Celebrating National Silent Movie Day and silent film star Baby Peggy

Today is the 1st ever National Silent Movie Day, an new annual event dedicated to celebrating, preserving and creating access to silent film. Why such a day? Why such a celebration? While the silent cinema is regarded as a vital, telling and beautiful art form, it is also a misunderstood and sadly neglected aspect of our shared cultural history. And in ways, it is endangered. It is estimated that more than 70% of all silent films are LOST. Activism is need to remember and preserve this priceless art form before it is too late. To that end, a number of events are taking place across the United States and Europe. Visit THIS PAGE to learn about some of the screenings and other happenings taking place today, September 29, 2021.

In the words of Martin Scorsese, National Silent Movie Day is "exactly the type of activist spirit we need in the world of cinema right now." 

To mark the occasion and to do my bit, I posted for the first time ever a video of my 10 year old interview with the one-time silent film star Diana Serra Cary, who during the silent era was known as "Baby Peggy." Before her death at age 101 in February of 2020, Diana was considered the last living silent film star. She was a national treasure, and one of the sweetest people I ever met.

The occasion for my 2011 interview was "Shhhhh! Silents in the Library," a two-month, multi-display exhibition and event series at the San Francisco Public Library held in conjunction with the annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival. I curated the main exhibit, which was titled, "Reading the Stars: The Silent Era". It was comprised of all manner of vintage books about film dating from the silent era, including a few related to Baby Peggy. The books for the exhibit were loaned from my personal collection.

The interview was recorded by a professional videographer, but they flaked out and erased the tape. Now, all that remains, is this admittedly poor video recording of the occasion shot on a Flip from the audience. Still, it is a record worth preserving and sharing. Due to my poor video editing skills (I am a film historian, not a film editor), the event was in two parts, which I have since joined. In part one, SFPL librarian Gretchen Good introduces the event. (The showing of the Baby Peggy short The Kid Reporter is not included in the video.) In part two, I speak with Diana Serra Cary. 

I had put on a couple of events with Diana in the past, including a talk at the Booksmith and book signings at the Castro Theatre. I have also interviewed and written about Diana Serra Cary / Baby Peggy on a few occasions, for Open / Salon, SFGate (San Francisco Chronicle), examiner.com, and elsewhere, but sadly, like so many silent films, those webpages have disappeared from the world wide web. However, one remaining piece I wrote, "The Return of Baby Peggy — The Last Silent Film Star," can be found on Huffington Post. 

Not only was Diana Serra Cary a major film star (she was the Shirley Temple of the silent era), she was later in life a bookseller and an author. Like me. If you haven't seen any of her films - most of which are lost, though some survive - I would recommend you check them out. A few have been released on DVD. Also on DVD is a fine documentary from 2013 called Baby Peggy: The Elephant in the Room. Well worth checking out are Diana's four books, two of which are pictured below. Her memoir, Whatever Happened to Baby Peggy: The Autobiography of Hollywood's Pioneer Child Star, made me cry.

I also greatly enjoyed the biography she wrote about her silent era "rival", Jackie Coogan: The World's Boy King: A Biography of Hollywood's Legendary Child Star. 

______

"Celebrating National Silent Movie Day and silent film star Baby Peggy" by Thomas Gladysz

Myra Brooks, leading Wichita book reviewer

Like her daughter Louise, Myra Brooks was a reader of books. And what's more, she was also a reviewer of books. On and off from the mid-to-late 1930s through the early 1940s, Myra appeared before various groups in Wichita speaking about new and recent releases. She also spoke about the news of the day, classical music - especially Richard Wagner, and other topics of interest. Myra's talks were given in local halls and auditoriums, hotel meeting rooms, restaurants, and in private homes.

The clipping shown here, from March 1941, notes Myra would talk about Art of Living, by the noted French writer Andre Maurois. The book is an inspirational title, not unlike some of the other books Myra read and reviewed. Evidently, Louise's Mother decided to review this book after Maurois, a famous novelist at the time and someone still read today, spoke in Wichita a month earlier in February.

The article goes on to state that Myra is a popular book reviewer known throughout Kansas. This was at a time when daily newspapers like the Wichita Eagle did not, generally speaking, review books. (One notable exception back then was the New York Times.) If one wanted to learn about new books, one might have to subscribe to a magazine that ran reviews, or, attend a local book club or study group. Myra, in fact, was a member of a few different groups, including the Study Guild which discussed the news of the day, as well as the Saturday Afternoon Musical Club which discussed opera and classical music.

Based on newspaper clippings which I recently came across, here are some of the titles and topics Myra Brooks spoke about. (A few clippings noted Myra would speak, but did not specify which book or topic. Lacking specifics, I didn't list those happenings.) Myra Brooks got a fair amount of press in Wichita, which must have been gratifying, as her contract as a speaker with the Redpath Chautauqua had not renewed back in 1927. She was also popular, and held her own against the competition, as th clipping below shows. What is also notable is the quality of books Myra Brooks spoke about. Like Andre Maurois, many of these authors are still known and  read today.

January 1934  reviews The Meaning of Culture by John Cowper Powys for the R.E.D. Club (at the Y.M.C.A) 

April 1934  reviews Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain for the Tuesday morning book review club

November 1934  reviews Nijinsky by Romola Nijinsky for the Social Order of Beauceant

December 1934  reviews Nijinsky by Romola Nijinsky for the Twentieth Century Club

December 1934  reviews Nijinsky by Romola Nijinsky for the R.E.D. Club (at the Y.M.C.A)

December 1934  reviews Stars Fell on Alabama by Carl Carmer for the Current Book club

January 1935  reviews The Life of Nijinsky by Lucy Moore for the Leal Book club

January 1935  reviews The Biography of Richard Wagner for the Sedgwick County Medical auxiliary; Brooks also played some of her records of Wagner's music

February 1935  reviews Heaven is My Destination by Thorton Wilder for The Current Book Club 

April 1935  reviews The Life of Nijinsky by Lucy Moore for the Monday Book Review club

April 1935  speaks on the operas of Richard Wagner at a concert honoring the composer at the University of Wichita; news reports state the auditorium was filled

May 1935  reviews Phantom Crown by Bertita Harding at a tea party held for the Girl Reserves

May 1935  reviews The Biography of Richard Wagner for a local chapter of the Daughter of the American Revolution; Otto Fischer plays Wagner on the piano

May 1935  speaks on the operas of Richard Wagner at a concert at the University of Wichita

October 1935  reviews Mary, Queen of Scots by Stephan Zweig for the Social Order of Beauceant; preceding the review, Myra Brooks spoke for 20 minutes on current events 

December 1935  reviews A Personal History by an unknown author for the Social Order of Beauceant

