Louise Brooks' film Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em screens in NYC on July 25

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has announced a celebration of its 60th anniversary with a special Tony honor and a week of programming at Lincoln Center. And what's more, the celebration includes the little screened 1926 flapper drama, Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em, starring Evelyn Brent, Lawrence Gray and Louise Brooks. More about this event can be found HERE.

Based on a popular stage play, Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em is a topical drama about two flapper sisters — one “good” and one “bad” — who work as shop girls in a department store. A popular and critical success, the film marked a turning point in Brooks’ film career. Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em was the last movie Brooks made on the East Coast. Soon, she would leave for Hollywood and Paramount’s studio on the West Coast. Do you recognize the silhouette below? If so, can you guess which actress plays the "bad" sister?

Released in December of 1926, Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em proved especially popular, and it continued to be shown around the United States into the spring of 1928, a long run at the time. And if that doesn't convince you to go see this film, here is some more info about this event.

Silent Film Screenings With Live Musical Score Performance
Friday, July 25 at 7PM
David Rubenstein Atrium

The library will present two 16mm silent films from its collection,  Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em (1926), a comedy romance starring Evelyn Brent and Louise Brooks, and the Hal Roach comedy short Movie Night (1929), starring the overlooked Charley Chase. This event is curated by Elena Rossi-Snook and Steve Massa, with live piano accompaniment by Ben Model, one of the classic film world’s leading silent film accompanists. After the screenings, there will be a discussion and Q&A about the film with Model and Rossi-Snook.

Notably, Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em was shot at Paramount’s Astoria Studios on Long Island as well as on location in Central Park and inside an actual NYC department store. As Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em is seldom shown, this special event is a special opportunity to see one of Brooks' best American silents.

Movie Night (1929) is about movie-going in the 1920s. It too is a rare film, never released on video or digitally—with very few copies in existence. The New York Public Library is the only public institution to have a print in its collection.

This event is FREE and open to the public on a general admission, first-come first-served basis.

And why not a little trivia to further whet your cinematic appetite:

 

Love Em and Leave Em debuted in New York City at the Paramount theater on Times Square on December 4, 1926.

 

The director of Love Em and Leave Em, Frank Tuttle, also directed Brooks in two other films, The American Venus (1926) and The Canary Murder Case (1929). Tuttle is the only director to have directed three of the actress' movies

 

The character Lem Woodruff was played by Osgood Perkins, an accomplished stage actor and the father of famed actor Anthony Perkins (of Psycho fame).

Elise Cavanna, who plays Miss Gimple, played a part in another 1926 Brooks' film, It's the Old Army Game, which starred W. C. Fields. 

According to her 2008 obituary in the Los Angeles Times, actress Anita Page appeared in an uncredited bit part in Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em. Can you spot her?

In 1929, Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em was remade as The Saturday Night Kid, a talkie starring Clara Bow, Jean Arthur, and James Hall with Jean Harlow in a bit part. The remake was directed by Brooks’ ex-husband Eddie Sutherland.

Fore more about the film, be sure and check out the Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em filmography page on the Louise Brooks Society website, which this summer is celebrating its 30th year online!

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 © 2025. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.