Newly restored Louise Brooks film to screen in May !!!

BIG NEWS FOR FANS OF LOUISE BROOKS. The San Francisco Silent Film Festival has announced it will screen its newly restored print of The Street of Forgotten Men, the film which marks the actress' first appearance in a movie. The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is scheduled to take place May 5 through 11 at the historic Castro theater in San Francisco. The Street of Forgotten Men will be shown on Tuesday, May 10 with live musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin. More info HERE.

Though a popular and critical success at the time of its release in 1925, The Street of Forgotten Men has been little seen today. Its undeserved obscurity is largely explained by the fact that the 7 reel film survives incomplete, and the film has long been out of circulation; the second reel of the film was lost to nitrate deterioration decades ago, though fortunately, Brooks' brief unaccredited appearance as a gangster's moll comes in the sixth reel, in a pivotal scene near the end of the film. 

Robert Byrne of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, along with the participation for the Library of Congress, led the team which restored the surviving footage and reconstructed the missing second reel. (I was small part of the team, and can state that the restored version looks great and Byrne has done a very fine job in bridging the missing material.) Byrne was assisted by Jennifer Miko, who did work on image restoration. Funding was provided by the noted film poster collector Ira Resnick. Notably, Byrne's earlier restoration efforts includes the "once lost" Louise Brooks film, Now We're in the Air (1927).

Though her role was small and she was not named in the credits, Brooks received her very first review for her work in The Street of Forgotten Men. In August of 1925, an anonymous critic for the Los Angeles Times wrote, “And there was a little rowdy, obviously attached to the ‘blind’ man, who did some vital work during her few short scenes. She was not listed.”  

For more on The Street of Forgotten Men, check out its filmography page on the Louise Brooks Society website. I am currently rushing to complete a new book on the film. Due out this Spring, though likely not in time for the SF Silent Film Festival, is The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen.

Also worth noting is that the fragmentary footage floating around YouTube which is called a "trailer" is NOT the trailer for the film, just a fragment lifted from other sources and inaccurately labeled.

Dorothy Day, the Catholic "Saint" who once reviewed a Louise Brooks' film

Yesterday's New York Times ran a story headlined "Was Dorothy Day Too Left-Wing to Be a Catholic Saint?" The article, subtitled "The Archdiocese of New York has asked the Vatican to consider the social activist for sainthood. But church leaders are not entirely comfortable with her politics," examines the real possibility that the well-known Catholic activist might be canonized. 

For those not familiar with Dorothy Day (1897-1980), she was according to Wikipedia a "journalist, social activist and anarchist who, after a bohemian youth, became a Catholic without abandoning her social and anarchist activism. She was perhaps the best-known political radical among American Catholics." Day's conversion to Catholicism took place in 1927; in 1933, she founded the Catholic Worker. But before then, she was a journalist and writer. 

Should Dorothy Day be canonized, she would become the first and likely only Saint to have ever reviewed a Louise Brooks' film. On July 20, 1925, the New York Morning Telegraph published Day's review of The Street of Forgotten Men, which was headlined “Herbert Brenon Contributes Absorbing Film at Rivoli.” (The review was run again on July 26th.) Day gave the film a good review, describing it as "An absorbing story, done by a cast of people who really know how to act and directed in a skillful manner by Herbert Brenon." She also singled out various actors, particularly Juliet Brenon (the director's niece) and John Harrington, who plays Bridgeport White-Eye, the shudder inducing character to whom moll Louise Brooks was attached. Day did not mention Brooks - no reviewer did, as Brooks' part was just an uncredited bit. Nevertheless....

Interestingly, Louise Brooks developed a serious interest in Catholicism later in life. However, her interest was more mystical than practical or social, like Day's. Back in 2016, the Catholic Saints Guy blog ran a piece on Brooks and Catholicism titled "The Divine Miss Brooks."

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Louise Brooks Society

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Louise Brooks Society. The actress wasn't Irish, but her films certainly showed in Ireland. To mark the day, here are a few vintage bits and pieces from my forthcoming two volume work, Around the World with Louise Brooks. To start, here is an early magazine portrait.

