A cinephilac blog about an actress, silent film, and the Jazz Age, with occasional posts about related books, music, art, and history written by Thomas Gladysz. Visit the Louise Brooks Society™ at www.pandorasbox.com
A recently published ebook features Louise Brooks both inside and out. Tom Graves' 297 page ebook from Devault-Graves Digital Editions (published April 29, 2015) is titled Louise Brooks, Frank Zappa, & Other Charmers & Dreamers. It contains a selection of the author's journalism relating not only to film but also music and literature. Notably, the book contains the author's previously published My Afternoon with Louise Brooks (based on the journalist's encounter with the actress), as well as a chapter from Fallen Angel, Graves' aborted biography of Brooks.
Here is the publisher description: "Award-winning author and journalist Tom Graves in "Louise Brooks, Frank
Zappa, & Other Charmers & Dreamers" collects the best of his
long-form journalism articles and profiles as well as his in-depth
interviews with a variety of curious personalities. The lead piece is
"My Afternoon with Louise Brooks" about Graves's encounter in 1982 with
the reclusive silent film legend Louise Brooks. He was the last
journalist ever to sit bedside with Miss Brooks, who allowed very few
people into her life. Also included are Graves's 1979 sit down with the
king of Southern grit lit, Harry Crews, his discovery of the first
Elvis impersonator, his search with the help of Quentin Tarantino to
find actress Linda Haynes, who had vanished from Hollywood. Included
are also Graves's in-depth question and answer interviews with: Frank
Zappa, Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones, Lee Mavers of the cult band
the La's, Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders, and rock critic
Dave Marsh. Some of Graves's best essays are also part of this
anthology: his piece on the Sex Pistols in Memphis, an apology for
biographer Albert Goldman, a revisit of Woodstock, interviews with CD
remastering gurus, and more."
One Amazon.com reviewer said this: "When I read Tom Graves' work, I immediately see his passion, his deep interest in the people whom he interviews, an interest that precedes and leads up to insightful and personal articles about people who have had an extraordinary impact in our history and culture."
This worthwhile Kickstarter campaign only has one month left, thus... I encourage everyone to check out My Afternoon With Louise Brooks - a limited edition, signed and number hardback book by Tom Graves. This Kickstarter campaign has already run one month, so check it out NOW! More information about this very special project can be found HERE.
Pledging today guarantees you one of the 100 signed and numbered copies of
My Afternoon With Louise Brooks, Tom Graves' critically-acclaimed
long-form journalism article about his visit to the apartment of silent
film recluse Louise Brooks. As a bonus, this special edition book
contains the childhood chapter of the aborted Louise Brooks biography
that Tom Graves wrote prior to being de-authorized by Miss Brooks. The
book is approximately 80 pages in length. This will be entirely a
Kickstarter funded special edition geared for the fans of Louise Brooks
who wish to know precisely what it was like meeting the famed cult
figure in her declining years. When the Kickstarter goal is met
production will immediately begin and funders will receive a copy of the
hardcover collectible book shipped to their home. The book is limited
to 100 copies and will NOT be available after this press run. So pledge
now to secure your copy or copies. I HAVE, AND YOU SHOULD TOO!
Tom Graves is best known as a writer of gritty fiction and nonfiction
including his biography of bluesman Robert Johnson, Crossroads. His
most recent book is the critically-acclaimed White Boy: A Memoir, the
story of how Graves overcame the racism of his family and city. He was
also a writer and producer of the Emmy-winning film Best of Enemies
about the acrimonious 1968 debates between Gore Vidal and William F.
Buckley Jr. He owns the publishing company Devault Graves Books.
I encourage everyone to check out My Afternoon With Louise Brooks - a Kickstarter campaign for a limited edition, signed and number hardback book by Tom Graves. This Kickstarter campaign runs two months, so check it out NOW! More information about this very special project can be found HERE.
Pledging now guarantees you one of the 100 signed and numbered copies of
My Afternoon With Louise Brooks, Tom Graves' critically-acclaimed
long-form journalism article about his visit to the apartment of silent
film recluse Louise Brooks. As a bonus, this special edition book
contains the childhood chapter of the aborted Louise Brooks biography
that Tom Graves wrote prior to being de-authorized by Miss Brooks. The
book is approximately 80 pages in length. This will be entirely a
Kickstarter funded special edition geared for the fans of Louise Brooks
who wish to know precisely what it was like meeting the famed cult
figure in her declining years. When the Kickstarter goal is met
production will immediately begin and funders will receive a copy of the
hardcover collectible book shipped to their home. The book is limited
to 100 copies and will NOT be available after this press run. So pledge
now to secure your copy(s).
Tom Graves is best known as a writer of gritty fiction and nonfiction
including his biography of bluesman Robert Johnson, Crossroads. His
most recent book is the critically-acclaimed White Boy: A Memoir, the
story of how Graves overcame the racism of his family and city. He was
also a writer and producer of the Emmy-winning film Best of Enemies
about the acrimonious 1968 debates between Gore Vidal and William F.
Buckley Jr. He owns the publishing company Devault Graves Books.
There are a handful of new releases in 2015 which would make a great gift for the Louise Brooks or silent film fan on your list. Click on the title links to make a purchase.
The second and final collaboration of actress Louise Brooks and director
G.W. Pabst (Pandora's Box), DIARY OF A LOST GIRL is a provocative
adaptation of Margarethe Böhme's notorious novel, in which the naive
daughter of a middle class pharmacist is seduced by her father's
assistant, only to be disowned and sent to a repressive home for wayward
girls. She escapes, searches for her child, and ends up in a high-class
brothel, only to turn the tables on the society which had abused her.
It's another tour-de-force performance by Brooks, whom silent film
historian Kevin Brownlow calls an actress of brilliance, a luminescent
personality and a beauty unparalleled in screen history.
