Louise Brooks-inspired thriller, The Haunting of Emily Pierson, now published

Scott R. Howe is a longtime fan of Louise Brooks, and a longtime supporter of the Louise Brooks Society. His novel, The Haunting of Emily Pierson, has just been published. The book is a revised and retitled version of his 2022 Louise Brooks-inspired thriller Pandora's Box. Scott is a good writer, and I am looking forward to checking out this new edition of what promises to be a terrorific novel.

The Haunting of Emily Pierson marks Scott R. Howe’s debut into the world of psychological horror. This gripping first novel blends psychological tension with supernatural dread, while promising to keep readers on the edge of their seats. And what's more, Louise Brooks is a central "character".

The book's description: 

"Emily thought she was running toward a fresh start when she left behind her job, her two-year relationship, and her old life, settling in a quiet apartment in Rochester, New York. But what was supposed to be a refuge quickly turns into something far more unsettling. The previous tenant, an elderly recluse and once silent film icon, died in this same apartment—and she hasn’t truly left.

Emily finds ever more disturbing connections with the woman. They seem to share a secret and she feels compelled to uncover it. The deeper she digs, the more the apartment’s chilling presence tightens its grip, making her question what is real and what lies hidden in the shadows.

In order to regain her peace, Emily must confront the unsettling truth that connects her to this haunting presence. However, there are certain secrets that are better left buried, and facing them may not only harm her and those she holds close, but also have far-reaching consequences.

A spine-tingling tale of psychological horror and the supernatural, The Haunting of Emily Pierson, will make you question what lingers in the spaces we call home."

An excerpt from the novel:

After a pause, Hazel said, “I’m so sorry, dear. I just realized that I haven’t told you who I’m talking about.” 

Emily shook her head, smiling politely.

“Well, if you were as old as I am, you’d probably know her by name or at the very least by that hair style she had when she was young.”

Hazel paused again. “Can you believe I used to care for a world-famous Hollywood film actress?”
Emily perked up a bit. Hazel’s reference to a once-famous person provided an intriguing twist to the mystery. 

“Please tell me you’ve heard of Charlie Chaplin or Greta Garbo, dear,” Hazel teased.

“Yes, of course, I’ve heard of them.”

“Well, the woman I’m referring to had affairs with both of ’em!”

Emily grabbed her laptop and pulled it closer.

"Who was it that used to live here?” asked Emily, opening her browser with her fingers poised, ready to type.

“Louise Brooks,” responded Hazel as she watched Emily type the search terms into the search bar. 

“Louise Brooks,” 1920s film actress…

Emily’s screen became filled with references and images, causing her to be transfixed. A black-and-white image of a woman from a bygone era stared back. She was incredibly beautiful, and her appearance seemed quite contemporary. The woman in the photos wore her jet-black hair in a bob, cut short, at her ears, with the dark pointed tips cutting into her alabaster cheeks, perfectly framing her dark, sultry eyes. The straight lines of her blunt bangs were the ideal accent to her stick-straight brows, and her perfect lips curved in just enough of a pout to seem sad yet inviting. 

Emily had no clue that women in the 1920s could look like this. The flappers she had seen in photographs from that era looked nothing like this woman. They wore their hair in curls, and they looked almost comical — like Betty Boop.

For Emily, the woman’s appearance was completely hypnotic. One image struck Emily’s eye. The faded picture of a little girl standing outside, next to a chair. Emily focused her concentration even more and clicked on the image, enlarging it to fill her laptop screen. Emily’s mind swirled. The little girl in the photograph looked like the young girl she had seen on Halloween night. Emily’s eyes moved down to the caption below the photo.

Louise Brooks, age 9, on the front porch of her family’s home in Cherryvale, Kansas, 1915.
“As I told you, dear, Louise Brooks hasn’t lived in this building for a very long time, and she died before you were even born.” Hazel surveyed the room, then added, “She lived here, in your apartment.”

 # # #

Scott R. Howe grew up in Sacramento, California, where he still resides. He spent his formative years watching horror and Sci-fi movies which eventually grew into a general interest in film history, early Hollywood — and a life-long obsession with the silent film actress, Louise Brooks. In addition, Scott has had an interest in the paranormal. Scott is also a graphic artist, painter, filmmaker and musician. More about the author and his new book can be found on his website at https://scottrhowe.com/ 

Back in 2022,  the Louise Brooks Society spoke with Howe about his original novel.

LOUISE BROOKS SOCIETY: When and how did you first come across Louise Brooks?

SCOTT HOWE: My earliest recollection is that I had purchased a sort of coffee table book on early, silent-era film making in Hollywood. It was filled with images from the turn of the century, up through the 1920s. When I was flipping through the pages, I stopped at a photo of this woman I had never come across before. She was striking to me, initially, because her look didn't seem to match anyone else in the entire photobook; in my eyes, she was a complete anachronism. I was in my mid-twenties at the time (this was like 1985 or '86) and she just really stood out as being uniquely attractive, even by 1980s standards. That was enough to intrigue me and I was off on a quest to find out as much as I could about her. That was before the internet so I found myself driving to Berkeley to make use of their libraries, etc. It became a fun side-hobby to sort of try and sleuth out information about her throughout the years. 

LOUISE BROOKS SOCIETY: What is it about her that draws you?

SCOTT HOWE: I sort of answered this in the first question. At first, it was that she appeared out of place in her own time. She seemed completely modern to me. The first book I found was her own book, the compilation of some of her essays that had appeared previously in other journals, "Lulu In Hollywood." Her writing felt as if I was reading the thoughts of a young twenty-year-old girl. That made her even more attractive. It was almost like I was falling in love with this "young" woman, and I guess I ignored the fact that she had actually passed, perhaps only a year earlier. (I hope this is making sense). Later, I found the Kenneth Tynan article on her, "The Girl in the Black Helmet." It felt good to know that I wasn't the only one who found himself falling in love with her.

LOUISE BROOKS SOCIETY: You have written a paranormal historical thriller. What are some of your favorite books or authors in that field?

SCOTT HOWE: One of the earliest books on the paranormal that I read as a teen was The Amityville Horror. The idea that this series of events may have actually happened completely fascinated me. I remember asking my mom to take me to the library so I could look for news stories, on microfiche, from the time of the original Defeo family murders; since the book mentioned that George Lutz, who moved into the house shortly after the murders with his family, held a striking resemblance to Ronald Defeo Jr., the one who killed his entire family, I wanted to see, for myself, if they did have a similar appearance  — and they did. It was also around this time, in the mid-seventies, that my older brother brought back a souvenir book he'd bought for me, from his visit to Washington D.C.. It was called Ghosts: Washington's Most Famous Ghost Stories by John Alexander. Reading that book, as a kid, led to my love for history in general.