January 1936  reviews an unknown title for the pledges of Alpha Tau Sigma

February 1936  reviews A Women's Best Years by W. Beran Wolfe for the Social Order of Beauceant 

March 1936  reviews The Dupont Dynasty by John K. Winkler for the Social Order of Beauceant 

April 1936   reviews The End of Summer (a play) by S.N. Behrman for the Social Order of Beauceant; preceding the review, Myra Brooks spoke for 20 minutes on current events  

April 1936  reviews an unknown book for the members of the Osteopathic Women's club

April 1936   participates (as a numerologist) in a numerology coffee put on by the Iota Mu chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha

April 1936  talks on a "Biography of Cosima Wagner" at The Current Book Club

May 1936  reviews Sparkenbroke by Charles Morgan for the Social Order of Beauceant 

November 1936  reviews Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell for the Iota Mu chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha (at the Lassen Hotel); at least five to six dozen attend the event

November 1936  reviews I am the Fox by Winifred Van Etten for the College Hill P.T.A. (at the College Hill School auditorium)

December 1936  reviews Inside Europe by John Gunther for the Iota Mu chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha (at the Lassen Hotel); at least five to six dozen attend the event

January 1937  performs selections from The Ring of the Niebelung with Otto Fischer on the piano at a meeting of the Kansas Bar Association

February 1937  reviews The Street of Fishing Cats by Jolán Földes for the Iota Mu chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha (at the Lassen Hotel)

February 1937  gives a lecture recital about Cosima Wagner, assisted by Otto Fischer on the piano at the Twentieth Century Club (the Wichita Eagle reported that Myra Brooks wore a "stunning floor length gown of black satin"

March 1937  reviews Phantom Crown by Bertita Harding for the Iota Mu chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha (at the Lassen Hotel)

March 1937  reviews The Street of Fishing Cats by Jolán Földes at a meeting of the Oxford Art Club

October 1937  Myra Brooks and Otto Fischer perform in Coffeyville at the Coffeyville Matinee Music club 

October 1937  Myra Brooks and Otto Fischer perform a program of music by Richard Wagner at Friends of Contemporary Music in Wichita

November 1937  give a lecture recital with Otto Fischer of music by Richard Wagner at a meeting of Job's Daughters (at the York Rite Temple)

November 1937  Myra Brooks and Otto Fischer perform a two-piano transcription of Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Niebelung at The Current Book Club

December 1937  Myra Brooks and Otto Fischer give recital of Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Niebelung at the University of Wichita

December 1937  gives a presentation of a number of current biographies at the Wichita Art Association

March 1938  reviews The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang at an art class at Wichita Art Museum

April 1938  reviews The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang at The Current Book Club

March 1939  reviews Prohibiting Poverty by Prestonia Martin at The Current Book Club

November 1939  reviews My America by Louis Adamic at The Current Book Club

January 1940  speaks on "music in the European capitals since the outbreak of World War II" at the Saturday Afternoon Musical Club

March 1940  reviews an unknown book at the Wichita Art Museum

April 1940  gives a lecture recital about Cosima Wagner, assisted by Otto Fischer on the piano, at the Study Guild

May 1940  lectures on Pagliacci, an Italian opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo, at the Music Study Group 

July 1941  lectures on the Ring Operas, specifically Die Walkure, at which she played recordings including Wotan's Farewell sung by Lawrence Tibbett, at a Study Guild meeting (at Droll's English Grill)

September 1941 lectures on "What Every Woman Wants to Know" at a Study Guild meeting (at Droll's English Grill)

November 1941  reviews The Voyage by Charles Morgan

January 1942  reviews From Many Lands by Louis Adamic at The Current Book Club 

 ++++++

Louise Brooks returned home to Wichita in August of 1940. Around that same time, Myra Brooks' book reviewing began to taper off. Myra, who shared her interests and passions with her daughter as well as the he people of Wichita, passed away at the age of 60 in 1944.

Memoirs of a silent film loving bookseller, as told through "baseball" cards, part 2

This post continues a kind of sidebar to a long and heavily illustrated piece I wrote called "One booksellers memoirs, told through 'baseball' cards." That piece is awaiting publication, when and if it is published, I will edit in a link. See my previous post for the first part of this saga.

As a kid, who didn't collect baseball or football cards, or cards depicting their favorite characters from Star Wars or Star Trek or Buffy the Vampire Slayer ? But did you ever collect cards depicting film historians, biographers, or critics ?

For more than 20 years I worked at The Booksmith, an independent bookstore located in San Francisco. For about half that time, I ran the events program. I worked with publishers in selecting authors and creating a monthly schedule. I also hosted the various events. In order to make the series stand out, Booksmith began issuing a series of promotional cards for most every author event the store put on. These author cards (which number more than 1000) were similar to baseball cards or other like collectibles, except that these cards featured contemporary poets, novelists, essayists, biographers, historians and critics – as well as more than a few pop culture celebrities. Because of my interest in the silent film star Louise Brooks as well as early film and film history, there were also a handful of cards depicting authors who wrote on those subjects. I tried to secure events with as many as I could, provided they had a new book and/or were touring: among those who I managed to host an event with and who appear as author trading cards are prominent names like Jeanine Basinger #962 and Steven Bach #923 as well as notable behind the scenes individuals like John Baxter #832 and Famous Monsters of Filmland publisher Forrest J Ackerman #224, #329. Despite it being a niche interest, I made sure we always sold books!

Along with screenwriter Frederica Sagor Maas #302 (mentioned in the previous post), the store also hosted other individuals associated with early Hollywood, among them 1930s film star Gloria Stuart #318. Known for her roles in Pre-Code films as well as horror movies like The Old Dark House (1932) and The Invisible Man (1933), this Academy Award nominee went on to achieve later day fame as the older Rose in James Cameron's epic romance, Titanic (1997). Little did I know when I booked the event that Stuart had a connection to the space where it was held.

Gloria Stuart

If the store expected an especially big crowd, we might hold the event off-site at the nearby Park Branch library, which had a meeting room in the basement. That was the case for the event with Gloria Stuart, who was especially pleased to appear at this modest branch library, the oldest in the city; just after she arrived, Stuart told us she had visited it in her younger days while living in the Bay Area and attending college at UC Berkeley! Although the branch had  closed for the day, Stuart asked the librarian on duty if she could have a nostalgic tour, which she got. What a pleasure it was to meet Stuart and her daughter Sylvia, who accompanied her.