Special
Features: Mastered in HD from archival 35mm elements, and digitally
restored, Audio commentary by Thomas Gladysz, Director, Louise Brooks
Society, Windy Riley Goes Hollywood (1930, 18 Min., featuring Louise
Brooks)
A fictional story centered on actress Louise Brooks, this graphic novel
by Rick Geary is spun around her actual brief meteoric career as a
smoldering film actress who popularized bangs. Geary fantasizes about
her coming back to her home town of Wichita where she becomes intrigued
by a murder involving a friend, a famous reclusive writer and a shady
beau. Not before she gets herself in great danger will she emerge with
the solution the police fail to grasp.
The author, Rick Geary, is related to Louise Brooks.
"A fun, twisty mystery for both film buffs and crime fiction lovers, and the final revelation is satisfying." — Publishers Weekly
"He
knows his way around both history and crime stories. Geary is also
possessed of a unique and charming art style, something I've dubbed
'faux woodcut,' which makes everything he draws look like it's lifted
from some magical era of the past that never really existed, but should
have." — Andrew A. Smith, Tribune News Service
Award-winning author and journalist Tom Graves in "Louise Brooks, Frank
Zappa, & Other Charmers & Dreamers" collects the best of his
long-form journalism and profiles as well as his in-depth interviews
with a variety of curious personalities. The lead piece is "My
Afternoon with Louise Brooks" about Graves's encounter in 1982 with the
reclusive silent film legend Louise Brooks. He was the last journalist
ever to sit bedside with Miss Brooks, who allowed very few people into
her life. Also included are Graves's 1979 sit down with the king of
Southern grit lit, Harry Crews, his discovery of the first Elvis
impersonator, his search with the help of Quentin Tarantino to find
actress Linda Haynes, who had vanished from Hollywood. Included are
also Graves's in-depth question and answer interviews with: Frank Zappa,
Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones, Lee Mavers of the cult band the
La's, and Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Some of Graves's
best essays are also part of this anthology: his piece on the Sex
Pistols in Memphis, an apology for biographer Albert Goldman, a revisit
of Woodstock, and more.
The extraordinary life—the first—of the legendary, under celebrated
Hollywood director known in his day as “Wild Bill” (and he was!)
Wellman, whose eighty-two movies (six of them uncredited), many of them
iconic; many of them sharp, cold, brutal; others poetic, moving; all of
them a lesson in close-up art, ranged from adventure and gangster
pictures to comedies, aviation, romances, westerns, and searing social
dramas.
Among his iconic pictures: the pioneering World War I epic Wings (winner of the first Academy Award for best picture), Public Enemy (the toughest gangster picture of them all), Nothing Sacred, the original A Star Is Born,Beggars of Life(with Louise Brooks), The Call of the Wild, The Ox-Bow Incident, Battleground, The High and the Mighty...
Wellman directed Hollywood’s biggest stars for three decades, including Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, John Wayne, Lauren Bacall,
and Clint Eastwood. It was said he directed “like a general trying to
break out of a beachhead.” He made pictures with such noted producers as
Darryl F. Zanuck, Nunnally Johnson, Jesse Lasky, and David O. Selznick.
The name Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (1867–1932) is synonymous with the revues that the legendary impresario produced at the turn of
the twentieth century. These extravagant performances were filled with
catchy tunes, high-kicking chorus girls, striking costumes, and talented
stars such as Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Marilyn Miller, W. C. Fields, Will Rogers. and Louise Brooks. After the success of his Follies, Ziegfeld
revolutionized theater performance with the musical Show Boat (1927) and continued making Broadway hits―including Sally (1920), Rio Rita (1927), and The Three Musketeers (1928)―several of which were adapted for the silver screen.
In
this definitive biography, authors Cynthia Brideson and Sara Brideson
offer a comprehensive look at both the life and legacy of the famous
producer. Drawing on a wide range of sources―including Ziegfield's
previously unpublished letters to his second wife, Billie Burke (who
later played Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz), and to
his daughter Patricia―the Bridesons shed new light on this enigmatic
man. They provide a lively and well-rounded account of Ziegfeld as a
father, a husband, a son, a friend, a lover, and an alternately ruthless
and benevolent employer. Lavishly illustrated with over seventy-five
images, this meticulously researched book presents an intimate and
in-depth portrait of a figure who profoundly changed American
entertainment.
(Jazz Age inspired fiction) 1924 – Prohibition has been the law since 1920 but that did not stop
people from wanting alcoholic beverages nor did it stop the
organizations that supplied them. Lack of good alcoholic beverages
causes many speakeasies and gangs to manufacture low quality substitutes
made from dangerous ingredients. Violence is on the rise as the gangs
protect their turf and their products. Dan and Laure grew up in small
villages in the far north and south areas of Chicago. They meet in
unusual circumstances and Dan loves her at first sight. Laure has the
same feelings for him but a past relationship causes her to be cautious
and Dan is forced to undertake an impossible mission. Thus begins the
adventure of The Roaring Road. Take a prototype Duesenberg and a Road
Trip Dog - add mayhem, a mob chief, a group of highwaymen and a gang of
bank robbers, a pair of kidnappers and assorted other villains, throw in
visits to speakeasies plus the lure of Hollywood in the form of a prank
devised by the infamous actress Louise Brooks that turns out to be
wildly successful, and Laure is offered a role in the 1926 movie 'The
Great Gatsby'. Automobiles, trains, aeroplanes, flapper glamour,
adventure, mayhem and lust on the roads and rails and in the speakeasies
and blind pigs of Prohibition. What could possibly go wrong?