LOUISE BROOKS SOCIETY: Do other early film stars or early films interest you? Or the Jazz Age?

SCOTT HOWE: I grew up on the Our Gang/Little Rascals shorts and Laurel and Hardy. They were a Saturday morning staple here in Sacramento when I was growing up. I found myself strangely mesmerized by the music in those Hal Roach comedies. For years, I tried to find information on that music. Eventually, in the late eighties, while I was working as an artist at Tower Records, I was able to discover the music of Beau Hunks where they recreated all of that old music from the Hal Roach films. I knew of Chaplin too, but did not grow to truly appreciate his genius until I got into college and took some film history courses. It wasn't until later that I discovered Chaplin's connection with Louise. I was also excited to learn that Buster Keaton shot Steamboat Bill, Jr. here in Sacramento right along the river, near what is now West Sacramento.

LOUISE BROOKS SOCIETY: How was it that you had the idea to blend your two interests - gothic thrillers and a certain silent film star?

SCOTT HOWE: I'm not sure if you can relate, but I've felt for a long time that I had an itch that needed to be scratched when it came to Louise Brooks. In college, I began my interest in film making and in film history. After my daughter was grown, I took up film making again and had the ridiculous idea to try and make a short film about Louise. I failed miserably, of course. All the while, I kept hoping someone else would do something. Anything. I still hope that someone, someday, will finally produce a biopic about her. But I digress… Over the pandemic, I had to have quadruple bypass surgery. While recovering from that, I started thinking about coming up with an idea for a novel that might use Louise as a framework. Initially, it felt too daunting a task. After all, people way more qualified — people like you — have already written so much about her; what could I possibly add to that? But my mind kept coming back to something about Louise that had always affected me. It was the fact that she was sexually abused as a child. I found it both heart-wrenching and chilling that this had happened to her at all — and that it was as common, then, as it is today — seemed unthinkable. One could see how much it changed the trajectory of her life forever after that experience. Barry Paris wrote in his famous biography on her that Mr. Flowers was her "Rosebud." It finally hit me that one way I could talk about all of that was to couch it within a ghost story. Good ghost stories, after all, are just mysteries wrapped up in a nice, scary package. Writing scary short films was always in my wheelhouse, so why not try writing something longer-form and see if I could manage it. As it turned out, this was the spark I needed to finally scratch that Louise Brooks itch that I'd had ever since I first discovered her for myself. I think it's natural for creative people to get inspiration from their muses. Louise has been that for me. I've drawn her, painted her, tried to make a short film about her... and now, I've finally found a way to express some of my thoughts about something that truly hurt me when I first learned of Louise’s sexual abuse as a child.

LOUISE BROOKS SOCIETY: What might you want readers of your book to know?

SCOTT HOWE: I hope people will understand that I wrote this book with a deep admiration and affection for Louise Brooks. Those who have done their own research on Louise will no doubt recognize some familiar acknowledgements to her in the form of small factoids about her life that I sprinkled throughout this book. Finally, I hope that by delving deeper into the issue of sexual abuse, readers will gain a better understanding of the strength of will required to survive such trauma. I'm left to wonder how much more Louise would have achieved had she not had to carry such a burden with her over her lifetime.
 
I have to apologize for my lengthy responses. Once I get going, I can't stop. :)

# # #

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 Pandorina skrinjica (Pandora's Box) in Slovenia

Longtime Louise Brooks Society supporter Camille Scaysbrook alerted me to this November 9th screening of Pandorina skrinjica (Pandora's Box) at the Slovenska Kinoteca in Delavska Zbornica, Slovenia. Thank you Camille!

Scaysbrook, a member of the LBS since before 2000, posted on Bluesky that her parents were recently in Slovenia and came across a program for the Slovenska Kinoteka which featured Louise Brooks on the cover!

The film institute screened Pandora's Box as part of a series devoted to "Scandalous Classics of German Silent Film." Camille also sent snapshots of two of the interior pages highlighting the event. I will soon add the cover shot to the Louise Brooks Society archive age which features a bunch of contemporary film program covers (dating back to 1961). That page can be found HERE.

More about the Slovenska Kinoteka screening can be found HERE. And more about the film can be found HERE. IF THERE ARE ANY SLOVENIA FANS WHO ATTENDED THIS SCREENING, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. These first of these non-English / Slovenian pages state: 

Lepa in muhasta Lulu (Louise Brooks), brezskrbna in nedolžno perverzna, je bitje, ki živi le za ljubezen. Nastopa v revijalni predstavi, ki jo sponzorira njen ljubimec Ludwig Schön (Fritz Kortner), mogočen časopisni in varietejski magnat, ki je zaročen s hčerjo ministra za notranje zadeve. Na večer premiere Lulu prisili Schöna, da zaroko razdre in se poroči z njo.

Pandorina skrinjica je osnovana na dveh dramah nemškega dramatika Franka Wedekinda: Duh zemlje (1895) in Pandorina skrinjica (1902), ki so ju imeli v takratnem času za nemoralni in sta povzročili škandal. Tako je komajda presenetljivo, da so Pabstov film, ko je prišel v kinematografe, prepovedali skoraj v vseh evropskih državah, razen v Franciji, kjer pa so cenzorji zapovedali precejšnje reze, ki so privedli do omiljene različice filma.

In English translation via Google translate, it reads:

Beautiful and whimsical, Lulu (Louise Brooks), carefree and innocently perverse, is a creature who lives only for love. She appears in a revue sponsored by her lover Ludwig Schön (Fritz Kortner), a powerful newspaper and variety magnate who is engaged to the daughter of the Minister of the Interior. On the night of the premiere, Lulu forces Schön to break off the engagement and marry her. 

Pandora's Box is based on two plays by German playwright Frank Wedekind: The Spirit of the Earth (1895) and Pandora's Box (1902), which were considered immoral at the time and caused a scandal. It is therefore hardly surprising that when Pabst's film was released in cinemas, it was banned in almost all European countries, except in France, where censors ordered significant cuts, resulting in a watered-down version of the film.

The second of these non-English pages state:

Film Pandorina skrinjica (Die Büchse der Pandora), ki ga je leta 1929 režiral avstrijski filmski ustvarjalec Georg Wilhelm Pabst, velja za enega od vrhuncev nemškega nemega ekspresionizma in za enega najbolj kontroverznih ter odmevnih filmov svojega časa. Osnovan je na dveh dramah Franka Wedekinda, Duhu zemlje (1895) in Pandorini skrinjici (1902), ki sta bili v času nastanka označeni za nemoralni in škandalozni, in prinaša kompleksno zgodbo o vzponu in padcu usodne ženske, katere fatalna privlačnost prinese propad tako njej kot ljudem v njeni bližini.

