Beggars of Life, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1928

Beggars of Life, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1928. Directed by William Wellman the year after he made Wings (the first film to win an Academy Award), Beggars of Life is a terse drama about a girl (Louise Brooks) dressed as a boy who flees the law after killing her abusive stepfather. With the help of a young hobo, she rides the rails through a male dominated underworld in which danger is close at hand. Picture Play magazine described the film as “Sordid, grim and unpleasant,” adding, “it is nevertheless interesting and is certainly a departure from the usual movie.”

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

Beggars of Life is based on the 1924 novelistic memoir of the same name by Jim Tully, a celebrated “hobo author” highly regarded by H.L. Mencken and other literati of the time. Though shot as a silent and released in that format, Beggars of Life has the distinction of being Paramount’s first sound film: a synchronized musical score, sound effects, a few lines of dialogue and a song were added to some prints at the time of the film’s release. Advertisements for the film boasted “Come hear Wallace Beery sing!” The gravel-voiced character actor and future Oscar winner plays Oklahoma Red, a tough hobo with a soft heart. Richard Arlen, who the year before had starred in Wings, plays a vagabond and Brooks’ romantic interest.

In 1928, Beggars of Life was named one of the six best films for October by the Chicago Tribune; it also made the honor roll for best films of the year in an annual poll conducted by Film Daily. Musical Courier called Beggars of Life ” . . . one of the most entertaining films of the littered season.” And Photoplay thought it “good entertainment.” Nevertheless, it is not especially well known today, and its grim story set among the desperate and the downtrodden drew mixed reviews upon release. One Baltimore newspaper said it would have limited appeal, quipping, “Tully tale not a flapper fetcher for the daytime trade.”

Louella Parsons, writing in the Los Angeles Examiner, echoed the sentiment when she stated, “I was a little disappointed in Louise Brooks. She is so much more the modern flapper type, the Ziegfeld Follies girl, who wears clothes and is always gay and flippant. This girl is somber, worried to distraction and in no comedy mood. Miss Brooks is infinitely better when she has her lighter moments.” Her cross-town colleague, Harrison Carroll, added to the drumbeat of disdain when he wrote in the Los Angeles Evening Herald, “Considered from a moral standpoint, Beggars of Life is questionable, for it throws the glamour of adventure over tramp life and is occupied with building sympathy for an escaping murderess. As entertainment, however, it has tenseness and rugged earthy humor.”

Critics in New York were also divided on the merits of Beggars of Life, and many of them instead focused on Brooks’ unconventional, cross-dressing appearance. In the New York Times, Mordaunt Hall noted, “Louise Brooks figures as Nancy. She is seen for the greater part of this subject in male attire, having decided to wear these clothes to avoid being apprehended. Miss Brooks really acts well, better than she has in most of her other pictures.” The New York Morning Telegraph stated, “Louise Brooks, in a complete departure from the pert flapper that it has been her wont to portray, here definitely places herself on the map as a fine actress. Her characterizations, drawn with the utmost simplicity, is genuinely affecting.” While Quinn Martin of the New York World wrote, “Here we have Louise Brooks, that handsome brunette, playing the part of a fugitive from justice, and playing as if she meant it, and with a certain impressive authority and manner. This is the best acting this remarkable young woman has done.”

Also getting attention for their role in Beggars of Life was Edgar “Blue” Washington. The Afro-American newspaper wrote, “In Beggars of Life, Edgar Blue Washington, race star, was signed by Paramount for what is regarded as the most important Negro screen role of the year, that of Big Mose. The part is that of a sympathetic character, hardly less important to the epic of tramp life than those of Wallace Beery, Louise Brooks and Richard Arlen, who head the cast.”

Girls dressed as boys, pastoral life gone wrong, the mingling of races, desperation depicted among the glitz and glamour of the twenties — there is a lot happening in Beggars of Life. It is, arguably, Brooks’ best American silent.

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

— With an added musical score, sound effects, and a song sung by Wallace Berry (either “Hark the Bells” or “Don’t You Hear Them Bells?” or “I Wonder Where She Sits Tonight”), Beggars of Life is considered Paramount’s first sound film. In Baltimore, Beggars of Life was the first “talking sequence picture” to play in the Century Theater.

— “Beggars of Life” by J. Keirn Brennan and Karl Hajos was recorded by The Troubadours, Scrappy Lambert and other artists and released as a 78 rpm recording. The label of these recordings describe it as “Theme Song of the Motion Picture production.”

— Edgar Washington (1898 – 1970) was a prizefighter and noted semi-pro baseball player (in the Negro Leagues) before entering films in the late Teens. He was a pioneer among African-American actors, and was given the nickname “Blue” by friend Frank Capra. Also in the film in a bit part was Michael Donlin, an outfielder whose Major League career spanned from 1899 to 1914.

— In 1965, director William Wellman wanted to bring Louise Brooks to San Francisco and screen Beggars of Life as part of the San Francisco International Film Festival, but it never came to be. Instead, he screened Wings for a packed house at the local Masonic auditorium.

— 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.  (Purchase on amazon.)

More about Beggars of Life can be found on the newly revamped Louise Brooks Society website on its Beggars of Life (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 content copyright © 2026. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  

Don't forget . . . . Submit Louise Brooks' films for the 2026 National Film Registry

Don't forget . . . . Submit Louise Brooks' films for the 2026 National Film Registry. The Louise Brooks Society suggests these American films.

