Where else to find the Louise Brooks Society online

For the last number of months I've been rebuilding the Louise Brooks Society's social media presence. (Regular readers of this blog know why.) And so, here is a refresher of where else to find the LBS.

Besides its widely praised website at www.pandorasbox.com, the LBS also has this longstanding blog and a YouTube account as well as a more recently established Substack. Each are rich in content. 

All of the LBS's 20+ social media accounts are listed on the LBS website's Social Media page. The LBS has accounts on Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.... As of today, the two primary social media accounts are its Bluesky and Instagram accounts. Each has drawn more than 1000 followers. 

On a more modest scale, there is also the reestablished Facebook group. 

I hope you'll take the time to explore one or more of these accounts. And please remember to like and subscribe. Everything helps.

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 Society @ Library of Congress Motion Picture Web Archive

Recently, I was told that the Louise Brooks Society website was chosen to be part of the Library of Congress Motion Picture Web Archive. I am thrilled, as this is an honor I have never dreamt of receiving. Once or twice a year from here on out, the LBS will be crawled and archived and made available to researchers at the LOC akin to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine presentation. [The LBS should appear on the LOC website sometime next year.]

With visitors coming.... I figured it would be a good idea to tidy up some of the more dense pages, like the filmography and bibliography pages. I thought to add new information, delete old links, clean-up typos, and generally improve whatever I could. I would make this my summer project, something to take on a little at a time. There are 24 filmography pages, and 24 bibliography pages. 

I started with Pandora's Box (1929), and have refurbished both its filmography and bibliography pages. I also refurbished the filmography and bibliography pages for The Street of Forgotten Men (1925). Next up in The American Venus (1926), and then Just Another Blonde (1926) and Now We're in the Air (1927) and all the rest.

If you have a moment, please do visit the Louise Brooks Society website at www.pandorasbox.com. It is bursting at the seems with nearly 300 pages of content. Explore....
 

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. 

Does the Louise Brooks Society have good site authority?

I asked Google's Gemini if the Louise Brooks Society has good "site authority." Here is what Gemini said.

"From an SEO and historical standpoint, the Louise Brooks Society (hosted at pandorasbox.com) possesses exceptionally high authority within its niche. While "Site Authority" is often measured by scores like Moz’s Domain Authority (DA) or Semrush’s Authority Score, its true strength lies in its reputational authority and backlink profile.

Here is a breakdown of why it is considered a high-authority site:

1. Longevity and "Lindy Effect"

• Established 1995: The site is a "pioneer" in the film history space, having been online for over 30 years. Search engines generally view long-standing domains with consistent content as more trustworthy than newer sites.

• Archive Depth: With approximately 300 pages of deep archival material—including the most comprehensive Louise Brooks filmography and chronology in existence—it functions as a primary source rather than a content aggregator.

2. High-Quality Backlinks (Digital Trust)

The site is cited as a definitive resource by some of the most authoritative entities in media and academia:

• Institutional Citations: It has been referenced by the Encyclopedia Britannica, Wikipedia, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

• Major Media: High-authority news outlets like The New York Times, The Guardian, USA Today, and The Irish Times have linked to or praised the site.

• Film Industry: Recognition from the Criterion Collection, Leonard Maltin, and inclusion in the bibliographies of definitive biographies (like those by Barry Paris) cements its topical authority.

3. Niche Dominance (E-E-A-T)

Google’s ranking guidelines emphasize Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. The Louise Brooks Society excels here because:

• Subject Matter Expertise: The site is curated by Thomas Gladysz, a published author and researcher whose work has directly contributed to film restorations and academic scholarship.

• Official Backing: The site operates with the written consent of the Estate of Louise Brooks, which provides a level of official "brand" authority that few fan-operated sites achieve.

4. Technical Authority

• Keyword Ownership: The site consistently ranks at the top for specific, high-intent keywords related to silent film history, "Lulu," and Pandora's Box.

• Non-Commercial Nature: Because it is largely an educational archive rather than a commercial or "clickbait" site, it avoids many of the spam signals that can degrade site authority.

---

Summary: While a massive site like IMDb might have a higher general domain score, for queries specifically regarding silent film history or Louise Brooks, the Louise Brooks Society is often treated by search algorithms as the "seed" authority—the gold standard for accuracy and depth."

 

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.   

It Pays to Advertise, with Louise Brooks in a cameo, was released on this day in 1931

It Pays to Advertise, with Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1931. The film is a farce about rival soap companies, an advertising agency, and a ne’er do-well playboy who attempts to make good. Louise Brooks plays Thelma Temple, a dancer appearing in a musical entitled Girlies Don’t Tell. Brooks’ part in the film, done to fulfill her contract with Paramount, amounted to little more than a cameo. The Hollywood Reporter wrote “Louise Brooks flashes in and out of the opening scenes and looks like a good bet for bigger roles.” Due to tepid reviews and negative publicity, It Pays to Advertise did poorly at the box office. At best, most exhibitors reported only fair business. In Los Angeles, according to one report, the film “set a new low.” The film failed to do much for Brooks’ sputtering career.

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

Production on the film took place in and around Los Angeles in late 1930. It Pays to Advertise was based on a popular stage play from 1914. In 1931, reviewers commented that the story was old-fashioned – despite the fact that Paramount attempted to update its scenario through the use of new scenes, art deco sets, snappy dialogue, and a fast-moving script.

