque Française, Cineteca di Bologna, Národní filmový archiv, and Gosfilmofond.

 

An article about this upcoming screening, which appeared in the local LEO Weekly, can be found HERE.

Want to lean more? A big, newly updated page about Pandora's Box can be found on the newly improved Louise Brooks Society website. Click on the film title to access the LBS filmography page devoted to the movie.

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 © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Evening Clothes, with Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1927

Evening Clothes, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1927. The film is a romantic comedy about a gentleman farmer who — spurned by his bride, goes to the big city to loose his rustic ways and win back his new wife. A stanza printed in advertisements for the film put it this way, “He was a French hick / Who didn’t please her / So he went to Paris and / Became a Boulevardier.” Louise Brooks plays a character called Fox Trot, a hot-to-trot Parisian who some described as a lady of the evening. More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks Society filmography page.

Adolphe Menjou, Louise Brooks, and Noah Beery Sr.

The making of the film coincided with Paramount’s transition from its East Coast facilities to the West Coast. Evening Clothes was the first film Brooks made in Hollywood (see this earlier LBS post), and at Paramount’s suggestion, the first in which she did not wear her signature bob hairstyle.

Evening Clothes was made to order for its star, Adolphe Menjou. And as with his similarly-themed prior films A Social Celebrity, Ace of Cads, The Sorrows of Satan, and Blonde or Brunette — Evening Clothes proved popular with moviegoers, though less so with critics. The New York Daily News stated “There are a couple of really subtle spots, however, which brighten up the film tremendously, raising it right out of the mediocre class,” while adding “Louise Brooks is a perfect knockout as a good-natured lady of the evening.” The New York Morning Telegraph quipped, ” . . . as it stands, this latest Menjou vehicle offers entertainment value equivalent to the Paramount admission charge.” Other New York papers were more positive. The New York Telegram called the film “a delightful little comedy,” while the New York Journal described it as “an entertaining comedy, with some good situations.” All-in-all, the film received a cool critical response, though it performed very well at the box office.

Thin story-line aside, many reviewers focused on the actors as well as Brooks’ new hairstyle. Among them was Regina Cannon of the New York American, “Louise Brooks is again cast as a ‘lady of the evening’ and makes her role pert and amusing. You won’t recognize Miss Brooks at first, for she is wearing her hair curled over her head. This is too bad, for it makes her look just like a thousand other attractive girls. Louise achieved distinction with her straight-banged bob.”

Louella Parsons of the Los Angeles Examiner added, “When you see the show girl, Louise Brooks, cavorting about with a frizzled top you will see why Famous Players Lasky is grooming her for bigger and better things. She fares much better than either Miss Tashman or Mr. Beery, who only appear at long intervals.” Welford Beaton of Film Spectator echoed Parson’s remarks, “There are three girls who do very well in Evening Clothes — Virginia Valli, Louise Brooks and Lilyan Tashman. . . . I was glad to see further evidence of Paramount’s dawning consciousness that Louise Brooks is not composed solely of legs. They work her from the knees up in this picture and it begins to look as if she were headed for a high place.”

Herbert Cruikshank, who wasn’t enthused about the film, nevertheless liked Brooks. He wrote in the New York Morning Telegraph, “It seems to me that Louise Brooks deserves first place. She is charmingly piquant as a chic little gold-digger who turns out to be a pretty good fellow after all — as many of the maligned sisterhood do. While her part is merely a filler, she seems to have built it up materially, and holds center stage in whatever scenes she has.”

And front-and-center is where Brooks’ next film placed her. Rolled Stockings — which featured Brooks in the lead — went into production just as Evening Clothes was opening around the United States.

Under its American title, documented screenings of the film took place in Australia, British Malaysia (Singapore), Canada*, China, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Japan, New Zealand, Panama, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, and the United Kingdom (England, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In the United States, the film was also presented under the title El Traje de Etiqueta (Spanish-language press) and Roupas Noturnas (Portuguese-language press).