Glavno junakinjo Lulu upodablja karizmatična Louise Brooks, z nenavadno kombinacijo otroške nedolžnosti in seksapila obdarjena igralka, ki je revolucionirala filmsko igro s svojo naravno prezenco in izraznim minimalizmom, tako drugačnim od teatralne igre, značilne za takratne neme filme. Zgodba sledi Lulujinemu vplivu na moške in ženske okoli sebe ter prikazuje, kako jo njena frivolnost in spolna neinhibiranost zlagoma vlečeta v tragedijo. Lulu je svobodomiselna, neukrotljiva in izzivalna, to pa so lastnosti, ki jih družba tistega časa ni bila pripravljena sprejeti. Pabst skozi njeno zgodbo raziskuje teme spolne osvoboditve, moči ženske seksualnosti in destruktivne sile, ki jo ta lahko povzroči, ko se sreča z represivnimi družbenimi normami. Pripoved se začne z Lulujinimi ljubezenskimi zapleti in se postopoma poglablja v vse bolj temačne in uničujoče situacije, vse do tragičnega konca, ko postane žrtev Jacka Razparača.

Pabst je v sodelovanju s snemalcem Fritzom Arnom Wagnerjem ustvaril osupljivo vizualno podobo, polno bogatih kontrastov, temačnih senc in prefinjenih podrobnosti, ki poudarjajo psihološko globino likov in ustvarjajo mračno, skoraj nihilistično atmosfero. Poleg ekspresionističnih prijemov pa je film znan tudi po naturalističnih elementih, ki poskrbijo za realistično upodobitev človekovih strasti in propada.

Ob izidu je bil film zaradi svoje seksualne eksplicitnosti in moralne oporečnosti deležen večinoma negativnih kritik. Kjer so ga predvajali, je bil močno cenzuriran, marsikje pa je bil v celoti prepovedan. A sčasoma je postal predmet številnih filmskih analiz in navdih za prihodnje filmske ustvarjalce. Njegov vpliv lahko zaznamo v kasnejših filmskih delih, ki raziskujejo teme usodnih žensk, seksualne politike in temnih plati človeške narave.

I am not sure about the reference to cinematographer Fritz Arn Wagner. The creditted cameraman is usually given as Gunther Krampf. In English translation the above text reads:

Pandora's Box (Die Büchse der Pandora), directed by Austrian filmmaker Georg Wilhelm Pabst in 1929, is considered one of the pinnacles of German silent expressionism and one of the most controversial and high-profile films of its time. Based on two plays by Frank Wedekind, The Spirit of the Earth (1895) and Pandora's Box (1902), which were considered immoral and scandalous at the time of their creation, it tells the complex story of the rise and fall of a femme fatale whose fatal attraction brings ruin to both her and those around her. 

 

The main character, Lulu, is portrayed by the charismatic Louise Brooks, an actress gifted with an unusual combination of childlike innocence and sex appeal, who revolutionized film acting with her natural presence and expressive minimalism, so different from the theatrical acting typical of silent films of the time. The story follows Lulu's influence on the men and women around her, and shows how her frivolity and sexual uninhibition gradually lead her into tragedy. Lulu is free-spirited, untamed, and provocative, traits that society at the time was unwilling to accept. Through her story, Pabst explores themes of sexual liberation, the power of female sexuality, and the destructive force it can create when it encounters repressive social norms. The story begins with Lulu's love affairs and gradually delves into increasingly dark and destructive situations, until the tragic end when she falls victim to Jack the Ripper. 

 

Pabst, in collaboration with cinematographer Fritz Arn Wagner, created a stunning visual image, full of rich contrasts, dark shadows, and sophisticated details that emphasize the psychological depth of the characters and create a gloomy, almost nihilistic atmosphere. In addition to its expressionistic approaches, the film is also known for its naturalistic elements, which provide a realistic depiction of human passions and downfall. 

 

Upon its release, the film received mostly negative reviews due to its sexual explicitness and moral objections. Where it was shown, it was heavily censored, and in many places it was banned altogether. However, it has become the subject of numerous film analyses and an inspiration for future filmmakers. Its influence can be seen in later films that explore themes of femme fatale, sexual politics, and the dark side of human nature.

More about Louise Brooks can be found on the newly revamped Louise Brooks Society website at www.pandorasbox.com

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 birthday Louise Brooks (1906 - 1985)

Happy birthday to Louise Brooks, who was born on this day, November 14, in Cherryvale, Kansas in 1906.

Though I am not sure when, Louise was seemingly born in the very early hours of  November 14th -- which was a Wednesday. I say that because her birth made news on the very day she was born. Small articles about the birth appeared in both of her hometown newspapers on November 14. The first image shown below comes from the Cherryvale Daily Republican. It is followed by another clipping, from the Cherryvale Daily News, which appeared that same day on the newspaper's front page. As most Brooks' fans likely know, Brooks' father was a lawyer.

And just a few years later, the young little Mary Louise was photographed celebrating her birthday....

Louise Brooks grew-up and became a dancer, silent film star and eventually a writer. And the world, as is said, has never been the same. Here is a very early newspaper clipping celebrating her achievement. If you haven't watched a Louise Brooks film in a while, go ahead and watch one today...

More about Louise Brooks can be found on the newly revamped Louise Brooks Society website at www.pandorasbox.com

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.

The City Gone Wild, featuring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1927

The City Gone Wild, featuring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1927. The film is a terse crime drama -- with gangsters, gangs, and gunfights, in which a criminal lawyer turns prosecutor to avenge the death of a friend. As she did in The Street of Forgotten Men, Louise Brooks plays a moll, this time the deliciously named Snuggles Joy, the “gunman’s honey.”

More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks Society website filmography page.

The “gangster film” (as we know it today) more-or-less began with Paramount’s Underworld (1927). Though there were earlier crime films, the Joseph von Sternberg directed Underworld set the tone for many of the genre films which followed, namely Little Caesar (1931), The Public Enemy (1931), and Scarface (1932).

With the surprising success of Underworld, Paramount quickly put another gangster film into production, namely The City Gone Wild. The film was a vehicle for leading man Thomas Meighan, who in 1927 saw his star begining to fade. To boost his career, Paramount paired Meighan with a topical story “ripped from the headlines,” a first rate director, and popular supporting actors. Also assigned to The City Gone Wild were individuals who worked on Underworld, namely writer Charles Furthman, cinematographer Bert Glennon, and tough-guy actor Fred Kohler.