Beggars of Life (1928) -- Americana a la hobo mode & William Wellman's favorite of his silent films

The Show-Off (1926) -- based on the classic George Kelly play, remade multiple times as a film 

Love Em and Leave Em (1926) -- a 'swonderful flapper rom-com set during the Roaring 20s

The Street of Forgotten Men (1925) --  one of the first "gangs of New York"

The deadline is August 15th

Begin the simple submission form HERE (at https://www.research.net/r/national-fim-registry-nomination-form)

 

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.   

Submit Louise Brooks' films for the 2026 National Film Registry

Submit Louise Brooks' films (and others) for the 2026 National Film Registry. The Louise Brooks Society suggests these American films.

Beggars of Life (1928) -- Americana a la hobo mode & William Wellman's favorite of his silent films

The Show-Off (1926) -- based on the classic George Kelly play, remade multiple times as a film 

Love Em and Leave Em (1926) -- a 'swonderful flapper rom-com set during the Roaring 20s

The Street of Forgotten Men (1925) --  one of the first "gangs of New York"

The deadline is August 15th

Begin the simple submission form HERE (at https://www.research.net/r/national-fim-registry-nomination-form)

 

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.   

Louise Brooks Motion Picture Star - a copyright curiosity

I was poking around the records of the United States copyright office, as one does, and I came across a handful of interesting contemporary items as well as this vintage copyright curiosity. Dating from November, 1928, it is application for copyright for a print or pictorial illustration published in the United States. The company which applied for the copyright was The Knapp Company, which was based in the state of New York. The copyrighted work, apparently a lithograph, was titled "Motion Picture Star - Louise Brooks Paramount Pictures."

 

I had never seen such a thing! I was also uncertain as to what this application refereed to, as there was no artist named and no illustrative specimen or example attached to the form. Off hand, does anyone know?

I did a Google search on "Knapp company new york 1928" and the results turned up including a few promising leads. Here's a breakdown of different "Knapp" entities in that era:

• The Knapp Company (American Lithographic Co.): A large printing conglomerate founded by Joseph Palmer Knapp, it was a dominant force in lithography (like cigar labels) and was bought by United States Printing & Lithographic Co. around 1928, making it a significant player in the industry.
• Knapp & Co.: A long-standing lithographic printer, established earlier by Joseph Fairchild Knapp (father of Joseph Palmer Knapp), with roots going back to the 1850s, known for its established presence in NYC.
• John Augustus Knapp: An artist who, in 1928, was creating illustrations for books, including a poetry collection, connecting the name to the thriving arts scene in New York, notes Wikipedia. 

The latter did illustrations for movie studios... my search will go on... using a lantern, I will look through magazine and newspaper archives dating to November, 1928 -- the given date of publication. Besides a depiction of the actress, all there is to go on is a rather generic title, "Motion Picture Star - Louise Brooks Paramount Pictures."

If I were to guess, I might speculate that this copyright application ties in with Beggars of Life, which was released in October of 1928. Also, I would guess that the printed image in question might not have been printed in a magazine or newspaper, but might have been a promotional give away. But who knows? I will conclude with a rare promotional image from the film.

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.  

Searching for the lost films of Louise Brooks

Last week's announcement that Flicker Alley and the San Francisco Film Preserve is set to release Focus on Louise Brooks - a single disc compilation of the surviving material from four Brooks films once considered lost, got me thinking... thinking about which other of Brooks "lost" films I would like to see. What is their status today? What are the chances prints of these films might be found? A fan can hope, can't he?

Screen Test (1925) 

Louise Brooks

In early 1925, Louise Brooks was a featured dancer with the Ziegfeld Follies. The Broadway revue was widely celebrated, and all manner of notables turned out to see shows, with some making a bee-line to the performer’s dressing rooms. Among those who visited Brooks was producer Walter Wanger, then a Paramount talent scout. In late April, Variety reported that Brooks, “one of the most popular members of Louie the 14th” (a Ziegfeld production) had “mysteriously disappeared from the cast of this musical comedy several days ago and her absence has been traced to the scouting agents of a moving picture company with studios on Long Island.”

According to various sources, Wanger had heard Edmund Goulding (the British-born screenwriter and director) rave about Brooks, and so Wanger and Townsend Martin (a Paramount screenwriter and another dressing room visitor) arranged to test Brooks for a role in Herbert Brenon's The Street of Forgotten Men, which was already filming at the Astoria Studios on Long Island. Brooks’ screen test was overseen by famed director Allan Dwan. It went well, with the result being the absent Ziegfeld dancer was assigned a bit part as a moll, the girlfriend / companion to a criminal. Wouldn't it be marvelous to see that screen test?

The American Venus (1926)

This film is presumed mostly lost, though a few bits and pieces were found in the late 1990’s. The surviving material includes fragments, variously in black and white, tinted, and in Technicolor, from two theatrical trailers, as well as fragments from the film itself. Cumulatively, this surviving material — some of which repeats — runs about 8 minutes. The footage from the film includes interior scenes involving Brooks and Ford Sterling and another woman, an outdoor chase scene involving an automobile and a train, and a technicolor sequence of a fashion show. In 2018, the BFI announced they had found a three second piece of Technicolor stock from the film which depicts Louise Brooks. Most all of this material was restored in 2025, and will be seen in Focus on Louise Brooks.

The American Venus is a romantic comedy set against the backdrop of a beauty pageant, namely the actual 1925 Miss America contest in Atlantic City. (The American Venus features the actual Miss America from 1925, Fay Lanphier.) The film is the second in which Brooks appeared, though the first for which she received a screen credit. Brooks made something of a splash, and it was this film and her next, A Social Celebrity, which proved to be her “break-out” roles. Though largely eye-candy and once described as a "flesh show", many fans and at least a few critics responded positively to The American Venus. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see this film in its entirety?