Elsewhere, Evening Clothes was shown under the title Un Homme en Habit (Algeria); El hombre del frac (Argentina); Eine Pariser ehe (Austria); Un homme en habit (Belgium, French) and Een Man in Habijt and Een Man in een Habijt (Belgium, Dutch); De Casaca e Luva Branca (Brazil); Las que no aman (Chile); El traje de etiqueta (Costa Rica); El Traje de Etiqueta (Cuba); Vecerní odev and Muž ve Fraku (Czechoslovakia); Ein Frack Ein Claque Ein Madel (Danzig); I kjole og hvidt (Denmark); In Rok (Dutch East Indies); El Marques de la Moda (Dominican Republic); Un Homme en Habit (Egypt); Mõistueaubielu and Mõistueaubielu abielu and Vernunftehe (Estonia); Frakkipukuinen herra and Parisin yökahviloissa (Finland); Un Homme en Habit (France); Ein Frack ein Claque ein Mädel (Germany); Estélyruha and Frakk És Klakk (Hungary); Il signore della notte and Signore della notte (Italy); 夜会服 or Yakai-fuku (Japan); Aprehķina laulības and Der Liebling der Gesellschaft (Latvia); Un Homme en Habit – Ein Frack, Ein Claque, Ein Madel! (Luxembourg); El traje de etiqueta (Mexico); In Rok (The Netherlands**); I Kjole og Hvitt (Norway); Szkoła Paryska (Poland); De Casaca e Luva Branca (Portugal); El Traje de etiqueta and El vestido de etiqueta and Vestido de etiqueta (Spain); En herre i frack (Sweden); L’homme en habit and Un homme en habit (Switzerland); and Un Homme en Habit (Vietnam).

* The film was banned in Quebec, Canada because of “concubinage” – the suggestion of interpersonal or sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple are not or cannot be married.

** When the film was shown in The Netherlands in 1929, a cut was made to the film and screenings were restricted to those 18 and over.

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

—  Evening Clothes is based on a French play L’homme en habit by Andre Picard and Yves Mirande which debuted in Paris on March 25, 1920. The Man in Evening Clothes, an English-language version of the play translated by the noted actress Ruth Chatterton, had a brief Broadway run at the Henry Miller Theatre beginning on December 5, 1924.

—  Evening Clothes had its world premiere at the Metropolitan theater in Los Angeles, California on March 4, 1927. Adolphe Menjou was in attendance at the special event, as was the noted poet and then current French ambassador to the United States, . Each were introduced from the stage. It’s now known if Brooks was in attendance at the premiere.

— Arnold Kent (billed as Lido Manetti) had a small role in the film. He began his film career in Italy after having started as a stage actor. (Among his Italian credits were Quo Vadis and a few diva films directed by Augusto Genini.) In the mid-1920s, he moved to Hollywood and worked as a contract player at Universal and later at Paramount. He died in Hollywood in 1928 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

—  In 1931, Paramount produced two sound versions of the play at their studios in Joinville, France. A Spanish-language version, Un caballero de frac, was directed y Roger Capellani and Carlos San Martín and starred Roberto Rey and Gloria Guzmán. And a French-language version, Un home de habit, directed by René Guissart and Robert Bossis, starred Fernand Gravey and Suzy Vernon. Only the Spanish-language film was released in the United States. Additionally, in 1938, Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder outlined a treatment of the play, but nothing seems to have come of an American remake.

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 © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Louise Brooks Society

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, a rare clipping of Louise Brooks from the Irish Sketch, circa 1926. The caption beneath the portrait reads, "One of Paramount's best known stars, whose dark Spanish type of beauty makes her a striking figure in the various pictures in which she has appeared."

I don't know why, but I don't have many other interesting clipping about Brooks from Ireland, except for this bit from January, 1931. It notes, "In the later days of the silent films a young artiste who showed considerable promise was Louise Brooks....