The two films, not surprisingly, were sometimes compared. Intoning the slang of the time, Variety wrote, “The gang stuff is a la Underworld — machine guns and plenty tough. The two main yeggs each have a moll carrying their gat in the pocketbook. Very authentic in these little details ….”

Many critics focused on the acting and actors. The noted critic Ward M. Marsh of the Cleveland Plain Dealer stated, ” . . . pitting her against crookdom’s love of Louise Brooks brings out the worst in all of us. On the credit side is Miss Brooks and also Fred Kohler in a role paralleling his Mulligan in Underworld. They do excellent work.” The San Antonio Express echoed Marsh, “Although Meighan is featured in the cast, he has his co-stars, Louise Brooks, one of Paramount’s niftiest, and Fred Kohler, remembered for his great crook work in Rough Riders and Underworld.”

Critics noticed Brooks’ hard-boiled character, and the edge she brought to the role. Radie Harris of the New York Morning Telegraph wrote, “Louise Brooks is in the cast and that is something to grow ecstatic about. Christened with the preposterous name of Snuggles Joy, she is the most entrancing crook that ever pulled a Holt. No wonder the city went wild.”

“Another distinct ornament of the cast is Louise Brooks, who lends considerable vividness to her portrait of a lady of the underworld. In fact, she gives so good an interpretation of the part that Marietta Millner, supposedly the feminine lead, actually relapses into only secondary importance,” wrote Gordon Hillman of the Boston Daily Advertiser.

Brooks was so good that she out shown Millner, who had appeared earlier in the year with Meighan in the Cruze directed film We’re All Gamblers. “Louise Brooks, who plays the crook’s girl, is better looking, more attractive and a better actress than Marietta Millner, the district attorney’s jeune fille, and in real life Tommy probably would have preferred her to Marietta,” wrote Stanley Orne in the Portland Oregonian. “Louise Brooks, the pert flapper, completely shadows the more important role allotted to Marietta Millner, and the ‘girl of Gunner Gallagher’ brief as her part is, is a far more intriguing character than the society girl of Miss Millner,” added Leona Pollack of the Omaha World Herald.

Under its American title, documented screenings of the film took place in Australia (including Tasmania), Bermuda, Canada,* China, Dutch Guiana (Suriname), Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, and the United Kingdom** (England, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). The film was occasionally shown in the United States as City Gone Wild  (and at least once in Scotland under the title A City Gone Wild). In the United States, the film was also presented under the title A Cidade que Enlouqueceu (Portuguese-language press).

Elsewhere, The City Gone Wild was shown under the title The City Gone Mad and La ciudad del mal (Argentina); Der Verbrecherkönig von Chicago (Austria); La cité maudite (Belgium, in French) and De Vervloekte Stad (Belgium, in Dutch); A cidade buliçosa (Brazil); La ciudad del mal (Chile); La ciudad del mal (Costa Rica); Mesto uplynulý divoký (Czechoslovakia); Storhyens Svøbe and Storstadens Svøbe! (Denmark); Het Kwaad eener Wereldstad (Dutch East Indies – Indonesia); La Ville Maudite (Egypt); La Ville Maudite (France); Gonosztevők királya (Hungary);  狂乱街 or Kyōran-gai (Japan); Die Gottin der Sunde (Latvia); La onda del crimen (Mexico); Boeven en Burgers and Het Zondagskindand Het Kwaad Eener Wereldstad (The Netherlands***); Piraci Wielkiego Miasta (Poland); A Cidade Ruidosa (Portugal); Gonosztevok kiralya (Romania); La ciudad del mal (Spain); and La Cité Maudite (Switzerland).

* Except in Quebec, where the film was banned due to “too much shooting.”
** When the film was shown in The United Kingdom, it was restricted to adults only.
*** When the film was shown in The Netherlands in 1929-1930 and again in 1934, audiences were limited to those 18 years and older.

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

— Thomas Meighan, the star of the film, was Louise Brooks’ “uncle-in-law.” (Meighan was married to Frances Ring, a Broadway stage actress and the sister of the popular entertainer Blanche Ring. Director Eddie Sutherland — Brooks’ husband at the time, was the nephew of both Meighan, as Sutherland’s mother, Julie, was a sister of Blanche and Frances Ring.)

— Meighan was involved in two of the more sensational happenings of the silent era. In 1916, he was the sole witness to Jack Pickford and Olive Thomas’ secretive wedding. And in 1923, Meighan put up a large chunk of the bail money, and with the help of June Mathis and George Melford, got Rudolph Valentino out of jail after he was charged with bigamy.

— In the mid-1920s, Meighan became interested in Florida real estate after talking with his brother, who was a realtor. In 1925, Meighan bought property in Ocala, Florida (where scenes for the Eddie Sutherland-directed It’s the Old Army Game were shot). In 1927, he built a home in New Port Richey, Florida. It was there that he spent his winters and helped support a local movie theater, the Meighan Theatre, which was named in his honor. The Meighan Theatre opened July 1, 1926, with a showing of the Meighan movie The New Klondike, a film set against the backdrop of the Florida land boom of the 1920s. Today, the renamed Richey Suncoast Theater is home to the annual Thomas Meighan film festival.

— Brooks never learned to drive an automobile. According to the actress, a double was employed when her character was needed to speed away in a car.

More about The City Gone Wild can be found on the newly revamped Louise Brooks Society website on its The City Gone Wild (filmography page).

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.

The many visitors to the Louise Brooks Society website

Wow, how interesting it is to view my visitor log and stats -  the country of origin, the DNS record, the made-up usernames.... One never knew Louise Brooks had so many anonymous fans in Ireland, and Singapore, too, for that matter. Where do they all come from -- such a crowd! I am pleased that my site software and my premium security software is keeping track. One never knows when I might want to review these stats.

Well, anyways, the Louise Brooks Society continues to grow, and thrive. As of today, the LBS website has more than 250 pages of content -- and that's not counting the near 3,700 blog posts here on blogger. Here are some new and recent pages worth checking out:

Louise Brooks at the Cafe de Paris in London

Caricatures and Illustrations

"Quotable" Louise Brooks

Coming Attraction Slides

Brooks and Company

Stagnant websites are a bore. That's why I am always adding new pages, or tweaking, editing and refining old ones. YOU are invited to check out the newly improved Louise Brooks Society website at www.pandorasbox.com

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.

Notes on the new Criterion release of Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks

As most Louise Brooks and silent film fans likely know, Criterion has recently released Pandora's Box on DVD and Blu-ray. That's great news. This new release is a slightly repackaged version of their 2006 release of the film, which has been out-of-print for more than a few years and today is much sought after. There are, however, a few key differences.

