Street of Forgotten Men shows at Cinefest in Syracuse

Cinefest, an annual movie convention held in Syracuse, New York is set to screen one of the more unusual films from the silent era, Herbert Brenon's The Street of Forgotten Men (1925). Long thought lost, this "underworld romance" has seldom been seen since its debut 87 years ago. The Library of Congress holds one of the only surviving prints, and representatives of the LOC will bring their copy to Cinefest for this rare screening.

Described at the time as "strange and startling" and "a drama of places and of people you have never seen before," The Street of Forgotten Men tells the story of a gang of professional beggars whose underworld headquarters is known as a "cripple factory." Led by the colorfully named Easy Money Charlie (played by Percy Marmont), the gang preys on public sympathy by disfiguring themselves and feigning various disabilities. 

The Street of Forgotten Men also tells the story of a Bowery Cinderella, played by winsome Mary Brian, whose life is linked to these con artists as well as to a young millionaire, played by handsome Neil Hamilton. (Yes, that Neil Hamilton –  Commissioner Gordon from the 1960's television series, Batman.)

Set in the Bowery and shot in part on the streets of New York City, the film is a mix of old-fashioned melodrama and gritty realism. It was based on a short story by George Kibbe Turner, a muckraking journalist and novelist of the time. In its review of the film, the New York Daily News stated "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." On the other coast, the San Francisco Bulletin noted "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."

The film's most unusual scenes occur when this band of beggars check into work and are fitted with fake bandages, artificial arms and legs, false high heeled shoes and other trick paraphernalia for the luring of sympathetic coins into battered tin cups. Canes and crutches along with signs that read "I Am Blind" and "Please help a cripple" lend atmosphere to the group's "changing room." According to studio press sheets, a mendicant officer and 20-year veteran of the Brooklyn Bureau of Charity served as advisor for scenes shot inside the dingy cripple factory.

Though the film and its source material was a look back at the Bowery and the practices of the disreputable down-and-out, a 1926 article in the New York Times reported that the film may have in turn inspired a group of fake beggars. "The police are investigating the speakeasy. It was recalled that several months ago a motion picture, The Street of Forgotten Men, . . . showed just such an establishment for equipping 'cripples' as that described by Williams, and the police thought the movie idea might have been put to practical use."

Aside from its strangeness, there is much to recommend in The Street of Forgotten Men. The film was shot in the Astoria studios on Long Island, as well as on location in 1925 New York City. One memorable scene – when Marmont and Brian come across the character known as Bridgeport White-Eye – was filmed on a busy Fifth Avenue near Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Shot with a concealed camera, the unaware crowds passing on the street along with images of shops and businesses from long ago – including a vegetarian restaurant – prove striking. According to press reports from the time – which should be taken with a grain of salt, the appearance of pathetic-looking actors dressed in disheveled attire drew spontaneous donations from passers-by not realizing a motion picture was being filmed. Another memorable scene with a good deal of local color takes place at the still standing Little Church Around the Corner on East 29th.

Two performers not listed in the film's credits also made their mark in The Street of Forgotten Men. One was a dog named Lassie. (This bull terrier-cocker spaniel mix predated the more famous Collie.) 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." Regrettably, one of the seven reels of The Street of Forgotten Men is missing, and not all of Lassie's scenes are extant. 

The other performer who made an impression was Louise Brooks, who was dancing with the Ziegfeld Follies when she agreed to play a bit part in The Street of Forgotten Men. Though not credited, the film marked her screen debut. As a moll, Brooks' role was slight – she appears on screen for only about 5 minutes. Nevertheless, her brief role drew the attention of an anonymous Los Angeles Times reviewer who singled out the actress when they wrote, "And there was a little rowdy, obviously attached to the 'blind' man, who did some vital work during her few short scenes." This was Brooks' first film review.

Like the film, the director of The Street of Forgotten Men has fallen into the shadows of history. Herbert Brenon enjoyed a long career which lasted from 1912 to 1940, but today he is one of those early directors who is largely forgotten though deserving of greater recognition. The Street of Forgotten Men was made shortly after Brenon made the film for which he is best remembered, Peter Pan (1924). His other notable efforts include The Spanish Dancer (1923) with Pola Negri, Dancing Mothers (1926) with Clara Bow, Beau Geste (1926), The Great Gatsby (1926), God Gave Me Twenty Cents (1926), and Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928) with Lon Chaney. All were big hits.

Though little known today, The Street of Forgotten Men was well regarded in its day. Marmont, a leading star of the silent era, was singled out for his exceptional Lon Chaney-like performance, and director Brenon was praised for his realistic depiction of Bowery life. The National Board of Review named the film one of the best pictures of 1925, and it was picked as one of the best of the year by newspapers around the country. This rare screening gives Cinefest attendees an opportunity to see a film which should be on DVD.

Something about RadioLulu you'll want to read

Here's the latest on RadioLulu....

RadioLulu is a Louise Brooks-inspired, silent film-themed station streaming music of the 1920s, 1930s, and today. Located on the web at www.live365.com/stations/radiolulu — RadioLulu features music from the films of the silent and early sound era, as well as recordings by early stars, show tunes, a little sweet jazz, cabaret artists, contemporary tracks and more. In addition, there are theme songs, novelty numbers, torch singers and crooners — as well as a numerous tracks with “Lulu” or “LouLou” in the title. And of course, there’s Maurice Chevalier’s much-loved “Louise”. All together, RadioLulu features more than 430 tracks totaling almost 23 hours!

Music has played a significant role in the life and films of Louise Brooks. (Remember, “Silent films were never silent.”) And that’s why RadioLulu was started, as a means of sharing some of the many rare related recordings collected by the Louise Brooks Society.