The film received few positive reviews. Photoplay wrote that it has “plenty of speed and lots of laughs”, while praising the “perfect cast”. Variety wrote “Subject to the limitation of all screen farces, this revamped stage frolic makes good enough program material with only moderate prospects at the box office.” New York’s The World, however, called it “pretty dreary.” The New Yorker stated “Among the dull pictures of the week we might list that old relic, It Pays to Advertise, which is full of smart-aleck cracks and is altogether a bore.”

The film starred Norman Foster, then husband of Claudette Colbert, and Carol Lombard, who was at the beginning of her film career. The gravel-voiced Eugene Pallette played the soap king; he had also played a supporting role in Brooks’ previous American film, The Canary Murder Case. The fast talking Skeets Gallagher played the wisecracking publicist – then called press agents. Brooks received fifth billing, and was largely left off promotional materials supplied by the studio.

Few publications mentioned Brooks, except to mention her brief appearance. Some publications noted that the role represented a comeback. The Kansas City Star commented, “Carole Lombard is pretty as the Mary Grayson in the cast, but Louise Brooks, who used to be quite a name in the photoplay world, is more attractive as the actress who does the airplane fall and is not seen thereafter.” Harry Evans, writing in Life magazine, stated “Louise Brooks, whom we have not seen on the screen since her momentary appearance in The Canary Murder Case (in which a voice double was used to speak her lines), seems to have been studying, as she gets away with her bit in this one creditably. Her real purpose in the film, however, is to show her legs, and in this phase of stage-craft she certainly needs no double.”

Set in the advertising and business world, It Pays to Advertise referenced a number of actual products and their slogans. As a result, one trade journal took exception to the practice. Harrison’s Reports, which billed itself “a reviewing service free from the influence of film advertising,” objected to product placement in film — be it verbal or visual. Over the course of four months (in articles titled “The Facts About Concealed Advertisements in Paramount Pictures,” “This Paper’s Further Efforts Against ‘Sponsored’ Screen Advertisements,” and “Other Papers That Have Joined the Harrison Crusade Against Unlabelled Screen Advertising”) editor P. S. Harrison railed against the business world farce in particular and product placement in films in general. “The Paramount picture, It Pays to Advertise, is nothing but a billboard of immense size. I have not been able to count all of the nationally advertised articles that are spoken of by the characters.” In the next issue, Harrison stated “In last week’s issue the disclosure was made that in It Pays to Advertise there are more than fifteen advertisements in addition to the main advertisement, ’13 Soap Unlucky for Dirt,’ which Paramount is accused of having created as a brand for the purpose of selling it.”

Taking the high moral ground, Harrison’s Reports spurred a campaign against “sponsored moving pictures – meaning pictures which contain concealed or open advertising of some one’s product.” Harrison wrote to the studios – and Harrison’s Reports noted that a handful responded with pledges to not include verbal or visual product placement. The crusading editor also wrote to more than 2,000 newspapers, and a number published articles and editorials decrying the practice. Among those papers that joined Harrison’s cause were four of the New York dailies, the Gannett chain, and scores of small town papers, as well as the Denver Post, Detroit Free Press, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, and Tulsa Tribune. The Christian Science Monitor added to the chorus of complaint when it remarked, “Paramount should have been well paid for the large slices of publicity for trade-marked products that are spread all through this artificial story.”

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

— It Pays to Advertise was based on the play of the same name by Roi Cooper Megrue and Walter C. Hackett. It was first presented on the Broadway stage on September 8, 1914 at the Cohan Theatre, and ran for nearly a year. Thelma Temple, the character played by Louise Brooks, does not appear in the original play.

— A novelized version of the play, adapted by Samuel Field, was published in 1915. The book was also serialized in newspapers across the United States. 

— The play has been made into a film on four occasions: there was a silent film in 1919, directed by Donald Crisp; the talkie in 1931, directed by Frank Tuttle; and a Swedish adaptation in 1936, directed by Anders Henrikson. In 1932, Paramount produced French language version of the 1931 film: Paramount remade the film at their studio at Joinville, France under the title Criez-le sur les toits, directed by Karl Anton and starring Saint-Granier and Robert Burnier.

More about the film can be found on the newly revised Louise Brooks Society 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.   

When You’re in Love, with Louise Brooks in a bit part, was released on this day in 1937

When You’re in Love, with Louise Brooks in a bit part, was released on this day in 1937. The film is a romantic musical scripted and directed by long-time Frank Capra writer Robert Riskin and starring Grace Moore and Cary Grant. The enjoyable and fast-moving plot turns on high-spirits and high-notes. Louise Brooks makes an uncredited appearance as one of a number of dancers in a musical sequence near the end of the film. 

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

Louise Brooks, third from the left, is obscured by Grace Moore's hand.
This is likely the only known still to depict Brooks.

Production of the film took place at Columbia Pictures studios in Southern California between October 5 and December 20, 1936 . The musical pageant at the end of the film, which likely includes Louise Brooks, was likely shot in part at the Hollywood Bowl.