More information about this new release can be found on the Criterion website HERE. And for those interested, the DVD and the Blu-ray releases are also available on Amazon. BOTH ARE ON SALE NOW!

So, what's the difference? And if you have the earlier release, should you buy this new version? That all depends....

First, the differences between the 2006 and the 2024 releases in regards to the film itself:

The 2006 Criterion release features a then "New, restored high-definition digital transfer of the definitive Munich Film Museum restoration." It runs 133 minutes.

The 2024 Criterion release features a "new 2k digital restoration." It runs 141 minutes. This 2k restoration was created from three duplicate elements from the collections of the Cinematheque francaise, Gosfilmofond and Narodni filmovy archiv. Funded by Hugh Hefner, this restoration was a collaboration between the George Eastman Museum, Cinematheque francaise, Cineteca di Bologna, Narodni filmovy archiv, and the Deutsche Kinemathek - Museumfur Film und Fernsehen. The restoration supervisor was Martin Koerber. (Unless I am mistaken, this restoration is the same as appeared on the recent Eureka release of the film from the U.K. However, I am uncertain as to why that version is said to run 133 minutes while this release runs 141 minutes. Perhaps someone from Criterion could explain.)

Second, differences between the bonus material included on each release:

The 2006 Criterion release features a number of excellent bonus materials or "supplements", including 

-- Four musical scores, by Gillian Anderson, Dimitar Pentchev, Peer Raben, and Stéphan Oliva

-- "New and improved English subtitle translation"

-- Audio commentary by film scholars Thomas Elsaesser and Mary Ann Doane 

-- Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (1998), a documentary by Hugh Munro Neely

-- Lulu in Berlin (1971), a rare interview with actor Louise Brooks, by Richard Leacock and Susan Steinberg Woll

-- Video interviews with Leacock and Michael Pabst, director G. W. Pabst’s son

-- A thick booklet which contains an essay by critic J. Hoberman, notes on the scores, Kenneth Tynan’s 1979 “The Girl in the Black Helmet,” and an article by Louise Brooks ("Pabst and Lulu") on her relationship with the Director

-- Stills Gallery

The 2024 Criterion release features each of the above mention bonus materials EXCEPT:

-- The stills gallery is lacking from both versions (DVD and Blu-ray) of the new release

-- Also of note, the booklet accompanying the Blu-ray contains the introductory essay by Hoberman, notes on the scores, Tynan’s 1979 “The Girl in the Black Helmet,” and an article by Brooks ("Pabst and Lulu"), while the slim insert accompanying the DVD contains only Hoberman's introductory essay and the notes on the scores while dropping the Tynan and Brooks essays. I wonder why?

-- Notably, the 2024 Blu-ray release is one disc, while the DVD is a two-disc set

-- The 2024 release has a new cover by Eric Skillman, as well as an official trailer announcing this 2024 release (which, now that it has been released, is dated; see below)

-- The interior illustrations are seemingly the same, though there are fewer of them on the DVD version

-- And though it is not explicitly stated, I assume the "New and improved English subtitle translation" has been carried over from the 2006 release.

There haven't been many reviews of this new release, that I have noticed. One of them, on the Slant magazine website, is cursory. Here is another, on the YouTube channel, Let's Talk Criterion. 

With all that said, I am glad Criterion brought Pandora's Box back into print. Perhaps a few more fans will check it out. Also, as I mentioned in some of my earlier blogs on the Criterion and Eureka releases, including my Pop Matters review from earlier this year, the Hugh Hefner funded restoration (supervised by Martin Koerber) is likely the best version of Pandora's Box that we will see in our lifetime.

For more about Pandora's Box, see the newly revamped Pandora's Box filmography page on the new revamped Louise Brooks Society website.

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 Halloween from the Louise Brooks Society! 

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.

Diary of a Lost Girl, starring Louise Brooks, to screen in Italy

Diary of a Lost Girl, starring Louise Brooks, will be shown at the Teatro di Fiesole in Fiesole, Italy (outside of Florence) on Saturday November 9, 2024. This screening is part of the Autunno Fiesolano 2024. Additionally, the film will be shown with live musical accompaniment by Remo Anzovino. More information and ticket availability can be found HERE.

According to a translation of the Teatro di Fiesole page, "A masterpiece of silent cinema, presented in a restored version, with a soundtrack composed and performed live by one of the most creative pianists on the contemporary scene. Diary of a Lost Woman comes back to life with the music of Remo Anzovino.

Directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst in 1929, Diary of a Lost Woman stars Louise Brooks, the first real movie star and a style icon, thanks to her legendary bob cut.

Remo Anzovino composed the film's soundtrack on commission from the Cineteca di Bologna, a very fortunate partnership – to which a degree thesis was also dedicated, at the Dams of Bologna – for a musician that critics have defined as the 'new true heir of the Italian tradition in film music'."

The film is being promoted under the Italian title of Diario di una donna perduta. Notably, it has also screened in Italy under the titles Diario di una perduta and Diario di una prostituta.

The accompanist, Remo Anzovino, is a prominent Italian composer, musician and criminal lawyer. He has accompanied many classic silent films, including Pandora's Box and Beggars of Life. His official website can be found HERE.

In 2010,  the Louise Brooks Society published a corrected and annotated edition of the original 1907 English language translation -- notably, this edition, the first in English in 100 years -- brought this important work of feminist literature back into print in English. It includes an introduction by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society, detailing the book's remarkable history and relationship to the 1929 silent film. This special "Louise Brooks Edition" also includes more than three dozen vintage illustrations.  (Purchase on amazon.)

 

More about Diary of a Lost Girl can be found on the newly revamped Louise Brooks Society website on its Diary of a Lost Girl (filmography page).

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.

Beggars of Life to be screened in Jim Tully's hometown

Beggars of Life, the sensational William Wellman-directed silent film starring Louise Brooks, Wallace Berry and Richard Arlen, will be screened on November 16th at the St. Marys Theater and Grand Opera House in St. Marys, Ohio. And what's more, this special screening will feature a live musical accompaniment by silent movie organist Dennis James. A link to the venue can be found HERE.

 Jim Tully was a well known "hobo writer" in the early decades of the 20th century The 1928 film, Beggars of Life, was based on Tully's 1925 book of the same name. Also on hand for this event will be Tully biographers Paul Bauer and Mark Dawidziak, who will introduce the film. 

For anyone in the area, this Tully celebration not to be missed. A special 10 minute slide show prepared by Thomas Gladysz will also be shown at the event. It features rare images and audio drawn from the collection of the Louise Brooks Society.