Launched in 2002, this unique station features music from five of Brooks’ films — the haunting themes from Beggars of Life (1928) and Prix de Beauté (1930), as well as musical passages from The Canary Murder Case (1929), Empty Saddles (1936), and Overland Stage Raiders (1938). On RadioLulu, you’ll also hear the familiar “Sidewalks of New York” (played on the set of The Street of Forgotten Men), as well as John Philip Sousa’s “Atlantic City Beauty Pageant” (written for the Miss America contest seen in The American Venus). There are also vintage recordings by Brooks’ screen co-stars, Adolphe Menjou, Noah Beery, Blanche Ring (aunt of husband Eddie Sutherland), Esther Ralston, Dorothy Mackaill, James Hall, Lawrence Gray,  Frank Fay, Joan Blondell, and Buck Jones. Similarly, Brooks’ European co-stars are represented by recordings from Siegfried Arno (Pandora’s Box), Kurt Gerron (Diary of a Lost Girl), and Andre Roanne (Prix de Beauté). Each recording is a rarity.

There are vintage tracks associated with Brooks’ brief time with the Ziegfeld Follies, including a handful of recordings by performers who shared the stage with the actress, such as Ethel Shutta, Leon Erroll, and the great W.C. Fields.

RadioLulu also features songs by Brooks’ friends and acquaintances, as well as individuals she worked with over the years. Actress Tallulah Bankhead, torch singer Libby Holman, chanteuse Lucienne Boyer, bandleader Emil Coleman, and nightclub owner Bruz Fletcher are all included. Other tracks associated with the actress heard on RadioLulu include George Gershwin’s “Somebody Loves Me” (her favorite Gershwin song), Xavier Cugat’s “Siboney” (recommended by Brooks in her book, Fundamentals of Ballroom Dancing), and two numbers by Sid Kay’s Fellows (the jazz band seen playing at the wedding reception in Pandora’s Box). Also, there’s Ross Berkal’s latter day tribute, “MLB (for Louise Brooks)”. Berkal, who is mentioned in the Barry Paris biography and is a longtime member of the Louise Brooks Society, was friendly with Brooks later in her life.

Some of the many tributes to the actress by contemporary recording artists are also played on RadioLulu. They include Natalie Merchant, Rufus Wainwright, Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark (OMD), John Zorn, Sarah Azzara, and Soul Coughing. Even famed cartoonist Robert Crumb is heard on “Chanson pour Louise Brooks”.

Recordings by early Hollywood figures such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Lupe Velez, Bebe Daniels, Clara Bow, Norma Talmadge, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson and Joan Crawford are also streamed. So are recordings by later stars Buddy Rogers, Claudette Colbert, David Manners, Jean Harlow, Paulette Goddard, Barbara Stanwyck, and Dorothy Lamour. A few of the European actors and actresses heard on the station are Brigitte Helm, Camilla Horn, Anny Ondra, Conrad Veidt, Pola Negri, and Marlene Dietrich (notably her early German-language recordings).

Gloria Swanson is one of the many silent and early film stars featured on RadioLulu.

Among others, Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell are heard singing the classic “If I Had A Talking Picture Of You,” one of a number of movie-related songs heard on RadioLulu. There’s also “Take Your Girlie to the Movies,” “At the Moving Picture Ball,” “Hollywood Stomp” and “Hooray for Hollywood,” as well as rare vintage songs about Chaplin, Garbo, Keaton, and Zasu Pitts. And don’t miss H. Robinson Cleaver’s “Grace Moore Medley”, Fred Bird & Luigi Bernauer’s “Hallo Hallo Hier Radio”, and Jack Hylton and His Orchestra’s “My brother makes the noises for the talkies”.

What else is heard on RadioLulu? Tune in to hear Constance Bennett sing “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, or Alice White & Blanche Sweet sing “There’s A Tear For Every Smile in Hollywood” (from the soundtrack to Showgirl in Hollywood). The Waldorf-Astoria Dance Orchestra perform “The Vamp”, Nate Shilkret plays “Flapperette”, and Marion Harris sings “I’m a Jazz Vampire”. Regulations regarding radio station identification are given by none other than Cary Grant, co-star of the 1937 Brooks’ film, When You’re in Love.

And that’s not all…. You’ll hear James P. Johnson’s “You’ve Got to be Modernistic”, the Coon-Sanders Nighthawks’ recording of “Louise, You Tease”, as well as a handful of different recordings of both “Don’t Bring Lulu” and “Lulu’s Back in Town”. All will delight. RadioLulu plays Ragtime, dance bands, Big Bands, hotel orchestras, standards, swing, and some real hot jazz, including such popular hits as the “Charleston”, “Black Bottom”, and “Varsity Rag”. There are also sentimental favorites like “Stardust” and “As Time Goes By”.

Among the unusual European tracks streamed on RadioLulu are little heard gems from the 1930s Polish chanteuse Hanka Ordonówna as well as the Gershwin of Czechoslovakia, Jaroslav Jezek, a stirring number by the great British cinema organist Sidney Torch, and a 1929 recording of the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht singing “Mack the Knife”. Also heard are one-time models Suzy Solidor and Kiki of Montparnasse. Both posed for the surrealist photographer Man Ray, an  admirer of Louise Brooks.

RadioLulu features many of the leading stars of the 1920s and 1930s — Rudy Vallee, Russ Colombo, Ben Selvin, Fred Waring, Ted Weems, Paul Whiteman, Annette Hanshaw, Helen Kane, Mildred Bailey, Lee Wiley, Ruth Etting, Kay Thompson, and Frankie Trumbauer, as well as Josephine Baker, Django Rheinhart, and Mistinguett. There are also rarely heard artists like the Eskimo Pie Orchestra and the Brox Sisters, as well as Scrappy Lambert, Fred Elizalde, and Dorothy Dickson. You never know what will turn up on this eclectic, always entertaining station.