For When You’re in Love, Brooks accepted work as an extra (its almost impossible to spot her) with the promise of the feminine lead in another Columbia film. To exploit the situation, the studio put out the word that Brooks was willing to do anything to get back into pictures. “Louise Brooks is certainly starting her come-back from the lowest rung of the ladder,” wrote Wood Soanes of the Oakland Tribune. “She is one of a hundred dancers in the ballet chorus of Grace Moore’s When You’re in Love.” Brooks kept her part of the bargain, but the studio did not. Brooks’ lead in a Columbia film never materialized.

The film proved especially popular, and was seen as a worthy successor to Moore’s triumph in the 1934 film One Night of Love, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The Hollywood Reporter stated, “With a more substantial story than the last two Grace Moore vehicles, When You’re in Love is a signal triumph for the foremost diva of the screen, for Cary Grant who should soar to stardom as result of his performance in this, and for Robert Riskin, here notably handling his first directorial assignment.” The Hollywood Spectator added “It is unquestionably her best to-date and never has she appeared to better photographic advantage.” Rob Wagner, writing in Rob Wagner’s Script (a trade journal), was especially enthusiastic. “Here is the perfect combination – the director who writes his own script and delivers perfectly . . . Yes, I’m raving, … but because I’m a priest of beauty; and this picture thrilled me.”

The film was held over in New York City, as well as in Baltimore, Seattle, Detroit, New Orleans, Trenton, Tacoma, and Springfield (Massachusetts and Illinois). The same was true in Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Constitution wrote that the film, the “best picture made by Grace Moore” was “now in its third week at the Rialto Theater, with the demand for seats showing no signs of easing.” The same was true in Hartford, Connecticut. The Hartford Courant wrote “Don’t look now, but Loew’s Theater appears to be starting another one of those record-breaking picture engagements with When You’re in Love.”

The great British novelist Graham Greene, writing in Night and Day, was tempered in his assessment. “Miss Moore, even in trousers singing Minnie the Moocher, can make the craziest comedy sensible and hygienic. In For You Alone, the story of an Australian singer who buys an American husband in Mexico so that she may re-enter the States where her permit has expired, Mr. Riskin, the author of Mr. Deeds and (let’s not forget) Lost Horizon, has tried his best to write crazily, but he comes up all the time against Miss Moore.”

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

— Grace Moore (1898–1947) was an American operatic soprano and actress in musical theater and film. She was nicknamed the “Tennessee Nightingale.” During her sixteen seasons with the Metropolitan Opera, she sang in several Italian and French operas as well as the title roles in Tosca, Manon, and Louise. The latter was her favorite opera and is widely considered to have been her greatest role. Moore is credited with helping bring opera to a larger audience through her popular films. Moore died in a plane crash near Copenhagen’s airport on January 26, 1947, at the age of 48. Moore’s life story was made into a movie, So This Is Love, in 1953.

— Attracted to Hollywood in the early years of talking pictures, Moore’s first screen role was as Jenny Lind in the 1930 MGM film A Lady’s Morals. Later that same year she starred with the Metropolitan Opera singer Lawrence Tibbett in New Moon, also for MGM. After a hiatus of several years, Moore returned to Hollywood under contract to Columbia Pictures, for whom she made six films. In the 1934 film One Night of Love, she portrayed a small-town girl who aspires to sing opera. For that role she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The last film that Moore made was Louise (1939), an abridged version of Gustave Charpentier’s opera of the same name, with spoken dialog in place of some of the original opera’s music. The composer participated in the production, authorizing the cuts and changes to the libretto, coaching Moore, and advising director Abel Gance.

— In the film, Moore sings “Siboney“. Xavier Cugat’s version of “Siboney” was recommended by Brooks in her self-published booklet, The Fundamentals of Good Ballroom Dancing.

— The New York Times noted that the lyrics of Cab Calloway’s “Minnie the Moocher” had been censored, writing “we did notice that the censors took out the reference to the King of Sweden who gave Minnie whatever she was needin’. Now it’s the King of Rythmania, who filled her full of vintage champagnia.” Although Daily Variety noted that preview audiences enjoyed Moore’s swing rendition of the classic song, it was not included in the general release print. 

—  Back in 2016, I wrote an article for the Huffington Post on When You're in Love when it debuted on the cable station, getTV. Check it out.

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

A Girl in Every Port, featuring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1928

A Girl in Every Port, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1928. A Girl in Every Port is a classic early “buddy film,” On loan to Fox, Louise Brooks plays Marie (Mam’selle Godiva), a girl in Marseille, France. The film was directed by Howard Hawks, and stars Victor McLaglen and Robert Armstrong as the two sailors, and features Marie Casajuana, Sally Rand, Natalie Kingston, Leila Hyams, and Myrna Loy as the women they romance in various ports of call. 

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

The film was shot in November and December, 1927 at Fox’s studios in Hollywood. Location shooting was done on a boating trip to Santa Cruz Island, located along the California coast. The film debuted at the mammoth Roxy theater in New York City. Fox claimed, and Film Daily reported, that A Girl in Every Port had broke the “world’s record” for a single day’s box office receipts, when on February 22, 1928 it premiered at the Roxy in New York and grossed $29,463.00. A hit, the film was written up in just about every NYC publications, from the German-language New Yorker Volkszeitung to Women’s Wear Daily to the socialist Daily Worker.

