A BIG thank you to Robert Byrne, friend to Louise Brooks and the Louise Brooks Society

I wish to offer a BIG thank you to Robert Byrne, friend to Louise Brooks and the Louise Brooks Society and to all the silent cinema. On a recent visit to San Francisco and the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, I met up with Byrne, a film preservationist extraordinaire, to thank him for writing the foreword to my recent book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. I also thanked him, on behalf of Louise Brooks fans everywhere, for restoring not only The Street of Forgotten Men, but also Now We're in the Air. Pictured just below if a snapshot of Rob and I taken after he gave me a limited edition giphoscope in recognition of my help in the restoration of Now We're in the Air.

Byrne has done a lot for anyone who likes Louise Brooks, as well as for those who are interested in silent film. He has worked behind the scenes and restored a bunch of worthwhile silent films, and, he has done so much else. His website devoted to coming attaction glass slides from the silent era is amazing. Among the films he worked on was The Spanish Dancer, a 1923 Herbert Brenon film starring Pola Negri which I just watched on Blu-ray and just reviewed for Film International. It is a new release from Milestone. Rob Byrne and I also talked about what each of us were currently working on, as well as some future projects.

One other reason we also got together was because Byrne told me he had something for me that he wanted me to have. That something turned out to be really nifty Canary Murder Case poster, which he gifted to me. Wow. I am gobsmacked. Thank you Rob!

The poster is for a three day, February showing of The Canary Murder Case at the Empire theater in Helston, England. In case you are not familiar, and I wasn't, Helston is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England in the United Kingdom. This screening likely took place in 1930. Though the film was released in the United States in February of 1929, it usually took a number of months to a year for American films to come into circulation overseas, even in English speaking England. 

I tried my best to pin down the details regarding this particular screening, looking through Helston area newspapers for listings and advertisements, but I couldn't find anything related to The Canary Murder Case. That isn't surprising, as small theaters in small towns (in both the United States and overseas, including England), didn't always advertise their films. These locales were small enough that the locals came or didn't come to the theater based not necessarily on what was showing, but on their desire for entertainment.

Though I couldn't find anything about The Canary Murder Case, I did find a little something about the Empire. It still stands! And, movies are still shown there, although the 1914 theater itself has undergone significant changes and has a reduced number of seats. In case you are wondering, the movie showing there now is Wonka. Here is a snapshot I found online of what the theater looks like.

I will conclude this post by saying thank you to Robert Byrne and by posting a photo of my new poster hung on the wall, next to a department story display piece depicting William Powell (the star of The Canary Murder Case), and a large San Francisco Silent Film festival poster depicting Louise Brooks in Pandora's Box. It too was a gift from Rob Byrne. They make a nice trio. (My apologies for the glare.)

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.

Update on The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond

I am pleased to reveal a new, slightly revised cover for my forthcoming book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. I am also pleased to announce I have finished writing and editing the book. Actually, I finished in early March, and have spent the time since then (not only dealing with an internet troll) but also proofing the text one last time, tinkering with the layout, and indexing the book. I have never indexed a book before, and admit it was both an interesting as well as a laborious experience.* As of today, I have only to finalize a few small details before publication.

It was also during March that I received a last piece to the book, something I had been hoping to include and did not announce until it was in hand.... As some may notice, my now completed book will feature two forewords. One is by Robert Byrne, the noted film preservationist (Sherlock Holmes, etc...) whose efforts to restore The Street of Forgotten Men saved it from certain obscurity. Without him, this book would not have been possible.

The second foreword is by Kevin Brownlow, the acclaimed film historian, author, documentary filmmaker, and Academy Award Honoree -- the only individual in history honored with an Oscar for his work as a film historian. I am thrilled that Kevin agreed to write a forward to my book, and even more thrilled that Kevin revealed little known details about the film drawn from his correspondence with Louise Brooks, who played a bit part in the film -- her first!

I am grateful to both Byrne and Brownlow. And, I am grateful to those who donated to my book's GoFundMe campaign. Through their generosity, I have been able to acquire a number of rare images for inclusion in my book. I would also like to thank Byrne for allowing me to include a few screen grabs from the film. A few include Louise Brooks. While others include some of the uncredited bit players who appear in the film and who I was able to identify.

As I am about to close this campaign, let me shout "last call." If you would like to donate, please do so within the next few days. The book's GoFundMe campaign can be found HERE.

• Any donation, however small, will be very much appreciated.
• Donate $20.00 and receive an acknowledgment in the completed book.
• Donate $40.00 and receive an autographed, softcover copy of the completed book, as well as an acknowledgment (USA only).
• Donate $100.00 and receive an autographed, softcover copy of the completed book, an acknowledgment, and an autographed copy of my earlier book, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film (USA only).

* The main body of the book came in at 338 pages, excluding the front matter and back matter (which comes to more than 30 pages). At times, indexing was a slog only made bearable by "Desert Island Discs." I wish to acknowledge the online archive of the long-running BBC program. While indexing my book, which took a couple-three weeks, I listened to dozens of past episodes, some dating back to the 1970s, and that helped pass the time. What a pleasure it was to listen to conversations with David Sedaris, Jimmy Page, Gloria Swanson and so many others.

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.