Another individual I hosted at the store and who appears on a card is Diana Serra Carey (aka Baby Peggy) #523, who before her death at age 101 in 2018, was considered the last living silent film star. Prior to her talk, we screened a Baby Peggy short, The Kid Reporter (1923), which everyone enjoyed and which received a brisk round of applause. During her talk, the crowd hung of Carey's every word, and despite the fact she hadn't appeared in a film in nearly half a century, those who showed up treated the aged actress as a contemporary "movie star." An event was also held for Suzanne Lloyd #722, the granddaughter of silent film superstar Harold Lloyd. Her famous grandfather helped raise Suzanne, and she has done much to help bring renewed attention to Harold's career, helping compile DVDs and write books, including Harold Lloyd's Hollywood Nudes in 3D!, the subject of her talk. Adults only please !

One event that stands out in memory was with Arthur Lennig #375 for his then just published, revised version of Stroheim. What a masterful biography; it was the book that got me fascinated with this legendary director! I recall after the event my wife and I took Lennig out to dinner, and he regaled us with stories about Stroheim as well as with stories about the subject of Lennig's other well known biography, The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi. As a teenage film buff, Lennig had written fan letters to Lugosi, who was touring the country acting in small theater companies. One day, Lennig told us over our entree, there was a knock at the door. His mother answered, and Bela Lugosi asked if a young fan of his named Arthur was at home!

The Lennig event came about because of the store's success in selling the Frederica Sagor Maas memoir, which was published by the University Press of Kentucky. That press also published two other books for which I put on events, Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood by the late-great Robert Birchard #690, and The Barrymores: Hollywood's First Family, a pictorial by Carol Stein Hoffman #479. The latter book includes material on Drew Barrymore, who is pictured on the cover, and for about thirty seconds their was talk and the hope that the actress would make a special appearance at the store to help promote a book about her famous family. Too bad it never came to be.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s university presses and small presses emerged as the de facto leading publishers of books on film history, especially regarding the silent and early sound era. The Booksmith did events with Matthew Kennedy for his delightful Joan Blondell: A Life Between Takes (University Press of Mississippi), with Caryl Flinn #992 for Brass Diva: The Life and Legends of Ethel Merman (University of California Press), and with David Stenn for the reissues of his Clara Bow: Runnin' Wild (Cooper Square Press) and Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow (Lightning Bug Press). The store also did an event with Jeff Kraft and Aaron Leventhal #560 for their fascinating pictorial, Footsteps in the Fog: Alfred Hitchcock's San Francisco (Santa Monica Press). A few weeks after the event, Patricia Hitchcock came by the store to sign books. She was the director's daughter, an actress, and had written the forward to the Footsteps in the Fog. 

The store also did a couple of events with San Francisco writer Emily Leider #198, #593 for her stellar biographies of films stars Mae West and Rudolph Valentino. Each are highly recommended. There were also two events with San Francisco Chronicle film critic Mick LaSalle #403, #566 for his fascinating studies of pre-code film, Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood and Dangerous Men: Pre-Code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man. On a not unrelated note, Hollywood photographer and film historian Mark A. Vieira #324 made an appearance for his landmark pictorial Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood. No film book library is complete without the latter book.

There were other notable events as well, like those with Mark Cotta Vaz #775 for Living Dangerously: The Adventures of Merian C. Cooper, Creator of King Kong, and John Wranovics #770 for Chaplin and Agee: The Untold Story of the Tramp, the Writer, and the Lost Screenplay. It was an honor to host an event with one-time producer and United Artists studio head Steven Bach #923 for his study, Leni: The Life and Work of Leni Riefenstahl. Likewise, I was proud to do an event with writer Donald Richie #468 for his 2001 book, The Donald Richie Reader: 50 Years of Writing on Japan. Although he looms large as a writer on the culture of Japan, Richie considered himself primarily a film historian. (He also directed a number of experimental films.) His 1965 book on the films of Akira Kurosawa, his 1977 book on Yasujirō Ozu, and his others books on Japanese cinema are cornerstone works.

Because of my early involvement with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, I was able to bring some of the authors I had done events with at the Booksmith to the SFSFF to do a booksigning, where the store had a table with all manner of films books for sale. On a few occasions, authors like Frederica Sagor Maas, Arthur Lennig, and Baby Peggy followed their Booksmith appearance by signing the next day at the festival. That was also the case with Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye #807, who had authored a biography of 1920s crooner Russ Colombo, and screenwriter Jerry Stahl #691, who wrote a novel, I, Fatty, loosely based on the life of Roscoe Arbuckle. Unfortunately, not everyone understood the difference between biography and fiction. But we still sold some books.

I have likely gone on too long with this "memoir" of my time spent as a bookseller. It was an exercise in nostalgia; I don't make any claim as to its value, except in the telling of stories about authors and individuals of interest to readers and film buffs. An annotated checklist of all the cards can be found at www.thomasgladysz.com/booksmith-author-cards-a-checklist/

Larry Edmunds bookshop in Hollywood reopens

It is a sure sign that things are getting better when what might well be the best film book shop in the world reopens. I'm talking about Larry Edmunds bookshop in Hollywood. The store's owner recently wrote on his Facebook page, "It is my pleasure to announce that after 53 weeks... the Larry Edmunds Bookshop will be open to the public from 11 am to 4 pm. Rules pertaining to occupancy & masks & such will be in full effect. Call & make an appointment w/ us and we’ll make sure you get in. Thank you to all of you who have continued to support the LAST bookstore on Hollywood Boulevard! We look forward to selling you a book (or books 😊) soon! Don’t call it a comeback, been here for years..." For more information, visit the store website HERE.

In fact, Larry Edmunds bookshop has been around since 1938, that is, during the last couple years of Louise Brooks' residency in Los Angeles. So who knows, perhaps she shopped there at one time or another. As mentioned, Larry Edmunds has been in business for nearly three quarters of a century. And as such, it is one of the last surviving cinema and theatre book and memorabilia stores in North America. It features an inventory of 500,000 movie photographs, 6,000 original movie posters and 20,009 motion picture and theater books. This is the place where film buffs come to shop.

 

During my pre-pandemic trip to Los Angeles in February 2020, I had the chance to visit the store. I've visited the historic bookshop (located at 6644 Hollywood Blvd) many times in the past, but always as a customer. This time, I visited as an author, and dropped off copies of three of my books, each of which are now for sale at the famous Hollywood bookshop. The three titles now available at Larry Edmunds are Louise Brooks: the Persistent Star, Beggars of Life: a Companion to the 1928 Film, and Now We're in the Air: a Companion to the Once Lost Film. In fact, back in May of 2020, Larry Edmunds bookshop was the subject of a TV news story, and in the background, copies of my most recent book, Louise Brooks: the Persistent Star, could be seen in the background (see above). If you live in or around Los Angeles, this is the place to go to check out these Louise Brooks Society publications (and a whole lot more).