The film received glowing reviews. TIME magazine stated, “A Girl in Every Port is really What Price Glory? translated from arid and terrestrial irony to marine gaiety of the most salty and miscellaneous nature. Nobody could be more charming than Louise Brooks, that clinging and tender little barnacle from the docks of Marseilles. Director Howard Hawks and his entire cast, especially Robert Armstrong, deserve bouquets and kudos.” Weekly Film Review noted that the audience “Cheered it – and loved it!”

What many critics focused on was the bond between the two male characters, sailors played by Victor McLaglen and Robert Armstrong. Bland Johaneson of the New York Daily Mirror wrote, “A Girl in Every Port at the Roxy is a man’s picture. It’s a good character comedy. But the love interest is the love of two men friends. The girls are all rats. And that limits the picture’s appeal to the romanticists. . . . Victor McLaglen and Robert Armstrong do fine acting, and the comedy is neatly handled.” Limitations aside, women also liked the picture, according to the Newark Star-Eagle. “Women laughed delightedly in the Fox Terminal yesterday at what was supposed to be exclusively a he-man picture. Victor McLaglen starred as a true adventurer in A Girl in Every Port, and although the film was mostly fast battling, feminine spectators found delightful entertainment in it. . . . He has a prize associate in Robert Armstrong, who was the fighter in the stage version of Is Zat So, and Louise Brooks, cast as a sideshow siren, does capitally as the crisis of McLaglen’s career as a seaport Don Juan. . . . This is a salty, virile picture, full of flying fists and colorful rows in strange climates and distinguished by the unmovie like and emphatic characterizations of the two leading males.” 

The salty nature of the picture did not go unnoticed. According to Irene Thirer of the New York Daily News, “Director Howard Hawks has injected several devilish touches in the piece, which surprisingly enough, got by the censors.” An exhibitor from Michigan wrote in the Exhibitor’s Herald, “the salesman said that this was a good picture when he sold it to me… time must have rotted it for it is one of the smuttiest pictures on the market. If you want to promote immorality, by all means play this one. I have to use care and precaution in the selection of pictures, and this one brought plenty of criticism”.

Aside from its popularity in the United States, the film had an even bigger impact in Europe, especially France. Writing in 1930 in his “Paris Cinema Chatter” column in the New York Times, Morris Gilbert noted “ . . . there are a number of others – mostly American – which have their place as ‘classics’ in the opinion of the French. . . . They love A Girl in Every Port, which has the added distinction of being practically the only American film which keeps its own English title here.” The film enjoyed a long run in Paris, where to this day it is still highly regarded.

Notably,  Jean-Paul Sartre hoped to take Simone de Beauvoir to see the film on one of their first dates. Later, the writer Blaise Cendrars stated the film “marked the first appearance of contemporary cinema”.

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

— Much was made over the “bevy of beautiful girls” appearing in the film. Writing in the Hollywood Daily Citizen, Elena Brinkley quipped, “It seems to me they’ll never finish signing girls for Victor McLaglen’s A Girl in Every Port.” Early on, among those she reports cast was Anna May Wong.

— Maria Casajuana, a Spanish-born dancer and one-time “Miss Spain,” made her screen debut in A Girl in Every Port. As a newcomer, her role was heavily promoted. Beginning with Road House (1928), Casajuana appeared in films as Maria Alba. She also appeared in Goldie, a 1931 remake of A Girl in Every Port.

— Casajuana was not the only actress working under another name. Gretel Yolz was actually Eileen Sedgwick, one of the Five Sedgwicks, a pioneering family in Hollywood.

— In 1931, Fox remade A Girl in Every Port as a sound film entitled Goldie. The remake was directed by Benjamin Stoloff and starred Spencer Tracy, Warren Hymer and Jean Harlow. The 1952 Marx Brothers’ film of the same name is unrelated. 

More about the film can be found on the recently revised Louise Brooks Society 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.   

The Canary Murder Case, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1929

The Canary Murder Case, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1929. The film is a detective story involving an amateur sleuth, a blackmailing showgirl, and the “swells” that surround her. The film was initially shot as a silent, and shortly thereafter reworked for sound. Louise Brooks, who plays the canary, would not dub her lines for the sound version. Her refusal and perceived “difficulty” harmed her career, effectively ending her stardom in the United States. 

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

Based on a bestselling book of the same name, The Canary Murder Case was released to great anticipation. In February, 1929 Motion Picture named the film one of the best for the month, declaring “William Powell is superb. The rest of the players, including Louise Brooks, Jean Arthur, James Hall, Charles Lane, Gustav Von Seyffertitz and many others, win credit.” That opinion, however, was not shared by most. More typical of the reviews the film received was that of the New York World, who declared the film “an example of a good movie plot gone wrong as the result of spoken dialogue.”

Mordaunt Hall, writing in the New York Times, was more generous, “It is on the whole the best talking-mystery production that has been seen, which does not imply that it is without failings. It is quite obvious that Louise Brooks, who impersonates Margaret Odell, alias the Canary, does not speak her lines. Why the producers should have permitted them to be uttered as they are is a mystery far deeper than the story of this picture.” Billboard added “Louise Brooks is mediocre as the Canary, but this does not detract from the production, as she appears in but a few scenes.”