Louise Brooks in The American Venus

A Social Celebrity (1926)

A Social Celebrity is a romantic comedy about a small town barber who follows his heart and heads to the big city where he hopes to join high society. Brooks plays the barber’s love interest, a small town manicurist who also heads to the big city to become a dancer. The film is the third in which Brooks appeared, the second for which she received a screen credit, and the first in which she had a starring role.

This film is presumed lost. Some of it's last known public screenings took place is Asia, in Shanghai in September, 1930 and in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in March 1931. According to the Barry Paris biography, Brooks reported seeing the film at the Eastman House in 1957. Lotte Eisner also stated she saw the film, in Paris in 1958, at the Cinémathèque Française. The latter copy was destroyed in a disastrous vault fire in 1959, while the Eastman House copy has since deteriorated. [A mysterious individual named F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre, whose claims could not be verified and were often thought suspect by film historians, once told me that he had seen a deteriorated nitrate print of A Social Celebrity (owned by a private European collector) in the 1990s. MacIntyre died in 2010, and so have his spurious claims that the film has survived.]

Louise Brooks and Adolphe Menjou in A Social Celebrity

Evening Clothes (1927)

Evening Clothes was the first film Louise Brooks made in Hollywood, and at Paramount’s suggestion, the first in which she did not wear her signature bob hairstyle. It's a romantic comedy about a gentleman farmer (played by Adolphe Menjou) who — spurned by his bride, goes to the big city to loose his rustic ways and win back his new wife. Brooks plays Fox Trot, a hot-to-trot Parisian.

This film is presumed lost. Evening Clothes continued to circulate for some four years following its American release. Along with Costa Rica and present day Vietnam, there were also documented screenings in the Australian outback in 1930, and another in New Guinea in September, 1931. 

Adolphe Menjou and Louise Brooks in Evening Clothes

Rolled Stockings (1927)

This film -- one of a number of similarly-themed films aimed toward the youth market of the 1920s -- is presumed lost, which is a shame, as Rolled Stockings (the second film Brooks made on the West Coast) is the only one of Brooks' American silents in which the actress was given top billing. 

As with Evening Clothes, it continued to be shown into the early sound era, with documented screenings taking place overseas in Suriname (August, 1930), Papua New Guinea (October, 1930) and in a tent in Darwin, Australia (October, 1931). Rolled Stockings, along with A Social Celebrity, are the two Brooks films I would most like to see. Who knows, perhaps a print of the film is sitting on a shelf in some far flung place?

James Hall, Louise Brooks, and Richard Arlen in Rolled Stockings

The City Gone Wild (1927)

This early gangster film directed by the noted director James Cruze is presumed lost. In it, Brooks once again plays a moll, this time the deliciously named Snuggles Joy, the “gunman’s honey.” The film was well regarded, and continued to be shown into the early sound era. Documented screenings took place in Fairbanks, Alaska (pre-statehood) and elsewhere around the United States well into 1930. As with Rolled Stockings, the last documented public screening of The City Gone Wild took place at the open air venue known as The Stadium in Darwin, Australia in September 1931. Also showing as part of a double bill was Under the Southern Cross, a New Zealand film with a “purely Maori cast.” 

According to Kevin Brownlow, the film was largely extant as recently as 1971. In his 1990 book, Behind the Mask of Innocence, Brownlow wrote, “David Shepard, then with the American Film Institute’s archive program, had a list of 35mm nitrate prints held in a vault Paramount had forgotten it had. He asked me which title I would select, out of all of them, to look at right away. I said The City Gone Wild. He called Paramount to bring it out of the vaults for our collection that afternoon. The projectionist went to pick it up. ‘O, there was some powder on that,’ said the vault keeper ‘We threw it away.’ The film had been unspooled into a tank of water (recommended procedure for decomposing nitrate). Shepard complained officially to Paramount, who promised it would not happen again. He tried to rescue it, even from its watery grave, but a salvage company had carted it off by the time he got there.” 

This account was confirmed in a conversation I had with David Shepard in June 2016. Shepard recalled that Paramount would, at the time, discard any film which showed any degree of decomposition.

Louise Brooks and Thomas Mieghan in The City Gone Wild

And here are two additional films worth looking for....

Beggars of Life (1928) - the sound version

This outstanding William Wellman directed film was released as both a silent and part sound film; in fact, Beggars of Life is considered Paramount’s first sound film!

The sound version included music, sound effects, a bit of dialogue, and a song reportedly sung by Wallace Beery (either “Hark the Bells” or “Don’t You Hear Them Bells?” or “I Wonder Where She Sits Tonight”). While the silent version is extant -- and has been released on DVD and Blu-ray by Kino Lorber, what's now considered lost are the sound elements. Wouldn't it be remarkable to find / restore the sound version.

The Canary Murder Case (1929) - the silent version

This early murder mystery was also released as both a silent and sound film. The film was initially shot as a silent, and shortly thereafter reworked for sound. Malcolm St. Clair shot the silent version, while retakes for the sound version were directed by Frank Tuttle. Both versions were shown and reviewed at the time of the film's release, and some thought the silent version the better movie.

The sound version of the film is extant. A 35mm print is held at the International Museum of Photography and Film at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York. The print of the "silent version" is also held at the Eastman Museum, but reportedly, this print is only the sound version without sound. Lesser quality prints have been released on VHS and DVD over the years; the best sound version was recently released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber as part of a Philo Vance set.