 

A checklist of some of my writing on early film, especially the silent era, with just a few tangentially related to Louise Brooks

Most silent film enthusiasts know of me, if they know me at all, for my work on and writings about the life and career of Louise Brooks. However, I have written a good deal about other stars and films from the silent era. And, have been doing so for well more than a decade. 

On this blog in the past, I have posted a checklist of some of my Louise Brooks related articles, most written for various on-line publications and websites. What follows now is a checklist of some of my articles and essays on other stars, films, and topics related to the silent film era. I have left out my long running "best books of the year" and "best DVDs of the year" pieces.  As well, I have hyperlinked to as many pieces as possible. Unfortunately, the old examiner.com and Open/Salon pieces were scrubbed from the net when those websites were taken down. I hope a few readers, at least, will read a few of the following pieces. A few may even appeal to those interested in Brooks and her career.

“Mank and Lulu, and contact tracing the origins of Rosebud. ” Louise Brooks Society blog, December 11, 2020.
— did Herman Mankiewicz learn of William Randolph Hearst’s special pet name for Marion Davies clit from Louise Brooks?

“Buster Keaton’s Genius, Derailed: The Cameraman (Criterion Collection).” Film International, July 6, 2020.
— review of a Buster Keaton DVD release

“(Re) Considering Rudolph Valentino.” Film International, March 4, 2020.
— review of three new DVD releases

“Marion Davies: Gifted Actress and Impossible Boy.” Film International, December 23, 2019.
— article on the early film actress

“Mendocino Made Film to show at San Francisco Silent Film Festival.” Ukiah Daily Journal, April 30, 2019.
— article in local newspaper

“The Real Stan and Ollie.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Winter, 2018.
— program essay

“The Beginnings of Fritz Lang.” Louise Brooks Society blog, April 3, 2018.
— review of a DVD box set

“Pola Negri: Her films were silent. She wasn’t.” Huffington Post, December 4, 2017.

“Rescuing the Past: The Fall and Rise of Silent Film.” Huffington Post, November 30, 2017.

“A World Turned Over: Wellman’s BEGGARS OF LIFE.” University of Wisconsin Cinematheque, November 28, 2017.

“The Case for Marion Davies.” Huffington Post, November 22, 2017.

“Before Hollywood, there was Fort Lee, New Jersey.” Huffington Post, September 22, 2017.

“Two Film Historians and Their Lifelong Labor of Love.” Huffington Post, September 6, 2017.

“Laurel & Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies.” Huffington Post, November 21, 2016.
— sometimes I have notable readers (see below)

 “New Book Surveys Jules Verne on Film.” Huffington Post, October 27, 2016.

“Girls Will Be Boys in San Francisco.” Huffington Post, May 25, 2016.

“getTV Premieres Rare Cary Grant film.” Huffington Post, May 4, 2016.

“I Like Una Merkel, Helen Twelvetrees, and Sally Phipps.” Huffington Post, March 10, 2016.

Best Films Books of 2015.” Huffington Post, November 23, 2015.
— this piece received a fair amount of attention (see below)

“The Return of Baby Peggy — The Last Silent Film Star.” Huffington Post, October 21, 2015.

“William Gillette and the Making of SHERLOCK HOLMES.” EatDrinkFilms, May 22, 2015.

“Hobo Author Jim Tully Celebrated in New Documentary on PBS.” Huffington Post, February 11, 2015.

“Disney’s Fantasia at San Francisco Symphony.” Huffington Post, May 29, 2014.
— this piece ran on Huffington Post San Francisco

“Our Ramona at Our Silent Film Festival.” Huffington Post, May 27, 2014.

“He Who Gets Slapped.” Ebertfest (16th Annual Roger Ebert Film Festival), April 2014.
— reprint of an earlier essay

“Singin’ in the Rain at SF Symphony.” Huffington Post, December 1, 2013.
— this piece ran in Huffington Post San Francisco

“Music to Murder By: San Francisco Symphony Screens Hitchcock.” Huffington Post, October 29, 2013.
— this piece ran on Huffington Post San Francisco

“Lost Movie by First Film Superstar Found.” Huffington Post, October 3, 2013.

“Tears of a Clown.” Telluride Film Festival, 2013.
— essay in festival program; this piece was reprinted on August 29, 2013 in The Watch, a Telluride, Colorado alternative newspaper

“Last Edition screens again at SF Silent Film Fest.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, July 19, 2013.

“The Patsy.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival, 2013.
— program essay in festival booklet

“Alma Rubens: A Marked Woman.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival, 2013.
— feature in festival booklet

“Rare Alfred Hitchcock Films Debut in San Francisco.” Huffington Post, June 11, 2013.

“Mary Pickford event at Rafael Film Center.” San Rafael Patch, January 30, 2013.

“Q & A with Christel Schmidt, editor of Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, January 29, 2013.

“Marguerite Clark: America’s Darling of Broadway and the Silent Screen.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, January 10, 2013.

“Salomy Jane: Once Lost Silent Film Returns to Marin.” San Rafael Patch, September 25, 2012.

“Once Lost Film Returns to Bay Area.” Huffington Post, September 19, 2012.
— cited in Jeremy Geltzer’s Film Censorship in America: A State-by-State History (McFarland, 2017)

“Silent film star recalls 1924 Democratic Convention.” Open Salon, September 5, 2012.
— a Salon editor’s pick, and one of the most viewed pieces on Salon that day; the text of the piece has been archived here

“A Hollywood Fairy Tale Gone Wrong.” Huffington Post, September 4, 2012.

“Peter Pan shows in Vacaville.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, August 11, 2012.

“Wings.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Summer 2012.
— program essay in festival booklet

“Actor Paul McGann Talks about Silent Film.” San Francisco Chronicle, July 11, 2012.
— the eighth Doctor Who

“Film historian Jeffrey Vance talks about Douglas Fairbanks.” San Francisco Chronicle, July 8, 2012.
— footnoted in a book found here, and reprinted on the website of the Douglas Fairbanks Museum

“Could WINGS have been a 3-D film?” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, June 11, 2012.
— see also related posts on June 13th “Newspaper advertisements for WINGS,” June 14th “WINGS See it at popular prices“, and June 17th “WINGS with sensational sound effects”

“Laurel y Hardy en Español.” San Francisco Chronicle, May 10, 2012.

“Robert Flaherty’s Man of Aran screens in Niles.” San Francisco Chronicle, April 27, 2012.

“Buster Keaton gets a beat courtesy of the tUnE-yArDs.” San Francisco Chronicle, April 22, 2012.

“In cinematic form, Napoleon conquers all.” San Francisco Chronicle, March 26, 2012.

“Napoleon – “greatest film ever made” screens in Oakland.” San Francisco Chronicle, March 22, 2012.

“Historic Bay Area Film to Screen in Niles.” Union City Patch, February 23, 2012.

