Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, screens in the UK on November 30

Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, will be shown at the Rex Cinema Wareham in Wareham, England on Sunday, November 30th. This screening, presented by The Rex Cinema and South West Silents, is part of a weekend of classic silent films under the series title, "Silent Sirens: Divas, Danger, and Desire." More about this event can be found HERE (about the series) and HERE (the film). 

This Silents Weekend is part of the BFI's 'Too Much Melodrama' Season.’ With support from the BFI Film Audience Network- a UK-wide initiative funded by the National Lottery funding to increase audience access to a diverse range of films and screen culture by supporting independent cinemas, film festivals and other venues. 

Here is what the Rex Cinema has to say about Pandora's Box: "Director: G.W. Pabst Starring: Louise Brooks, Francis Lederer, Carl Goetz. G.W. Pabst's 1929 silent masterpiece Pandora's Box stars Louise Brooks in the role that secured her place as one of the immortal goddesses of the silver screen. This controversial, and in its day, heavily censored film is regularly ranked in the Top 100 films of all time (including Cahiers du Cinema and Sight & Sound). Brooks is unforgettable as Lulu (Louise Brooks), a sexy, amoral dancer who creates a trail of devastation as she blazes through Weimar-era Berlin, breaking hearts and destroying lives. From Germany, she flies to France, and finally to London, where tragedy strikes. This stunningly photographed film is loosely based on the controversial Lulu plays by Frank Wedekind, and also features one of the cinema's earliest lesbian characters." 

It is a great looking series. Here is what else is showing. 

Friday Gala Night- Dress-up & Fizz! 7:30pm
CHICAGO 1927 Roxie Hart, a fame-obsessed housewife who kills her lover in cold blood and, after trying to coerce her husband into taking the blame, is put on trial for murder- long considered a lost film, but a perfect print survived in Cecil B. DeMille’s private collection.

Saturday 2:30pm
SHOW LIFE 1928 The story of Song (Anna May Wong), “one of Fate’s castaways,” who is attacked on a beach in Istanbul and is rescued by John, a music-hall knife-thrower. . .

Saturday 4:30pm
PICADILLY 1929 Chinese-American screen goddess Anna May Wong stars as Shosho, a scullery maid in a fashionable London nightclub whose sensuous tabletop dance catches the eye of suave club owner Valentine Wilmot. . .

Saturday 8:15pm
OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS 1928 The film that reputedly catapulted Joan Crawford to stardom fizzes with all the sumptuous elegance and gin-fuelled glamour any wannabe-flapper could hope for.

Sunday 2:30pm
SHOOTING STARS 1928 After her actor husband discovers actress wife Mae Feather is having an affair with a screen comedian he instigates divorce proceedings that could ruin her career. In despair, Feather decides to kill Gordon by putting a real bullet in a prop . . .

Sunday 4:30pm
UNDER-GROUND 1928 A classic British film Bert, a brash electrician, and Bill, a gentle underground porter, both fall in love with a shop girl, on the same day, in the same underground station. . .

Sunday 8:15pm
PANDORA’S BOX The downward spiral of a vivacious showgirl, brought vibrantly to life by a live-wire Louise Brooks, wreaking casual havoc on all she encounters through the sheer power of charisma. . .

SHOW LIFE will have a live piano accompaniment. All other films will have their motion picture scores.

More information about Pandora's Box can be found on the Louise Brooks Society filmography page devoted to the film. And of course, the newest restoration of the film is available on both DVD and Blu-ray. 

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.   

It's the Old Army Game, with W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks, screens in London

It's the Old Army Game, with W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks, will be shown at the wonderful Kennington Bioscope in London on Sunday, November 23. More information about this event can be found HERE.

Here is what the Kennington Bioscope says about the film: "Though posterity remembers him as a talking comedian, the great W.C. Fields – enemy of small dogs and children everywhere – made some wonderful silent comedies. This 1926 feature follows the trials and tribulations of small-town druggist Elmer Prettywillie (Fields) and boasts some terrific comic set pieces, from his encounters with difficult customers to a nightmare picnic. It later provided the blueprint for his 1934 classic It’s A Gift, and also features an unlikely co-star: silent icon Louise Brooks! Piano accompaniment by Colin Sell." 