Brooks' first film, The Street of Forgotten Men, was one of her biggest successes in Ireland. The film's director, Herbert Brenon, was Irish-born, and the film was well received in his country of birth. In fact, it was given the honor of being shown in Dublin’s La Scala theatre (later renamed the Capitol), the largest cinema house in the country. Here is the newspaper listing from the time.

Another popular success in Ireland was Beggars of Life. It showed in Dublin at the Capitol, as part of a double bill with a Pola Negri film, The Woman from Moscow. Both were Paramount films, and both were released as silent films with a musical score and sound effects. (Incidentally, the film showing at the Grand Central starred the English-born actor Percy Marmont, who was the star of The Street of Forgotten Men.)

Adding to the attraction of Beggars of Life was the fact that the author of the book on which it was based, Jim Tully, was Irish-American. Tully was well known not only in the United States, but also in Europe, with the press noting his comings and goings, as shown in the 1928 Irish newspaper clipping depicted below. Memorably, Tully even also crossed paths with two of the great Irish writers of his time, George Bernard Shaw and James Joyce.

And not only did the reputation of Jim Tully attract Irish movie goers to Beggars of Life, so did, perhaps, the films memorable theme song, which was available in Irish shops on a 78 rpm recording. Here is a newspaper advertisement listing the recording by The Troubadours, who helped make the song a hit in the United States.

Louise Brooks and The Street of Forgotten Men, part 3

The public domain is just starting to catch up with the film career of Louise Brooks. As of January 1, 2021, copyrighted works from 1925 have entered the United States public domain, where they are free to use and build upon. These works include celebrated books such as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Ernest Hemingway’s In Our Time, silent films featuring Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton, and popular songs by “Ma” Rainey and Fats Waller. 

The public domain also now includes a short story, "The Street of the Forgotten Men," by the author & muckraking journalist George Kibbe Turner. It was first published in 1925, and served as the basis for the highly regarded film made later that same year titled The Street of Forgotten Men. As Brooks' fans know, that film was the first in which the actress appeared. In an uncreditted bit part that lasts only about five minutes, Brook plays a gangster's moll with aplomb. Despite her brief role, The Street of Forgotten Men is a terrific, almost Lon Chaney-esque silent film deserving greater recognition. (See my 2012 Huffington Post piece, "Strange Silent Film Screens in Syracuse," for more about Brooks and The Street of Forgotten Men.)

Not unlike later Brooks' films such as Beggars of Life (1928) and The Canary Murder Case (1929), much was made of the literary origins of  The Street of Forgotten Men. To reinforce the association of the story and the film, the story's appearance in Liberty magazine was included and at times emphasized in the film's marketing,  advertising, and coverage. Here, for example, is a two-page spread which appeared in Motion Picture News. Notice that both of these Paramount ads reference Liberty magazine, with the second even including the magazine's original black and white art.

On occasion, George Kibbe Turner's story was referenced in newspaper advertisements, as with this Poli's theater ad from a rainy Bridgeport, Connecticut. 

References to Turner's story and its appearance in Liberty magazine also turned up in editorial content, as with this captioned photo of star Percy Marmont in a Minneapolis newspaper.

And then there is this, perhaps my "favorite" review of The Street of Forgotten Men. It appeared in the New York Daily News. It mentioned the Turner story and Liberty magazine. And, it is my fave because it also mentions Jim Tully's Beggars of Life, which was just a couple of months away from being staged on Broadway. Brooks would go see the play with Charlie Chaplin, and later starred in the film adaption in which she played a little tramp of the female variety!

Louise Brooks and The Street of Forgotten Men, part 2

The public domain is just starting to catch up with the film career of Louise Brooks. As of January 1, 2021, copyrighted works from 1925 have entered the United States public domain, where they are free to use and build upon. These works include celebrated books such as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Ernest Hemingway’s In Our Time, silent films featuring Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton, and popular songs by “Ma” Rainey and Fats Waller. 

The public domain also now includes a short story, "The Street of the Forgotten Men," by the author & muckraking journalist George Kibbe Turner. It was first published in 1925, and served as the basis for the highly regarded film made later that same year titled The Street of Forgotten Men. As Brooks' fans know, that film was the first in which the actress appeared. In an uncreditted bit part that lasts only about five minutes, Brook plays a gangster's moll with aplomb. Despite her brief role, The Street of Forgotten Men is a terrific, almost Lon Chaney-esque silent film deserving greater recognition. (See my 2012 Huffington Post piece, "Strange Silent Film Screens in Syracuse," for more about Brooks and The Street of Forgotten Men.)