Malcolm St. Clair directed The Canary Murder Case, with Frank Tuttle taking over the sound retakes. The film was released as an 80 minute talkie in most markets, and as a shorter silent in theater’s not yet “wired for sound.” A few publications, such as The Film Daily, reviewed both formats.

Louella Parsons, writing in the Los Angeles Examiner, stated St. Clair “was handicapped by no less a person than Louise Brooks, who plays the Canary. You are conscious that the words spoken do not actually emanate from the mouth of Miss Brooks and you feel that as much of her part as possible has been cut. She is unbelievably bad in a role that should have been well suited to her. Only long shots are permitted of her and even these are far from convincing when she speaks.” Parson’s comments were echoed by Margaret L. Coyne of the Syracuse Post-Standard, who observed, “The only flaw is the substitution of another voice for that of Louise Brooks — the Canary — making necessary a number of subterfuges to disguise the fact.”

All were not fooled. The Oakland Post-Enquirer and other publications eventually caught on. “It is generally known by this time that Margaret Livingston doubled for Louise Brooks in the dialogue sequences. Hence the not quite perfect synchronization in close-ups and the variety of back views and dimly photographed profiles of the Canary.”

The Cincinnati Enquirer quipped “The role of the murdered girl is played by Louise Brooks, who is much more satisfying optically than auditorily.” Writing in Life magazine, Harry Evans went further, suggesting Brooks’ didn’t speak well. “Louise Brooks, who furnishes the sex-appeal, is evidently a poorer conversationalist than Miss Arthur, because all of her articulation is obviously supplied by a voice double.” 

It was an assertion that would haunt Brooks for years.

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW: 

— S. S. van Dine is the pseudonym used by art critic Willard Huntington Wright (1888 – 1939) when he wrote detective novels. Wright was an important figure in avant-garde cultural circles in pre-WWI New York, and under the pseudonym (which he originally used to conceal his identity) he created the once immensely popular fictional detective Philo Vance, a sleuth and aesthete who first appeared in books in the 1920s, then in movies and on the radio in the following decades.

— Wright was one of the best-selling authors in the United States. The Canary Murder Case was the second book in a popular series featuring Vance — though the film made from it was the first in the series to feature the character. William Powell revived his role as Vance in four additional films, including The Greene Murder Case, released later in 1929. Other actors who played Vance include Basil Rathbone and Edmund Lowe.

— S.S. van Dine’s novel was loosely based on the real-life murder of showgirl Dot King, which was never solved. King was among those nicknamed “Broadway Butterflies.”

— Glenn Wilson, a Federal investigator attached to the bureau of criminal investigation for Los Angeles county, reportedly served as an adviser on the film.

—  In 2024, Kino Lorber released the Philo Vance Collection. It includes 4k restorations of The Canary Murder Case and The Greene Murder Case, and a 2K restoration of The Benson Murder Case. Based on S.S. Van Dine’s bestselling novels, these classic Pre-Code murder-mysteries showcase the case-cracking prowess of the debonair detective Philo Vance, as portrayed by cinema’s icon of gentlemanly sleuthing, William Powell. More information about this recommended Blu-ray can be found HERE.

More about the film can be found on the newly revised Louise Brooks Society 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.  

R.I.P. film historian John Bengtson

I am saddened to learn of the passing of John Bengtson, a business lawyer, film historian, author and longtime friend. John was also a friend to the Louise Brooks Society. Back in 2018, we collaborated on John's three-part look W.C. Fields and the 1926 Louise Brooks' film It's the Old Army Game: “It’s The Old Army Game – W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks in Ocala Florida – Part One“ -- “W.C. Fields in Palm Beach – It’s the Old Army Game” --  “It’s The Old Army Game – W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks Bring Magazines to Life”.

Here is a snapshot from one of the many San Francisco Silent Film Festivals we attended. That's me (left), Suzanne Lloyd (Harold Lloyd's granddaughter), and John Bengtson.

I am a BIG admirer of John's groundbreaking books, each of which look at location shooting of their subjects. John's three books are Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton (1999), Silent Traces: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Charlie Chaplin (2006), and Silent Visions: Discovering Early Hollywood and New York Through the Films of Harold Lloyd (2011). Each are highly recommended. If you have an interest in Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin or Harold Lloyd, you must (and likely already do) own one of these books. 

 

Though not an academic or archivist affiliated with an institution, John was nevertheless a great film historian. I say that because I always found him to be both enthusiastic and generous in sharing information (his deep dive original research), as well as in sharing his time. Once, he even took the time to give me some free legal advice. John, you are missed.

Here is a piece I wrote about John back in 2011. I recall he was pleased to have been referred to as a silent film archeologist.

 

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 images on display at the Museum of Modern Art

Back in June of 2025, I posted a blog about a then just opened photography exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The exhibition, "Face Value: Celebrity Press Photography," runs through June 21, 2026. 

And just a couple of days ago, silent film buff Alain Groenendaal visited the exhibit and sent me this snapshot. (Alain had read my earlier blog, and was at the museum to take in a screening of The Joyless Street, directed by G.W. Pabst.) Wow, its great to see images of Louise Brooks is a museum context. Thank you Alain!