More information about It's the Old Army Game can be found on the Louise Brooks Society filmography page devoted to 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 © 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.  

Don't miss Pamela Hutchinson's online presentation about Britain's Early Female Film Critics

I want to encourage everyone to be sure and check out Pamela Hutchinson's online talk, "C. A. Lejeune and and Britain’s Lady Film Critics." This San Francisco Film Preserve presentation is set to take place over Zoom on Friday, August 15 at 12 noon (Pacific time) or 7:00 pm UTC + 0. And what's more, it's free and open to the public. Interested individuals can register HERE.

For anyone interested in film history and early film criticism, this presentation is a must. Here is the event description: 

"In 1922, with a weekly column in the Manchester Guardian, C. A. Lejeune became one of Britain’s first lay film critics, and began to define what that could mean. Soon, she was the best of the bunch, and the funniest, too – but her opinions often became controversial. This talk will look at Lejeune’s passion for cinema and her remarkable career, which included three decades at The Observer, and becoming a fixture on BBC radio and TV. It will also introduce some of the many women who joined her in giving British film criticism a “womanly” voice from the 1920s to the 1950s. Chief among these is her fellow “Sunday Lady” Dilys Powell, her brilliant counterpart at the Sunday Times, who outlasted them all."

As Hutchinson notes on a recent blog on Silent London, Caroline Alice Lejeune (aka C. A. Lejeune, aka C.A.L.) and other early British film critics (including Iris Barry and Elsie Cohen) are a special interest. In fact, they are a topic which Hutchinson has been reading about, researching and writing about for a while. As Hutchinson states, "I find her writing to be witty and wise and gentle, and her story, of falling in and out of love with the cinema, to be absorbing and not a little moving. It is also fascinating to me how she first got her job as the first real film critic on the Manchester Guardian, and moved to the Observer for another three decades"

Hutchinson's talk is based, in part, I would guess, on "The Making of C.A. Lejeune, Film Critic," her contribution to a new book from Edinburgh University Press called Film Critics and British Film Culture: New Shots in the Dark, edited by Robert Shail and Sheldon Hall. I have yet to get a hold of a copy, but intend to -- the book is not due out until August 31. 

In my own research on Louise Brooks and her films, I have been struck by how many female film critics there were writing for American newspapers. New York City had more than a dozen newspapers in the 1920s, and the majority of its film critics were women. The same can be said of Chicago.

The story of C. A. Lejeune intersects with that of Louise Brooks. Under the by-line of C.A.L., she reviewed some of Brooks' early silents for the Manchester Guardian. I have found writes with the lady critic's by-line for Love Em and Leave Em, Just Another Blonde, Evening Clothes, Rolled Stockings, and perhaps others. (Unforunately, some reviews and write-ups were anonymous.) Regarding Love Em and Leave Em, Lejeune wrote “It has the advantage, beyond its generic qualities, of introducing picturegoers to Louise Brooks, a young Paramount ‘discovery’ who is certainly going to be a star one day.”

Notably, Lejeune even made mention of Brooks in her 1931 book, Cinema. In the section on director G.W. Pabst, Lejeune wrote  “ . . . no director on two continents has found so much personality in Louise Brooks.” Amen.

Pamela Hutchinson is a freelance film critic. She is the author of books including BFI Film Classics on The Red Shoes and Pandora's Box and her work has appeared in the Guardian, Empire and the Criterion Collection. She is a columnist for Sight and Sound and edits the Weekly Film Bulletin. Her curation projects include seasons on Marlene Dietrich and Asta Nielsen for BFI Southbank. She lives on the south coast of England and indulges her obsession with silent cinema at SilentLondon.co.uk.

Pamela Hutchinson and Thomas Gladysz

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.