The first ever book on the film, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, was published by the Louise Brooks Society in 2017. The book is authored by LBS Director Thomas Gladysz, and features a foreword by author and actor William Wellman Jr. -- the son of the film's Academy Award winning Director.  (Purchase on amazon.)

More about Jim Tully and Beggars of Life can be found on the newly revamped Louise Brooks Society website on its Beggars of Life (filmography page). 

And, be sure and check out one or both of these book, a recent reprint of Tully classic work, Beggars of Life (purchase on amazon), or the highly recommnded biography of the writer, Jim Tully: American Writer, Irish Rover, Hollywood Brawler. (purchase on amazon)

 

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.

Diary of a Lost Girl, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1929

Diary of a Lost Girl, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in Germany in 1929. In this once controversial production, Brooks plays the title role — the “lost girl”. The film is the sensational story of a young woman who is seduced and conceives a child, only to be sent to a home for wayward women before escaping to a brothel. Beneath its melodramatic surface, the film is a pointed social critique aimed at German society. The film was controversial enough to have been withdrawn from circulation and only re-released in Germany in January, 1930.

More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks Society website filmography page.

Diary of a Lost Girl is the second film Brooks made under the direction of G.W. Pabst. The first, Pandora’s Box, was also released in 1929. Like Pandora’s Box, this second collaboration was also based on a famous work of literature. Diary of a Lost Girl was based on the bestselling book of the same name by Margarete Böhme. At the time of its publication, one critic called it “the poignant story of a great-hearted girl who kept her soul alive amidst all the mire that surrounded her poor body.” That summation applies to the film as well.

Böhme’s book was nothing less than a literary phenomenon. First published in 1905, it was hugely popular, and continued to sell for many years. Though issued a quarter-of-a-century earlier, European movie goers in 1929 would have known its story. In fact, German, French and Polish ads for Pabst’s film emphasized its literary origins, some even noting that Böhme’s book had sold more than 1.2 million copies. Pabst’s 1929 film, in fact, was the third cinematic adaption of Böhme’s work.

Diary of a Lost Girl debuted in Berlin on October 15, 1929. By December 5, the film had been banned by the state censor and was withdrawn from circulation. After cuts were made, the ban was lifted on January 6, 1930, and the film re-released. Diary of a Lost Girl was poorly received, not only because sound was coming in and there was diminishing interest in the silent cinema, but because the film continued to be censored and cut wherever its was shown, leaving its already problematic story in shambles.

At the time of its release, the film received many negative reviews – but for reasons which sometimes had little to do with the movie. As Brooks’ biographer Barry Paris notes, some German film critics devoted their columns to savaging Böhme’s then 25 year old book. Siegfried Kracauer, a critic at the time of the film’s release, was among them. He commented on the film in his famous 1946 book, From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film, writing about the Pabst film and its literary source — “the popularity of which among the philistines of the past generation rested upon the slightly pornographic frankness with which it recounted the private life of some prostitutes from a morally elevated point of view.”

The Berlin correspondent for Variety wrote something similar, but went further: “G.W. Pabst is among the best German directors still working here but has had atrocious luck with scenarios. This one, taken from a best seller of years ago, is no exception. . . . This time he has been unfortunate in his choice of his heroine. Louise Brooks (American) is monotonous in the tragedy which she has to present.”

Though screened across Europe and in Russia, the film faded from view — and film history. Diary of a Lost Girl was not shown in the United States until the 1950s, and did not receive a theatrical release in America until the 1980s. Recent restorations, however, have brought renewed attention, and in the eyes of some critics, Diary of a Lost Girl is now considered one of the last great silent films — and the near equal of Pandora’s Box.

Under its German title, documented screenings of the film also took place in Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Danzig.

Outside Germany, Das Tagebuch einer Verlorenen was exhibited under the title Tres páginas de un diario (Argentina); O diário de uma perdida and Diário de uma mulher perdida and Jornal de uma perdida and Jornal de uma garota perdida (Brazil) and Diário de uma Pecadora (Brazil, 1954); Dnevnik jedne izgubljene (Croatia); Deník ztracené (Czechoslovakia) and Denník ztratenej and Dennik padleho dievcafa (Slovakia); Diario de una perdida (Ecuador); Kadotetun päiväkirja (Finland); Journal d’une fille perdue and Trois pages d’un journal (France) and Three Pages of a Daybook (France, English-language press); ΤΟ ΗΜΕΡΟΛΟΓΙΟ ΜΙΑΣ ΠΑΡΑΣΤΡΑΤΗΜΕΝΗΣ (Greece); Egy perdita naplója (Hungary); Diario di una donna perduta and Diario di una perduta and Diario di una prostituta (Italy); Diary of a Lost Soul (Japan); Das Tagebuch einer Verfuhrten and Kritušas dienasgramata and Pavestas dienas gramata (Latvia); Diario de una mujer perdida and Diario de una muchacha perdida (Mexico); Dusze bez steru and Dziennik upadley dziewczyny and Pamiętnik upadłej (Poland); Jornal de Uma Perdida (Portugal); Jurnalul unei femei pierdute (Romania); Dnevnik izgubljenke (Spain); Tres páginas de’un diario and Diari d’una perduda (Spain – Catalonia); En fallen flickas dagbok and En förlorads dagbok (Sweden); Le journal d’une fille perdue and Trois pages d’un journal (Switzerland); Bir Kadinin Guniugu and Eczacinin kizi (Turkey); Tres páginas de un diario and Diario de una perdida (Uruguay); Дневник падшей  (U.S.S.R.); Diario de una joven perdida (Venezuela).

Since the late 1950s, numerous screenings of the film have been taken place around the world, including first ever showings under the title Diary of a Lost Girl in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland), and elsewhere. The film was first shown in the United States in the late 1950s.

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

— Pabst’s Diary of a Lost Girl was the third film adaption of Böhme’s bestselling book. The first was directed by Fritz Bernhardt in 1912. The second was directed by Richard Oswald in 1918. Both are considered lost films. The second version starred Erna Morena as Thymian, Reinhold Schünzel as Osdorff, Werner Krauss as Meinert, and Conrad Veidt as Dr. Julius. The film was well reviewed, but demands of the wartime censor led to cuts and even a change in its title. Once censorship was lifted after the end of WWI, scenes thought too provocative or critical of society were put back and its title restored.

— Along with Oswald’s Diary of a Lost Girl, the year 1918 also saw the release of a film based on the sequel to Böhme’s book, Dida Ibsen’s Geschichte. Also directed by Richard Oswald, the part of Dida Ibsen was played by the infamous German dancer, actress, and “performance artist” Anita Berber, with Krauss and Veidt reprising their roles. The film is extant, and was shown in Bologna in 2011.