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

Beggars of Life, starring Louise Brooks, screens in the UK with live musical accompaniment by The Dodge Brothers

Beggars of Life, starring Louise Brooks, will be shown on Thursday November 6th at the York Theater Royal in York, England with live musical accompaniment by the one and only Dodge Brothers! This special event is part of the Aesthetica Film Festival. More information about this event can be found HERE.

And here is a piece which appeared in the Ryedale Gazette & Herald. 

“Never has a film and a band been more perfectly matched than Beggars of Life and
the Dodge Brothers – deep dish Americana, rail-riding hoboes and Louise Brooks –
 they were made for each other.” – Bryony Dixon, British Film Institute.

 

“I thought the Dodge Brothers were terrific, and Beggars of Life could hardly have been
received more enthusiastically.” – Kevin Brownlow, Oscar honoree

Here is what the venue says about the event: "Experience a dazzling collision of classic cinema and live music as The Dodge Brothers bring their acclaimed live score to Beggars of Life (1928), a landmark American silent film starring Louise Brooks.

With renowned film critic and BBC presenter Mark Kermode on double bass and harmonica, and joined by the extraordinary Neil Brand – celebrated silent film accompanist and star of BBC Four’s Sound of Cinema – on piano, this electrifying ensemble transforms a black-and-white masterpiece into a full-blooded cinematic event.

Rounding out the lineup are Mike Hammond, a gifted Alabama-born guitarist and vocalist with deep roots in Southern Americana traditions, and Alex Hammond, whose percussion brings the rhythm of jug band, skiffle, and rockabilly roaring into the present. The band also features Aly Hirji on rhythm guitar and mandolin, adding even more richness to the sound.

Fusing blues, bluegrass, gospel, jug band, and rockabilly with infectious energy and razor-sharp timing, The Dodge Brothers breathe thrilling new life into this gritty tale of train-hopping outsiders and Depression-era America. Whether performing at Glastonbury, Latitude, or on screen via BBC Radio 2, The Culture Show and The One Show, The Dodge Brothers have built a cult following for their foot-stomping sound and genre-defying performances. Their live scores are hailed by critics as “a revelation,” combining academic insight and raw musical power. This is silent cinema as you’ve never experienced it — urgent, raw, loud and alive." 

The Dodge Brothers have accompanied Beggars of Life on a number of occasions, including most famously, at the Glastonbury music festival, where the group was the first to play live music to accompany a silent film. For more on the Dodge Brothers, check out this 2014 Huffington Post article by Thomas Gladysz on the group's historic performance appearance -- "A Glastonbury First."

Also, the Louise Brooks Society blog includes a short 2011 interview with the band, "Talking with The Dodge Brothers."

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

Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film

Beggars of Life is, in my opinion, Louise Brooks best American silent, and alongside Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl, one of her very best films. If you would like to learn more about this William Wellman directed masterpiece, I would recommend my 2017 book Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film. This book, a publication of the Louise Brooks Society, is available on amazon.com and elsewhere on the internet.

This first ever study of Beggars of Life looks at the film Oscar-winning director William Wellman thought his finest silent movie. Based on Jim Tully’s bestselling book of hobo life—and filmed by Wellman the year after he made Wings (the first film to win the Best Picture Oscar), Beggars of Life is a riveting drama about an orphan girl (screen legend Louise Brooks) who kills her abusive stepfather and flees the law. She meets a boy tramp (leading man Richard Arlen), and together they ride the rails through a dangerous hobo underground ruled over by Oklahoma Red (future Oscar winner Wallace Beery). Beggars of Life showcases Brooks in her best American silent—a film the Cleveland Plain Dealer once described as “a raw, sometimes bleeding slice of life.” With more than 50 little seen images, and a foreword by William Wellman, Jr. 

The book has received some very good reviews. 

"I can say (with head bowed modestly) that I know more about the career of director William A. Wellman than pretty much anybody anywhere -- always excepting my friend and co-author John Gallagher -- but there are things in Thomas Gladysz's new book on Wellman's Beggars of Life that I didn't know. More important, the writing is so good and the research so deep that even when I was reading about facts that were familiar to me, I was enjoying myself hugely." -- Frank Thompson, co-author of Nothing Sacred: The Cinema of William Wellman

"Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film is a quick, satisfying read, illustrated with promotional material, posters and stills as well as press clippings. In these pages, Gladysz takes us through the making and the reception of the film and clears up a few mysteries too.... Beggars of Life is a fascinating movie, made by some of the silent film industry's most colourful characters. This highly readable book will deepen your enjoyment and understanding of a silent Hollywood classic." -- Pamela Hutchinson, Silent London

"I cannot help but give this an enthusiastic two thumbs up. It really is the perfect companion, before or after you have seen the film. The volume might be slim, but, it is packed with information and rare photographs. It has been impeccably researched and beautifully executed.... This is a thorough examination of the film from start to finish and written in a breezy style that is not only informative, it is a very entertaining read." -- Donna Hill, Strictly Vintage Hollywood

"Read your book. I love it. It is thorough and extremely interesting. The art work is compelling." -- William Wellman, Jr., author of Wild Bill Wellman

"Gladysz has written a brief but informative book .... offers a profound and true insight." -- Jack Garner, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

"For this film, including details on what is known about the original recorded soundtrack, I highly recommend Thomas Gladysz's book Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film." -- Rodney Sauer, Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra

"There is an affordable and highly recommended book that goes perfectly with the blu ray. Gladysz, director of the Louise Brooks Society, has written a companion book to the movie that features a wealth of information, insight, and photos. It really puts this film into historical perspective and helps to further understand and more deeply appreciate its status as a screen classic." -- James Neibur, film historian and author

 

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

Louise Brooks, Beggars of Life and Jacumba, California

I have a bunch of YouTube channels which I like, watch and subscribe to -- among them Sidetrack Adventures, which explores the highways and byways of the Southwestern United States, especially California. A couple of months ago, the channel posted a 25 minute video on the Jacumba Hot Springs near the United States - Mexico border. HERE is a link to that video, which is also embedded below.