(Jazz Age inspired fiction) 1926 - Laure and Dan are being drawn into Hollywood even as their
challenge of moving their contraband inventory becomes critical. Laure
is a dancer on the 1926 production of The Great Gatsby movie, while Dan
has an offer to become a movie producer. There are others who want
Laure, and not for her dancing. Trouble looms as kidnappers are sent to
grab Laure and send her to Chicago where her life expectancy will be
very short. The railcar full of wine and booze is hijacked and their
friend Scott is taken as a hostage and is forced to become a morphine
addict. Dan's crew captures the train and Scott back and they send him
to the rehab clinic Scott and Dan helped fund. Trouble continues to
come at Dan and Laure but they gather a small group of people with
unusual talents to help. The Chicago gangs become more involved and more
mayhem leads to a confrontation in Cherryvale, Kansas which happens to
be the hometown of Louise Brooks. Come with us on our adventure tale
of captures, rescues, recapture, speakeasies, mayhem and lust on the
roaring roads and rails of the Prohibition era. What Could Possibly Go
Wrong?
If you haven't already done so, I would like to encourage you to check out Tom Graves' Kickstarter campaign for a limited edition copy of his book, My Afternoon with Louise Brooks. It is an account of the day Graves' spent with Louise Brooks back in 1980, when he was a young journalist.
As many of us are, Tom Graves is a longtime fan of Brooks deeply enamored by the actress and her films. Recently, he answered a few questions from the Louise Brooks Society about the actress and how he came to meet her.
LBS: Take us back to the beginning. How did you first come across Louise Brooks and her films?
TG: I saw Kenneth Tynan on The Dick Cavett Show and he was talking about his new book Show People. Cavett was more interested in Tynan's New Yorker profile of Louise than anything else. I was fascinated with his discussion because I did know who Louise Brooks was and about the film Pandora's Box, which I had not seen. I bought his book, read the profile, and a film society soon after brought to Memphis Pandora's Box. I was enthralled by it.
LBS: You are one of the few journalists who can claim to have met Louise Brooks. What led you to search her out?
TG: I thought she was deserving of a full biography beyond Tynan's great profile in The New Yorker. I was 28 years old and excited by the prospect of writing my first book. It took a great deal of moxie on my part to dare go to Rochester, New York in hopes of meeting her. I had contacted Betty Fussell who had written an excellent biography of Mabel Normand. Her advice to me was to go to Rochester and camp out on Louise's doorstep to get to meet her. She thought that was a paramount importance. A few years ago Betty Fussell was at the Nashville Book Festival and I was also presenting a book there and I got a chance to finally meet her and tell her that because of her advice back in 1982 that I had actually gotten to spend an afternoon with Louise.
LBS: What was your initial impression of Brooks?
TG: That she was a bit of a grouch and really wasn't used to company. Right off the bat I could tell how unusually intelligent she was. She spoke just like she wrote and she was a wonderful writer. Thankfully she warmed up to me and we had a long and incredible conversation about many, many things.
LBS: What was her apartment like?
TG: I wrote that it was as orderly as an army foot locker. Everything was in its place. The books all had bookmarks and/or paperclips marking what I assumed was references to her.
LBS: Louise was a great reader. Do you remember seeing any particular books laying about?
TG: I do. One in particular stood out; it was Ephraim Katz's Film Encyclopedia and it was bookmarked right where I deduced a reference to Louise was. I also noticed a copy of Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon and it appeared to be a foreign edition. It was released abroad before being released in the U.S. Again it had the paperclip marking it.
LBS: Do you have a favorite Louise Brooks' film?
TG: Yes, it would of course be Pandora's Box. I don't think Diary of a Lost Girl is quite as good.
LBS: Of her lost films, which would you most like to see?
TG: I always have assumed Windy Riley Goes Hollywood was lost. I'd be interested in it because it was after Pandora's Box plus it was directed by disgraced comedian Fatty Arbuckle.
LBS: Your long-form essay, "My Afternoon With Louise Brooks," has been published elsewhere. What is new with this limited edition book?
TG: The text itself is available in complete form in my book Louise Brooks, Frank Zappa, & Other Charmers & Dreamers. This book contains the best of my long-form journalism from the 80s until the present and the Louise Brooks material is the lead piece. I seldom write articles or reviews any longer but concentrate on books. I always thought it would be great if my Louise pieces could be a book unto themselves and thought how nice it would be to have an antiquarian-grade small gift book available to other Louise Brooks true fans. Its limited edition will make it an instant collectible to anyone who buys one of the 100 copies.
Last week, I was pleased to receive my copy of My Afternoon with Louise Brooks, Tom Graves' limited edition book recounting his encounter with the silent film actress. The book was issued in a limited edition of 100 signed and numbered hardback books. I received #44.
The other day, the author posted a message that noting a few copies are still for sale: "There
are a very few copies left of My Afternoon with Louise Brooks out of
this 100-copy limited edition. Get one before they are all gone
forever. Each copy is signed by the author and numbered. Cost is $30.00 plus $4.00 postage in the U.S.. Foreign inquiries are welcome. Payment can be made through Paypal at: pullers2004@yahoo.com."
"The book contains two segments by author Tom Graves, the
award-winning biographer of bluesman Robert Johnson and several other
acclaimed books. He was the last journalist admitted into the reclusive
Louise Brooks' apartment in 1982 for an audience and an interview.
Although wary at first, Louise warmed up to the young writer and Graves
writes a penetrating and incisive look at Louise Brooks in her final
years. Graves had begun a biography of Miss Brooks but she pulled her
authorization leaving Graves with only one chapter -- about her
childhood up to the point she left Kansas for New York. These
two segments comprise this small jewel of a book that comes to 80
pages. The book, at once a collectible, is certain to go up greatly in
value."
It’s that time of the year when bloggers issue their "Best of" lists - the year’s recommended new releases in books, film, music and more. Last year saw the release of a handful of important new releases related to or in homage to Louise Brooks. This year is no different. Though the number of new works related to or inspired by the actress is smaller, it is nevertheless distinguished. Prominent among them in 2011 is Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, in which Brooks is pictured in a book and included in a brief clip from her 1929 film Pandora's Box. Otherwise, fans of the legendary silent film star will want to check out each of these recent releases.