There is nothing else quite like RadioLulu. Over the years, it has gained many fans and listeners. Famed film critic Leonard Maltin rated it a “Wow.” Louise Brooks devotee and celebrated Dr. Who actor Paul McGann called it “incredible.” The Pulitzer-Prize winning graphic novelist Art Spiegelman (author of Maus) said he has tuned-in on a number of occasions. As has the award-winning science fiction writer Richard Kadrey. And would you believe the retro Spanish pop/swing/rock group Radio Lulu named themselves after the station?

Listen today by clicking on the widget above. Be sure to follow RadioLulu on Twitter and Facebook. And check out the RadioLulu wish list on Amazon.com

There is a lot of great music on RadioLulu. Along with George Jessel’s narrative history of “The Roaring Twenties 1920-1929″ and such famous names as Duke Ellington, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and Benny Goodman, here are ten tracks you won’t want to miss: “Makin’ Whoopee” by B.A. Rolfe & His Lucky Strike Orchestra, “Runnin’ Wild” by Isabella Patricola, “The Sheik of Araby” by Fats Waller, and “Puttin on the Ritz” by Harry Richman, as well as “You Oughta be In Pictures” by Little Jack Little & His Orchestra, “Singin’ In The Rain” by Cliff Edwards (Ukulele Ike), “Slumming On Park Avenue” by Alice Faye, “Ramona” by Dolores Del Rio, and on a more contemporary note, “Lulu” by Twiggy (the 1960’s supermodel), and “I’m In Love With A German Film Star” by The Passions.

RadioLulu needs your help. Consider becoming an underwriter: the Louise Brooks Society pays $120.00 annually to stream this unique online station. That amount includes licensing fees associated with broadcasting music over the web through LIve365. Show your support by paying for part or a full year’s broadcast. Individuals who make a donation will be acknowledged on this page and on the RadioLulu homepage.  (Full or partial underwriting for the current year is available.) To help underwrite RadioLulu send an email or join the LBS as a contributing member. // Or, consider purchasing a CD for RadioLulu from its Amazon.com wish list. It will be used in adding additional tracks to the station. Thank you for your interest in Louise Brooks, RadioLulu and the Louise Brooks Society.

Something of a Mystery: Religious Interest in a Louise Brooks Silent Film

 
As readers of this blog likely know, I am working on a book titled The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. It is coming along well. I have some 60,000 words completed scattered across some 270 pages - the book will be heavily illustrated. I also have a draft cover, which is shown below.

In the course of my research I have come across something of a mystery, that is, religious interest in The Street of Forgotten Men. I suppose it makes sense in a way, as the Herbert Brenon film has as themes the notions of self-sacrifice and redemption. But I wonder, were other films, besides Cecil B. de Mille's The Ten Commandments, subject to similar interest? 

In the course of my research I have found that the Herbert Brenon film was shown in churches on a few occasions; it was also the inspiration for sermons, and most perplexing of all, there were stereopticon slides reportedly illustrating scenes from the film which churches could get a hold of and show as a visual aid while a pastor delivered a related lecture. Who made these slides? Where did they come from? And what's more, a few weeks before the film's debut at the Rivoli theater in Nedw York City, director Herbert Brenon gave something of a sneak peak look at the film inside a church!

Might anyone know anything more about this sort of thing - churches showing films? And might anyone know anything more about the source and nature of the illustrated slides shown in churches, which turn out to be mostly Congregational. (I had an email exchange with an historian of the Congregational church. But he too was stumped.)

What follows is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, which may provide some additional context with which to some this minor mystery. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.  My email address is LouiseBrooksSociety {at} gmailDOTcom

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Though The Street of Forgotten Men debuted at the Rivoli theater on July 19, 1925 that may not have been the first time the public got a look at the film, or parts of it. A few weeks prior to its debut, the film was the focus of an event at the Chelsea Methodist Episcopal Church in New York City. Newspaper descriptions of this June 28 event vary. According to a piece published in the New York Herald Tribune, “Scenes from the new picture, The Street of Forgotten Men, will be shown at the night service to-morrow.” The next day, the New York Times ran a somewhat different bit which stated, “Herbert Brenon, a director of motion pictures with the Paramount Picture Corporation, will describe a new picture, The Street of Forgotten Men, this evening at the ‘Happy Sunday Evening’ service.”

The Church that hosted the event was headed by the Reverend Dr. Christian F. Reisner, a well-known preacher sometimes described as “colorful.” Reisner was an exponent of so-called new methods, and believed in showmanship when it came to preaching. After the first World War, he penned a syndicated article which stated religion should take pointers from the theater, suggesting the ablest sermons may be staged behind the footlights. He also authored books with titles like The Church as a Social Center and Church Publicity: the modern way to compel them to come in. A few weeks prior to the June 28 event, Reisner was the subject of some press attention when he proposed building a skyscraper dedicated to Christianity which was to be known as the Broadway temple. 

Given the subject of The Street of Forgotten Men, the June 28 event may have served as a lure to bring in donations toward Reisner’s ambitious building plans – which included housing and services for the poor. Whatever its intention, there is little known about the event itself. Either Brenon gave a short talk in which he described his “new picture,” or the director spoke and an unknown number of scenes from the film were shown. In either case, Brenon was on hand to introduce the film in what might amount to a kind of “sneak-peak.” Curiously, at the same event, Reisner also gave a short talk titled “Motion Picture Dangers.”

A few months later, the film was the focus of another event which occurred at the Lewis Avenue Congregational Church in Brooklyn. On October 18, the Rev. Allison Ray Heaps gave a “sermon lecture on The Street of Forgotten Men.” (Brenon was not known to have attended this event.) A brief article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle stated, “Lantern slides from the motion picture will be used to illustrate this story of the old Bowery life.” The Chat, another Brooklyn paper, also carried a piece on the Lewis Avenue sermon. In it, the local paper gave a description of the film which suggests what the various churches which put on similar events may have seen in Brenon’s production. “Sunday, evening 8 p.m., The Street of Forgotten Men. This is the story of a man living in the old Bowery of New York City who by a combination of the virtue of self-sacrifice and the spirit of unselfishness was able to rise into newness of life, realize an ideal, and render a service to his fellowmen. Percy Marmont impersonates the ‘forgotten man.’ The slides are from the motion picture production.” Notably, this event, which incorporated a slide show of unknown origin, took place during a week in which the film was showing in Brooklyn at four second run theaters, the Peerless, Ablemarie, Farragut, and Eden Movies.