— Elisabeth, the departing housekeeper, is played by Sybille Schmitz. She was a prominent German actress of the 30’s, and something of a tragic figure. She drank, had multiple affairs, struggled with addiction, and ended up committing suicide in 1955. The downward spiral her life took after the second World War inspired the Fassbinder film, Veronika Voss.

— The elder Count Osdorff is played by Arnold Korff. He was an Austrian stage and film actor who counted James Joyce among his friends. Korff also knew Frank Wedekind and Karl Krauss; one of Korff’s earliest roles was in the first stage production of Pandora’s Box in 1905.

— The tall blonde sitting with the young Count in the brothel is actress Elisabeth Schlichter, also known as “Speedy”. In life, she sometimes worked as a prostitute and was married to Rudolf Schlichter, an important Dada artist and key member of the New Objectivity movement — to which Pabst’s film-making was allied.

— The sausage vendor, who we first see out on the street and who leads Thymian to the brothel, is played by Hans Casparius. He had a bit part in Pandora’s Box, but is best known as a German photographer of the twenties and thirties who was noted for his street photography.

— Otto Stenzeel (1903-1989) is credited for the music for Diary of a Lost Girl. He composed music for films from 1926 through 1930; among his best known efforts is the music for Menschen am Sonntag / People on Sunday (1930). In the 1930’s under the name Otto Stenzel, he led the orchestra at the Berlin Scala, one of the largest revue theaters in Germany. He also led his own swing-style dance band and made a number of recordings, including a Tango with with the Spanish-born Juan Llossas, who has an uncredited role in Diary of a Lost Girl as the leader of the small combo playing in the corner of the nightclub.

— In 1961, John Huston was beginning work on a biopic about Sigmund Freud. In an archive of correspondence about the film, Huston’s longtime assistant Ernie Anderson wrote to the director that Sigmund Freud had no involvement with the making of Diary of a Lost Girl.

— In 2010,  the Louise Brooks Society published a corrected and annotated edition of the original 1907 English language translation -- notably, this edition, the first in English in 100 years -- brought this important work of feminist literature back into print in English. It includes an introduction by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society, detailing the book's remarkable history and relationship to the 1929 silent film. This special "Louise Brooks Edition" also includes more than three dozen vintage illustrations.  (Purchase on amazon.)

More about Diary of a Lost Girl can be found on the newly revamped Louise Brooks Society website on its Diary of a Lost Girl (filmography page).

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.

Now We're in the Air, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1927

Now We're in the Air, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1927. The film, once thought lost, is a comedy about two fliers (a pair of “aero-nuts” called “looney Lindberghs”) who wander on to a World War I battle field near the front lines. The film was one of a number of aviation-themed stories shot in 1927 (following Lindbergh’s historic solo flight across the Atlantic), as well as one in a popular series of “service comedies” pairing Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton. Louise Brooks plays the unusual role of twin sisters, one raised French and one raised German, named Griselle & Grisette, who are the love interest of the two fliers.

More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks Society website filmography page.

Arguably, Now We’re in the Air was the most popular American silent in which Brooks appeared. Generally liked by the critics, the film did big box office where ever it showed. In New York City, it enjoyed an extended run, as it did in San Francisco, where it  proved to be one of the biggest hits of the year. At a time when most new releases played only one week, Now We’re in the Air ran for more than a month in San Francisco, where it was extended due to robust ticket sales. In Boston, it also did well, opening simultaneously in five theaters in the area. The Boston Evening Transcript noted, “most of the audience at the Washington Street Olympia this week were so moved by mirth that they were close to tears. Presumably the experience has been the same at the Scollay Square Olympia, the Fenway, the Capitol in Allston and the Central Square in Cambridge.” Newspapers in other large cities like Atlanta, Georgia and St. Louis, Missouri reported a similar reception.

The New Orleans Item noted, “The added feature of Now We’re in the Air is the presence of Louise Brooks as the heroine. One of the cleverest of the new stars, she has immense ability to appear ‘dumb’ but like those early Nineteenth Century actresses, commended by Chas. Lamb, she makes the spectators realize that she is only playing at being dumb.” Radie Harris of the New York Morning Telegraph wrote, “Louise Brooks is seen as the feminine lead. She essays the role of twins. Which, if you know Louise, is mighty satisfactory. She is decorative enough to admire once, but when you are allowed the privilege of seeing her double, the effect is devastating.” The Boston Post added, “You see there are pretty twin sisters, Grisette and Griselle, both played by the fetching Louise Brooks, who marry Wally and Ray, who cannot tell their wives apart except by their dogs, one a poodle, one a dachshund.”

The dual role played by Brooks made the film for many critics. Curran D. Swint of the San Francisco News stated, “Both the hulking and ungainly Beery and the cocky little Hatton give goofingly good accounts of themselves. Then there is Louise Brooks. She’s the girl — or the girls — in the case, for Louise is twins in the story, and about this fact much of the comedy is woven.” Across town, A. F. Gillaspey of the San Francisco Bulletin added, “Louise Brooks is the leading woman of this picture. She appears as the twin sisters. This results in some remarkable and very interesting double exposures.”

Mae Tinee, the Chicago Tribune critic who seemed to always champion Brooks, put it this way, “Louise Brooks as twins, is — are — a beautiful foil for the stars and if you think she doesn’t marry both of them before the picture ends, why, cogitate again, my darlings.”

In America’s non-English language newspapers and magazines, Now We’re in the Air was generally advertised under its American title. However, in the Spanish-language press of the time, including the New York City-based Cine-Mundial, as well as the Paramount Spanish-language house organ Mensajero Paramount, the film was promoted under the title Reclutas por los Aires. In Portuguese-language newspapers in the United States, the film was advertised under the title Agora Estamos no Ar.