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 © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

A follow up to Louise Brooks and Los Angeles: Getting the facts straight about London and Paris

In the previous post, Louise Brooks and Los Angeles: Getting the facts straight, I pointed out one of a few  factual errors found on the Louise Brooks Wikipedia page.

As I note, the Wikipedia page on the actress states, "Brooks began her entertainment career as a dancer, joining the Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts modern dance company in Los Angeles at the age of 15 in 1922." I pointed out that this statement is INCORRECT. In my post, I point out that Brooks went to New York City (not Los Angeles) to study at and then join Denishawn. History records as much, and Brooks herself said so in Lulu in Hollywood, one the sources incorrectly cited to support the incorrect Wiki statement. 

I am writing this post to point out yet another incorrect statement on the Louise Brooks Wikipedia page. The two sentences which follow the incorrect statement reads: "The company included founders Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, as well as a young Martha Graham. As a member of the globe-trotting troupe, Brooks spent a season abroad in London and in Paris." The first sentence, regarding who else were in the company, is correct. However, the second sentence is NOT. This sentence is supported by a reference to the same piece cited by the previous incorrect sentence, "Just a Prairie Flower," a 1926 Picture-Play article by Malcolm H. Oettinger.

The paragraph in "Just a Prairie Flower" which, apparently, is being cited reads, "One learned that the Brooks career had been given over generously to glob trotting. There had been a season in London at the Kit-Kat, and in Paris at the Casino, as a member of the Ruth St. Denis troupe." All I can say is ... don't believe everything you read, especially in a fan magazine. 

During Brooks' two seasons with Denishawn, the only globe trotting the troupe did was to perform in a few of the bigger cities in Canada, like Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kingston, and London, Ontario. (The Louise Brooks Society website features a short history of Louise Brooks and Denishawn, as well as the complete itineraries of her two seasons with the company.) While Brooks was in Denishawn, the dance company never went to Europe. And there was never a season in London and Paris.

After Brooks left Denishawn, she joined the George White Scandals, a Ziegfeld Follies like review in New York City. She was with them for just a few months when Brooks and her then best friend, Barbara Bennett, decided to take off for Europe. Brooks would spend about three weeks in Paris before heading for London, where a job for her was waiting not at the Kit-Kat club, but at the Cafe de Paris. A detailed account of this European adventure (mostly spent on her own, as Bennett soon returned home) can be found on the Louise Brooks Society website on the page titled, Louise Brooks at the Cafe de Paris in London. It contains some never before seen material, including the only known clipping from a London newspaper mentioning Brooks' appearance at the Cafe de Paris.

(In my research into Brooks' time in Europe at the end of 1924, I have never found that she was employed or worked while in Paris -- likely she had little money and was hanging out in hotel lobbies hoping someone might come along and help her -- which is what happened.)

Why did Malcolm H. Oettinger (a furniture salesman and sometime free-lance writer) state in 1926 that Brooks had spent "a season in London at the Kit-Kat, and in Paris at the Casino, as a member of the Ruth St. Denis troupe." He likely got his facts mixed up, or thought it sounded a bit more glamorous then Brooks' actual account. 

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 © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Louise Brooks and Los Angeles: Getting the facts straight

I want to address, yet again, a factual error that's making the rounds....

The other day, I was listening to a podcast. On March 11, the podcasters known as 5282 dropped their "Louise Brooks Special" episode. This podcast, which focuses on popular and fringe culture, originates in the UK. The Brooks' episode is a talk through her career with the three 5282 hosts, highlighting films such as Beggars of Life and Pandora's Box. At the end of the podcast, one of the hosts gave a shout-out to the Louise Brooks Society as a source for information.

However, in the course of the 5282 podcast, one of the three hosts repeated something about Louise Brooks and Los Angeles that they didn't get from the Louise Brooks Society website. That something is this ... that Brooks left home at age 15 to join the Denishawn Dance Company in Los Angeles. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.