“Dizzy Heights: Silent Cinema and Life in the Air.” Berkeley Patch, February 20, 2012.

“More than 10 reasons not to miss Napoleon.” San Francisco Chronicle, February 16, 2012.

“Napoleon: A Lost Masterpiece Returns.” Huffington Post, February 13, 2012.

“Dashiell Hammett at Film Noir Festival.” Huffington Post, January 25, 2012.
— this piece got a shout-out on author Don Herron’s website 

“Historic San Francisco film emerges after 95 years.” San Francisco Chronicle, January 19, 2012.

“Howard Hawks Retrospective in Berkeley.” Huffington Post, January 11, 2012.

“Georges Méliès, Inspiration for Scorcese’s Hugo, At Niles.” San Leandro Patch, January 7, 2012.

“Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush is cinematic masterpiece.” San Francisco Chronicle, December 23, 2011.

“Oscar-Winner Kevin Brownlow Continues His Labour on Behalf of Cinema.” Huffington Post, December 2, 2011.

“Theaters of the San Francisco Peninsula.” San Francisco Chronicle, November 17, 2011.

“Spencer Tracy biographer talks about his new book.” San Francisco Chronicle, November 14, 2011.

“Susan Orlean talks Rin Tin Tin.” San Francisco Chronicle, October 26, 2011.

“Theda Bara – the first movie vamp.” examiner.com, October 19, 2011.

“Director John Huston – the story of a story-teller revealed in new book.” San Francisco Chronicle, September 28, 2011.

“Once banned film resurfaces 90 years after scandal.” Open Salon, August 25, 2011.
— a Salon editor’s pick

“John Bengtson, archeologist of early cinema.” San Francisco Chronicle, August 17, 2011.

“Walt Disney’s silent inspirations.” San Francisco Chronicle, August 9, 2011.

“The return of Baby Peggy, the last silent film star.” Open Salon, August 4, 2011.

“He Who Gets Slapped.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Summer 2011.
— program essay in festival booklet

“He Who Gets Slapped.” San Francisco Chronicle, July 4, 2011.

“Reading the stars: books from old Hollywood.” San Francisco Chronicle, June 27, 2011.

“Marc Ribot accompanies Chaplin’s The Kid.” examiner.com, March 14, 2011. 

“Sherlock Holmes vs Herlock Sholmes” examiner.com, December 24, 2010.

“Italian Straw Hat to screen in Sacramento with Orchestra.” examiner.com, December 13, 2010.

“Two New Releases Show Genius of Charlie Chaplin.” Huffington Post, November 24, 2010.

“Vernon Dent shines with new book, screenings in Niles in November.” examiner.com, November 4, 2010.

“Valley of the Giants.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, October 26, 2010.

“Early Warner Bros. Studios.” examiner.com, October 12, 2010.
— book review

“Kevin Brownlow talks about archives and Louise Brooks.” examiner.com, September 29, 2010.

“The Remarkable Life of Valeska Gert.”Huffington Post, September 24, 2010.

“Six questions with novelist Glen David Gold.” San Francisco Silewnt Film Festival blog, September 15, 2010.

“An encounter with a curious character.” Open Salon, September 14, 2010.
— about F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre; a Salon editor’s pick

“Rare Oscar to a Film Historian… and the Award Goes to Kevin Brownlow.” Huffington Post, August 31, 2010.

“The Secret Historian and the Silent Film Star: One Was Gay.”Huffington Post, August 31, 2010.
— commented on by New York Times critic Dave Kehr;  referenced on the Smithsonian magazine blog; and footnoted in Joseph A. Boone’s The Homoerotics of Orientalism (Columbia University Press, 2014); this article led the publisher, Farrar, Strauss & Giroux to revise later editions of the book

“First Ever Oscar to a Film Historian Goes to Kevin Brownlow.” examiner.com, August 27, 2010.
— this piece was archived on nitrateville.com

“New Chaplin book by Kevin Brownlow.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, August 15, 2010.

“G.W. Pabst: A Film Director for All Seasons.”Huffington Post, July 13, 2010.

“George O’Brien – a man’s man in Hollywood.” examiner.com, July 10, 2010.  

“Daisy D’Ora, one-time German actress, dies at age 97.” examiner.com, June 27, 2010.

“Remembering H.A.V. Bulleid, Author and Pioneering Film Historian.” Huffington Post, June 14, 2010.

“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea resurfaces in San Francisco.” examiner.com, May 3, 2010.

“Georges Méliès – Cinemagician of early movies.” examiner.com, April 23, 2010.
 — this DVD review was also archived on nitrateville.com

“Starstruck : Vintage Movie Posters from Classic Hollywood.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, April 20, 2010.
— book review

“Exploring the avant-garde, or Weldon Kees where are you?” examiner.com, April 7, 2010.
— DVD reviews

“A Century of Cinema (in Sacramento).” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, March 31, 2010.

“Anna May Wong.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, March 22, 2010.

“Edison’s Frankenstein – It’s Alive.” examiner.com, March 18, 2010.
— book review

“Miss Mend is masterful melodramatic mash-up.” examiner.com, March 16, 2010.
— DVD review

“Silent-era actress Dorothy Janis dies at age 100.” examiner.com, March 12, 2010.

“Mack Sennett’s fun factory.” examiner.com, March 9, 2010.
— book review

“The personal touch, with smallpox.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, March 2, 2010.

“Robert Birchard’s universal history.” examiner.com, February 23, 2010.
— profile / book review

“Silent Film Festival to screen restored Metropolis this summer.” examiner.com, February 17, 2010.

“Silent film star Karl Dane revealed in new book.” examiner.com, February 15, 2010.

“Kevin Brownlow’s Photoplay Productions now online.” examiner.com, February 10, 2010.
— Six months after I wrote “Someday, Brownlow should be given an honorary Oscar for all that he has done,” he became the first film historian given an Academy Award.

“Image magazine, and the GEH.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, February 9, 2010.

“Early Westerns featured in new book.” examiner.com, January 21, 2010.
— review of Western Film Series of the Sound Era by Michael R. Pitts

“Early Frank Capra films featured in Berkeley.” examiner.com, January 14, 2010.

“New book on Edison’s Frankenstein.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, January 11, 2010.

“Screen hero Richard Dix celebrated in Niles.” examiner.com, January 8, 2010.

“J’Accuse – masterpiece not to be missed.” examiner.com, December 10, 2009.

“Considering Abel Gance.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, December 9, 2009.

“When Chang came to town.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog, December 3, 2009.
— see also “When Chang came to town, part two”

“Stuart Oderman: talking to the piano player.” examiner.com, November 22, 2009.

“Francis X. Bushman – King of the Movies revealed in new book.” examiner.com, November 6, 2009.
— review of King of the Movies: Francis X. Bushman by Lon and Debra Davis

“Celebrating Carla Laemmle and early Universal.” examiner.com, October 28, 2009.