This blog concludes a serialization of the original George Kibbe Turner story, presented in two parts, of an illustrated version of "The Street of the Forgotten Men," as it was originally published in Liberty magazine. It is, as it claims, "A Romance of the Underworld -- The Strange Story of a Bowery Cinderella and a Beggar Who Lost Himself for Love."

 

 

 

Tune-in tomorrow for a bit more about George Kibbe Turner's "The Street of the Forgotten Men."

Louise Brooks and The Street of Forgotten Men, part 1

The public domain is just starting to catch up with the film career of Louise Brooks. As of January 1, 2021, copyrighted works from 1925 have entered the United States public domain, where they are free to use and build upon. These works include celebrated books such as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Ernest Hemingway’s In Our Time, silent films featuring Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton, and popular songs by “Ma” Rainey and Fats Waller. 

The public domain also now includes a short story, "The Street of the Forgotten Men," by the author & muckraking journalist George Kibbe Turner. It was first published in 1925, and served as the basis for the highly regarded film made later that same year titled The Street of Forgotten Men. As Brooks' fans know, that film was the first in which the actress appeared. In an uncreditted bit part that lasts only about five minutes, Brook plays a gangster's moll with aplomb. Despite her brief role, The Street of Forgotten Men is a terrific, almost Lon Chaney-esque silent film deserving greater recognition. (See my 2012 Huffington Post piece, "Strange Silent Film Screens in Syracuse," for more about Brooks and The Street of Forgotten Men.)

This blog begins a serialization, if you will, of the original George Kibbe Turner story, which will be presented in two parts. Here begins an illustrated version of "The Street of the Forgotten Men," as it was originally published in Liberty magazine. It is, as it claims, "A Romance of the Underworld -- The Strange Story of a Bowery Cinderella and a Beggar Who Lost Himself for Love."

 

Tune-in tomorrow for the second half of George Kibbe Turner's "The Street of the Forgotten Men."

A few biblio-curiosities: unrelated vintage books with the titles of Louise Brooks' films

As most fans know, a handful of Louise Brooks' films, like Beggars of Life and The Canary Murder Case, were based on once well known books of the same name. Other films were based on well known stage plays, like The Show Off and It Pays to Advertise, each of which were also published in book form.

Researching Brooks and her films can turn up some rather unusual items.... And over the years, I have come across a few examples of vintage books which also share the title of a Brooks' film - but otherwise have no real connection to the film itself. They are, to say the least, biblio-curiosities.

The Street of Forgotten Men (1925) is the title of Brooks' first film. Directed by Herbert Brenon, it was based on a short story, "The Street of the Forgotten Men" by George Kibbe Turner, which appeared in Liberty magazine earlier in 1925. [Remarkably, thirteen of Turner's stories or novels were turned into films between the years 1920 and 1932.]  

The Street of Forgotten Men was also the title of a book by John Vande Water. The book's full title, The Street of Forgotten Men : ten years of missionary experience in Chicago, pretty much explains what it's about. This "other" book was published by Eerdmans, a publisher of religious books based in Grand Rapids, Michigan; the copies I've seen have no date of issue - but to my eye, look to postdate the 1925 film. (I've emailed the publisher, which is still in business, asking for a date of issue.) Besides it's title, skid-row / Bowery setting, and theme of redemption, the book and film are unrelated. Anyone interested in reading or just checking out Vande Water's book can do so HERE.

A "street of forgotten men" is a catchphrase, and the name sometimes given to those parts of a town where the homeless would congregate. Street of Forgotten Men was, as well, the name given to a 1930's short film which "toured" the Bowery and it's unfortunate denizens. It is not listed on ImDb, but can be viewed below.

Another catchphrase or idiom which became the title of a Louise Brooks film and a later book is "a girl in every port." The 1928 Brooks' film by that name was directed by Howard Hawks, and was based on a story by Hawks and James K. McGuinness, with a scenario by Seton I. Miller.