Ebook: My Afternoon With Louise Brooks, by Tom Graves (Rhythm Oil Publications)
-- In 1982, writer and journalist Tom Graves hoped to write a biography of one of the most reclusive stars in the history of cinema. My Afternoon With Louise Brooks is the author's brief account of his now long ago meeting and subsequent dealings with the actress, much of which centered on his never realized biography. Or, as the ebook description puts it, "After 30 years Graves finally tells his tale as the last journalist to ever be admitted into the bedroom of this cult legend." Following its release earlier this year, Graves expanded his ebook to include additional material, making it a more satisfying read. My Afternoon With Louise Brooks is available as an ebook on Amazon.com
Music: Lulu, by Lou Reed and Metallica (Warner Bros.)
-- Like the 1929 Brooks' film Pandora's Box, this musical collaboration between rock greats Lou Reed and Metallica was inspired by Frank Wedekind's two Lulu plays, which together tells the story of a young dancer's life and loves. At times noisy, repetitive, harsh, aggressive, droning, abrasive, and droll - this is 21st century expressionist music which stems not from any rock tradition, but rather an art-music background. Lulu won't be everyone's cup of tea. In fact, it has been poorly received among fans of Reed and Metallica. Nevertheless, it's a strong brew.
Book: Jim Tully: American Writer, Irish Rover, Hollywood Brawler by Paul Bauer and Mark Dawidziak (Kent State University Press)
-- Many saw the dark side of the American dream, but few wrote about it like Jim Tully (1886 - 1947). This first ever biography of the writer describes the hardscrabble life of the Irish American storyteller - from his immigrant roots, rural upbringing, and life as a hobo riding the rails to his success and eventual fame as a journalist and novelist in 1920s and 1930s Hollywood. Tully also authored Beggars of Life, a novelistic memoir made into a 1928 film starring Brooks. The two met then, and did not hit it off. Three years earlier, Brooks - in the company of Charlie Chaplin - attended the stage adaption of the book on Broadway.
Book: Making the Detective Story American: Biggers, Van Dine and Hammett and the Turning Point of the Genre, 1925-1930, by J.K. Van Dover (McFarland)
-- In 1929, Louise Brooks and William Powell co-starred in The Canary Murder Case; the film was based on bestselling book of the same name by the pseudonymous S.S. Van Dine, a once-popular and critically esteemed author of detective fiction. Though little read today, Van Dine is considered an important early figure in the development of the modern detective story. Back in the 1920s and 1930s, many of his books were bestsellers, and many were turned into popular films and radio programs. Van Dine is one of three writers featured in a this new book - a critical study.
Book: Myrna Loy: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood, by Emily W. Leider (University of California Press)
-- One might not associate Louise Brooks with Myrna Loy. Both were from Western cities, and both were teens when discovered. One was a silent film actress whose career largely faded with the coming of sound, the other a star of the sound era best known for her role in the Thin Man series of the 1930's. (The co-star of that series was William Powell.) Their careers intersected early on when Loy played one of the many international female sirens in A Girl in Every Port (1928), which starred Brooks. Later in life, in 1982, both were chosen as recipients of the George Eastman House for lifetime contribution to the movies. Emily W. Leider has penned a first ever biography of a wry and sophisticated actress whose extraordinary career spanned six decades. [Speaking of A Girl in Every Port, it is one of the films covered in The Fox Film Corporation, 1915-1935: A History and Filmography, by Aubrey Solomon (McFarland). A couple of passages about the film can be found in this other new book.]
Book: The Chaperone, by Laura Moriarty (Riverhead)
-- Looking ahead, the big Louise Brooks-related release in 2012 promises to be Laura Moriarty's The Chaperone (Riverhead). Set for publication in June of next year, this captivating new novel tells the story of the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922 (on her way to becoming a Denishawn dancer), and the summer that would change them both. Moriarty, who hails from Kansas, is a processed fan of the silent film star. Her earlier novels include While I'm Falling (2010) and The Center of Everything (2004).
Two new e-books about Louise Brooks have been published for Kindle, the amazon e-reader. I've written short reviews of each on the amazon.com website. Here are my reviews, with links to each book.
My Afternoon With Louise Brooks
by Tom Graves
Publisher: Rhythm Oil Publications (June 10, 2011)
I can't get enough of Louise Brooks, the legendary silent film star. That's why I was excited when I came across this new e-pub by a professional writer with articles in major newspapers and magazines as well as a couple of earlier books to his credit. (Author Tom Graves is legit, and his 1982 meeting with the actress is mentioned in Barry Paris' definitive 1989 biography, Louise Brooks.) However, I found myself disappointed by this rather slight account of a now long ago encounter with the reclusive actress. More an anecdotal essay than a book (which can be read in under 10 minutes), "My Afternoon With Louise Brooks" largely fails to deliver. It is short on detail and perspective, and except for the striking cover image, there are no illustrations. The author mentions research and interviews he conducted with Brooks' family and friends - as well as the first chapters he wrote for a planned biography - but they are nowhere to be seen. I would like to read more. [More info here.]
Louise Brooks: Her men, affairs, scandals and persona
by Maximillien de Lafayette
Publisher: Times Square Press (May 23, 2011)
This "book" is terrible. It is poorly written, poorly laid out, padded with extraneous material (and lots and lots of white space) and otherwise riddled with innuendo, half-truths and errors. For example, I spotted one image of a Brooks look-alike who isn't Louise Brooks! There is no bibliography or list of sources to support the author's many outrageous claims regarding the actress, but there are numerous images seemingly gleamed from the internet. Where does the author get this stuff from? Or does he make it up? To call this rather slight cut-and-paste e-pub a "hack job" would be to give it too much credit. It's not worth the paper its not printed on. [More info here.]