 

"Face Value: Celebrity Press Photography" is the first major exhibition of Hollywood studio portraiture to be drawn from the Museum’s film stills archive since 1993. On view in the Titus and Morita Galleries, the exhibition offers a revisionist look at the Department of Film’s photographic archive, examining the evolution of editorial practice before the digital age, AI technology, and social media reshaped our experience of celebrity. More about the exhibit can be found HERE.

Early Hollywood actors and actresses dominate the show. Included in "Face Value" are Clara Bow, Lon Chaney, Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Bebe Daniels, Bette Davis, Marie Dressler, Douglas Fairbanks, Dorothy Gish, Jean Harlow, Katharine Hepburn, Boris Karloff, Hedy Lamarr, Elsa Lanchester, Harold Lloyd, Bela Lugosi, Mae Murray, Nita Naldi, ZaSu Pitts, Basil Rathbone, Norma Shearer, Barbara Stanwyck, Erich von Stroheim, Gloria Stuart, Spencer Tracy, and Alice White.

Additionally, a small number of actors associated with Louise Brooks' career are included in "Face Value," such as Jean Arthur, Wallace Beery, Joan Blondell, Evelyn Brent, W.C. Fields, Laura LaPlante, Carole Lombard, Myrna Loy, Grace Moore, William Powell, and Will Rodgers.

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 - Looking back at 2025

This past year has been a heck of a year, to say the least. Admittedly, it has been a year of both highs and lows (I won't talk about the latter, for now), as well as accomplishment and even a few disappointments.

The Louise Brooks Society marked a significant milestone in 2025. The LBS was launched in 1995, and this past year the website celebrated its 30th anniversary. To describe the Louise Brooks Society as "pioneering" is not a stretch, as few websites on any subject can claim to have been around as long. The Louise Brooks Society is a  labor of love, and I hope to keep going as long as I can.

The mission of the Louise Brooks Society is to honor the actress by stimulating interest in her life, films and legacy. To that end, the LBS has been involved in a couple of long-term projects which were first announced in late 2025, and which will see release within just a few weeks!

The most exciting of these long-term projects in the forthcoming Blu-ray, Focus on Louise Brooks, due out from Flicker Alley. I first pitched the idea of just such a disc 10 years ago, and thanks to the efforts of the person who made it happen, film preservationist Robert Byrne -- that disc is finally seeing release. Byrne was the person to whom I first pitched my idea of "The Lost Louise Brooks" -- which was to gather all of Brooks' unreleased / surviving / fragmentary / once "considered lost" films. There is more than you might think. I first had the idea around the time the surviving material from Now We're in the Air (1927) was found in Prague and later preserved by Byrne. I had a hand in its preservation (and am acknowledged in the credits). 

Focus on Louise Brooks also includes another film with whose preservation I also provided assistance (and am also acknowledged in the credits). That film is The Street of Forgotten Men (1925), which marked Brooks' screen debut. It is a terrific film from director Herbert Brenon, who directed Peter Pan (1924) the year before and Beau Geste (1926) the year after. The latter has been receiving a good deal of attention lately as it has also been restored and released on Blu-ray. Focus on Louise Brooks also includes surviving material from The American Venus (1926) -- which was Brooks' first credited screen role, and Just Another Blonde (1926), an enjoyable Jazz Age romance shot, in part, on location at Luna Park on Coney Island. Fans of the actress will adore the surviving footage of the actress. I do.

For Focus on Louise Brooks, I wrote the booklet essay, and provided audio commentaries for three of the disc's four films. I also provided images for the bonus material, and even helped with copy editing some of the bonus and promotional materials. I am pleased with the way this disc turned out, and hope Brooks' fans will be as well. If you want to see more Brooks material released in the future, then please help support this project and purchase a copy of Focus on Louise Brooks. It comes in two different editions.  The regular edition is pictured below on the left, while the limited edition is pictured on the right. 

The limited edition features a spot gloss slipcover only available at the Flicker Alley website and select indie retailers. No major retailers will be stocking this item. For more on this disc, including a breakdown of the various must-have bonus materials (which includes the little seen trailer for Just Another Blonde, which itself includes footage not seen in the surviving fragment), check out the Flicker Alley website. Focus on Louise Brooks is scheduled for release on January 13. The regular edition will also be available on amazon.com at a later date.

Another project which the Louise Brooks Society has been involved is the forthcoming re-release of Lulu in Hollywood, Brooks' 1982 volume of autobiographical essays. The book is being re-released in print with a new cover (shown below) on February 3, AND it is being released for the first time ever as an e-book. I have been working behind-the scenes with Penguin Random House and the University of Minnesota Press for at least a year to make this happen -- especially in regards to the e-book release -- and now, at last, it is! The new edition(s) of Lulu in Hollywood will be available on amazon.com

I had hoped to get the book's publisher interested in an expanded edition, which would include Brooks' uncollected writings on film, but I couldn't get that to happen. That was disappointing. So, that side-project will have to wait until later, perhaps when and if I am able to entice a publisher into issuing an annotated Lulu in Hollywood, perhaps in time for the book's 50th anniversary in 2032. I have already started gathering materials scattered in archives far and wide in order to make that happen.