The event at the Lewis Avenue Congregational Church was in all likelihood repeated a few weeks later, though at a different venue. On November 7, Universalist pastor Thomas Edward Potterton, D.D. gave an illustrated lecture on The Street of Forgotten Men at the Church of Our Father. (The following week, the two churches once more shared sermons and slide shows. On November 14, each presented a “colored lantern slide” retelling of Channing Pollock’s play, The Enemy.)

Church interest in The Street of Forgotten Men wasn’t limited to New York City or Brooklyn. Nor was it restricted to a lantern slide-sermon format. In fact, interest extended to the West Coast, and sometimes included either a straight-forward sermon or a screening of the actual film.

According to a short write-up in the Los Angeles Times, a well-known local pastor, Dr. G. A. Briegleb, was scheduled to deliver an evening sermon on “The Gold Rush and the Street of Forgotten Men” at the Westlake Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. Like Reverend Reisner of New York, Briegleb seemed to be a proponent of employing new methods in spreading the word. He also spoke on off-beat topics which hinged on the premise "what would Jesus do," as in what would Jesus do if he was on the city council, or owned a newspaper. The prelude sermon set to take place ahead of his October 10, 1925 sermon tied to “The Gold Rush and the Street of Forgotten Men” was "What Would Jesus Do if After Marriage He Discovered That He Was Wedded to the Wrong Woman?" 

A year later, another preacher and another church made use of the film. The Los Angeles Times reported “The motion picture The Street of Forgotten Men, and an address by Dr. James Lash will feature [at] the services tomorrow evening at the Hollywood Congregational Church. Salvador Baguez will be the soloist.” [Might Baguez also have accompanied the film? It is not known if these and other church screenings were silent, or featured musical accompaniment.]

An earlier screening of The Street of Forgotten Men inside a church took place in New Britain, Connecticut. The film itself had shown in New Britain in October, 1925 at the local Palace theater. Some six months later, it returned to town, where it was shown on a Sunday evening at the city’s historic South Church, then a Congregational denomination. A newspaper advertisement for the April 25, 1926 event billed the film as “A Picture of Unusual Human Interest.”

One of the last documented screenings of The Street of Forgotten Men in the United States also took place in a church. The Central Congregational Church in Atlanta, Georgia, whose services were headed by Witherspoon Dodge and described as “cheerful and refreshing,” occasionally showed films on Sunday evenings under the banner of “Religious Movies” or “Free Motion Pictures.” In 1928, the year the Atlanta church screened The Street of Forgotten Men, it also screened other popular pictures such as the Milton Stills, Doris Kenyon feature Men of Steel (1926), Reginald Deny’s Fast and Furious (1927), Raoul Walsh’s The Wanderer (1925), and the Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack adventure film Chang (1927). On April 29, the church screened The Street of Forgotten Men, believing, perhaps, its theme of self-sacrifice an uplifting one – or perhaps, the church simply hoped to draw new congregants by providing what it thought was wholesome entertainment. 

Generally speaking, most churches didn’t advertise their Sunday services in their local newspaper, so it is difficult to know just how many other churches either screened The Street of Forgotten Men, or made use of some form of the related, illustrated sermon / lecture. 

However, a few did advertise their church services, and in doing so, created a paper trail of sorts. The Street of Forgotten Men was the subject of Dr. J.R. Macartney’s Sunday morning sermon at the First Presbyterian church in Waterloo, Iowa on May 15, 1927. The North Congregational Church in Portsmouth, New Hampshire presented the film story, “illustrated by stereopticon,” on April 22, 1928, with this presentation being preceded by an organ recital. The Street of Forgotten Men was also the subject of an evening sermon at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Camden, New Jersey on September 16, 1928. And on April 28, 1929, a stereopticon lecture of The Street of Forgotten Men was given at the Congregational Church in Burlington, Vermont. 

In some communities, local newspapers published the text of sermons given at local churches. On October 28, 1929 the Rev. Walter Krumwiede gave a sermon at the Grace Lutheran Church in Rochester, New York which referenced the film, stating “Yet we know that there stretches through life a terrible highway called The Street of Forgotten Men, where countless numbers of defeated and enslaved men and women go, with weakness in their bodies, darkness in their mind, and terror in their soul.” This reference to the film within a sermon is among the early usages of the film's title as a colloquialism.

One last documented reference to the film occurred on January 24, 1934, when the Rev. C. H. Bloom, an evangelical, spoke on the subject of The Street of Forgotten Men at the Church of Christ in Sayre, Pennsylvania. As with these few others, his sermon received a short write-up in the local paper. Remarkably, this sermon took place nine years after the film was released, and some six years after its last documented screening in the United States.

This blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further use prohibited, especially by aggregators.

George Kibbe Turner, author of The Street of the Forgotten Men

On May 10th, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival will screen its new restoration of The Street of Forgotten Men - Louise Brooks' little seen first film. More information about that special event can be found HERE. 

This month, and ahead of that very special event, I thought to run a few excerpts from my forthcoming book, The Street of Forgotten Men, from Story to Screen and Beyond, which will be published later this year, hopefully. 

This excerpt focuses on author George Kibbe Turner, whose 1925 story "The Street of the Forgotten Men" was adapted as the 1925 film. Turner is an interesting figure in his own right, as a muckraking journalist, as a novelist and short story writer, and as Hollywood figure.