A Significant Discovery - Louise Brooks First Ever Pic in a European Publication

Lately, I have been updating, revising, and adding pages to the Louise Brooks Society website. One of the pages I just added, "Louise Brooks at the Café de Paris in London",  focused on the few months the future actress spent in London, England in late 1924 and early 1925. I thought the page was done, and that nothing more might be added, when I made a significant discovery -- thanks to the assistance of my super sister-in-law, Becca. (Becca is not only my wife's sister, but she is also a longtime contributor to & member of the Louise Brooks Society. You can find her name on the LBS website, and in the acknowledgements of the four books I have authored.)

Following her suggestion, I decided to take one more look at the British newspaper databases, something I have looked at a few times before, but not recently. And BOOM, there it was, a mention of Louise Brooks' debut at the Café de Paris in London. This captioned photo appeared on the back page -- the picture page of the Monday, October 20, 1924 London Daily Chronicle. I was bowled over, as this marks the earliest mention and earliest depiction of Brooks in any European publication. Wowza!

After having researched this period in Brooks' life in every which way I thought I might -- from perusing British newspaper databases to visiting the British National Library while I was in London -- I never thought I would find any mention in a British publication of the future actress. After all, as others have pointed out, she was merely an American chorus girl who luckily landed a job in London as a supporting act at an up-and-coming nightclub. Though well known now, the Café de Paris had opened only a few months before Brooks landed there.

My webpage,"Louise Brooks at the Café de Paris in London", details how Brooks got there, and a little of what her life was like in London. On the page, there is another early picture of Brooks which mentions the Café de Paris, which was published in a German magazine in January, 1925. It is Brooks' second mention/depiction in a European publication. Remember, at this time, Louise Brooks hadn't yet appeared in a film, let alone stood in front of a camera.

I looked through the London Daily Chronicle for the next few days, hoping to find some kind of mention as to how things went at the nightclub -- even without a mention of Brooks -- but could find nothing. Here is a screen grab of the page on which Brooks appeared.

I am still a but stunned by having found this image, even if it is just a little something. My quest to find anything related to Brooks time at the Café de Paris has been long in the works. Below is a picture of me at the British Library some ten years ago. It's followed by another of me at the now closed nightclub. Be sure and check out "Louise Brooks at the Café de Paris in London". Thank you Becca!

 

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 © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Diary of a Lost Girl with Louise Brooks and a harpist in the UK

The Diary of a Lost Girl, the once controversial and still sensational silent film starring Louise Brooks, will be shown on Sunday, October 29th as part of the Stroud Art Festival in the UK. This special screening will be accompanied, uniquely so, by a harpist, Elizabeth-Jane Baldry. More information about this event can be fond HERE.

According to its website, the "unabashedly eclectic" Stroud Festival "weaves music, movement, song and film" in a journey across a the arts. Here is what they say about this event:

Stroud Arts Festival Presents

Silent Film: Diary of a Lost Girl

With live accompaniment from harpist Elizabeth-Jane Baldry

---

venue - Lansdown hall

---

Silent film with live music – why is it such a good night out? 

Ask last year’s Stroud audience – it’s the sheer, extraordinary talent of Elizabeth-Jane Baldry!

This year we welcome her back to the Lansdown Hall with another iconic black and white silent film, powerfully enhanced by her specially composed score which she plays live throughout the screening.
A late masterpiece of the silent era, and a tragic story of corruption and middle class hypocrisy in pre-Nazi Germany, this film and its star, Louise Brooks, has gained cult status with film-lovers through the ages. 

Notice: not suited to under 12s 

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 © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Louise Brooks as Lulu in Pandora's Box screens 3 times in July

What's better than one screening of Louise Brooks as Lulu in Pandora's Box? How about two screenings? And what's better than two screenings? How about three screenings! In July, the British Film Institute in London, England will screen the classic 1929 film three times during the month, on Saturday July 2, Saturday July 16, and Saturday July 31. More information about these showings can be found HERE. (Tickets go on sale today, June 9.)

According to the BFI: "Louise Brooks dazzles as the dangerously appealing seductress in GW Pabst’s classic adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s Lulu plays."