“Sad tale of Oakland comedian told in new book.” examiner.com, October 8, 2009.
— my review of this biography of Lloyd Hamilton was archived on nitrateville.com

“Anna May Wong documentary at film festival.” examiner.com, September 16, 2009.
— this piece, like others, were syndicated aggregated hijacked by World News network

“Six silent film stars in need of a biography.” examiner.com, September 6, 2009.
— this piece was archived on nitrateville.com

“Silent films show in Berkeley.” examiner.com, August 15, 2009.
— about The Salvation Hunters (1925)

“Bardeleys the Magnificent is that.” examiner.com, August 11, 2009.

“Black Pirate screens in San Jose with Dennis James on organ.” examiner.com, August 6, 2009.

“From silents to sound – book details tipping point in Hollywood history.” examiner.com, June 16, 2009.
— review of Silents to Sound: A Biographical Encyclopedia of Performers Who Made the Transition to Talking Pictures, by Roy Liebman

“Reviving the art of silent film, one note at a time.” examiner.com, May 25, 2009.
— interview with musician Dennis James

“The Silent Cinema in Song.” examiner.com, May 19, 2009.
— book review of The Silent Cinema in Song, 1896 – 1929, by Ken Wlaschin

“Chaplin biographer to speak in San Francisco.” examiner.com, May 8, 2009.

“Emil Petaja.” Classic Images, October 2000.
— obituary of the noted writer & film collector

 “A Window into Old Hollywood: Three Biographies.” Booksense.com, August, 2000.
book reviews

#WorldBookDay2021 the Louise Brooks biography by Barry Paris

Today is World Book Day. #WorldBookDay2021 And so, I thought I would post something about my favorite book, which it turns out, is the reason why I started this blog ever so long ago. But first a short something about books in my early life....

When I was a teenager, I had a couple of jobs. I went to a private high school, and payed my own tuition. I also saved up for college. With my extra spending money I bought books, usually one a week, at the local B. Dalton, which was located in a nearby shopping mall named Eastland. I grew-up in Harper Woods, an uneventful suburb of Detroit, and besides the local public library -- which I rode my bicycle to on a regular basis -- the local B. Dalton comprised my entry into the world of books. I liked to read books, and I liked to browse books. I was a nerdy kid. Books, and the worlds they represented, were what I had going on.

Three of the books which had the biggest impact on my life I came across as a teenager. They are Walden, by Henry David Thoreau; the Collected Stories of Franz Kafka; and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I can't remember exactly how I came across the first two. Like most teens, I was idealistic, and that's what likely led me to Thoreau and his literary philosophy. I also used to tune into radio documentaries broadcast on the CBC out of Canada, which was just across the Detroit river. That's likely how I first heard about Kafka, a strange and awkward fellow who no doubt appealed to the awkwardness I felt as a young person. I also recall, quite vividly, having seen Truffaut's terrific film of Fahrenheit 451 broadcast on Canadian television, channel 9 out of Windsor. It made a big impression, and that's what led me to read Bradbury's great novel. I still have those same books I bought ever so long ago. They remain favorites.

My interest in Thoreau led me to another book which I still own and which also made a big impact on my life. That book was a biography, The Days of Henry David Thoreau, by Walter Harding. I recall reading it and when I came to the end of the book and the end of Thoreau's life, I cried. Perhaps I shouldn't admit it, as it may make me look foolish -- a teenage boy crying in his basement at the death of someone from long ago. Of course, intellectually, I knew Thoreau was dead. He died in 1862, more than 100 years before I was born. But emotionally, while reading Harding's beautifully told story of one man's life, I became so involved in Thoreau that I thought it was unfair that he was taken from the world.

Walter Harding was a great Thoreau scholar, and the author or editor of a shelf-full of books on the solitary transcendentalist. Not only did his The Days of Henry David Thoreau have a big impact on me, it also got me hooked on biographies. Some people enjoy reading fiction, or poetry, or true crime books, or history or sci-fi. As a genre, I really like biographies. A great biography -- an empathetic biography well told, can put you into the shoes of another and in some small way let you experience another time and place. Harding's book did that for me as a teen, and it lead to a longstanding interest in 19th century New England and the writers of the American Renaissance. One of the highlights of my life was a trip to Concord, Massachusetts where I visited Walden Pond, the Alcott House, Emerson's house, Hawthorne's house, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, etc.... 

There have been other biographies which I have greatly enjoyed, like Neil Baldwin's Man Ray: American Artist and Mark Polizzotti's Revolution of the Mind: The Life of André Breton. Each tie-into my love of surrealism. But none after the Harding biography of Thoreau have had as large an impact on  my life as has Barry Paris' biography of Louise Brooks. I first read Paris' book in the early 1990s, a few years after it was published and not long after I had first watched a rented VHS of Pandora's Box. I had to find out more about more about the actress who played Lulu! Paris' book was not so much the answer to my many questions, but the perfect book at just the right time in my life. It started me on a quest to explore all I can about Brooks and her life and times, which of course has led me toward even more areas of interests -- from silent film and the Jazz Age to Denishawn and the culture of Weimar Germany. 

I have written and blogged about the Barry Paris biography in the past. And as I have said in the past, the Barry Paris biography of Louise Brooks is the best biography I have ever read and the best biography I will ever read. The San Francisco Chronicle used to run a small feature called "What's Your Most Treasured?" They recruited local personalities (like Isabel Allende, the celebrated novelist, or Craig Newmark, the founder of Craig's list, or Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the late poet) to pen a few words about books that mattered to the contributor. In 2011, they asked me to contribute a piece. I wrote about the Barry Paris biography, a book I had first read nearly twenty years earlier.

I am not the only one who appreciates this book. It was widely and well reviewed when it was first published in 1989. And not just in film journals, but also in the mainstream press like the New York Times. And not just by film critics, but also by literary writers like the novelist Angela Carter and the sci-fi writer Fritz Leiber Jr. The Paris book enjoyed good sales, and went into paperback and sold steadily for a few years until it eventually went out of print in the late 1990s.

I launched the Louise Brooks Society and its website in 1995, and would occasionally hear from fans wanting to know were they could purchase the biography of Brooks. More than once, but trying not to be a nuisance, I wrote to Random House and Barry Paris' editor urging them to bring the book back into print, but to no avail. I believed in this book, but I was just one voice. It was early on in the development of the internet, and petition drives were the thing. I figured I would try my hand at a bit of cultural activism, and launched an online petition drive through the Louise Brooks Society to bring the Barry Paris biography back into print. And it worked!