So far, I've come across three works titled A Girl in Every Port. The earliest seems to be Forrest Additon's book of poems and drawings, which is subtitled "The Odyssey of a Deep-Sea Sailor." As you might expect, this 1938 vanity press publication is a collection of slightly saucy sing-songy poems which recount various encounters with women around the world. Many of the poems are accompanied by one of Additon's sometimes saucy drawings. In a foreword, the author takes pains to assure his readers these are not his stories, oh no, but just those he has heard from sailors the author has encountered during his travels.

It is difficult to choose the "best" piece in this volume, but here at least is a representative one. It is called "Wolly Golly."

The author, in case you are wondering, was a self-published writer and amateur artist who worked for many years in the furniture manufacturing business in Flowery Branch, Georgia. He is also credited with authoring the Illinois state song. When Additon died in 1958, Florida's Fort Lauderdale News considered him enough of a local celebrity (he had retired to Florida) that it ran an obituary on the front page.

I am lucky enough to own an autographed first edition copy of this Additon's self-published book. (The publisher is Henry Harrison, a poetry publisher based in New York City. The New Yorker described Harry Harrison as a vanity publisher who charged authors to publish their work, a la the Vantage Press.) I am not sure why I own a copy of this title, but I do. I guess it's because I am a book collector of sorts. My hardcover copy (pictured below) is in it's original dustjacket, and is in very good condition. Laid in are a couple of pieces of author related ephemera, including a reproduction of a 1937 drawing of Joseph C. Grew, the one-time ambassador to Japan. "T.M.I." you may say. Ok, I'll move on.

I also own an ephemeral booklet titled A Girl in Every Port. Published in 1942 by the Dramatic Publishing Company of Chicago, this 30 page, one act comedy by James Fuller continues the theme of randy sailors and their romantic adventures in various ports of call. The playlet calls for one man, named Jim "who loves them all," and seven women named Marilyn, Mary, Mimi, Mandy Lou, Maude, Tina (a maid), and Miss Margrave. Mmmmmm..... My copy is pictured below.

 

One other vintage book I've come across titled A Girl in Every Port is a 1942 work of fiction by William McClellan published by the Phoenix Press (a renowned publisher of mysteries, westerns, and genre fiction during the 1930s and 1940s). McClellan also author Waterfront Waitress (1937), Lady Interne (1939), Midnight in Morocco (1943) and other works, each of which was published by the Phoenix Press. I don't know anything else about A Girl in Every Port except that it seems to continue the same cliched trope of sailors on the loose around the world. As did, no doubt, Donald R Morris' 1956 paperback subtitled "Sailors & Sex in the Orient" published by Berkley (not pictured).

Lastly, here is a rare French book titled Prix de beaute. Published in Paris by Editions du Petit Echo de la Mode sometime in the 1920s (possibly in 1929), this 158 page work by C. N. Williamson shares its title with the 1930 French film starring Louise Brooks. I don't know much else about it, as I am awaiting the arrival of the copy I have ordered from France.

I will end this rambling post with the yet unrelated work of fiction, except that this one depicts Louise Brooks on it's cover! The book is Loot by Rob Eden, published by Grosset and Dunlap in 1932. Rob Eden was the pseudonym of Robert Ferdinand Burkhardt, a genre author whose works include Honeymoon Delayed as well as other pulp plots like The Girl with the Red Hair, Blond Trouble, Short Skirts, and In Love with a T-Man. The copy on the front of the dustjacket reads "Torn between loyalty to her newly found brother and love for his enemy, Robin Moore makes her choice!" Sounds like a great read, doesn't it!!

Bring a gun... the long night of Louise Brooks

Details are still emerging about this new play.... 

On Thursday, September 27, there will be a voice reading of Bring a gun... the long night of Louise Brooks, by Jim Piazza and Sondra Lee. This benefit event is being put on by the Episcopal Actors Guild (EAG) in New York, who describe the work as "A woman in her 70s tells her tale of the roaring 20s in this reading of Sondra Lee's and Jim Piazza's new play about a night in Hollywood you will never forget!"

This presentation features Victor Slezak as Richard Leacock, Keith Herron as Kenneth Tynan, and Sondra Lee as Louise Brooks.

