A speculation about what might have been . . . . It's well known that G. W. Pabst wanted to work with Louise Brooks once more after having starred her in two films released in 1929, Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl. Today, both are considered silent masterpieces.
According to Brooks, Pabst hoped to cast the actress in A Modern Hero (1934), a Warner Bros. release about an ambitious circus worker with an Oedipus complex (played by Richard Barthelmess) who climbs to the top by exploiting his friends, business partners and most significantly, the women in his life. Brooks' role in the film never came about, despite Pabst seemingly pitching the then out of work actress to studio executives by providing them with a copy of Pandora's Box. (see previous post)
[BTW: A Modern Hero is available on DVD from the Warner Bros. Archive Collection. As far as films from the 1930s are concerned, it is a good film, and well worth watching. Get a copy and complete of your Pabst collection. And try and guess which role Brooks would have been cast in.... I think I know.]
One year later, in 1935, Pabst hoped to make a version of Faust which would star Greta Garbo as Gretchen and Brooks as Helen of Troy! Unfortunately, the German director was unable to raise funds for the project. Just imagine!
In 1950, Pabst returned to the United States with another film project in mind - a film based on the Odyssey of Homer. According to an article by Herman Weinberg published in the New York Times
"No list of the ten directors who most shaped the language of the film and contributed importantly to it would be complete without the name of G. W. Pabst. . . . [The first of his two current projects] is the much-heralded Odyssey of Homer, to be filmed in Italy with, if possible, Garbo as both Penelope and Circe. He would like to get Clark Gable or Orson Welles as Ulysses. . . ."
That project never came about either....
But then, in 1954, work began on a film that would be realized and released -- Ulysses, a fantasy adventure film based on Homer's epic poem. It was an international co-production between Italy, France, and the United States produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti. The film, when released, starred Kirk Douglas in the title role, Silvana Mangano in a dual role as Penelope and Circe, and Anthony Quinn as Antinous.
This version was originally planned to be shot in 3D, and the original choice for director was none other than G.W. Pabst ----- but he quit the project at the last minute. I don't know that Pabst would have cast Brooks in a supporting role had he stayed with the project; perhaps Pabst would have cast Brooks as a siren or witch. Would Brooks have accepted ? Who knows? Would she have been capable of acting in a film at that time in her life? Possibly....
[Interestingly, there is a bit of overlap with the 1954 Ulysses and Brooks' earlier career. The film's cinematographer was none other then multi-Academy Award winner Harold Rosson, whose credits include two Brooks' films, The Street of Forgotten Men (1925) and Evening Clothes (1927).]
Had Pabst directed the 1954 version of Ulysses, and had Brooks had a role in it, the world as we know it would have been a different place. But such is the will of the gods....
THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com). Original content copyright © 2026. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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