If I were a betting man, I would guess that the 5282 podcaster who repeated this "fact" likely got it from Wikipedia. The Wiki page on the actress states, "Brooks began her entertainment career as a dancer, joining the Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts modern dance company in Los Angeles at the age of 15 in 1922." In support, this sentence is twice footnoted, once to a 1926 Picture-Play article, "Just a Prairie Flower," and once to Brooks' own 1982 book, Lulu in Hollywood. In the first cited source, Brooks' joining Denishawn is not explicitly mentioned (it is only stated that Brooks danced with Ruth St. Denis), and in the second cited source, Brooks herself says she went to join Denishawn in New York City.

And anyways, anyone who has read or seen The Chaperone, the PBS film which depicts Brooks leaving home to join Denishawn -- will know that Brooks did so in New York City -- not Los Angeles. (I know The Chaperone is fiction, but it is based on fact.) Besides Brooks' own account, as found in Lulu in Hollywood, the facts around Brooks first venture to LA can be found in the definitive biography of the actress by Barry Paris. In it, Paris notes that Brooks went to Los Angeles for the very first time in 1927, when her studio, Paramount, had her move from their East Coast production facility to their West Coast studio in Hollywood. 

Part of the confusion regarding Brooks, Denishawn and Los Angeles likely stems from the fact that the dance company had two "headquarters," one in NYC and one in LA. (They also had a summer retreat in Mariarden in Peterborough, New Hampshire.) But still, that doesn't change the fact that Brooks joined Denishawn in New York. Let me also add that I have done considerable research on Brooks' two seasons with the dance company. I have tracked the Denishawn tours city by city, and can state that the furthest west the company ever got while Brooks was a member of Denishawn was Colorado.

I mention all this because not only did an incorrect, but not insignificant, fact make its way from Wikipedia to an UK podcast, but it can also be found on a key, authoritative site like Janus Films, the company behind the theatrical release of the latest restoration of Pandora's Box. Back on January 27 of this year, I posted a blog about the Pandora's Box restoration, and pointed to the handful of factual errors and sloppy writing found on the Janus press release. At the time I stated, "The Louise Brooks Biography included in the Press Notes, for example, is riddled with factual errors. I count five or six. Here is one: Louise Brooks did NOT join the Denishawn Dance Company in Los Angeles, as the biography states. She went to New York City, as stated in the Barry Paris biography and as depicted in The Chaperone. Likewise, the Production History essay makes a few questionable (read inaccurate) conclusions...." I sent an email to Janus, but never heard back.

Let me end with an image. It is scanned from the Barry Paris biography and depicts Brooks' arrival in Los Angeles for the first time in 1927. The caption reads "Louise Brooks greeted by Eddie Sutherland's friend Monte Brice upon her arrival in Hollywood, January 6, 1927."

The note on the reverse of the original of this Paramount publicity image, in Brooks' own hand, states, "First arrival in Hollywood, Jan 1927."

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 © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, screens in Houston, Texas on March 24th

Lulu continues to get around.... The newly released digital restoration of the sensational 1929 silent film, Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks as Lulu, will be shown on Sunday, March 24th at 5:00 pm in the Brown Auditorium Theater at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas. This screening of the digital restoration includes a musical soundtrack by the late composer Peer Raben. More information about this event can be found HERE.

And here is what the event venue says:

Early German cinema master G. W. Pabst cast Ziegfeld girl Louise Brooks, whose legend was defined by this stylish and controversial melodrama. One of silent cinema’s great masterworks and a testament to Brooks’s dazzling individuality, Pandora’s Box follows the downward spiral of the fiery, brash, yet innocent showgirl Lulu, whose sexual vivacity has a devastating effect on everyone she meets. Digital restoration includes a musical soundtrack by the late composer Peer Raben (2046; Querelle).

Digital restoration from best surviving 35mm material (1952, 1964, and 1970 duplicate elements) by Haghefilm Conservation, with archival sponsorship and FIAF coordination by the George Eastman House and the collaboration of the Cinémathèque Française, Cineteca del comune di Bologna, Národní filmový archiv, and Gosfilmofond of Russia. Restoration conceived and supervised by Martin Koerber and funded by Hugh M. Hefner.