This special event takes place in Guild Hall, located on the second floor of The Little Church at 1 East 29th Street (between Madison and Fifth). Interestingly, The Little Church, which is also known as The Little Church Around the Corner, is the site of a couple of scenes from Louise Brooks' first film, The Street of Forgotten Men. Brooks wasn't in those particular scenes, but film stars Percy Marmont, Mary Brian, and Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon on the Batman TV series of the 1960s) were. More information and ticket availability may be found HERE.

 

Thanks to Tim Moore for the heads-up!

Louise Brooks’ first review on this day in 1925

On this day in 1925, Louise Brooks received her first review as actress.

Though not listed in the film’s credits, the Los Angeles Times took note of her brief appearance in The Street of Forgotten Men when its anonymous critic wrote, “And there was a little rowdy, obviously attached to the ‘blind’ man, who did some vital work during her few short scenes. She was not listed.”

The paper was referring to Brooks, who’s less than 5 minutes of screen time in the Herbert Brenon-directed film was uncredited. It was Brooks’ first role. She played the part of a moll (the girlfriend of a gangster).

Prior to August 31, 1925—Brooks had only been mentioned in newspapers and magazines in connection with her appearances as a Denishawn dancer and as showgirl with the George White Scandals and Ziegfeld Follies. She also had a knack for showing up in various New York City gossip columns. The Los Angeles Times review was her first mention in connection with a film.

The article, titled “Marmont Metropolitan Star,” stands out not only as the first review to reference Brooks but as the only review for The Street of Forgotten Men to note her appearance in the film. One wonders who that anonymous critic might have been? And what they saw?

The Street of Forgotten Men is an underworld romance set among professional beggars in New York’s Bowery. It is a singular film, and received uniformly superb reviews when first released. Leading man Percy Marmont was singled out for his exceptional performance and director Brenon was praised for his realistic depiction of Bowery life.

The National Board of Review named it one of the 40 best pictures of 1925, and it was picked as one of the best films of the year by the Houston Chronicle, Pittsburgh Gazette Times, Tacoma Times, and Topeka Daily Capital. In many reviews and advertisements, The Street of Forgotten Men was compared to The Miracle Man, a similarly themed 1919 Lon Chaney film about a gang of criminals.

The Street of Forgotten Men was long thought lost. However, six of seven reels were later found at the Library of Congress. Among the surviving footage (the second reel is missing) is the scene that includes Brooks. Part of that scene is excerpted in the outstanding documentary, Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu.

Eighty-five years ago today, Louise Brooks received her first film review. It was a tentative beginning to a comet-like career in film.

The original Lassie, a clever screen actress

The original Lassie (picture above) was a clever canine screen actress who appeared in The Street of Forgotten Men (1925), directed by Herbert Brenon. In the film, she is killed by Bridegport White-Eye (picture above), the fake blind beggar played by John Harrington, whose moll was played by Louise Brooks. According to the article below, this canine Lassie (a bull terrier-cocker spaniel mix which predated the more famous Collie) was something of a star in her day, earning $15,000 a year.

As noted in the article above, "It is said that the death of Lassie in The Street of Forgotten Men was so impressive that persons were convinced that she must have been cruelly beaten." And that individuals and Societies for the Prevention of the Cruelty to Animals wrote protesting against what they supposed to be cruelty to the canine star. How was the animal's death in The Street of Forgotten Men so effectively filmed by Hal Rosson? The answer can be found the the clipping below.

In the still shown below, The Street of Forgotten Men star Percy Marmont holds the dying Lassie in his arms as denizens of the Bowery's look on. Wooden barrels be damned.

Thought not credited in the film, Lassie still managed to find her way into at least a few newspaper advertisements promoting The Street of Forgotten Men. Here is an example from Mexico, where the film was shown under the title La calle del olvido.

The Actor's Church - The Little Church Around the Corner

Louise Brooks' first film was an uncredited bit in The Street of Forgotten Men, directed by Herbert Brenon. Production took place during May, 1925. Brooks played a moll to Bridgeport Whitey. She appears in only one scene, in a barroom where a fight breaks out, near the end of the movie.