Crazy Rhythm
by Daniel Vian
Publisher: Spectrum Beacon (May 31, 2010)
There is third book out, a work of fiction, which I have purchased but haven't had time to read. It is called Crazy Rhythm: A Novel of Hollywood, by Daniel Vian. Has anyone read it? [More info here.]
One other recently released ebook - a work of erotic fiction, Nymph: The Singularity by J.E. Lansing, features a character based on Louise Brooks. 'Nuf said. [More info here.]
A couple of reminders regarding Louise Brooks and books....
FIRST UP: Two weeks from today, on Saturday February 29th between 7:00 and 8:00 pmI will be signing books at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood before the American Cinematheque's screening of the 1929 classic, Pandora's Box, starring the one and only Louise Brooks. This special leap day event is co-presented by the LA Philharmonic and the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles. More information HERE.
I will be signing books in the lobby of the historic Egyptian Theater (6712 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles), with book sales handled by Larry Edmunds Bookshop. I will have a limited number of FREE mini Lulu pin-back buttons to give away to those who purchase two or more books and ask for an autograph. Please join us! Not only will I be there, but so will musicians from the LA Philharmonic -- composer and jazz pianist Cathlene Pineda, trumpeter Stephanie Richards, and guitarist Jeff Parker -- who will be providing live musical accompaniment to Pandora's Box.
SECONDLY: Author Tom Graves has asked me to let everyone know that only ten copies are left of his limited edition book, My Afternoon with Louise Brooks, the telling of the time he spent with Louise Brooks in 1982. Only 100 copies were printed and each one is signed and numbered. I have a copy, and you should too! To place an order via email send a message to pullers2004@yahoo.com, or contact the Facebook page "Fans of Author Tom Graves".
Do you consider yourself a fan of Louise Brooks? Are you a BIG fan of Louise Brooks? How much do you know about the actress? How many of her films have you seen? Take
this quiz and find out.... Give yourself a point in answer to "yes" for
each part of each question. Record your number, and tally a
total. And have fun!
1) Which of the following films have you seen at a public screening (in a theater or at a festival)?
The Street of Forgotten Men (1925) It’s the Old Army Game (1926) The Show-Off (1926) Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em (1926) A Girl in Every Port (1928) Beggars of Life (1928) The Canary Murder Case (1929) Pandora’s Box (1929) Diary of a Lost Girl (1929) Prix de Beauté (1930) Overland Stage Raiders (1938) 2) Which of the following films have you seen on TV or on home video (VHS / DVD / Blu-ray or even LaserDisc)?
It’s the Old Army Game (1926) The Show-Off (1926) Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em (1926) A Girl in Every Port (1928) Beggars of Life (1928) The Canary Murder Case (1929) Pandora’s Box (1929) Diary of a Lost Girl (1929) Prix de Beauté (1930) Windy Riley Goes Hollywood (1931) God’s Gift to Women (1931) Empty Saddles (1936) Overland Stage Raiders (1938)
3) How many of the following documentary films have you seen?
Film Firsts: Louise Brooks (1960) – USA television short Memories of Berlin: Twilight of Weimar Culture (1976) Lulu in Berlin (1985) Arena: Louise Brooks (1986) - UK television Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (1998) E! Mysteries & Scandals: Louise Brooks (1999) – television 4) How many of the following books have you read? (Give yourself one bonus point if you own different editions of any one book.)
Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, by Thomas Gladysz Dear Stinkpot: Letters from Louise Brooks, by Jan Wahl Louise Brooks, by Barry Paris Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever, by Peter Cowie Louise Brooks: Portrait of an Anti-Star, by Roland Jaccard Louise Brooks, the Persistent Star, by Thomas Gladysz Louise Brooks and the "New Woman" in Weimar Cinema, by Vanessa Rocco Lulu in Hollywood, by Louise Brooks My Afternoon with Louise Brooks, by Tom Graves Now We're in the Air: A Companion to the Once Lost Film, by Thomas Gladysz Pandora's Box, by Pamela Hutchinson Pandora's Box (Lulu): a film, by G. W. Pabst The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond, by Thomas Gladysz
5) How many of these other books or plays have you read? (double points)
The Show-Off, by George Kelly Beggars of Life, by Jim Tully The Canary Murder Case, by S.S. van Dine Pandora's Box (Lulu), by Frank Wedekind Diary of a Lost Girl, by Margarete Bohme
Louise Brooks, Detective, by Rick Geary The Chaperone, by Laura Moriarty 6) How many of the following have you done?
Bought a piece of vintage Louise Brooks memorabilia
Bought a modern Louise Brooks postcard, photograph, or poster
Collected articles and / or images of the actress Visited the Louise Brooks Society website Tweeted, blogged, or posted about the actress
7) A few more bonus questions. Give yourself a point if. . . .
You have read The Parades Gone By by Kevin Brownlow.
You have read another book about silent film or a silent film star.
You have watched a documentary about silent film or a silent film star.
You have watched a silent film starring Clara Bow, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Colleen Moore, etc....
Bonus question: name the photographer
of this magazine portrait of Louise Brooks.
* * * * *
If your scored 10 or few points, it's time to get serious.
If you scored 10+ points, consider yourself a fan.
If you scored 15 or more points, consider yourself a BIG fan.
If you scored 20+ points, consider yourself devoted.
If you are stuck at home due to the coronavirus pandemic and are wanting to catching up on your reading... may we recommend the following books on Louise Brooks, silent film, and early Hollywood. Many, but not all, of these titles are available through local independent bookstores like Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon, national chain stores like Barnes & Noble, online stores like amazon.com, or specialty shops like Larry Edmunds in Hollywood. The latter was written up here in the previous post. Some of these titles, especially those published by larger publishers, might also be available as an e-book through your local library.