Want to lean more? A big, newly updated page about Pandora's Box can be found on the newly improved Louise Brooks Society website. Click on the film title to access the LBS filmography page devoted to the movie.

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 © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Be sure and get a Louise Brooks calendar from Flicker Alley

Even though we are a few days into March, it's not too late to get a copy of the 2024 Flicker Alley calendar. This adorable 6 inch by 6 inch square calendar is available for free with the purchase of a non-mod DVD or Blu-ray. And what's more, the front and back covers feature the one and only Louise Brooks.

To get my copy, I ordered the 2023 Flicker Alley release of restoration of the Erich von Stroheim film Foolish Wives. I have long loved this director's films, and am proud to have once put on an event with the great von Stroheim biographer Arthur Lenning. Louise Brooks also had an interest in his films, and, she even once met the famed director at a Hollywood party. Later on, Brooks carried on a long time  correspondence with another noted von Stroheim biographer, Herman G. Weinberg.

Foolish Wives, and von Stroheim's The Merry Widow, are two of my favorite silent films. I have seen each a handful of times, either at home or on the BIG screen. Greed is also great -- but who would claim it as a favorite? Be sure and check out the Flicker Alley page on this deluxe release of this silent era masterpiece. Wow, what a package!

Well, anyways, here is the back cover of the calendar, which features another image (both were supplied by yours truly) of Louise Brooks from the 1926 film, The American Venus. 

I know it is a journalistic principal to not bury the lead, but rewards come to those who read through to the end. The inside back cover of the 2024 calendar depicts a bunch of the recent and not-so recent Flicker Alley releases. It also states, "Lots of exciting new releases are in store from Flicker Alley in 2024! Be on the lookout for a follow-up collection of shorts from a beloved comedy duo, amazing and still-timely works from an African American film pioneer and pioneer of anti-fascist documentary, rare noir titles both international and domestic, and much more! (Including a big clue on this calendar's cover page.)"

Along with KINO and Milestone, Flicker Alley is one of the leading companies releasing silent and classic cinema. If you aren't already, be sure and get on their mailing list. You won't want to miss out.

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 © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, screens March 12th with live musical accompaniment by Ben Model

Lulu sure does get around.... Pandora's Box, the sensational 1929 (not 1933) film starring Louise Brooks, will be shown on Tuesday, March 12th at 7:30 PM at the Cinema Arts Centre on Long Island in Huntington, New York. And what's more, this special event will feature live musical accompaniment by Ben Model. More information about this screening can be found HERE.

Here is what the venue says about this just announced event.  

PANDORA’S BOX (1933) - starring Louise Brooks - new restoration, with live score by Ben Model!

Anything But Silent
PANDORA’S BOX
Tuesday, March 12th at 7:30 PM
With live accompaniment by Ben Model

G. W. Pabst’s sensationally modern and controversial melodrama, Pandora’s Box, defined the legendary persona of star Louise Brooks, solidifying her as ‘the' icon of the Jazz Age, and propelling her to international acclaim. The film, from one of the masters of early German cinema, follows the downward spiral of the brash, yet innocent showgirl Lulu, whose sexual vivacity has a devastating effect on everyone she meets. Daring and stylish, Pandora's Box is one of silent cinema's great masterworks and a testament to Brooks' dazzling individuality. (1929, 133 mins)

Presented courtesy of Janus Films. Restored from the best surviving 35mm elements at Haghefilm Conservation under the supervision of the Deutsche Kinemathek with the cooperation of George Eastman Museum, the Cinémathèque Française, Cineteca di Bologna, Národní filmový archiv, and Gosfilmofond. 

 

Want to lean more? A big, newly updated page about Pandora's Box can be found on the newly improved Louise Brooks Society website. Click on the film title to access the LBS filmography page devoted to the movie.

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 © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.