 # # #

George Kibbe Turner (1869-1952) was a well-regarded writer who first made his name as a muckraking journalist, and then as the author of a number of short stories and novels. Notably, between 1920 and 1932, nine of Turner’s stories were made into thirteen films. At the time, Turner’s renown was such that studios often evoked his name in their promotions and advertisements. (See Turner's IMDb page for more about his efforts in Hollywood.)

Turner began writing for magazines in his early twenties, while working as a journalist for the Springfield Republican in Massachusetts. By 1899, he had placed a small number of pieces in McClure's, a popular magazine which would soon publish his first novel, The Taskmaster (1902); at the time, The Nation described Turner’s debut as “thoughtful, eager, even impassioned.” 

In 1906, Turner was hired by McClure’s as a staff writer. His first major assignment was to report on the new form of municipal government set up in Galveston, Texas following the devastating hurricane of 1900. Turner's widely read article, “Galveston: A Business Corporation,” proved highly influential and helped secure his reputation. 

During his more than ten years with McClure’s, Turner made his name as one of the leading muckrakers, or muckraking journalists. His reform-minded contemporaries included Lincoln Steffens, Ida Tarbell, Frank Norris, Jacob Riis and most famously Upton Sinclair, author of The Jungle. Early on, Sinclair was a champion of Turner’s work. In 1922, Sinclair wrote “Ten or fifteen years ago this man used to write for McClure’s, and I think, for the American Magazine. At this time these magazines were honestly edited by independent and high minded men, and George Kibbe Turner was a ‘coming writer.’ I shall never forget some of his short stories, which were as good as anything published in the magazine in those days. There was a series of Wall Street stories, full of bitter, burning contempt for our money masters and their pride and pomp. There was another series called ‘Butterflies,’ dealing with the showgirls and artists’ models, and other poor feminine waifs of the great Metropolis of Mammon. They were full of human feeling and sympathetic insight into the plight of frail human creatures struggling to keep decent in a world which starved them into indecency. I wrote Turner several letters of friendly sympathy, and tried hard to find a book publisher for those stories.”

Turner’s journalism – which spotlighted the entanglement of local government and vice – included an exposé of drink, gambling, and prostitution titled “The City of Chicago: A Study of the Great Immoralities” (April 1907), as well as “The Daughters of the Poor: A Plain Story of the White Slave Trade under Tammany Hall” (November 1909). Each were widely read, each provoked controversy, and each stirred calls for action while effecting local politics.

With the decline in muckraking journalism, Turner returned to fiction. The stories and novels that followed – melodramatic and at times as provocative as his journalism, appeared in popular publications like the Saturday Evening Post, Atlantic Monthly, Red Book, and Woman’s Home Companion. Others were serialized in newspapers across the country. [A few of Turner's stories were also anthologized, and at least one or two were published in book form in Europe.]

Turner’s best-known novels include The Last Christian (1914), The Biography of a Million Dollars (1918), and Red Friday (1919) – the latter an early red-scare novel which warns of the dangers of Bolshevism when a Lenin-like character appears in America. There was also Hagar's Hoard (1920) – which follows the life of a Confederate miser amidst an outbreak of yellow fever, and White Shoulders (1921), a society drama in which a mother tries to marry off her daughter  to the highest bidder. The latter was made into a film, as were a number of other of Turner more sensational stories. Among them was Held in Trust (1920), a Metro release which starred May Allison.

First National adapted Turner’s 1922 story “Those Who Dance” – about a federal agent and a gang of bootleggers, into a film of the same name in 1924. It starred Blanche Sweet, Bessie Love, and Warner Baxter. In 1930, Warner Bros. remade the story as a talkie starring Monte Blue, Lila Lee, William Boyd and Betty Compson. That same year, Warner Bros. filmed “Those Who Dance” as Der Tanz geht weiter, a German-language version of the story shot in Hollywood with a German-speaking cast which included William Dieterle as director and star. A Spanish-language version, Los que danzan, was also made starring Antonio Moreno and Maria Alba, as was a French-language version, Contre-enquête, with Suzy Vernon and others.

Perhaps the best known film adapted from a Turner story may be The Girl in the Glass Cage (1929), which stars Loretta Young as a pretty young cashier at a movie theater who is stalked by a neighborhood thug. A few years later, Richard Dix starred in RKO’s Roar of the Dragon (1932), which was based on Turner’s “A Passage to Hong Kong.” 

“The Street of the Forgotten Men” (with the determining article, the, before the word forgotten), is representative of Turner's fiction. The short story appeared in the February 14, 1925 issue of Liberty magazine, and was described as a “Romance of the Underworld – The Strange Story of a Bowery Cinderella and a Beggar Who Lost Himself for Love.” It was illustrated by Dudley G. Summers, one of the name illustrators of the time.

 “The Street of the Forgotten Men” sketches incidents in the life of Easy Money Charlie, a “fake bandager” who feigns the loss of an arm in order to solicit sympathy and coins from passers-by on the street. Charlie is part of a gang of professional beggars, and their gathering place is Diamond Mike’s old Dead House, a saloon whose back room is known as the “Cripple Factory.”

Charlie (played by Percy Marmont in the film, depicted above) is a decent sort at heart, and he is convinced to raise a child, a girl, of another down-and out local, the dying Portland Fancy (played by Juliet Brenon). He does so, though removed from the squalor of life on the street. The girl grows up to become a young women (played by Mary Brian), and Charlie hopes she will marry someone better off – someone well-to-do, but all along he must contend with Bridgeport White-Eye (played by John Harrington), another beggar who feigns blindness and is suspicious of the graft Charlie must surely be gaining by his act of kindness. (Louise Brooks is companion to Bridgeport White-Eye, who she calls "Whitey.")