Sometime in 1999 or 2000, the rights to both the Barry Paris biography and Brooks' own Lulu in Hollywood (which had also fallen out of print) were sold to the University of Minnesota Press and their burgeoning series of books on the movies. And both were brought back into print in shiny new editions! And what's more, I and the Louise Brooks Society were acknowledged in each of the new editions. I was proud. I was pleased for Brooks' many fans and many new fans. And I felt I had done some good about something I cared about.

At the time, I was working in a San Francisco bookshop where I arranged and hosted the store's many author events. As a thank you and an acknowledgement for my efforts, the University of Minnesota Press agreed to send Barry Paris from his home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to San Francisco for a special author event. This was very unusual, as his book was an older title and from a relatively small university press. Such expense, and what profit could there be? But I made it work. The store drew a good size crowd (I recall a couple came all the way from Los Angeles) and we sold lots of books, at least 100 signed copies went out the door or were mailed off to fans around the country. Incidentally, I had been in touch with the press since then, and was told in the years following their re-release of the books that each of these two titles was among the press' best backlist selling books. And they are still in print today.

I had met Barry Paris once before, in 1998. It was a thrill and a pleasure and an honor. He is a good guy, and I was pleased to meet one of my heroes. Then, he signed a copy of my hardback first edition of his biography, inscribing it to me and my wife as the "Tsar and Tsarina of the Louise Brooks Society." However, it was at that later event in 2000 that he so graciously signed my original softcover reading copy of his book - the biography that has and still does mean so much to me that I have spent 25 years learning all that I can about my favorite silent film star. In my book Barry wrote "For Thomas - who resurrected me & LB the way Tynan did in the New Yorker." I almost cried.

I love books. All kinds of books. They have had a big influence on my life, and in fact, it was the Barry Paris biography that brought my wife and I together. But then, that is a story for another day. . . .

Update on Around the World with Louise Brooks, forthcoming in 2021 provided we all survive the pandemic

At the beginning of this year, I was determined to finish my book project, Around the World with Louise Brooks, by the end of the year. I had by then accumulated a few hundred pages of draft material, and was managing to keep a steady, near daily pace of writing and editing, selecting images, fact checking, and writing and editing. And then the pandemic struck. . . . And despite the fact that I was sticking close to home and had extra time on my hands, anxiety about the future (and Trump's grievous mishandling of just about everything) dampened my enthusiasm about nearly everything. A pall hung in the air. 

Work on the project slowed, and though I have made a good deal of progress, the finish line still looks a ways off. Alas, Around the World with Louise Brooks won't be completed by the end of the year. Thus, I am pushing back the book's expected publication date, to the Summer or Fall of 2021. That should give me the time and the (mental) space to complete this large work, my most ambitious project yet. With that said, I wanted to give everyone an update on where things stand, and to share a bit of what I have so far accomplished. I hope you will be intrigued. 

As I have mentioned previously, Around the World with Louise Brooks will be a two volume work. Each thick volume will be oversized, measuring 8 x 10 inches. The first volume will be devoted to "The Actress," and the second volume to "The Films". I expect each to run around 450 to 500 pages, perhaps more, with each featuring hundreds of images and some 50,000+ words of text. Lately, I have been concentrating on the first volume, and have put together 45,000 words of text spread over 469 pages. For the second volume, I have less accomplished but still have 20,000 words written and 484 pages compiled. Always in fear of project creep, I am trying to keep everything in focus, and I may end up cutting things here and there. Here are the expected covers for each volume.

 

At this reduced size, the background text on each cover is a little hard to make out. However, I can tell you that the background text design is based on material drawn from each book. The text on the cover of volume one features variant versions of Brooks' name from around the world, while volume two features alternative foreign titles for Brooks' films. What follows is some descriptive copy I wrote about each book.

Around the World with Louise Brooks (volume 1), The Actress  

Louise Brooks was known by many names: in Czechoslovakia she was Louise Brooksová, in Latvia Luīze Bruksa, in Russia Луиза Брукс, and in Spain the more familiar Luisa Brooks, except in Catalonia where she was sometimes Loma Brooks. 

Around the World with Louise Brooks is a groundbreaking, two-volume, multilingual look at the life and career of an international icon. Through ephemera and hundreds of vintage magazine and newspaper clippings, this first volume traces the sometimes surprising way the actress was depicted in more than four dozen countries across six continents. Along with collecting dozens of vintage postcards and just as many magazine covers, this volume sketches Brooks' special relationship with Canada, notes her depiction as Modan Gāru in Japan, and documents her inclusion in New Zealand's unique shaped text ads, while a chapter on the United States locates the actress in the pages of America’s non-English ethnic and émigré press. Among the book's many highlights – many of which have not been seen in decades – are Brooks' first portrait in a European publication (dating from before her movie career), her 1929 message to her Japanese fans, and the only known advertisements for King of Gamblers which name the actress – despite the fact she had been cut from American prints of the film. Suggesting she might have included in overseas prints ... ? Around the World with Louise Brooks is a cinematic gazetteer of sorts, taking readers back in time to Australia, Brazil, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Romania, Uruguay and elsewhere.

The chapters in volume one are:

 1    Introduction   
 2    European Soul   
 3    Portrait of a Star   
 4    Postcards of a Star   
 5    Mit Anderen Worten: Louise Brooks en los Estados Unidos
 6    Canada: Neighbor to the North   
 7    New Zealand’s Shaped Text Ads
 8    Louise Brooks as Modan Gāru   
 9    Trade Ads from Around the World     
10   Magazine Covers                 
11   Odds & Ends              
12   Further 

Around the World with Louise Brooks (volume 2), The Films 

Louise Brooks' films were shown just about everywhere – in the Canary Islands, in Iceland and Palestine and Estonia, in Dutch Guiana and French Algeria and British Malaysia. BUT, not all of her films where shown everywhere, and not at the same time, and not under the same title.

Around the World with Louise Brooks is a groundbreaking, two-volume, multilingual look at the transnational career of iconic actress. Through various documents as well as hundreds of vintage newspaper and magazine clippings, this second volume focuses on each of Brooks’ 24 movies, showing when and where and under what title each were shown – from grand movie palaces in Berlin and Bombay to humble open air spaces in Singapore and Darwin (Australia). The little known though rich exhibition history of the German-made Pandora’s Box, the actress’ greatest screen triumph, is newly documented through scarce material from Cuba, Indonesia, Japan, Poland, Portugal, and the Soviet Union. Also well represented are Brooks’ two other European films, Diary of a Lost Girl and the French-made Prix de beauté, each of which circulated with success in Asia and Latin America, with the latter making its way to Haiti, Turkey, Ukraine, and even Madagascar. Along with little seen movie posters from Belgium and Sweden, one of this book's other highlights include a rare still of Brooks in an uncredited part in her first film which was published not in the United States, but elsewhere; there are, as well, newspaper ads documenting the last known public screenings (sometimes years after their first release) of the actress’ now lost movies. Around the World with Louise Brooks is a kind of cinematic travel guide, taking readers not only around the world but also back in time to Argentina, Bulgaria, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, India, Jamaica, Mexico, and South Africa – as well as to nations which no longer exist and countries yet to be born.

