Louise Brooks : Thomas Raverly's "secret film crush"

Chances are you have never heard of Thomas Raverly. That's because he doesn't exist. In fact, Thomas Raverly is a fictional character and the creation of the Austrian writer Josef Robert Harrer (1896-1960), who -- chances are, you haven't heard of either. Neither had I. (Harrer was the author of magazine pieces and a handful of books, including a 1928 volume of erotic sonnets.)

Thomas Raverly and the reference to his "secret film crush" -- namely Louise Brooks -- appeared in a short story published in the November 1, 1939 issue of Die Muskete, an Austrian humor magazine which included popular fiction. According to it's German Wikipedia entry, "Like other humorous magazines founded at that time, Die Muskete combined the works of young Austrian artists and illustrators with the work of young Austrian writers. At the same time, the magazine placed great emphasis on artistic design and the high quality of its content." From what I can determine, at least some of the magazine's humor was satirical in nature.

What is interesting to me is the fact that this allusion to Brooks appeared at the end of the actress' film career, and 10 years after Brooks made her last film in Germany. Which suggests she wasn't as "forgotten" in Europe as some might think in the years leading up to the second World War. In actuality, this story appeared five years after Pandora's Box had been banned in Germany by the Nazi regime, a year and a half after the Anchluss (in which Nazi Germany annexed Austria), and two months after the beginning of WWII in which Germany invaded Poland. By the way, Die Muskete ceased publication in 1941.

The story, which is titled "Thomas Raverly," begins this way "Thomas Raverley, thirty years old, small, inconspicuous, with not quite straight legs, with a nose that would not have been too small even for a professional snooper, with ears whose only disadvantage was that they stood out at a right angle from his head, a church beadle by profession, unmarried, sits at a coffee house table and listens with his large ears, which would not have missed a word even with less attention, to the speech of his school friend Victor Sottle...."

Raverly, a minor church official, is a nebbish, a dweeb. There are two passages in the story which reference Brooks. The first occurs when Raverly is visiting an office and is taken aback by the attractive assistance who greats him. "'Whom can I announce? ' asks a delightful girl, almost as beautiful as Louise Brooks, his secret film crush. 'I am Thomas Raverley and wish to speak to Mr. Christopher Hodge; my old school friend Victor Sottle sends and recommends me.' He silently congratulates himself on the courage that allowed him to utter this sentence without any particular excitement, even though the girl was almost as beautiful as Louise Brooks. 'Just a moment!' she says, and with a smile enters a room on whose door one can read in gold letters: Management. Thomas thinks to himself: Surely a bank director, this Mr. Hodge. My friend has truly distinguished acquaintances. I am proud of him. The Brooks girl appears again and says: Mr. Hodge sends his regards!"

Later in the story, there is this passage: "You've heard everything and know that you're the woman he's looking for. The curtain slides aside, and the girl who resembles Louise Brooks approaches Thomas, smiling."

Here is the "Thomas Raverly" story, as published in Die Muskete. It is noticeable that Raverly's "secret film crush" does not resemble Brooks, but rather is a statuesque blonde -- with the couple's contrast adding to the humor. Perhaps the illustrator did not know what Louise Brooks looked like. Or perhaps she was little remembered at this time after all. [The pretty American actress who appeared of the cover of the November 1, 1939 issue was blonde Alice Faye.]

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