The Street of Forgotten Men was shot at Paramount’s Astoria Studios on Long Island (located at 3412 36th Street in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens). Additional location shooting was done elsewhere on Long Island, as well as on the streets of Manhattan, including on Fifth Avenue and importantly at the landmark Little Church Around the Corner, where a key scene, a wedding between characters played by Neil Hamilton and Mary Brian, takes place.

The Little Church Around the Corner, properly known as the Church of the Transfiguration, is an Episcopal parish church located at 1 East 29th Street, between Madison and Fifth Avenues in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan.

From Wikipedia: "Actors were among the social outcasts whom Houghton befriended. In 1870, William T. Sabine, the rector of the nearby Church of the Atonement, which is no longer extant, refused to conduct funeral services for an actor named George Holland, suggesting, "I believe there is a little church around the corner where they do that sort of thing." Joseph Jefferson, a fellow actor who was trying to arrange Holland's burial, exclaimed, "If that be so, God bless the little church around the corner!" and the church began a longstanding association with the theater.

P. G. Wodehouse, when living in Greenwich Village as a young writer of novels and lyrics for musicals, married his wife Ethel at the Little Church in September 1914. Subsequently, Wodehouse would set most of his fictionalized weddings at the church; and the hit musical Sally that he wrote with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton ended with the company singing, in tribute to the Bohemian congregation: "Dear little, dear little Church 'Round the Corner / Where so many lives have begun, / Where folks without money see nothing that's funny / In two living cheaper than one."

In 1923, the Episcopal Actors' Guild held its first meeting at Transfiguration. Such theatrical greats as Basil Rathbone, Tallulah Bankhead, Peggy Wood, Joan Fontaine, Rex Harrison, Barnard Hughes, and Charlton Heston have served as officers or council members of the guild. The Little Church's association with the theatre continued in the 1970s, when it hosted the Joseph Jefferson Theatre Company, which gave starts to actors such as Armand Assante, Tom Hulce, and Rhea Perlman.

As well as being a guild officer, Sir Rex Harrison was memorialized at the church upon his death in 1990. Maggie Smith, Brendan Gill, and Harrison's sons, Carey and Noel, spoke at the service."

Louise Brooks' first film review on this day in 1925

On this day in 1925, Louise Brooks received her first notice as an actress.

Though not listed in the film’s credits, the Los Angeles Times took note of Brooks' brief appearance in The Street of Forgotten Men when its anonymous critic wrote, "And there was a little rowdy, obviously attached to the 'blind' man, who did some vital work during her few short scenes. She was not listed." The paper was referring to Brooks, who’s brief appearance in the Herbert Brenon-directed film was uncredited. It was Brooks’ first role, and she played the part of a moll (the girlfriend of a gangster). Her screen time lasted just a few minutes.

Prior to August 31, 1925 - Brooks had only been mentioned in newspapers and magazines in connection with her appearances as a Denishawn dancer and as showgirl with the George White Scandals and Ziegfeld Follies. She also had a knack for showing up in various New York City gossip columns. The Los Angeles Times review was her first notice in connection with a film.

The article, titled “Marmont Metropolitan Star,” stands out not only as the first review to reference Brooks but as the only review for The Street of Forgotten Men to note her appearance in the film. One wonders who that anonymous critic might have been?

The Street of Forgotten Men is an underworld romance set among professional beggars in New York’s Bowery. It is a singular film, and received uniformly superb reviews when first released. Leading man Percy Marmont was singled out for his exceptional performance and director Brenon was praised for his realistic depiction of Bowery life.

The National Board of Review named it one of the 40 best pictures of 1925, and it was picked as one of the best films of the year by the Houston Chronicle, Pittsburgh Gazette Times, Tacoma Times, and Topeka Daily Capital. In many reviews and advertisements, The Street of Forgotten Men was compared to The Miracle Man, a similarly themed 1919 Lon Chaney film about a gang of criminals.

The Street of Forgotten Men was long thought lost. However, six of seven reels were later found at the Library of Congress (which is where I saw it). Among the surviving footage (the second reel is missing) is the scene that includes Brooks. Part of that scene is excerpted in the outstanding documentary, Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu.

Street of Forgotten Men - a round-up of reviews

The Street of Forgotten Men, Louise Brooks' first film, was officially released on this day in 1925. The film is a drama, an underworld romance set among professional beggars in the Bowery of New York City. 