There are a few other titles available, like Peter Cowie's Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever and Roland Jaccard's Louise Brooks: Portrait of an Anti-Star, but they are out of print and a bit harder to track down. Tom Graves' My Afternoon with Louise Brooks is also of interest, and I've written about it a number of times here on the Louise Brooks Society blog. Otherwise, be sure and check out the Books for Sale table here on the blog for even more related and recommended titles. On a final note, let me add that a title like Louise Brooks: Her men, affairs, scandals and persona is a pile of crap, and unless you like stepping in dog-shit, I would avoid it all together.
Also recently released and more than deserving of a read is Donna Hill's Rudolph Valentino: The Silent Idol, His Life in Photographs. As Kevin Brownlow remarked, "Besides being superbly researched, Silent Idol is filled with outstanding photographs, [and] given the standard of reproduction they deserve. I recommend it wholeheartedly."
If you find yourself drawn to the exoticism of early Hollywood, then you will likely find yourself drawn to the Agata Frymus' Damsels and Divas: European Stardom in Silent Hollywood (Rutgers University Press). Film scholar Michael Williams stated, "Written with engaging clarity and scholarly vigour and founded on first-class archival research, Damsels and Divas
is a hugely welcome addition to scholarship on Hollywood stardom in the
1920s. The book shines much-needed light on the extraordinary careers
of European female stars Pola Negri, Vilma Bánky and Jetta Goudal as
well as the discourses of ethnicity, gender and class that shaped the
firmament in which they, as Frymus puts it, ‘shone briefly, but very
brightly’."
Two other recent titles worth noting are Dan van Neste's They Coulda Been Contenders: Twelve Actors Who Should Have Become Cinematic Superstars (Bear Manor), a highly enjoyable read, and Barbara Tepa Lupack'sSilent Serial Sensations: The Wharton Brothers and the Magic of Early Cinema (Cornell University Press). Regarding the latter, Jack Garner (Louise Brooks' friend and former staff film critic at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle) stated, "Silent Serial Sensations shines an overdue spotlight on a little-known but essential part of cinema history. Barbara Tepa Lupack tells the surprising and rich story of the creative Wharton brothers and their Ithaca studio in this well-researched and engaging history."
And finally, here are some links to some of my past book recommendations and where they were published.
In the nearly 80 years since its release, Citizen Kane is still regarded as one of the – if not the greatest film ever made. So much so, a handful of related films have sprung up in its wake, as well as a shelf of books exploring the life and work of the film’s rightly celebrated director, Orson Welles.
The latest is Mank, David Fincher’s cinematic look at the life of hard-drinking screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz. Its story centers on Mankiewicz’s life as he was writing the script for Citizen Kane (1941), and the difficulties which arose between the screenwriter and Welles, the producer, director and star of the film who is also credited as co-screenwriter. Fincher’s film, which is now streaming on Netflix, is based on a script by his late father, Jack; it stars Gary Oldman as Mankiewicz and Amanda Seyfried in the role of Marion Davies, a famed actress of the time who is widely thought to be the model for a key character in Citizen Kane.
The film is a flashback to a Hollywood that was (and still is) wrestling over creative control . . . . and writing credits. As a look back, a number of Hollywood personalities are portrayed. Besides Marion Davies, also depicted are producer Irving Thalberg and his wife, actress Norma Shearer, studio head Louis B. Mayer, actor John Gilbert, and possibly, obliquely, Charlie Chaplin; there may be others. There are also shout-outs to actors Wallace Beery and Lon Chaney. Louise Brooks is not portrayed or mentioned, but she does have a possible small part to play in the story behind the story of Citizen Kane.
It is not known exactly when or where Brooks and Mankiewicz first met, but the showgirl and the writer likely became acquainted in 1925, around the time Brooks, a dancer in the chorus, was appearing in the Summer edition of the Ziegfeld Follies. According to the Barry Paris biography of Brooks (who cites earlier letters the actress wrote in the 1970s), Brooks’ Follies dressing room was regularly visited by a number of somewhat older men who enjoyed the company of the vivacious 18 year old. Among them were writer Michael Arlen, producer Walter Wanger, film star Charlie Chaplin, and Herman Mankiewicz, then a drama critic for the New York Times.
The showgirl and the writer-critic hit it off. She was a high school dropout with a literary bent. He was a wordsmith, part and parcel of NYC’s Jazz Age intelligentsia and someone who seemed to know just about everybody, including the personalities associated with the Algonquin Roundtable. (For a short time, Brooks lived at the Roundtable’s main stomping ground, the Algonquin Hotel ..., and perhaps that is where Mank and Louise met.) However they first became acquainted, Mankiewicz took Brooks under his wing, and gifted her with conversation as well as books by the likes of Aldous Huxley. She gifted him with her presence. They were literary friends. She called him “my favorite person.” (In the New York Times in 1982, John Lahr described Mankiewicz's mentor-ship as the "Louise Brooks Literary Society.")
Brooks’ restlessness – usually in the form an invitation to a night out, led to an increasing number of absences from the Follies. One such occasion was an invitation from Mankiewicz to attend the September 16th Broadway opening of No, No, Nanette, a stage play which Mankiewicz was assigned to review. At dinner before the show, Mankiewicz downed a number of cocktails, and according to the Paris biography, he was “too drunk to stay awake, much less write a coherent review.” And so, the Paris biography notes, “the secretly literate Louise rose to the occasion, took notes, and wrote it for him.” Brooks’ review, “No, No Nanette Full of Vigorous Fun,” which appeared under Mankiewicz’s byline, was published in the New York Times on September 17, 1925. At the time, no one knew the piece, which largely mirrored the opinion of other New York critics, was actually penned by a teenage chorus girl with a penchant for slightly purple prose.