The chapters in volume two are:

 1    Introduction
 2    The Films Around the World
 3    The Street of Forgotten Men
 4    The American Venus through The Show-Off
 5    Love Em and Leave Em and Just Another Blonde
 6    The Four Films from 1927    
 7    A Girl in Every Port through The Canary Murder Case
 8    The Three European Films
 9    Into the Sound Era: The Films of the 1930s  
 10  Further

This two page spread from Around the World with Louise Brooks shows four Dutch-language newspaper ads which were part of a week-long advertising campaign on the island of Java in the Dutch East Indies (present day Indonesia).

Louise Brooks was and still is an international star. And though it borders on being a cliché, it’s true that this singular actress is more popular and better regarded in Europe than she is in the United States, the country of her birth and the place where she made the majority of her films. 

 

With Around the World with Louise Brooks, my intention is to tell the story of Brooks and her career not as it is usually told – not as Barry Paris so masterly tells it in his acclaimed 1989 biography – but differently, though the collective voice of the world. Gathered in these two volumes are newspaper and magazine articles, advertisements, and clippings of all kinds as well as various examples of material culture (postcards, posters, sheet music, publicity manuals and other ephemera) which document the mechanics of Brooks’ stardom. The actress’ international reputation – both popular and critical, is surveyed, as is the manner in which her films were exhibited and reviewed in numerous countries on six continents. 

This "where are they now" type piece comes
from Chile, and is dated to 1932.

Each volume contains more than a handful of images which few if anyone has seen in nearly 90 years. Volume one features rare portraits and productions shots taken in Europe as well as more than 80 different postcards, cigarette cards and other product cards of the actress and more than 70 vintage magazine covers from nearly 20 countries. Volume two includes a full record of all of the alternative / overseas / foreign language titles of Brooks' films, something never before fully documented. As volume two also documents, Brooks' American films were not released overseas on their American release dates; in fact, they were released on different dates in different countries and sometimes one or two or even three years after they were first released in the United States! And sometimes, they were released out of order, with a 1927 films showing ahead of a 1926 film. And sometimes, they were advertised with different artwork, some of it originating overseas, making it a bit different if not unique. (Or in other words, American films were tailored to the audiences to the audiences to which they were shown.)

Most importantly, film titles were often but not always translated into the local language, and sometimes wholly different titles were given to a film. Take for example 1926 film, The American Venus. In England, it was sometimes shown under its American title, but also under The Modern Venus, a significant tweak which might well have been intended to broaden the film's appeal. Another example is Now We're in the Air, the 1927 film starring Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton. The two actors had teamed up for a series of popular comedies, and as a buffoonish duo had earned the nicknames Riff and Raff. In many Spanish speaking countries, the film went by the title Reclutas por los aires, which translates into English as “Recruits in the air.” Similarly, in Sweden, the film was shown under the title Hjältar i luften, which translates into English as “Heroes in the air.” Both of these titles are not so different from the film’s American title. However, in other European countries, the title of the film was changed to some variation on the nicknames of the two main characters. In Austria, Now We're in the Air was shown as Riff und Raff als Luftschiffer, in Greece under the title O Riff kai o Raff aeroporoi, in Romania as Riff es Raffal a foszerepekben, etc…. Notably, I also found that a few films were shown under two or even three alternate titles, and sometimes in different languages in the same country, as when Brooks’ American films was shown in Poland under both a Polish and a German title depending on the ethnicity of the region. In compiling a record of the titles of Brooks’ films in other languages, I never translated a title from English and assumed it was the title used in the past. Instead, I have relied solely on the actual titles found in vintage articles, reviews, or advertisements.

Europe is best represented in these two volumes, with the most material coming from the two countries where Brooks was and still is best regarded, Germany and France. As well, there is a good deal of material from Latin America and the Caribbean, but not as much as I would like from Central America.  Japan and China, as well as Australia, are each well represented, though I wish I could uncover more from Southeast Asia. There are a few clippings from islands in the Pacific ocean. Africa and the Middle East are least represented for reasons I discuss in the book.

A rare German-language advertisement from the Free City of Danzig, present day Gdansk, Poland where the 1929 film Pandora's Box opened at the same time as the 1928 film A Girl in Every Port (Blaue Jungen - Blonde Madchen).

In fact, Around the World with Louise Brooks includes material from 50 of the 77 sovereign states recognized as independent nations in 1930. A few, like Czechoslovakia or Yugoslavia, have since split into two or more countries, while others have been renamed or, like the Free City of Danzig, no longer exist as an autonomous entity. Time has not only shifted borders, but also changed how we think of peoples and nations. Included in this two volume work is material from various colonies and protectorates administered by England, France, and The Netherlands – including India and French Indochina (present day Vietnam) and the Dutch East Indies (present day Indonesia). Additionally, there is a bit of material from territories under the control of the United States, such as the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the then territory of Hawai’i, and the Panama Canal Zone. 

In detailing Brooks' career, I have largely avoided material from the United States. The sole chapter on America, "Mit Anderen Worten: Louise Brooks en los Estados Unidos," is made up of material from non-English language publications – including the German, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese language press. Like their overseas counterparts, they too offered a different perspective. 

A New York City advertisement from the Jewish Daily Forward

Around the World with Louise Brooks includes all manner of new and unusual information. There is a record of Brooks' travels outside the United States, as well as a bibliographical essay highlighting her inclusion in a surprising number of books published in Europe and elsewhere. With various aspects of Brooks’ career newly revealed, a few commonly held beliefs are called into question. For example, how well received overseas were Brooks’ early American films? And was Brooks herself much noticed? Did director G.W. Pabst cast Brooks as Lulu after seeing her in the Howard Hawks film, A Girl in Every Port, as is often said, or was it some other film? Or not a film at all? (I uncovered a 50 year old account which sheds new light in this question.) Also, was Pandora’s Box as much a failure outside Germany as is sometimes thought? Was Diary of a Lost Girl completely withdrawn from view after it was first censored? Was Prix de beauté as much of an international failure as has also been suggested? And lastly, was it only in France where Brooks’ reputation was revived in the 1950s, or did other countries like Italy and Poland play a role?  Around the World with Louise Brooks sheds light on these questions and reveals a different Louise Brooks. 

Brooks was a significant star in Japan, where most all of her films were well advertised.
Around the World with Louise Brooks contains a number of similar ads, each boldly graphical.