Pandora's Box, directed by G.W. Pabst and starring Louise
Brooks, debuted on this day in 1929. That first showing -- the
film's world premiere -- took place at the Gloria–Palast in Berlin. And
despite what has been stated elsewhere, Louise Brooks did not attend the premiere. (She had already returned to the United States.)
Based on two plays by the acclaimed German dramatist Frank Wedekind, the 1929 film Die Büchse der Pandora (or Pandora’s Box in English translation),
tells the story of Lulu, a lovely, amoral, and somewhat petulant
showgirl whose behavior leads to tragic consequences. Louise Brooks
plays Lulu, a singular femme fatale. As Brooks’ biographer Barry Paris
put it, her “sinless sexuality hypnotizes and destroys the weak, lustful
men around her.” And not just men. . . Lulu’s sexual magnetism had few
bounds, as this once controversial film features what is thought to be
the screen’s first lesbian character.
More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks Society website's filmography page.
Before the film premiered in February of 1929, critics and the
movie-going public were somewhat dismissive of the much anticipated
work. The very idea of the film had been rejected by those who claimed
“Lulu is inconceivable without the words that Wedekind made her speak.”
Hoping to deflect such criticism, director G.W. Pabst conducted a
well-publicized search for an actress who was just the “right type”:
according to one film journal of the time, Pabst’s search was a topic of
considerable interest, and “Everywhere one went one heard ‘What about
Lulu?’ and ‘Is Lulu found yet?’” (Later, a worldwide publicity campaign
echoed the public’s interest when it asked “Wer ist Lulu?” or “Who is
Lulu?) Once the part was cast, some Germans objected to the little known
Brooks in the role, doubting an American actress could play what was
thought to be an essentially German character.
The G.W. Pabst-directed film premiered at the Gloria–Palast theatre
in Berlin on February 9, 1929. According to at least one report from the
time, it was a great success. “The
gala premiere of Wedekind’s Lulu tragedy, filmed by G. W. Pabst, has
just taken place at Berlin’s Gloria-Palast. Despite the Siberian cold …
the turnout for the premiere was enormous. The most prominent
personalities from the film, theater, and literary worlds were present.
The critical audience was incredibly captivated by the film, and there
was thunderous applause at the end of the screening. All actors, with
the exception of Louise Brooks (Lulu), who has returned to Hollywood,
appeared before the curtain again with G. W. Pabst.“
On the 11th of the month, reviews and articles began to appear in the major Berlin newspapers including Berliner Tageblatt, Berliner Morgenpost, Die Welt, Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, Neue Berliner Zeitung / Das 12 Uhr Blatt and other publications. As a psychological study, some found Pandora’s Box
a disappointment, while others regretted Pabst’s seeming retreat from
the social and political engagement of his earlier works. Some critics
were taken aback by what was then considered a rather frank portrayal of
sexuality, as had been the censors. Even from afar, the poet H.D.
(Hilda Doolittle), writing in the English / Swiss film journal Close Up,
noted the controversy when she stated the film had only “passed by the
German censors after a stormy discussion of several hours duration.”
One brief anonymous review in the trilingual journal Der Film
stated, “A film has been produced on the basis of Wedekind’s drama of
the same title, but which neither comes up to the spirit of Wedekind nor
excels in direction, performance or manuscript. The film leaves one
cold and cannot even be described as an entertainment film, although it
was given a big show in Germany at the premiere. Technique is
satisfactory. With regard to business prospects, this journal does not
take the liberty of offering an opinion”.