Brooks, around the time she knew Mank in NYC
Brooks and Mankiewicz each headed to Hollywood around the same time. Brooks, then under contract to Paramount, relocated to Los Angeles at the beginning of 1927. And by the end of that same year, Mankiewicz was there as well as head of Paramount's scenario department. In 1927 and 1928, Mankiewicz wrote the titles (the printed dialogue and explanations) for a few dozen films starring the likes of Clara Bow, Wallace Beery, Adolphe Menjou, Esther Ralston and others – and beginning in 1929, the script and dialogue for dozens more talkies. In fact, Mankiewicz wrote the titles for two of Brooks’ films, The City Gone Wild (1927), the lost James Cruze-directed gangster film, and The Canary Murder Case (1929), the celebrated murder mystery based on the bestselling book by S.S. van Dine. Brooks had starring roles in each.
Brooks's arrival in Los Angeles on Jan. 6, 1927
In the 1920s and 1930s, newspaper and magazine columnists regularly reported on the Hollywood social scene. But surprisingly, Mankiewicz and Brooks’ name never show up together in reference to their attendance at a movie opening, Hollywood nightclub, or party. The closest the two came to any sort of documented contact was in August, 1930 when Los Angeles Times columnist Myrna Nye reported that Brooks attended a Russian themed party at the home of Dimitri Tiomkin in Los Angeles. Also in attendance among the many guests** was Herman Mankiewicz’s younger brother Joseph, another prominent character in Mank. I would assume that Brooks and Joseph Mankiewicz were, at least, acquainted, if only because one says hello to the brother of friend. But whether Herman Mankiewicz and Brooks met again after New York City we don’t know.
A significant part of Mank is set at San Simeon, William Randolph Hearst’s estate on the Central Coast of California. Brooks spent time there in the late 1920s, at the height of her fame in America. Brooks recalled those visits in her essay “Marion Davies’ Niece,” which first appeared in Film Culture in 1974 and later in her 1982 book, Lulu in Hollywood. Brooks’ essay centers on Pepi Lederer, Davies’ niece and the brother of screenwriter Charles Lederer (another friend of Mankiewicz, and another character in Mank). Brooks and Pepi, a distraught personality who later committed suicide, were close – likely as close as or even closer than Brooks was with Marion Davies, Hearst’s longtime mistress. Brooks knew them all as a regular guest at both Hearst Castle and Davies’ Santa Monica beach house. (The home movie screen capture below shows Brooks sipping a drink at Davies' Santa Monica beach house sometime in 1927 or 1928.)
Brooks at Davies' Santa Monica beach house
Brooks spent only a few years in Hollywood in the 1930s, mostly at the beginning of the decade and then at the end. She left Hollywood for good in 1940, right around the time Mankiewicz was penning the script for Citizen Kane. About two-thirds through the Netflix film, Mank's brother Joe visits him after reading the script. He asks whether Mank wrote the script as a way of getting back at Hearst for various personal and political slights, and if the rumors are true that “Rosebud” is actually named after Hearst’s “pet name for Marion’s genitalia," adding, “I know you would never stoop to that.” Mank laughs it off, and says “only because I haven’t heard.”
In “Remembering Orson Welles,” a 1989 piece by Gore Vidal which first appeared in the New York Review of Books (and later in his book, United States: Essays 1952-1992), the famed novelist states, “In actual life, Rosebud was what Hearst called his friend Marion Davies’s clitoris.” Really? How does Vidal, a latter day figure who claimed no interest in the sex lives of others, know this to be true? Inquiring minds want to know.... Or at least I do. In a follow-up letter to the editor of the New York Review of Books in defense of his claim (which otherwise seems a tossed off sentence in Vidal's remembrances of the director), Vidal notes he had met both Hearst and Davies, but admits neither told him about the significance of Rosebud. Vidal also notes Herman Mankiewicz was a visitor to San Simeon and friend of Davies, and then leaves it at that, but not before referencing some of Louise Brooks' observations of San Simeon and the then just published biography by Barry Paris.
Vidal is being coy… and inquiring minds still want to know who told Vidal Rosebud was Hearst’s pet name for Davies’ clitoris? And ever so long ago, how might that information have gotten to Mankiewicz? If in fact it did? Vidal mentions that he would spill the beans “at a later date” (but seemingly never did), and relates how he also knew Charles Lederer, Davies’ screenwriter nephew. Vidal’s friendship with Lederer came about in the late 1950s, around the time according to Vidal the “matter of Rosebud was much discussed”. The only other clue Vidal offers readers is this, “After all, alcoholic ladies often discuss intimate matters with intimates.” Is Vidal referring to Davies, Brooks, or even himself?
Between the lines, Vidal infers that Davies let slip the meaning of
Rosebud to another women friend who also liked to drink. But who might
that other female drinking buddy have been? Inquiring minds still want to know. It might have been Pepi Lederer, who is known to have had problems with substance abuse.
Or it could have been someone we don't know about, or don't suspect. Brooks is also a possible, or even a probable, candidate. She was friendly
with Marion and knew her circle of friends; and significantly, she had been friendly with Mankiewicz. And
she also liked to drink. However, the question remains, did Mankiewicz and Brooks have any sort of contact in the late 1920s or 1930s?
But let's get back to Gore Vidal. I don't think Vidal ever met Brooks, or corresponded with her. But I do know that she knew who he was. In a March 1977 letter to biographer Tom Dardis, she wrote: "I hope you got more nourishing stuff out of me on Keaton and Schenk than I got out of Ish-Ish on Auden and Vidal." Starved for gossip in her Rochester, New York apartment, Brooks is referring to the English novelist Christopher Isherwood, whom she had met just the month before in February 1977 when he and his partner, the artist Don Bachardy, came to visit. At the time, Isherwood told Bachardy, "She's much the most intelligent actress I've ever met."