Under its American title, Now We’re in the Air, documented screenings of the film took place in Australia, British Malaysia (Singapore), Canada, China, India, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, South Africa, and the British Isles (England, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, and Scotland). Elsewhere, this motion picture was known to have been shown under other-language titles including Deux Braves Poltrons (Algeria); Dos tiburones en el aire (Argentina); Riff und Raff als Luftschiffer (Austria); Nous sommes dans les air (Belgium); Dois aguias no ar (Brazil); Reclutas por los Aires (Chile); Ted my jsme ve vzduchu and Rif a Raf, Piloti (Czechoslovakia) and Riff a Raff strelci (Slovakia); To muntre Spioner (Denmark); Nüüd, meie oleme õhus and Riffi ja Raffi õiged nimed (Estonia); Sankareita Ilmassa and Hjaltar i luften (Finland); Deux Braves Poltrons (France); Riff und Raff als Luftschiffer (Germany); O Riff kai o Raff aeroporoi (Greece); Megfogtam a kemét! or Riff és Raff (Hungary); Katu Njosnararnir (Iceland); Nou Vliegen We (Dutch East Indies / Indonesia); Aviatori per forza and Aviatori … per forza and Ed eccoci aviatori (Italy); Yagi and Kita in the Air and 弥次喜多空中の巻 (Japan); Reclutas por los aires (Mexico); Hoerawe vliegen and Hoera! We Vliegen (Netherlands); Luftens Spioner (Norway); Riff i Raff jako Lotnicy (Poland); Recrutas Aviadores (Portugal); Riff es Raffal a foszerepekben (Romania); Reclutas por los Aires (Spain); Hjältar i luften (Sweden); Deux Braves Poltrons (Switzerland).

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

— Early on, William Wellman, James Cruze and even Mauritz Stiller were announced as the director for Now We’re in the Air. Among cast members who were announced but did not appear in the film were Ford Sterling and Zasu Pitts. An outline (by Tom J. Geraghty) and a treatment (by John F. Goodrich) for the film were completed as early as February 2, 1927.

— Frank R. Strayer (1891 – 1964) who was assigned as director, was an actor, film writer, and producer. He was active from the mid-1920s until the early 1950s. Strayer is credited with having directed 86 films, including 13 movies in the series based on the Blondie and Dagwood comic strip.

— Now We’re in the Air cinematographer Harry Perry also worked on two other notable aviation pictures, Wings (1927) and Hell’s Angels (1930). He was nominated for an Academy Award at the 3rd Academy Awards for his work on the latter.

— Fifteen airplanes were hired for the making of the film, including a 76-foot Martin bomber which was deliberately wrecked for one of the film’s “big thrill scenes.”

— Though a silent, Now We’re in the Air continued to be shown into the early sound era. In January, 1930 it was screened in Fairbanks, Alaska and in December, 1931 it was screened in the Darwin in Northern Territory, Australia.

— The first ever book on the film, Now We're in the Air: A Companion to the Once Lost Film, was published by the Louise Brooks Society in 2017. The book is authored by LBS Director Thomas Gladysz, and features a foreword by film preservationist Robert Byrne.  (Purchase on amazon.)

 

More about Now We're in the Air can be found on the newly revamped Louise Brooks Society website on its Now We're in the Air (filmography page).

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 new book and a new Louise Brooks cover

A new book featuring Louise Brooks on the cover has just recently been published in The Netherlands. This 2024 book by Dorian D'Oliveira is titled In de schaduwen van de toekomst, or In the Shadows of the Future. The book is published by Uitgeverij Aspekt Aspek, and is available on amazon around the world, including amazon.com in the United States.

In translation, the Dutch description reads: "This collection of essays discusses various expressionist films. The visually enchanting Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari is used as a starting point. The dark M by Fritz Lang serves as the conclusion of In the Shadows of the Future.  

Between the lines, the reader sees Louise Brooks dancing seductively. The Polish actress Pola Negri suddenly appears as a ferocious mountain cat. Moreover, Hertha Thiele's tears keep streaming down the words as soon as Mädchen in Uniform is mentioned.  

The battle between Berlin and Hollywood was settled in the 1920s in favor of the latter dream factory. Directors such as Ernst Lubitsch, Paul Leni and Friedrich Murnau were bought away. European actresses such as Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich only became stars in the United States. As true goddesses from Hollywood, they then made cash registers ring worldwide.  

For a long time, expressionist films were mainly understood in relation to the two great wars that ravaged the European continent. In the new millennium, these films form the backdrop to a frenzied culture war. Woke scholars resolutely criticize Western civilization in their film interpretations. In a sense, these princely paid academics are at the front every day. All of this is described in detail in this paperback."

Dorian d'Oliveira is a cultural philosopher. In 2018, he published his first film essay in the magazine Bühne. He made his literary debut with Nachtengeltjes en driedriekjes (Aspekt 2018). After that, it was time for Lulu in Leiden: A women's history (Aspekt 2020). Films play a major role in both novellas. His essay on the American actress Barbara Stanwyck was included in the collection Markante vrouwen (Aspekt 2023).

# # # 

And here is the book's description in its original Dutch: "In deze bundeling essays worden verschillende expressionistische films besproken. Het visueel betoverende Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari wordt benut als beginpunt. Het duistere M van Fritz Lang dient als sluitstuk van In de schaduwen van de toekomst.

Tussen de regels door ziet de lezer Louise Brooks verleidelijk dansen. De Poolse actrice Pola Negri verschijnt plots als woeste bergkat. Bovendien biggelen de tranen van Hertha Thiele langs de woorden aldoor naar beneden zodra Mädchen in Uniform ter sprake komt.

De strijd tussen Berlijn en Hollywood werd in de jaren twintig van de vorige eeuw beslecht in het voordeel van laatstgenoemde droomfabriek. Regisseurs als Ernst Lubitsch, Paul Leni en Friedrich Murnau werden weggekocht. Europese actrices zoals Greta Garbo en Marlene Dietrich groeiden in de Verenigde Staten pas uit tot sterren. Als echte godinnen uit Hollywood lieten ze vervolgens wereldwijd de kassa's rinkelen.

Geruime tijd werden expressionistische films vooral begrepen in relatie tot de twee grote oorlogen die het Europese continent teisterden. In het nieuwe millennium vormen deze rolprenten het decor van een bezeten cultuurstrijd. Woke geleerden hekelen in hun filmduidingen gedecideerd de westerse beschaving. In zekere zin staan deze vorstelijk betaalde academici dagelijks aan het front. Dit alles wordt in deze paperback uitgebreid beschreven.

Dorian d'Oliveira is cultuurfilosoof. In 2018 publiceerde hij zijn eerste filmessay in tijdschrift Bühne. Zijn literaire debuut maakte hij met Nachtengeltjes en driehoekjes (Aspekt 2018). Daarna was het tijd voor Lulu in Leiden. Een vrouwengeschiedenis (Aspekt 2020). In beide novelles spelen films een grote rol. Zijn essay over de Amerikaanse actrice Barbara Stanwyck werd opgenomen in de bundel Markante vrouwen (Aspekt 2023).

# # #  

Very soon, I will add this title to the newly revamped Louise Brooks Society 250+ page website, in particular the page titled, "Louise Brooks - Contemporary Books Covers II (nonfiction)", a companion page to "Louise Brooks - Contemporary Books Covers I (fiction)".

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.