The video description reads: "Jacumba, California was once an extremely popular resort destination, attracting the rich and famous, but after the trains stopped coming and the freeway bypassed the town, it’s golden age is long in the past. Articles have even been written about it, calling it a ghost town. But as we found out on a recent visit, there is still life in this town. Located on old Highway 80 in the southeast corner of San Diego County, right on the border with Mexico, Jacumba is an interesting place.  In this video we head to Jacumba and explore its history including the railroad, its 1920s boom, a desert lake, and the return to being a resort town."

Jacumba is also the town where Louise Brooks and the cast and crew of Beggars of Life were located while filming the 1928 William Wellman directed film. And as a matter of fact, this short travel video contains a shout-out to the Brooks' film. Check it out.
 

Back in 2017, I authored a book titled Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film. This Louise Brooks Society publication, with a foreword by William Wellman Jr., coincided with the recommended Kino Lorber release of the film on DVD and Blu-ray. (I also provided one of two audio commentaries on the disc.) Here are a few related excerpts from my book, which is available on amazon.

"Production work on the film took place between May 18 and June 18, 1928, with location shooting near Jacumba, California taking place between May 30 and June 15.... The location work on Beggars of Life took place in and around the Carrizo Gorge, a rough stretch of railway some fifty miles to the east of Jacumba. The trains that road on this track belonged to the SD&A (San Diego & Arizona) Railway." 

"The film’s company, numbering 75, nearly took over Jacumba, California—a hot, dry, resort town of 400 inhabitants located near the Mexican border. The movie’s seventeen days of nearby outdoor location work were filled with not only hair-raising stunts, but also, undoubtedly—as there were very few women on location—carousing, drinking, rough housing and male camaraderie.  The extras, Brooks recalled in “On Location with Billy Wellman,” were “twenty riotous hobos selected by Billy from among the outcasts who financed leisurely drunks by working as extras in films.” 

"Another far more likely story suggested the revelry at least some enjoyed: “The company filming Jim Tully’s story, Beggars of Life, recently went on location at Jacumba, a little town near the Mexican border. Jacumba sleeps during the day but at night four of the more talented citizens gather to form an orchestra and there is a dance—held next door to the one hotel. Louise Brooks, trying to sleep after a hard day before the cameras, finally arose, slipped a coat on over pajamas, and went to the dance hall. ‘How much do you make a night?’ she inquired of the orchestra leader. ‘Oh, about ten dollars,’ he said. ‘Here’s fifteen,’ said Miss Brooks, holding out the currency. ‘I’m hiring you to not play any more tonight’.”

"... Brooks didn’t dislike everyone. She came to admire Wellman, as a director. And, she was fond of Wellman’s 17-year old brother-in-law, Jack Chapin, who had a bit part in the film as well as a crush on the 21-year old Brooks. They hung around the town pool in Jacumba. 

Surprisingly, Brooks also liked Wallace Beery. The two had worked together the previous year in Now We’re in the Air, a comedy set during the 1st World War. The actor drove Brooks to Jacumba in his own car, and they talked about working in Hollywood and what to expect working under Wellman."

Jim Tully, Louise Brooks, Wallace Beery & Richard Arlen
on location during the filming of Beggars of Life.

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

Beggars of Life, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1928

Beggars of Life, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1928. Directed by William Wellman the year after he made Wings (the first film to win an Academy Award), Beggars of Life is a terse drama about a girl (Louise Brooks) dressed as a boy who flees the law after killing her abusive stepfather. With the help of a young hobo, she rides the rails through a male dominated underworld in which danger is close at hand. Picture Play magazine described the film as “Sordid, grim and unpleasant,” adding, “it is nevertheless interesting and is certainly a departure from the usual movie.”

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

Beggars of Life is based on the 1924 novelistic memoir of the same name by Jim Tully, a celebrated “hobo author” highly regarded by H.L. Mencken and other literati of the time. Though shot as a silent and released in that format, Beggars of Life has the distinction of being Paramount’s first sound film: a synchronized musical score, sound effects, a few lines of dialogue and a song were added to some prints at the time of the film’s release. Advertisements for the film boasted “Come hear Wallace Beery sing!” The gravel-voiced character actor and future Oscar winner plays Oklahoma Red, a tough hobo with a soft heart. Richard Arlen, who the year before had starred in Wings, plays a vagabond and Brooks’ romantic interest.

In 1928, Beggars of Life was named one of the six best films for October by the Chicago Tribune; it also made the honor roll for best films of the year in an annual poll conducted by Film Daily. Musical Courier called Beggars of Life ” . . . one of the most entertaining films of the littered season.” And Photoplay thought it “good entertainment.” Nevertheless, it is not especially well known today, and its grim story set among the desperate and the downtrodden drew mixed reviews upon release. One Baltimore newspaper said it would have limited appeal, quipping, “Tully tale not a flapper fetcher for the daytime trade.”