Like other of Turner’s works, “The Street of the Forgotten Men” caught the attention of readers as well as movie makers, who saw its colorful characters and unusual setting as ideal for adaption to the screen. More about the story behind the film can be found on these earlier LBS blog posts "Louise Brooks and The Street of Forgotten Men, part 1" and "Louise Brooks and The Street of Forgotten Men, part 2" and "Louise Brooks and The Street of Forgotten Men, part 3."

 

 

 

NEXT IN THE SERIES: ANITA LOUISE

Report on The Street of Forgotten Men at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival

 

Not only was it great to see the newly restored Louise Brooks film, The Street of Forgotten Men, on the big screen at the Castro Theater, it was also swell to see old friends and make a few new ones at this year's San Francisco Silent Film Festival. This festival was the first in three years due to the Covid pandemic; it also marked my first visit to San Francisco in just as long a time. Much has changed. Much remained the same. It was great to be back. I have populated this blog with a few snapshots from the occasion.

Von and I at the Castro

As I have been blogging of late, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival has recently restored this little seen Herbert Brenon film, for which film preservationist Robert Byrne created a filmic bridge in place of the missing second reel. He did a great job - which made the missing part to the story easy to follow. That missing material includes the death of two significant characters, including a dog (Lassie) in the care of Easy Money Charley (played by Percy Marmont). What's more, when the dog is killed by Bridgeport White-Eye (played by John Harrington), I heard a few sighs in the audience - which suggests Byrne effectively "painted" the scene. Congratulations to Rob Byrne and his team, and a big thanks to Ira Resnick, who made it possible. It was great to see Ira at the Festival.

Courtesy of Donna Hill

Also doing a great job was Jennifer Miko, who worked on the film imagery. The film looked great on the big screen - crisp and clean despite its problematic history - especially the cinematography of legendary cameraman Harold Rosson. The crowd oohed and awed at Rosson's live action street scenes on 5th Avenue, and were wowed at other times, like the shot of the dancing silhouettes at the garden party. Jennifer also gave an informative and well considered introduction which acknowledged my small contribution to the restoration project. I was also pleased when Jennifer recommended everyone read my essay on the film in the hefty program. (I had two pieces in this year's program. The other was an interview profile with the members of the Anvil Orchestra - formerly the Alloy Orchestra.) It was also nice to hear my name from the stage! I was especially pleased to meet and speak with Jennifer before and after the film; I suspect she is a bit of a Louise Brooks' fan, as she asked me for one of my Louise Brooks Society pin-back buttons. I obliged.

Jennifer Miko and Thomas Gladysz

All in all, The Street of Forgotten Men was very well received. Everyone I spoke with liked it, and the large crowd (hundreds of people on a Tuesday afternoon) reacted positively throughout. There was a smattering of applause when Louise Brooks first came on the screen, and when the film completed, there was boisterous applause and even a few hoots and hollers. Here are a few (sadly fuzzy) shots from the slide show which preceded the film.

Louise Brooks (far left)

I was also pleased to make the acquaintance of the esteemed film historians Richard and Diane Koszarski (thank you Ira Resnick for the introduction). They generously signed copies of some of the books they authored which I had brought with me from Sacramento, including a couple of which I used in researching and writing my essay on The Street of Forgotten Men. (Richard Koszarski's Hollywood on the Hudson: Film and Television in New York from Griffith to Sarnoff and The Astoria Studio and Its Fabulous Films were essential, as is Hollywood Directors 1914-1940 and An Evening's Entertaiment: The Age of the Silent Feature Picture, 1915-1928.) We had a very pleasant chat, talking about books, Dover Publications, Stanley Applebaum, Astoria Studios, Herbert Brenon, Erich von Stroheim (Koszarski authored an early biography, The Man You Love to Hate) and more, including Louise Brooks. Kozsarski interviewed the actress (regarding the Astoria Studios) in the late 1970s, and he told me something I don't think I had known about Brooks - that she was a big fan of Robin Williams and Mork and Mindy. Who da thunk? What a great pleasure it was to meet Richard and Diane Koszarski.

Richard and Diane Koszarski & Thomas Gladysz

Though I was only there for an afternoon, it was great to be attend this year's San Francisco Silent Film Festival - my 25th time and the Festival's 25th anniversary! It was also swell to see old friends like Ira Resnick, Donna Hill, Mary Malory, Jordan Young, Karie Bible and others. I missed some others I would have liked to have said hello to, but when you are a Sacramento Cinderella (just as Mary Brian was a Bowery Cinderella), you sometimes miss out. I am so glad my wife, Christy Pascoe, attended with me. She is also acknowledged in the restoration credits on The Street of Forgotten Men - as she is on the preservation print of Now We're in the Air, another Louise Brooks film we helped on. Thank you for all of your help my love.

At dinner with friends Mary Mallory, Donna Hill, Jordan Young

Christy and one of her favorites, Von

The end

Reminder post: GoFundMe Launched for new Louise Brooks related book

First off, a BIG thank you to the thirteen individuals who have made a donation to my GoFundMe campaign towards the publication of  my forthcoming book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond.The $400.00 goal has been reached, and surpassed by $60.00 !

And a gentle reminder to those who thought about donating but have not had a chance that it's not too late to do so.... I am still working on finishing the book, and any donation, no matter how small, will help. 

Those who donate $20.00 or more will be acknowledged by name in the book, and those who donate $40.00 or more will received an acknowledgement and an autographed, softcover copy of the book (USA only). The GoFundMe page is located HERE.

As many of you may know, I have been working on a new book titled The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. This approximately 350-page book is a deep dive into the history of a single film – its literary source, its making, its exhibition history, its critical reception, and its surprising cultural impact.

I am hoping to raise a few hundred dollars to purchase the rights to a small number of archival images that I hope to include in my forthcoming book, which is due out in early 2023. Any donations over the goal will be used to help defray costs already incurred. A draft of the front and back covers of the book are pictured below. (The price of the book is not yet set.)  