Saturday 02 July 2022 15:10   NFT3

Saturday 16 July 2022 12:20 NFT1

Sunday 31 July 2022 15:20 NFT1

 

With Peer Raben score (2 and 16 July) or live piano accompaniment (31 July)

"GW Pabst’s celebrated adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s two plays about the unintentionally destructive actions of the effortlessly seductive Lulu centres on a rightly acclaimed performance by Brooks, who oozes careless vivacity and irresistible charm as Lulu captivates the Berlin bourgeoisie. But the direction is also brilliantly meticulous, making memorable use of Günther Krampf’s fluid camera and expressive lighting."

 

Of course, Pandora's Box was not always considered a classic in the UK. What follows are a few early clippings from around the time the film was first shown; it was variously censored ("chaotic form") and derided as "liberalistic" and "marxist".

London Observer 8-24-30

Daily Telegraph, 8-14-34

 

This blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further use prohibited.

Louise Brooks film Beggars of Life screens in UK June 8

The 1928 Louise Brooks film, Beggars of Life, will be shown at the Studio, Hull Truck Theatre in Hull, England on June 8. Musical accompaniment will be provided by Jonny Best, who will improvise his score. More information about this event can be found HERE.

According to the venue website: "Louise Brooks is best known today for her starring roles in GW Pabst’s 1929 classics, Pandora’s Box and Diary of a Lost Girl, but before that pair of masterpieces, she teamed up with one of early Hollywood’s greatest action directors, William Wellman, a former WW1 flyer with a reputation for hard drinking, punch-ups, and dangerous stunts. The Beggars of Life shoot was notorious for all of these and the speeding train stunts still startle today - Brooks herself was nearly thrown beneath the wheels during one shot.

Based on an autobiographical novel by Jim Tully, Louise Brooks plays Nancy, who goes on the run disguised as a boy and falls in with a handsome young hobo, Jim, played by Richard Arlen. Amidst all the action thrills, Beggars of Life is a tender, touching story of unlikely love and in it we see the first inkling of the Louise Brooks who would go on, two years later, to become not just an international star but an imperishable icon.

As usual, the film will be brought to life by Jonny Best’s live, improvised score."

Dir William A. Wellman | 1928 | United States | U | 100 mins | Silent

Want to learn more this riveting film? My 2017 book, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, 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 (played by 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 described as “a raw, sometimes bleeding slice of life.” This first ever study of Beggars of Life includes more than 50 little seen images, a mention of the Dodge Brothers, and a foreword by actor and author William Wellman, Jr. (the director's son). 

 

Louise Brooks film Beggars of Life to show in UK on March 15

The Stroud Film Festival has announced that the 1928 Louise Brooks film, Beggars of Life, will be shown on Sunday, March 15, 2020 at the Lansdown Hall in Lansdown, England. This special screening, with live musical accompaniment, is being presented by the Lansdown Film Club. More information and ticket availability can be found HERE.

The promoter's description of this event reads thus: "Silent movie with live musical accompaniment composed and played by luminary of American old-time country music, Kate Lissauer with arguably the UK’s finest Bluegrass guitarist, Jason Titley, plus internationally awarded 5-string banjo great, Leon Hunt. Beggars of Life directed by William Wellman the year after he made Wings (first film to win an Academy Award) is a tense 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 in 1920’s described the film as 'Sordid, grim and unpleasant,' adding, 'it is nevertheless interesting and is certainly a departure from the usual movie.' If you like country music and iconic silent movies, this is a rare treat not to be missed… ."

A brief write-up about the event in the local Gloucester Punchline stated, unusually so, "It's a silent classic western starring, unusually for the time, a woman in the lead role. Louise Brooks was big news at the time and still has a number of followers."

Want to learn more about this outstanding drama? In 2017, I authored Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film. My book grew out of the considerable research I did for the audio commentary which I provided for the Kino Lorber DVD / Blu-ray release of the film that same year.

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 described as “a raw, sometimes bleeding slice of life.”