Pabst’s choice of Brooks as Lulu was thought by many to be a mistake,
and accordingly her acting came under fire. German critics stated she
looked attractive but was unconvincing. Siegfried Kracauer, writing in Frankfurter Zeitung,
thought Brooks not enough of a prostitute, or whore, while another
called Brooks “an inanimate dummy.” (This latter comment came at a time
when “dummy” might translate to something like mannequin, which once was
analogous to the term model, as in fashion model = nevertheless, the
sentiment is akin to calling someone “pretty but dull” or “pretty but
stupid”.) The critic for Tempo put it this way: “… Lulu, in the
delightful guise of Miss Louise Brooks from Hollywood, clearly
demonstrates that she has nothing whatsoever to do with the events
around her. Her smiling disinterest makes the hustle and bustle around
her completely incomprehensible. This charming American movie actress
barely has two different nuances of expression for the primal force of
Lulu.” Likewise, Variety’s correspondent in Germany
chimed in with a critique hardly more sympathetic, “Louise Brooks,
especially imported for the title role, did not pan out, due to no fault
of hers. She is quite unsuited to the vamp type which was called for by
the play from which the picture was made.”
Over the next number of months, Pandora’s Box opened across Europe (except in those places where it was banned).
When shown, it was censored according to local standards and similarly
critiqued as it had been in Germany and neighboring Austria. In France,
for example, censors thought it indecent for a father and son to vie
sexually for the same woman. Their solution was to tinker with the
titles and convert Alwa from Dr. Schön’s son to his male secretary. In
England, where the film was given an “adults only” rating, the critic
for the London Observer suggested the “chaotic” film suffered from being cut. Other changes were made for other reasons in other countries, especially Russia.
Nevertheless, over the next year or two, the film would be shown in
north Africa, in the Caribbean and South America, and even in a few
countries in Asia. In Japan, where Brooks was a cult star nearly as
popular as Clara Bow, the film was heavily promoted.
n the United States, Pandora’s Box suffered a similar fate
both in terms of censorship as well as criticism. When it debuted in
America in late 1929, a substantial amount (perhaps as much as 20
minutes) of the film had been cut. The 55th Street Playhouse in New York
City, the small art house that debuted the film, projected a statement
lamenting the film had been censored. The theater also apologized for
the “added saccharine ending” in which Lulu joins the Salvation Army.
(For more on the film’s battle with censors both in Europe and the
United States, see the Louise Brooks Society webpage Pandora’s Box – Censorship History.)
Quinn Martin, critic at the New York World, wrote “It was the privilege of a few reviewers to see Pandora’s Box
shortly after it was received by its American exhibitors and before the
New York censors got at it. In the beginning it appeared to this one to
be a rather harmlessly lewd little exhibition with misery and murder
and a touch of abnormalcy along other lines, but at that time, at least,
it told a sort of story. Now, it is recommended principally, if at all,
for its striking photographs of Miss Louise Brooks, the American
actress. At least, the persons who have charge of our film morals have
seen fit to leave Miss Brooks’s back, legs, and haircut as they pictured
at the outset. Miss Brooks, therefore, retains all of her original
charms. . . . It does occur to me that Miss Brooks, while one of the
handsomest of all the screen girls I have seen, is still one of the most
eloquently terrible actresses who ever looked a camera in the eye.”
Billboard magazine had a similar take, “This feature spent
several weeks in the censor’s board’s cutting room: and the result of
its stay is a badly contorted drama that from beginning to end reeks
with sex and vice that have been so crudely handled as not even to be
spicily entertaining. Louise Brooks and Fritz Kortner are starred, with
Miss Brooks supposed to be a vampire who causes the ruin of everyone she
meets. How anyone could fall for la belle Brooks with the clothes she
wears in this vehicle is beyond imagination. . . . This is a silent
production that has no business playing anything but guild theaters.”
Photoplay, one of the leading fan magazines of the time,
noted “When the censors got through with this German-made picture
featuring Louise Brooks, there was little left but a faint, musty odor.
It is the story, both spicy and sordid, of a little dancing girl who
spread evil everywhere without being too naughty herself. Interesting to
American fans because it shows Louise, formerly an American ingénue in
silent films, doing grand work as the evil-spreader.” Mordaunt Hall,
critic for the New York Times, famously countered when he
wrote, “Miss Brooks is attractive and she moves her head and eyes at the
proper moment, but whether she is endeavoring to express joy, woe,
anger or satisfaction it is often difficult to decide.” Variety
put the nail in the coffin when its critic opined “Better for Louise
Brooks had she contented exhibiting that supple form in two-reel
comedies or Paramount features. Pandora’s Box, a rambling thing that doesn’t help her, nevertheless proves that Miss Brooks is not a dramatic lead.”