The film stars Percy Marmont as Easy Money Charlie, Mary Brian as Fancy Vanhern, Neil Hamilton as Philip Peyton, John Harrington as Bridgeport White-Eye, Juliet Brenon (the director's niece) as Portland Fancy, and Louise Brooks in an uncredited role as a Moll. Also uncredited in the film is Lassie, a dog.

The film is based on a short story by George Kibbe Turner which appeared in Liberty magazine only a few months earlier, on February 14, 1925. The Street of Forgotten Men was quite well regarded upon release, and Percy Marmont was singled out for his dramatic performance. Director Herbert Brenon was also praised for his realistic depiction of Bowery life. Brenon, who the year before had directed Peter Pan (1924), would go on to direct such classics as Beau Geste (1926), The Great Gatsby (1926), and Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928).

The Street of Forgotten Men was long thought lost, but six of its seven reels were found at the Library of Congress. Among the surviving footage is a scene which includes Brooks. I've seen it. The film is very good, and deserves to be widely released. Here is a round up of magazine and newspaper reviews and articles drawn from the Louise Brooks Society archive. [Here is the movie herald for that 1925 film. The front and back and the interior are pictured.]

Day, Dorothy. "Herbert Brenon Contributes Absorbing Film at Rivoli." Morning Telegraph, July 20, 1925.
--- "An absorbing story, done by a cast of people who really know how to act and directed in a skillful manner by Herbert Brenon."

Spain, Mildred. "Marmont Wears High Hat and Tin Cup in Rivoli Film." Daily News, July 21, 1925.
--- "The Street of Forgotten Men dips into the dark pools of life. It shows you the beggars of life - apologies to Jim Tully - and in showing them it shows them up."

Miles, Connie. "Reel Reviews." New York Evening World, July 21, 1925.
--- "A gripping story of the sordid side of life up to Broadway's Forties . . . one of those too rare offerings that have everything to be desired in a film production."

Nangle, Roberta. "You'll Like This Tale of Bowery Underworld." Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1925.
--- "It is a startling tale of Bowery life, of the soiled, tawdry ladies and broken men of the underworld. . . . Direction and photography are splendid, making the movie decidedly worth seeing."

Sewell, C. S. "Paramount Offers Very Out-of-the-Ordinary Story of the Underworld That Should Please Majority." Moving Picture World, August 1, 1925.
--- "This story is decidely impressive, out-of-the-ordinary and interesting and we believe that it will be quite generally liked."

anonymous. "The Street of Forgotten Men." Film Daily, August 2, 1925.
--- "Percy Marmont as a fake cripple beggar adds a choice one to the select list of outstanding character-creations of the screen."

Burrows, Dudley. "Granada's New Feature Tops Unholy Three." San Francisco Call and Post, August 10, 1925.
--- "Perhaps it is because The Street of Forgotten Men is more legitimately dramatic, and less frankly melodramatic than The Unholy Three."

Gillaspey, A. F. "Marmont Gives Wonderful Performances in Granada Film." San Francisco Bulletin, August 10, 1925. (United States) *
--- "For fine dramatic detail, for unusualness, for giving us a glimpse into a world we never see and into the other sides of characters we simply pass in pity on the streets, The Street of Forgotten Men is a photoplay revelation."

Warren, George C. "Best Available Films Offered Screen Fans - Greater Movie Season." San Francisco Chronicle, August 10, 1925.
--- "The Street of Forgotten Men, to which Herbert Brenon has lent the magic of his skill at direction, his ability to poeticize even the most sordid theme."

Carroll, Carroll. "The Reel Stuff." Judge, August 15, 1925.
--- "The Street of Forgotten Men is to a certain extent a de-hokumized Miracle Man."

anonymous. "Palace - The Street of Forgotten Men." Washington Star, August 17, 1925.
--- "Percy Marmont, as a bogus crippled beggar . . . has a role that is more closely akin to his great interpretation of Mark Sabre in If Winter Comes than any since the Hutchinson novel was put upon the screen. All of which means that this artist again has an excellent role for the display of his rare genius."