Though little known today, the 1925 silent film, The Street of Forgotten Men, was a popular and critical success at the time of its release. The film is based on a short story by a noted writer (George Kibbe Turner); it was made by a significant director (Herbert Brenon), shot by a great cinematographer (Hal Rosson), and features a fine cast (Percy Marmont, Neil Hamilton, Mary Brian) which includes a screen legend at the very beginning of her career (Louise Brooks). In many ways, The Street of Forgotten Men is exemplary of filmmaking & film culture in the mid-1920s. This new book tells its story in rich, historical detail. Along with dozens of rare images, my book contains all manner of vintage documents, clippings and advertisements as well as a foreword by Robert Byrne. (This noted film preservationist is responsible for the 2022 restoration of The Street of Forgotten Men, which debuted earlier this year at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.) Among the book's many revelations

• A detailed account of the making of the film - what it was like on the set of a silent film.  
• A thorough survey of the film's many reviews, including one by a Weird Tales contributor, and another by Catholic icon Dorothy Day, a candidate for sainthood.  
• Identification of a handful of the film's uncredited, bit players, including a noted journalist, a screenwriter, and a world champion boxer.
• The story of Lassie's role in the film (no, not that Lassie, the first Lassie). 
• The role music played in the making and exhibition of this silent film.  
• How the film's title entered into 
  
• The story of how future film legend Louise Brooks came to appear in the film - her first! 
• And so much more... from censorship records to its mention on the floor of Congress to a French fictionalization to a clipping noting the film's last documented showing, at a Navy Y.M.C.A in Shanghai, China in 1931 !
  

The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond is a book every silent film fan will want to own. It is also a must read for anyone interested in Louise Brooks.

 

The GoFundMe page is located HERE.

 

The Louise Brooks Society blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society. (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

For the Record: A Brief History of the Louise Brooks Society

For the Record: A Brief History of the Louise Brooks Society

The Louise Brooks Society was established in 1995 as a gathering place for like-minded individuals from around the world. The site’s followers hail from dozens of countries on six continents. They include film buffs and movie industry professionals, celebrities, teachers, students and other interested individuals from all walks of life. To date, more than 3,500,000 people have visited this website! Logs show individuals have visited from countries from across North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific — showing Louise Brooks is truly an international star.  It is hoped that those who visit these pages and share an interest in the actress will join in furthering in its efforts.

The Louise Brooks Society™ was founded by Thomas Gladysz; the website is written, designed and maintained by Gladysz with the assistance of Christy Pascoe. The Louise Brooks Society operates with the consent of the Estate of Louise Brooks (Louise Brooks Heirs, LC), and have its permission to use the name and likeness of Louise Brooks in connection with its activities. Content original to this site is © 1995 – 2023 by Thomas Gladysz / Louise Brooks Society. All rights reserved.

(Left) With Louise Brooks fan and actor Paul McGann (the 8th Doctor Who) and
(Right) with film historian Kevin Brownlow

 MISSION STATEMENT

The Louise Brooks Society is devoted to the appreciation and promotion of the life and films of Louise Brooks. The mission of the society is to honor the actress by 1) stimulating interest in her life, films and writings, as well as her place in 20th century culture; 2) fostering and coordinating research; 3) serving as a repository for relevant material; and 4) advocating for the preservation and restoration of her films, writings and other related material.

The purpose of the LBS website is to promote interest in the actress by serving as a focal point for related activities; by disseminating accurate information including authoritative texts; and by offering individuals a variety of materials to aid in their appreciation of the actress. Above all, the LBS encourages the viewing of Brooks’ surviving films, and the fellowship of her admirers. Future projects will include the publication of new material about the actress (in the form of articles, books, and e-books), as well as the ongoing development of this website, its blog, and social media accounts. Future projects, such as video, podcasts, in-person talks, screenings and related events, are also under consideration.

SHORT HISTORY OF THE LBS

Since first becoming interested / fascinated / obsessed with Louise Brooks, I have always appreciated meeting others who shared my enthusiasm for this singular silent film star. Early on, I searched for some kind of fan club — but found none. It then occurred to me that I might form a group. The idea of starting the Louise Brooks Society coincided with my growing interest in computing in the early 1990s. That’s when I realized there would be no better way of forming a group or club than over the internet. A fan club (in the traditional sense) is a way to share information and “meet” other like-minded individuals. Thus, enabled by the world wide web, the Louise Brooks Society was born.

The Louise Brooks Society website was launched in August, 1995. Since then, the LBS has become one of the leading websites devoted to any film star — silent or sound. In 1996, USA Today named the LBS a “Hot Site,” noting “Silent-film buffs can get a taste of how a fan club from yesteryear plays on the Web.The Louise Brooks Society site includes interviews, trivia and photos. It also draws an international audience.” That was the website’s first media mention. 

The first feature story centering on the LBS appeared on the Wired magazine website in 1998. Other articles mentioning the LBS appeared early on in the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Atlanta Journal Constitution. In 2000, Rochester, N.Y. film critic and friend to Louise Brooks, Jack Garner, wrote an article in which he stated the Louise Brooks Society is “A fine example of a fan page, a thoughtful, artful site devoted to the life and times of a fabled silent movie legend.” Around the world, the LBS was mentioned in various publications including Stuttgarter Zeitung, Le Temps, London Times, Melbourne Age, and South China Morning Post.

The LBS has also been praised by Leonard Maltin on his Movie Crazy website, and by the late Roger Ebert, the Pulitzer Prize winning film critic. Before his passing, Ebert told me that he had used the site while researching Louise Brooks and Pandora’s Box. The LBS has also received email from distant relatives of Brooks, who mentioned they enjoyed surfing the website and learned much about their famous relation.

In 1999, with Frederica Sagor Maas, silent era
screenwriter whose story became Rolled Stockings

LBS HIGHLIGHTS

Here are highlights from the 25-plus year history of the Louise Brooks Society.