Louella Parsons, writing in the Los Angeles Examiner, echoed the sentiment when she stated, “I was a little disappointed in Louise Brooks. She is so much more the modern flapper type, the Ziegfeld Follies girl, who wears clothes and is always gay and flippant. This girl is somber, worried to distraction and in no comedy mood. Miss Brooks is infinitely better when she has her lighter moments.” Her cross-town colleague, Harrison Carroll, added to the drumbeat of disdain when he wrote in the Los Angeles Evening Herald, “Considered from a moral standpoint, Beggars of Life is questionable, for it throws the glamour of adventure over tramp life and is occupied with building sympathy for an escaping murderess. As entertainment, however, it has tenseness and rugged earthy humor.”

Critics in New York were also divided on the merits of Beggars of Life, and many of them instead focused on Brooks’ unconventional, cross-dressing appearance. In the New York Times, Mordaunt Hall noted, “Louise Brooks figures as Nancy. She is seen for the greater part of this subject in male attire, having decided to wear these clothes to avoid being apprehended. Miss Brooks really acts well, better than she has in most of her other pictures.” The New York Morning Telegraph stated, “Louise Brooks, in a complete departure from the pert flapper that it has been her wont to portray, here definitely places herself on the map as a fine actress. Her characterizations, drawn with the utmost simplicity, is genuinely affecting.” While Quinn Martin of the New York World wrote, “Here we have Louise Brooks, that handsome brunette, playing the part of a fugitive from justice, and playing as if she meant it, and with a certain impressive authority and manner. This is the best acting this remarkable young woman has done.”

Also getting attention for their role in Beggars of Life was Edgar “Blue” Washington. The Afro-American newspaper wrote, “In Beggars of Life, Edgar Blue Washington, race star, was signed by Paramount for what is regarded as the most important Negro screen role of the year, that of Big Mose. The part is that of a sympathetic character, hardly less important to the epic of tramp life than those of Wallace Beery, Louise Brooks and Richard Arlen, who head the cast.”

Girls dressed as boys, pastoral life gone wrong, the mingling of races, desperation depicted among the glitz and glamour of the twenties — there is a lot happening in Beggars of Life. It is, arguably, Brooks’ best American silent.

Under its American title, documented screenings of the film took place in Australia (including Tasmania), Bermuda, British Malaysia (Singapore), Canada, China, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), France, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom (England, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and Scotland). In the United States, the film was presented under the title Mendigos de la Vida (Spanish-language press) and Il Mendicante di Vita (Italian language press).

Elsewhere, Beggars of Life was shown under the title Les mendiants de la vie (Algeria); Bettler des Lebens (Austria); Meias indiscretag and Mendigos da vida (Brazil); Mendigos de la Vida (Chile); Mendigos de la Vida (Costa Rica); Mendigos de la Vida (Cuba); Žebráci života and Žebráky živote (Czechoslovakia); De Lovløses Tog (Denmark); Menschen Zijn Nooit Tevreden (Dutch East Indies – Indonesia); Elu wõõraslapsed and Eluvõõrad hinged (Estonia); Les mendiants de la vie (France); Az élet koldusai and Az orszagutak angyala (Hungary); I mendicanti della vita (Italy); Bettler des Lebens and Dzives ubagi (Latvia); Bettlers des Lebens (Les Mendiants de la Vie) (Luxembourg); Mendigos de vida (Mexico); Menschen Zijn Nooit Tevreden and Zwervers (The Netherlands); Ludzie bezdomni (Poland); Mendigos da Vida (Portugal); Strada cersetorilor (Romania); Mendigos de vida and Los mendigos de la vida (Spain) and Captaires de vida (Spain, Catalonian language); and Les mendiants de la vie (Switzerland).

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

— Beggars of Life was under consideration by Paramount as early as September of 1925. 

— With an added musical score, sound effects, and a song sung by Wallace Berry (either “Hark the Bells” or “Don’t You Hear Them Bells?” or “I Wonder Where She Sits Tonight”), Beggars of Life is considered Paramount’s first sound film. In Baltimore, Beggars of Life was the first “talking sequence picture” to play in the Century Theater.

— “Beggars of Life” by J. Keirn Brennan and Karl Hajos was recorded by The Troubadours, Scrappy Lambert and other artists and released as a 78 rpm recording. The label of these recordings describe it as “Theme Song of the Motion Picture production.”

— Edgar Washington (1898 – 1970) was a prizefighter and noted semi-pro baseball player (in the Negro Leagues) before entering films in the late Teens. He was a pioneer among African-American actors, and was given the nickname “Blue” by friend Frank Capra. Also in the film in a bit part was Michael Donlin, an outfielder whose Major League career spanned from 1899 to 1914.

— In 1965, director William Wellman wanted to bring Louise Brooks to San Francisco and screen Beggars of Life as part of the San Francisco International Film Festival, but it never came to be. Instead, he screened Wings for a packed house at the local Masonic auditorium.

— 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.  (Purchase on amazon.)

More about Beggars of Life can be found on the newly revamped Louise Brooks Society website on its Beggars of Life (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 content copyright © 2025. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  

New Louise Brooks Society page featuring physical media

I've just finished creating a BIG new page on the Louise Brooks Society website devoted to Louise Brooks physical media. Though it took me a couple of weeks to build -- working on it a little bit each day, the page itself has been years in the making, as I have been collecting and documenting all manner of physical media for some time. 