Speaking of anniversaries, did you know that the Louise Brooks Society has been blogging since 2002. And next year, this blog will mark its 25th anniversary! This year, I posted more than 120 times.... which brings the overall total for the LBS blog to more than 3840 posts, many of them substantive. Earlier this year, back on March 23rd to be exact, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle in New York mentioned the LBS blog in an article on Louise Brooks, “'Never has a more beautiful, intelligent, quirky, sexy, uniquely commanding character graced the screen,' Anthony Bourdain said in a column by Thomas Gladysz, the founder and longtime champion of the Louise Brooks Society.” Its nice to be noticed.

The Louise Brooks Society website, its blog, and its group of pages focused on Pandora's Box also got noticed by a terrific site which everyone should check out, WeirmarCinema.org. In fact, there are multiple references and citations to the Louise Brooks Society on its Die Büchse der Pandora film dossier. If you haven't already checked it out, do so ... and don't be scared of this superb site's academic leaning. 

On a related note, I am more than 4,100 words into a long article tentatively titled "How Louise Brooks came to play Lulu". It is a topic I have been looking into for some time, years actually. I won't say much about it until it is done and published (certainly in 2026), but I will say it dismantles the notion that it was A Girl in Every Port that inspired G.W. Pabst to give the role of Lulu to Brooks.

BTW: it was little more than a year ago that I launched the Louise Brooks Society SubStack, which can be found at https://substack.com/@louisebrookssociety  I have spent this past year developing it. There, you will find a bunch of free and subscriber only long-form posts... everything from Louise Brooks trivia to groundbreaking pieces on "Louise Brooks and Early Radio" to "Louise Brooks in Japan". Please check it out, and please subscribe. My resolution for 2026 is to post at least once a month. Fingers crossed.

I have given over a lot of time in 2025 to reworking and expanding the Louise Brooks Society website. I have added dozens of new pages to the films section, as well as to the archive and homage sections. As of now, the site stands at nearly 300 pages. 

To the pages on the 24 films in Brooks' filmography, I have added links to press books, thematic cue sheets and available issues of Mensajero Paramount, censorship information and censorship documents, adjunct pages on film source material, coming attraction slides, location shooting, and physical media, etc.... And to the archive section, I have added dozens of pages on all manner of material, from vintage magazine covers from all around the world to vintage postcards from all around the world to photoplay editions and product advertisements and ephemera, such as match boxes and calendar blotters. There are pages on related 78 rpm records and another on piano rolls which feature a video of one of the rolls being played. (Thank the heavens for YouTube and the Internet Archive.)

Please do take a moment or two to explore my 30 year labor-of-love, the Louise Brooks Society. 

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.  

Happy New Year from the Louise Brooks Society !

Happy New Year from Thomas Gladysz and the Louise Brooks Society. Here are a couple of 'smarvelous pictures of Louise Brooks in a celebratory mood.

More about Louise Brooks can be found on the newly revamped Louise Brooks Society website at www.pandorasbox.com

And here is where else you can find the LBS:

WEBSITE:  The Louise Brooks Society has been online since 1995. It's website & homepage are located at www.pandorasbox.com  

BLOG:  The Louise Brooks Society has a long-running blog, where you will find news, announcements, and more. It can be found at louisebrookssociety.blogspot.com/

SUBSTACK:  The Louise Brooks Society has a Substack account, where you can find long-form essays. It can be found at substack.com/@louisebrookssociety

YOUTUBE:  The Louise Brooks Society also has a long-standing YouTube account. It can be found at www.youtube.com/@LouiseBrooksSociety (For more related audio and video, be sure and check out the LBS accounts on TIKTOK and SOUNDCLOUD.)

INTERNET ARCHIVE:  The Louise Brooks Society is developing a repository of materials related to the actress and silent film. Stay tuned for further details.

SOCIAL MEDIA:  The Louise Brooks Society has taken part in social media for many years. It has a FACEBOOK groups page, as well as an INSTAGRAM and THREADS account. The LBS can also be found on REDDIT and BLUESKY and elsewhere. A complete list of the various social media accounts which fly the LBS banner can be found on its SOCIAL MEDIA page.

FILMVERSE:  The Louise Brooks Society and its director, Thomas Gladysz, can be found on a few film-related sites such as NITRATEVILLE and IMDb, as well as LETTERBOXD, MUBI, and VIMEO,.

ELSEWHERE:  The Louise Brooks Society can also be found on LINKEDIN, as well as ALL MY LINKS and LINKTREE.

KEY ABOUT PAGES: More about the Louise Brooks Society, including its mission statement and history, can be found on its ABOUT page. Some of its other key pages include its MEDIA "IN THE NEWS" page, as well as a PUBLICATIONS page and a GIFT SHOP. Otherwise, be sure and check out the WHAT'S NEW page to see what's been added or revised.

KEY CONTENT PAGES: Some of the websites key content pages include the FILMS and ARCHIVE pages, as well as the LIFE & TIMES and HOMAGE pages. Menus at the top of every page direct individuals to relevant content. 

 Be part of the smart set: 
DON'T FORGET TO LIKE, FOLLOW, SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE! 

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. 

Happy Holidays from the Louise Brooks Society !

 Happy Holidays from Thomas Gladysz and the Louise Brooks Society.