— LBS Website: Launched in August, 1995, the LBS is a pioneering website that has proven itself among the most comprehensive, popular and long-lasting websites devoted to just about any film star — silent or sound, vintage or contemporary. For its efforts, the LBS has received considerable media attention in newspapers and magazines from around the world. In 2015, the LBS was singled out in Wild Bill Wellman: Hollywood Rebel, a biography of the celebrated director. As an educational resource, this 100+ page website has drawn not only film historian, but also film buffs, teachers, students and academics.

 — Internet Presence: The long running was started in June, 2002. It currently has more than 3500 posts and hundreds of subscribers, and has been visited more than 1,800,000 times (as of 2023). The LBS also maintains an active social media presence on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and elsewhere. See the LBS Social Media page for further details.

— Advocacy: In 1998, inspired by the popularity of the LBS website, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) commissioned the Emmy nominated documentary Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu. The part played by the LBS in bringing the documentary to television was acknowledged by TCM as well as the director of the documentary. [See “Fan Site Sparks Biopic” (Wired) and “Lovely Lulu Lives Again / A decade after her death, silent-film star Louise Brooks is more popular than ever” (San Francisco Chronicle).]  

Additionally, in 2000, following a grass-roots campaign, the LBS helped bring both the Barry Paris biography of the actress and Louise Brooks’ own book, Lulu in Hollywood, back into print through the University of Minnesota Press. The LBS is acknowledged in each edition, and the books have remained in print since.

 

 — Scholarship: The wealth of information found on the LBS is one of its primary achievements. Much of it, including the annotated filmographies, bibliographies, detailed chronology, are the result of thousands of hours of research. Research conducted by the LBS has also lead to a handful of groundbreaking discoveries regarding Brooks’ numerous childhood performances; the cultural life of Brooks’ mother; G.W. Pabst’s reasons for choosing Louise Brooks to play Lulu; the previously undocumented exhibition history of Pandora’s Box in the United States in the 1930s, etc…. Also uncovered during the course of research were rare audio recording of Brooks’ radio appearances in the 1960s! In 2018, the Irish Times newspaper noted, “An online tribute site, the Louise Brooks Society, contains an extraordinary day-by-day chronology of her life.”

Additionally, the Louise Brooks Society has contributed to the restoration of two Louise Brooks’ films, Now We’re in the Air (1927), and The Street of Forgotten Men (1925). The LBS is acknowledged in contemporary prints of both films.

Notably, the LBS has been cited in a number of books including Geheimnisvolle Tiefe G.W. Pabst (Austrian Film Archive, 1998), German Expressionist Films (Pocket Essentials, 2002), Photoplay Editions (McFarland, 2002), and Sirens & Sinners: A Visual History of Weimar Film 1918-1933 (Thames & Hudson, 2013), among others.

— Publications: In 2010, the LBS published the “Louise Brooks edition” of Margarete Bohme’s The Diary of a Lost Girl, which served as the basis for the 1929 film. Notably, it was the book’s first English-language publication in more than 100 years. This unique edition was highly praised, and was the subject of an article in Deutsche Welle. Other publications of the Louise Brooks Society include Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film (2017, with a foreword by William Wellman, Jr.), Now We’re in the Air: A Companion to the Once Lost Film (2017, with a foreword by Robert Byrne), and Louise Brooks, the Persistent Star (2018). The hallmark of each of these illustrated books is the considerable research that went into each volume, as well as the new and little known information revealed in them. 

Due out in 2023 is The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. Also in the works and nearly completion is Around the World with Louise Brooks, a two volume work.

The first four publications of the Louise Brooks Society

Additionally, as the Director of the LBS, Thomas Gladysz has written numerous online articles, contributed material to various scholarly and general interest books, and provided liner notes and audio commentary to two DVD/Blu-ray releases from KINO Lorber, Diary of a Lost Girl (1929), and Beggars of Life (1928).

— Exhibits: In 2005, 2010, and 2011 the LBS mounted Louise Brooks and silent film-related exhibits at the San Francisco Public Library. Each was accompanied by a well attended public program which featured a lecture, screening or presentation.

— Events: Over the years, the LBS has co-sponsored a handful of events, including talks with silent era screenwriter Frederica Sagor Mass, Louise Brooks biographer Barry Paris, and film historian Peter Cowie (Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever). These and other events took place at various bookstores, libraries and theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area. The LBS has also co-sponsored or participated in a handful of other events, including screenings. As the Director of the LBS, Thomas Gladysz has introduced Brooks’ films at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, San Francisco Public Library, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Detroit Institute of Arts, and Action Cinema in Paris, France. His talks on the actress have taken place at the Hollywood Forever cemetery, Folsom Public Library, and Village Voice bookstore in Paris. Gladysz has also written program notes for screenings of Brooks’ films shown elsewhere around the United States. Images from some of the LBS events and exhibits can be found on the LBS Flickr account.

— Promotion: Through its website, long-running blog, and various social media accounts, the LBS has promoted related books, DVD’s, articles, exhibits and events held all around the world. You can even find the LBS credited on the first edition of Laura Moriarty’s novel, The Chaperone. The LBS supplied the cover image, as it did for various other books published around the world. The LBS also had more than a little something to do with the depiction of Louise Brooks on the cover of Adolfo Bioy Casare' The Invention of Morel.

The enthusiasm and generosity of Brooks’ many fans have contributed to the growth of this website. Individuals from around the globe have shared rare material. Others have performed research, translated articles, visited libraries and archives, or sent images and interesting information. The LBS acknowledges their efforts, and appreciates the emails and letters others have sent from across the United States and the world. Judging by these fans, and knowingly repeating myself, Louise Brooks is truly an international star! Thank you one and all for your interest in Louise Brooks and the Louise Brooks Society.

At the San Francisco Public Library

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

At the George Eastman House