My book features 15,000 words of text and more than 50 little seen images, as well as a foreword by actor William Wellman, Jr., son of the legendary director. The book is available from amazon.com, B&N and select independent bookstores in the United States. Both my book and the Kino disc are also available on amazon.com in the United Kingdom. On the UK amazon site the book has received two 5 star ratings, with readers stating:

"A great companion to go with the film, Thomas is the go to man for anything Louise Brooks."

"It's a very fine and informative small book about [the] Wellman movie Beggars of Life."

SPECIAL OFFER: I HAVE TWO COPIES OF MY BOOK AVAILABLE AUTOGRAPHED BY MYSELF AND WILLIAM WELLMAN JR. ONE COPY IS AVAILABLE WITH A REGION 1 DVD OF THE FILM, AND ONE IS AVAILABLE WITH A REGION 1 BLU-RAY. EACH IS $100.00, PLUS POSTAGE. PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO INQUIRE.  ADDITIONAL POSTAGE REQUIRED OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES. (I WILL ALSO ADD ONE OR TWO NIFTY RELATED ITEMS AS A BONUS.)

 

Pandora's Box starring Louise Brooks at Cinema City in Norwich, England

Pandora's Box (1929), starring Louise Brooks, will be shown at the Cinema City in Norwich, England on February 24, 2020. More information and tickets made be found HERE.

According to the Cinema City website: "One of the great silent films, G.W. Pabst’s Pandora’s Box is renowned for its sensational storyline, sparkling Weimar-period setting and the legendary, lead performance from its iconic star Louise Brooks. Following the rise and fall of Lulu (Brooks), a spirited but innocent showgirl whose sheer sexual magnetism wreaks havoc on the lives of men and women alike, the film was controversial in its day, then underappreciated for decades. Pandora’s Box now stands as an incredibly modern movie, and few stars of any era dazzle as bright as Louise Brooks."

Speaking of Louise Brooks, Pandora's Box and England, UK author, film critic and Louise Brooks Society friend Pamela Hutchinson has announced that a second edition of her BFI (British Film Institute) Film Classics title, Pandora's Box, will be released this year. Though the book itself is the same, Hutchinson recommended read will feature a new cover! More information about the book can be found HERE.

Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, screens in England in February

Pandora's Box (1929), starring Louise Brooks, will be shown at the Cinema City in Norwich, England on February 24, 2020. More information and tickets made be found HERE.

According to the Cinema City website: "One of the great silent films, G.W. Pabst’s Pandora’s Box is renowned for its sensational storyline, sparkling Weimar-period setting and the legendary, lead performance from its iconic star Louise Brooks. Following the rise and fall of Lulu (Brooks), a spirited but innocent showgirl whose sheer sexual magnetism wreaks havoc on the lives of men and women alike, the film was controversial in its day, then underappreciated for decades. Pandora’s Box now stands as an incredibly modern movie, and few stars of any era dazzle as bright as Louise Brooks."

Speaking of Louise Brooks, Pandora's Box and England, UK author, film critic and Louise Brooks Society friend Pamela Hutchinson has announced that a second edition of her BFI (British Film Institute) Film Classics title, Pandora's Box, will be released this year. Though the book itself is the same, Hutchinson recommended read will feature a new cover! More information about the book can be found HERE.

Lulu - The Louise Brooks Story now set to debut in 2020

In March, 2020 a new musical titled Lulu: The Louise Brooks Story will debut in Doncaster, England. (The musical had been set to debut in October of this year, but was seemingly postposned.) The musical is being presented by a group called 1928 Limited. No author is given. A bit more information as well as ticket availability may be found HERE. Additional, this production has a Facebook page.

Lulu: The Louise Brooks Story is described as "A new musical, set in the glamorous excess of the 1920s, telling the story of iconic movie star Louise Brooks. We join Louise on location during the making of the 1928 movie Pandora’s Box, a movie in which there are uncanny parallels between the life of Lulu, the main character in the movie, and Louise, the actress. A tempestuous star with a reputation as an unrepentant hedonist, Louise harbours a secret which holds the key to her apparently self destructive behaviour. A secret well hidden in a whirlwind of sexual adventures, and a party lifestyle which defined the roaring 20s."