Talley, Alma. "The Street of Forgotten Men." Movie Weekly, August 22, 1925.
--- " . . . a film of real artistic merit, but it is sordid."

anonymous. "Marmont Metropolitan Star." Los Angeles Times, August 31, 1925. 
--- "And there was a little rowdy, obviously attached to the 'blind' man, who did some vital work during her few short scenes. She was not listed."

Boyd, Leonard. "Old Bowery Seen at Metropolitan." Los Angeles Examiner, August 31, 1925.
--- "Herbert Brenon has striven for realism but not morbidness. His interpretation throughout is sincere even to avoiding a sugar-coated ending."

Feldkamp, Frances V. "Movie Reviews." St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 7, 1925.
--- "Personally, it is depressing."

anonymous. "Underworld is Theme for Film at The Liberty." San Jose Mercury Herald, September 25, 1925. (United States) *
--- " . . . there is a series of smashing scenes that reveal the genius of Herbert Brenon."

K., K. T. "Asbestos." New Orleans Times-Picayune, September 25, 1925.
--- "Others in the cast are thoroughly competent. Neil Hamilton is quite charming."

B., M. "The Street of Forgotten Men - Paramount." Photoplay, October, 1925.
--- "Herbert Brenon, with the aid of a fine cast, headed by Percy Marmont, has made a gripping and entertaining picture."



anonymous. "Famous Screen Dog." New York Times, January 16, 1927.
--- "Lassie has acted with Percy Marmont in The Street of Forgotten Men. . . . It is said that the death of Lassie in The Street of Forgotten Men was so impressive that person were convinced that she must have been cruelly beaten. Her master, Emery Bronte, said that the dog seemed to enjoy acting in the scenes, and that after each 'take' she went over to Mr. Brenon and cocked her head on the side, as if asking for a pat or two." 

Street of Forgotten Men inspires illustrated sermon lecture

The Street of Forgotten Men (1925) is the first film in which Louise Brooks had a role. Its realistic treatment of the down and out moved many and inspired at least a few, including this Brooklyn pastor who gave an illustrated sermon lecture not long after the film was released.

The Original Lassie, surprise star of The Street of Forgotten Men

A dog named Lassie appeared in The Street of Forgotten Men (1925), the first film in which Louise Brooks had a role. This, of course, is not the Lassie of later film and television fame. Here's the story behind the original Lassie's once famous role in that sensational film.

The original Lassie, canine thespian

A few have written asking about Lassie, the canine actor in The Street of Forgotten Men. That film was shown on March 15th at Cinefest 32 in Syracuse, New York.

A 1927 New York Times article about the canine stated, "It is said that the death of Lassie in The Street of Forgotten Men was so impressive that persons were convinced that she must have been cruelly beaten. Her master, Emery Bronte, said that the dog seemed to enjoy acting in the scenes, and that after each 'take' she went over to Mr. Brenon and cocked her head on the side, as if asking for a pat or two." Apparently, this notable scene - her best scene - her death scene - is missing from the surviving six reels (of this seven reel film).

This Lassie, a contemporary of Rin-Tin-Tin, was bull terrier - cocker spaniel mix who predated the more famous Collie which starred in later movies and television shows. The New York Times describes her as an "intelligent animal" and a "clever screen actress." And according to that 1927 article, she was then earning a remarkable $15,000 a year as a canine actor / performer. That was a lost of money then.

Some of the other films in which Lassie appeared include Tol'able David, Knockabout Riley, The Beautiful City and Sonny. Her fellow actors included Mabel Normand, Viola Dana, Richard Barthelmess, Marion Davies, Richard Dix, Tom Moore and George Walsh, among others.

Here is an April, 1926 Mexican newspaper advertisement for The Street of Forgotten Men (and two others) showing a character from the Herbert Brenon-directed film holding Lassie. (In Spanish, The Street of Forgotten Men is titled La Calle del Olvido.) Here is another depiction of Lassie, who looks like a pretty cute dog. Watch out Uggie!

Did you see Street of Forgotten Men at Cinefest ?

If you were at Cinefest 32 and saw last night's presentation of The Street of Forgotten Men, this blog would love to hear from you. Please post your thoughts or observations about the film and its screening in the comments field below. What did you think?

The image below depicts actor Percy Marmont  (left) and director Herbert Brenon on the set of the film in May, 1925. More background on the movie at examiner.com