The "Film of Louise Brooks -- physical media" page features more than 125 examples of VHS, Laser Disc, DVD, PAL and Blu-ray releases from around the world. As I mention on the page itself, I recall there once was a Beta Tape release of a Brooks’ film, but I can’t seem to track it down. There may have also been a 9mm film available of one of Brooks’ westerns. Does anyone know? I would like to make this page as complete as possible.

Though I was able to document (via WorldCat records) that a particular film was released sometime in the past, I was not always able to track down a cover image. Other times, I came across a cover image, but was not able to determine which year a particular released was issued. And sometimes, I couldn't determine the release label, or studio. The Louise Brooks Society needs your help in filling in the details.... perhaps you have one of the releases with incomplete information in your collection? Or perhaps I got the name of the releasing company wrong. I think that may well be the case with some of the European releases. Please visit the "Film of Louise Brooks -- physical media" and see if you can fill in any of the information that is missing. Or perhaps you have an old VHS tape of Laser Disc or DVD that I missed altogether.

This page surprised me, as I hadn't realized there had been so many different releases of each of Brooks surviving films. Not surprisingly, Pandora's Box stands as the actress' most popular film in terms of physical media, with some 36 releases from around the world dating as far back as 1983. As a matter of fact, another of Brooks' films, Diary of a Lost Girl, was also released in the early 1980s -- each while Louise Brooks was still alive! 

The "Film of Louise Brooks -- physical media" page features releases that are both familiar and obscure. I had never heard of the Foothill Video company, nor the German Language Video Center release of Diary of a Lost Girl way back in 1984. Along with the United States, I found multiple films have been released in England, France, Italy, and Spain -- but I suspect I missed some from Germany. I've even managed to document a few physical media releases from Australia, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland. 

In the early 1990s, when I first came across Louise Brooks and became determined to see everyone of her surviving films, I used to go to the local Tower Records in San Francisco and flip through the bins hoping to find something new. There just wasn't much to find.... Seemingly, only the KINO releases were distributed to the shops I frequented. Then I discovered that other films could be ordered through mail-order from the like of Video Yesterday, Unknown Video, and Grapevine Video. And the rest is history.... The first few Louise Brooks films I ever bought were on VHS tape. I still have them, along with dupes of films that hadn't been released yet (and still haven't). Images of those early, first purchases are found on this page.

BTW: I also wanted to mention that "Film of Louise Brooks -- physical media" is page number 260 on the still growing Louise Brooks Society website. While waiting for judgement day, I've kept busy working on my longstanding website, which this year celebrates 30 years online. Check it out. In the meantime, I wonder which DVD or Blu-ray will be next added to "Film of Louise Brooks -- physical media" ? I have a good idea, it it will be a doozy!

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.

Edgar Blue Washington, an African American in a Louise Brooks film

To mark Black History Month, the Louise Brooks Society blog offers this post about actor Edgar "Blue" Washington, a supporting player in the 1928 Louise Brooks film, Beggars of Life. Unusually so for an African American actor at the time, Washington received sixth billing, and his name appeared on the screen alongside stars and supporting players Wallace Beery, Louise Brooks, Richard Arlen, Robert Perry and Roscoe Karns. 

In an article about the film, the Afro-American newspaper wrote, “In Beggars of Life, Edgar Blue Washington, race star, was signed by Paramount for what is regarded as the most important Negro screen role of the year, that of Big Mose. The part is that of a sympathetic character, hardly less important to the epic of tramp life than those of Wallace Beery, Louise Brooks and Richard Arlen, who head the cast.” 

Edgar Washington, Louise Brooks, Richard Arlen

The following biographical sketch is derived from my 2017 book, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film.  

Washington was an actor (sometimes credited as Edgar Washington and sometimes Blue Washington) as well as a one-time Los Angeles prizefighter and Negro League baseball player. He appeared in 74 films between 1919 and 1961. In between acting jobs, he was an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department. Like Beggars of Life actor Robert Perry, Washington appeared mostly in bit parts throughout his career. And like Perry, Beggars of Life marked a high point in his career. The nickname "Blue" came from famed director Frank Capra, a friend.

The actor was discovered while pitching for the Los Angeles White Sox of the Negro League. "Rube" Foster (the father of Black baseball) spotted Washington during the Chicago American Giants’ 1916 West Coast tour. Washington was invited to travel along and pitch for the legendary team, which would eventually produce three National Baseball Hall of Fame players. During Washington’s brief tenure with the American Giants, he pitched in seven games, recording three victories against one loss versus white aggregations of the Pacific Coast and Northwestern Leagues. “Ed Washington,” as sports writers initially referred to him, made a name for himself as he ruled the mound with an unorthodox pitching style. In 1920, Washington joined the newly formed Kansas City Monarchs, where he started at first base and batted .275 in 24 games. After a few months of barnstorming, however, Washington left the Monarchs and returned to Los Angeles. That same year, after his first try at acting, Washington rejoined the Los Angeles White Sox for yet a few more games. Between acting gigs, Washington continued to play ball, and is believed to have occasionally played for Alexander’s Giants in the integrated California Winter League.**

Harold Lloyd helped Washington break into acting -- this pioneering African-American actor appeared in the legendary comedian’s Haunted Spooks (1920) and Welcome Danger (1929). Sporadic roles followed, and Washington appeared in other films alongside early stars like Ricardo Cortez, William Haines, Richard Barthelmess, Ken Maynard, and Tim McCoy.