Lulu: The Louise Brooks Story plays at the Doncaster Little Theatre, 1 King Street - Off East Laith Gate, DN1 1JD Doncaster in Doncaster on March 5, 6, and 7. Tickets are £10. (For those unfamiliar with Doncaster, it is a large town in South Yorkshire, about 17 miles (30 km) north-east of Sheffield in the north of England.)

According to its website, the Doncaster Little Theatre is a small community-focused theatre supporting all of the arts. The 99-seat community theatre, which produces 12 of its own theatrical performances a year, is run largely through volunteers. The DLT is also open to other shows, companies and performers, including rock bands and comedians, as well as films, which is shows during the day.

Lulu: The Louise Brooks Story - a new musical coming to the UK

1928 Limited presents

Lulu:The Louise Brooks Story

October 3, 4, 5, 2019
at the Doncaster Little Theatre in Doncaster, England  

 

A new musical, set in the glamorous excess of the 1920s, telling the story of iconic movie star Louise Brooks.

We join Louise on location during the making of the 1928 movie Pandora’s Box, a movie in which there are uncanny parallels between the life of Lulu, the main character in the movie, and Louise, the actress.

A tempestuous star with a reputation as an unrepentant hedonist, Louise harbours a secret which holds the key to her apparently self destructive behaviour. A secret well hidden in a whirlwind of sexual adventures, and a party lifestyle which defined the roaring 20s.

Tickets and additional information HERE.

Diary of a Lost Girl starring Louise Brooks to show twice at BFI Southbank in London, England

The sensational 1929 Louise Brooks' film Diary of a Lost Girl will be shown at the BFI Southbank in London, England in June as part of the Weimar Cinema 1919-1933 series. Diary will be shown twice, on Thursday, June 13 and Saturday, June 15, 2019. More information about this event, including ticket availability, can be found HERE.

Diary of a Lost Girl / Tagebuch einer Verlorenen

Iconic silent movie star Louise Brooks plays a woman who suffers at the hands of men, but refuses to be victim.

Germany 1929
Director G.W. Pabst
With Louise Brooks, Fritz Rasp, Valeska Gert
113min / Digital / English subtitles
Certificate PG

Louise Brooks gives a performance of radiant vitality and real depth as a young woman who suffers at the hands of a grotesque assortment of men, but refuses – despite everything – to be a victim. Pabst scathingly depicts the poverty and hypocrisy by which women’s lives are routinely destroyed. A heady cocktail of lurid eroticism, knockabout humour and genuine pathos.

Print and permission courtesy Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung.
With Javier Pérez de Azpeitia score (June 13), with live piano accompaniment (June 15).

The screening on Thursday 13 June will be introduced by film critic Pamela Hutchinson, author of a recent and rather excellent book on Pandora's Box.

Today: Louise Brooks in Pandora's Box screens on Isle of Wight / Love Em and Leave Em in Japan

Later today, the sensational 1929 Louise Brooks' film Pandora's Box will be shown on the Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England. This 7:45 pm screening will take place at the at the Ryde Academy, Pell Lane PO33 3LN. More information about this event may be found HERE.

Directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Pandora's Box was released in 1929. It features Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, Franz Lederer, Carl Goetz, Krafft-Raschig, Alice Roberts, and Daisy D'Ora.

Running time: 105 minutes. Category: PG

Dr Ludwig Schön (Fritz Kortner) keeps Lulu (Louise Brooks) as his mistress, but does not like it when the worm turns. Lulu faces injustice when fear of damage to his reputation gets in the way of Ludwig doing right by her. Unsurprisingly, Ludwig is already engaged to be married to Charlotte (Daisy D'Ora), a woman of his own social class. But Lulu relishes life, a survivor in a failing, repressive society, while those around her are victim to their own delusions and fixations.

Ryde Film Club's monthly screenings are now at Ryde Academy, Pell Lane PO33 3LN. Ample parking and disabled access. Admission: £5 for RFC members, £7 guests.

