In the late 1920s, Louise Brooks film's were shown on Thanksgiving day, as well as on just about every day of the year in some cities. This post highlights a few Thanksgiving screenings archived in the collection of the Louise Brooks Society.
In Canada in 1927, the Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated on different
days on a regional and even local basis. Nationally, the holiday was set
to take place on July 3rd. But as the above advertisement from Nanaimo,
British Columbia shows, a special showing of Rolled Stockings
was announced for the local Bijou theatre on an alternate holiday –
Monday, November 7th. (... Some thirty years after this Thanksgiving Day
screening, the Governor General of Canada issued a proclamation stating
the Thanksgiving holiday would henceforth be observed throughout the
nation on the second Monday in October.)
In the United States, Thanksgiving takes place on the last
Thursday in November. South of the border on November 24, 1927, the popular Louise Brooks comedy Now We're in the Air was showing in Appleton, Wisconsin. The film, which the Appleton Post-Cresent
described as a "nonsense opera", was going over "big," according to the
local newspaper. The advertisement for Fischer's theatre (shown below) proclaims
"After that Thanksgiving Day Dinner Come on Down," noting Brooks is the
"leading lady and how she leads." Notably, the accompanying short film
is Love Em and Feed Em (starring Max Davidson & Oliver Hardy); its title is a take off on Brooks' 1926 film, Love Em and Leave Em.
Appleton moviegoers who couldn't get enough of Louise Brooks could return to Fischer's the following Saturday or Sunday, where another 1927 Brooks film, The City Gone Wild, was showing. How's that for a cinematic feast?
Elsewhere around the United States in 1927, The City Gone Wild was showing on Thanksgiving Day in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Walnut theatre, while Now We're in the Air was showing in Allentown, Pennsylvania at the Strand. Or, if you live in Bloomington, Illinois, you can take in The City Gone Wild at the Irvin theatre (shown below), as the turkey bordered advertisement below shows. It remarkable that the local Bloomington newspaper had enough turkey dingbats to set a border.
On Thursday, November 29th - Thanksgiving Day in 1928, the recently released Louise Brooks film Beggars of Life was showing in Hartford, Connecticut. The Hartford Courant newspaper ad below notes the "special holiday bill" at the Central theatre would be shown at 2:30, 6:30, and 8:30 pm, but incorrectly states the film stars Noah Berry. In actuality, the film starred Noah Beery's younger brother, future Oscar winner Wallace Beery!
Happy Thanksgiving!
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.
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