In his highly regarded 2016 book, Citizen Kane: A Filmmaker's Journey, film historian and Welles scholar Harlan Lebo states “‘Rosebud’ may have been Hearst’s personal nickname for Davies’ genitalia—a bit of gossip that Mankiewicz supposedly learned from silent screen star Louise Brooks." The keywords in this sentence are not "Rosebud" and "genitalia," but "may have been" and "supposedly." Lebo doesn't know for sure, and he is making sure we note both his caution and his uncertainty. Lebo also states that Rosebud could also have been the name of a racehorse Mankiewicz knew of, as has been suggested by others, or the name of Mankiewicz's childhood bicycle. In Welles' film, Rosebud is the name of Kane’s childhood sled. Or perhaps. . . . this significant prop could merely be a McGuffin. For Welles, “It didn’t mean a damn thing … We inserted that as a dramatic gimmick, nothing more.” But if it was just a dramatic gimmick, or simply the name of Kane’s childhood sled, why did Hearst (as Vidal wondered) react as strongly as he did back in 1941, wanting at one point to destroy every known print of Citizen Kane?
Harlan Lebo is a widely respected Welles scholar, an author, and an academic. I mention his book because it is the only one on Welles which I am familiar with which references Louise Brooks in connection with Rosebud. But as is made clear in the above paragraph, Lebo mentions the connection in a qualified manner as one of a few theories (anatomical reference, racehorse, toy, etc...) related to the meaning of Rosebud. That's valid. In an email exchange, Lebo stated "I would like to think that the Rosebud = genitalia story is not true,
because if it was, Mankiewicz couldn't have picked a better way to
commit career suicide." That is also a valid point.
In his book, Lebo notes his attribution about Davies comes from "Fiery Speech in a World
of Shadows: Rosebud's Impact on Early Audiences," a chapter that Robin
Bates and Scott Bates wrote for Ron Gottesman's compendium called Perspectives on Citizen Kane. Lebo also noted that Bates' source was Kenneth Anger's 1984 book, Hollywood Babylon II.
As Lebo is certainly aware, and as anyone familiar with film history knows, Kenneth Anger is a problematic figure. His titillating and sometimes snarky books, Hollywood Babylon and Hollywood Babylon II,are full of unsubstantiated gossip.What's in them may be true, or not, or only partly true, but how are we to know? When you place an unflattering picture next to an unsubstantiated claim, a certain amount of implication arises. Like yeast.
On page 159 of Hollywood Babylon II, Anger notes that Rosebud was William Randolph Hearst's pet name for Davies' "pussy-poo". He also notes that Davies drank, and likely shared a "giggled confidence" with someone -- "was it Louise Brooks?" Anger then ads, "as secrets will, one whisper led from mouth to ear to the steel-trap mind of Herman Mankiewicz -- and he made a mental note: Marion Davies = Rosebud." Interestingly, Anger employs a question mark when asking "was it Louise Brooks?" Even he is unsure, or doesn't really know, or won't say.
Despite its unreliability, Anger's 1984 book is worth mentioning as it is the first published source for the Davies-Rosebud-Brooks connection that I have come across. But still inquiring minds want to know, where did Anger get his information? Was it Brooks herself? I think it unlikely, but nevertheless a possibility. Kenneth, if you are reading this, shoot me an email and let me know.
Brooks and Anger met in Paris in the Fall of 1958, while Brooks was being celebrated/rediscovered by Henri Langlois. Anger, along with Lotte Eisner, Preston Sturges, Thomas Quinn Curtis, Man Ray and others visited Brooks, who was holed up in her hotel, reluctant to face the renewed attention to her career. The friendship seemingly continued. Anger went easy on Brooks in Hollywood Babylon (a book first released in France in 1959), describing her as "one of the loveliest visions ever to grace a screen," and only mentioning how she "went from stardom to a Macy's counter in a vertiginous fall from glory." He could have said worse. In 1974, Anger mounted an Art Deco film festival in San Francisco, and among the films he screened was Brooks' sole French effort, Prix de Beaute -- then a rarity. In more recent years, Anger has dropped Brooks' name in reference to comments she supposedly made about his avant-garde films. Notably, when journalist Tom Graves visited Brooks in her Rochester apartment in 1980, one of the books he noticed laying about was a foreign edition of Hollywood Babylon.
A first French edition of Hollywood Babylon, like the one Brooks likely owned
However, in a 1962 letter to frequent correspondent Jan Wahl, Brooks was critical of Anger, and even more critical of Hollywood Babylon, describing it as "A bunch of old dead photographs. A lot of ridiculous mumbo junk. A bunch of old dead gossip. . . ." Had Anger learned the secret meaning of Rosebud during his 1958 meeting in Paris, one might guess that he would have used such a juicy morsel in the first volume of Hollywood Babylon. He didn't. It only shows up in Hollywood Babylon II, which was published in 1984. And so, if Anger deduced the meaning of Rosebud from Brooks, it likely happened in the 1960s or 1970s. And if it was through Brooks, she must have also suggested to Anger that she told Mankiewicz, or someone else, who then relayed it to the screenwriter.
"Rosebud"
With all this said, however, we still don't know and are likely to never know the origins of the tittle-tattle that Brooks supplied Makiewicz with the secret meaning of Rosebud. Perhaps she did, perhaps she didn't. Perhaps Kenneth Anger made it up.
If you haven't seen Mank, be sure and check it out. It is streaming on Netflix, and is an pretty decent if historically problematic film. Gary Oldman is terrific, as is Charles Dance as William Randolph Hearst. And if you haven't seen Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, check that out first. It is a great film. And then you'll understand why all the fuss over Rosebud.
1965 portrait of Brooks by Roddy McDowell
** Also at this notable party were Dashiel Hammett, Humphrey Bogart, Edmund Goulding, King Vidor and Eleanor Boardman, David O. Selznick, Irving Berlin, Colleen Moore, Ernst Lubitsch, Sam Goldwyn, Agnes DeMille, Constance Bennett, Paul Bern, Kay Francis, Benjamin Glazer, Basil Rathbone, Maurice Chevalier, Marie Dressler, and others.