Pandora's Box is going through a major revival in the UK. The previous day, the acclaimed film was shown in a medieval church in York, England. Read about that event HERE. Want to learn more about Louise Brooks and her role as Lulu in Pandora's Box? Visit the Louise Brooks Society website as well as its Pandora's Box filmography page.

LAST MINUTE UPDATE:

I just found out that the 1926 Louise Brooks film, Love Em and Leave Em will be showing in Japan later today. Here are the details:

【SILENT FILM PIANO LIVE】 Love’em and Leave’em (1926) 《Date & Time》 April, 29, 2019, 3:00pm 《Location》 Planet+1 (Nakazaki2-3-12, Kita-Ku, Osaka) 《Live Music performed by》 Ryo Torikai（Piano） 《Fee》 ¥1500 (student/¥1300, under20/¥800)

Pandora's Box starring Louise Brooks screens in York, England on April 28

The National Centre for Early Music in conjunction with the Yorkshire Film Archive in York, England will screen the sensational 1929 Louise Brooks' film Pandora's Box on Sunday April 28, 2019 at 7.30 pm. This special screening will feature live musical accompaniment by Live music by Liz Hanks on cello and Jonny Best on piano. Here's your opportunity to see a classic silent film inside the confines of a medieval church. More information as well as ticket availability about this event can be found HERE.

Sunday 28 April 7.30pm - Pandora's Box

£14.00 (concessions £12.00 | full time students £5.00) including 1920s themed cocktails

GW Pabst | 1929 | Germany 136" + interval | cert PG

Live music by Liz Hanks cello and Jonny Best piano

One of the great silent films, renowned for its sensational story-line, sparkling Weimar period setting and the iconic star Louise Brooks as Lulu, a spirited but innocent showgirl whose sexual magnetism wreaks havoc on the lives of men and women alike. Controversial in its day, then underappreciated for decades, Pandora's Box now stands as an incredibly modern movie and few stars of any era dazzle as brightly as Louise Brooks.

Book here

  

Want to learn more about Louise Brooks and her role as Lulu in Pandora's Box? Visit the Louise Brooks Society website as well as its Pandora's Box filmography page.

Beggars of Life with the Dodge Brothers in Nottingham, England on March 17

Thanks to longtime Louise Brooks Society member Meredith Lawrence for letting us know about this Sunday, March 17th screening of Beggars of Life at the Broadway Cinema in Nottingham, England. The acclaimed 1928 silent film will be shown with live musical accompaniment by acclaimed The Dodge Brothers together with acclaimed musician Neil Brand. More information on this can be found HERE.

From the venue website:

BEGGARS OF LIFE WITH LIVE MUSIC BY THE DODGE BROTHERS AND NEIL BRAND
Presented in partnership with the Royal Concert Hall

BEGGARS OF LIFE is an intense and entertaining story about oppressed and desperate people on a dangerous journey through the dark underworld of pre-depression America. Cinema icon Louise Brooks plays a girl on the lam after killing her lecherous adoptive father. Dressed in boy's clothes, she navigates through the dangerous tramp underworld with the help of a handsome drifter and encounters the hobo legend, Oklahoma Red. Loaded with stunning visuals and empathetic performances, this dark, realistic drama is Brooks' best American film and a masterpiece of late-silent era feature films. All aspects of his rollercoaster of a story are enhanced by the live soundtrack, composed and performed by skiffle/bluegrass combo The Dodge Brothers, together with silent film pianist Neil Brand.

Tickets: £15 full / £13 memb+conc

This event takes place as part of Soundstage, Nottingham's Festival of Music and the Moving Image.

**PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT WILL START PROMPTLY AT THE ADVERTISED TIME**

Want to learn more about this acclaimed silent film, one fo the best of 1928. Check out the Beggars of Life page on the Louise Brooks Society website, or check out Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, an illustrated and informative book by Louise Brooks Society director Thomas Gladysz. The book is available at both amazon USA and amazon UK.

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 described as “a raw, sometimes bleeding slice of life.” With more than 50 little seen images, and a foreword by the director's son, actor/author William Wellman, Jr.