If Wishes Come True: "When these stars get up Christmas morning, their trees will be a strange sight if their desires are answered.... Louise Brooks, right, hass a weakness for slippers -- and her friends know it. Enough said." -- Picture Play magazine, January 1929

More about the one-and-only Louise Brooks can be found on the newly
revamped Louise Brooks Society website at www.pandorasbox.com

And here is where else you can find the LBS:

WEBSITE:  The Louise Brooks Society has been online since 1995. It's website & homepage are located at www.pandorasbox.com  

BLOG:  The Louise Brooks Society has a long-running blog, where you will find news, announcements, and more. It can be found at louisebrookssociety.blogspot.com/

SUBSTACK:  The Louise Brooks Society has a Substack account, where you can find long-form essays. It can be found at substack.com/@louisebrookssociety

YOUTUBE:  The Louise Brooks Society also has a long-standing YouTube account. It can be found at www.youtube.com/@LouiseBrooksSociety (For more related audio and video, be sure and check out the LBS accounts on TIKTOK and SOUNDCLOUD.)

INTERNET ARCHIVE:  The Louise Brooks Society is developing a repository of materials related to the actress and silent film. Stay tuned for further details.

SOCIAL MEDIA:  The Louise Brooks Society has taken part in social media for many years. It has a FACEBOOK groups page, as well as an INSTAGRAM and THREADS account. The LBS can also be found on REDDIT and BLUESKY and elsewhere. A complete list of the various social media accounts which fly the LBS banner can be found on its SOCIAL MEDIA page.

FILMVERSE:  The Louise Brooks Society and its director, Thomas Gladysz, can be found on a few film-related sites such as NITRATEVILLE and IMDb, as well as LETTERBOXD, MUBI, and VIMEO,.

ELSEWHERE:  The Louise Brooks Society can also be found on LINKEDIN, as well as ALL MY LINKS and LINKTREE.

KEY ABOUT PAGES: More about the Louise Brooks Society, including its mission statement and history, can be found on its ABOUT page. Some of its other key pages include its MEDIA "IN THE NEWS" page, as well as a PUBLICATIONS page and a GIFT SHOP. Otherwise, be sure and check out the WHAT'S NEW page to see what's been added or revised.

KEY CONTENT PAGES: Some of the websites key content pages include the FILMS and ARCHIVE pages, as well as the LIFE & TIMES and HOMAGE pages. Menus at the top of every page direct individuals to relevant content. 

 Be part of the smart set: 
DON'T FORGET TO LIKE, FOLLOW, SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE! 

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. 

Happy Thanksgiving from the Louise Brooks Society

 Happy Thanksgiving from the Louise Brooks Society, 
since 1995 the leading source for all things Lulu.
Visit the LBS at https://www.pandorasbox.com/

 

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.  

Adapting Sex on Screen: the Cinematic Biographies of Lulu, La Ronde and Venus in Furs

There is a new book out which should be of interest to fans of Louise Brooks and the Lulu archetype. The book, by Julian Preece, is titled Adapting Sex on Screen: the Cinematic Biographies of Lulu, La Ronde and Venus in Furs (Bloomsbury Academic). The book is out in the UK, but won't be released in the United States until January.

The publisher just sent me a pdf copy. And though I have not had time to really dig into it, the chapters I've glanced at regarding Lulu and Louise Brooks and Pandora's Box look detailed and fascinating. And recommended for the discerning reader. I was also pleased to see a footnote and an acknowledgement, "Thomas Gladysz from the Louise Brooks Society and Molly Harrabin from the Weimar Film Network have responded generously to my queries...."

The Louise Brooks Society was also mentioned in chapter six. "Brooks eclipses Pabst and Wedekind as the transmitter of the Lulu story and excreted a fascination in wider US culture. The first of many biographies of the rediscovered silent-screen star appeared in 1989, four years after her death. Thomas Gladysz formed the Louise Brooks Society in 1995, which provided a focal point for fans and scholars alike on the new forum of the internet. Gladysz's catalogue of Brooks's literary and pop culture afterlives is encyclopedia and surely unique for a 1920s star."

The publisher description reads: "Tracing the adaptation histories of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's novel Venus in Furs, Arthur Schnitzler's play La Ronde, and Frank Wedekind's play Lulu, Julian Preece explores how these works were censored, celebrated, and adapted for the screen from pre-World War I Austria to modern day United States.

Through case studies of filmmakers like Max Ophüls, G.W. Pabst, and Roman Polanski, this book explores how directors have used sexual themes to push boundaries and critique societal norms. From Pandora's Box (1929) to La Ronde (1950), these films captured shifting attitudes toward sex, confronting issues such as Nazism, Hollywood censorship under the Hays Code, and the AIDS crisis. Preece also highlights how marginalised voices-particularly women and minorities-have fought for sexual rights on and off the screen.

This compelling analysis will appeal to students, scholars, and general readers interested in the intersection of film, literature, and sexuality. Adapting Sex on Screen provides a nuanced and engaging look at how cinematic portrayals of sex have both reflected and shaped social change, making it an essential resource for understanding the ongoing cultural significance of these provocative works."

Julian Preece is Professor of German at Swansea University, UK. His articles have featured in The German Monitor, German Life and Letters, and Monatshefte. His previous books include the BFI Film Classic The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (2022), Günter Grass (2018), Baader-Meinhof and the Novel: Narratives of the Nation / Fantasies of the Revolution, 1970-2010 (2012), and Out of the Shadows of a Husband: The Rediscovered Writings of Veza Canetti (2007).

 

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.