Richard Arlen, William Wellman, and Edgar Washington

Beggars of Life director William Wellman worked with Washington again in The Light That Failed (1939). The actor also appeared in a few films directed by John Ford, including The Whole Town's Talking (1935) and The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936). Other notable movies in which Washington had a small part include King Vidor's all-black production, Hallelujah (1929), Mary Pickford's Kiki (1931), King Kong (1933), Roman Scandals (1933), Annie Oakley (1935), The Plainsman (1936), and Gone with the Wind (1939). 

Washington was in three installments of the Charlie Chan series, and appears as a comic sidekick in the John Wayne B-Western Haunted Gold (1933). Washington also had small roles in The Cohens and the Kellys in Africa (1930), Drums of the Congo (1942), Bomba, the Jungle Boy (1949) and other lesser fair. Unfortunately, though unlike his role in Beggars of Life, many of these parts traded on racial stereotypes. His last role, as a limping pool hall attendant, was in The Hustler (1961), starring Paul Newman.

Richard Arlen and Edgar Washington

** Washington's son, Kenny Washington, was also a notable athlete. In fact, he was a two-sport great—the first African-American to play baseball at UCLA, the first Bruin to be named an All-American, and the first African-American to sign a contract with a National Football League team in the post-World War II era. His  baseball  teammate, Jackie Robinson, described him as the greatest football player he had have ever seen.

This blog is indebted to Mark V. Perkins excellent biography on the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) website. Give it a read. To learn more, check out Edgar Washington's Wikipedia page or his IMDb 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 © 2025. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

New Beggars of Life DVD coming

Alpha Video is set to release Beggars of Life on DVD on January 25, 2025. As Alpha Video is a budget label, there is little to recommend this release except its cheap price. I DON'T expect this release of the film to be as good as the Kino Lorber release, but as I haven't yet seen this new disc, I can't say. The run-time is given as one hour and twenty three minutes. For those interested, more information about the Alpha Video release of Beggars of Life can be found HERE (amazon link).

Directed by William Wellman the year after he made Wings (the first film to win an Academy Award for best picture), Beggars of Life is a terse drama about a girl (Louise Brooks) dressed as a boy who flees the law after killing her abusive stepfather. With the help of a young hobo (Richard Arlen), she rides the rails through a male dominated underworld in which danger is close at hand. Picture Play magazine described the film as “Sordid, grim and unpleasant,” adding, “it is nevertheless interesting and is certainly a departure from the usual movie.”

The film stars Wallace Beery, though it's Louise Brooks who steals the show. According to the director's son, Beggars of Life was Wellman's favorite silent film. And today, it is widely considered Brooks' best American silent. 

Here is the front and back cover.

For more about Beggars of Life, be sure and check out the newly revamped Beggars of Life (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 © 2025. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Beggars of Life, with Louise Brooks, screens in the UK

Beggars of Life, starring Louise Brooks, will be shown at the Kennington Bioscope / Cinema Museum (2 Dugard Way, off Renfrew Road) in London, England later today. The film will be shown with live musical accompaniment by acclaimed performer Neil Brand. More about this event can be found HERE.

According to the Cinema Museum website: "We start our new season with Beggars of Life (1928), directed by William A. Wellman, from the autobiography by Jim Tully and play by Maxwell Anderson, with cinematography by Henry W. Gerrard.

The film features Wallace Beery and Richard Arlen as hobos, and Louise Brooks as a young woman who dresses as a young man and flees the law. The film is notable for its portrayal of societal outcasts and the struggles of the homeless. It’s a blend of drama and adventure, offering insights into the desperation and challenges faced by those living on the fringes of society.

The screening will feature the film’s theme song entitled Beggars of Life which was composed by J. Keirn Brennan and Karl Hajos.

The first part of the programme will also feature: 

• A Mountaineering Memory (USA 1918). A 4K digital restoration from 35mm nitrate, with beautiful tints – and lots of snow! Filmed by Clarence Lyon Chester for his series: Outing-Chester in collaboration with the sporting magazine Outing. A scenic record of a climb to the remote Mount Assiniboine, the “Matterhorn of the Rockies.”
•  
• The Mercenary aka Le reître (France 1912). Pathe stencil colour, a 4K digital restoration from 35mm nitrate. A Séries d’Art Pathe production with Louis Ravet. Skullduggery in the reign of King Francis II. 

Live piano accompaniment for Beggars of Life will be by Neil Brand. Supporting programme accompanied by John Sweeney. Event introduced by Michelle Facey.

Silent film with intertitles which may be suitable for the deaf and hard of hearing."

I have been to the historic Cinema Museum, and can state without reservation that it is a great venue to see a film. More about Beggars of Life can be found on the newly revamped Louise Brooks Society website on the Beggars of Life (filmography page).

Want to learn more about this historic film? Be sure and check out Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film by Thomas Gladysz. This 2017 Louise Brooks Society publication looks at the film Oscar-winning director William Wellman thought his finest silent movie. the book comes with more than 50 little seen images, and a foreword by William Wellman, Jr. It's a must read for every fan, and the perfect companion to the Kino Lorber DVD. And what's more, the book is available on amazon in the United States and in the United Kingdom.

“This highly readable book will deepen your enjoyment and understanding of a silent Hollywood classic.” — Pamela Hutchinson, author of Pandora’s Box (BFI Film Classics)

"I cannot help but give this an enthusiastic two thumbs up. It really is the perfect companion, before or after you have seen the film. The volume might be slim, but, it is packed with information and rare photographs. It has been impeccably researched and beautifully executed.... This is a thorough examination of the film from start to finish and written in a breezy style that is not only informative, it is a very entertaining read." -- Donna Hill, Strictly Vintage Hollywood
 

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.