Regina Crewe, writing in the New York American, said “But
not even the censors may be blamed for all the film’s deficiencies – the
acting, for instance, and the rather absurd melodramatic story. . . .
Unlike Anna May Wong, and other Hollywood actresses who have blossomed
into skilled players under European influence, Miss Brooks doesn’t seem
to have improved since her departure. She is comely as ever, but her
pantomimic abilities are sadly limited. . . . The picture is one of the
less deserving efforts and was received with apathy by the audience.”
But was it? Despite poor reviews, the film was widely written about
(for a limited release) and did well in its New York debut. The New York Sun reported Pandora’s Box
“ . . . has smashed the Fifty-fifth Street Playhouse’s box office
records. It will therefore be held for another week.” At a time when
most new or first-run films played only one week, a two-week run was
considered noteworthy, and above average.
By late 1929, however, sound had arrived and poorly reviewed silent
films from abroad were little in demand. Although exhibition records of
the time are far from complete, the film was seldom shown in America in
the years following its New York debut. Pandora’s Box was shown
at the Little Theater in Baltimore (January 1930), Acme Theater in New
York City (May 1930), Little theater in Newark, New Jersey (May 1931),
and 5th Ave. Theater in New York City (December 1933). The film’s last
known public showing in the United States (prior to its later, post WWII
revival) was a one-off screening at the Sunday playhouse at Taliesin,
the Wisconsin estate of architect Frank Lloyd Wright (May, 1934). A more
detailed account of the early screening history of Pandora’s Box in the United States can be found in this Film International article from 2023, “Lulu in America: ‘Sin Lust Evil!’ and the Lost History of Louise Brooks and Pandora’s Box.”
After that, Pandora’s Box fell into obscurity, and was more
often than not referenced in early film histories as a failed film by an
otherwise noted German director. It took decades for critics,
historians and audiences to rediscover the work. In his 1989 biography
of Brooks, Barry Paris put it this way: “A case can be made that Pandora’s Box was the last of the silent films—not literally, but aesthetically. On the threshold of its premature death, the medium in Pandora achieved near perfection in form and content.”
SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:
— The jazz combo seen playing in the wedding scene is Sid Kay’s Fellows.
They were an actual musical group of the time. Founded in 1926 and led
by Sigmund Petruschka (“Sid”) and Kurt Kaiser (“Kay”), Sid Kay’s Fellows
were a popular ten member dance band based in Berlin. They performed at
the Haus Vaterland (a leading Berlin night-spot) between 1930 and 1932.
And in 1933, they accompanied the great Sidney Bechet during his
recitals in the German capitol. Sid Kay’s Fellows also accompanied
various theatrical performances and played in Munich, Dresden,
Frankfurt, Vienna, Budapest, Barcelona and elsewhere. The group’s
depiction in Pandora’s Box predates their career as recording
artists. In 1933, when the Nazis came to power, Sid Kay’s Fellows were
forbidden to perform publicly. They disbanded, and transformed
themselves into a studio orchestra and made recordings for the Jewish
label Lukraphon.
— When Pandora’s Box debuted in
Berlin in 1929, an orchestra playing a musical score accompanied the
film. The score was reviewed in at least one of the Berlin newspapers.
The score, however, does not apparently survive. What is also not known
is if the music of Sid Kay’s Fellows, or any sort of jazz, played a part
in the music of Pandora’s Box. [Director G.W. Pabst also included a jazz combo in his next film, The Diary of a Lost Girl.]
And, more about Pandora's Box can be found on the newly revamped Louise Brooks Society website on its Pandora's Box (filmography page).
THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com).
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