Ukraine and Louise Brooks

In the course of my ongoing research into the world-wide presentation of Brooks' films, I have found that that they were shown in what is now Ukraine, which in the silent and early sound era was unwillingly part of Russia (aka the former Soviet Union dba the U.S.S.R.) The results of my research will be published in Around the World with Louise Brooks, which hopefully will be released later this year.

One archive that I have been able to explore is LIBRARIA, the Ukrainian Online Periodicals Archive. The archive remains online for the time being. But with a threaten Russian takeover, who knows for how long? For more on the silent and early sound era in Ukraine, see my earlier post on The Glories of Ukraine's KINO and Chwila film magazines.

I have written about my newspaper searches in the past, and was able to access one 1929 page from a newspaper in Chernivtsi. As a document, as a record of a place and time, this page has a remarkable history behind it. This city is located in what is now Ukraine, but in the 1920s was part of Romania. With its half-page, German-language spread on Die Buchse der Pandora, this is a notable find which shows just how wide-spread silent film culture once was.

I also found one other clipping which details when and where the actress' films were shown in what is now Ukraine. Below is an advertisement for a showing of Pandora's Box (known as Puszka Pandory or Dzieje Kokoty Lulu) which was published in May, 1929 in Chwila, a Polish-language Zionist daily from Lwów (or Lviv), a city in what is now western Ukraine, around 70 kilometers from the border with Poland. In the 1920s, Lviv was part of Poland.

I also did a search for Louise Brooks' name in Ukrainian, Луїза Брукс, and found this thumbnail image, which I was unable to access in a larger format.

Certainly, there is more to be found ....I say this because I do have a number of clippings from nearby nations such as Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. For me, Ukrainian newspaper and magazine archives  are difficult to access. For more on the silent and early sound era in Ukraine, see my earlier post on The Glories of Ukraine's KINO and Chwila film magazines. 

I posted this blog because I support a free and independent Ukraine, whose existence is being threatened by Vladimir Putin and his Russian gang. Hey Putin, the Soviet Union is gone. Get over it.

The Ukraine, Louise Brooks, Pandora's Box

I have learned a lot watching the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump on television, least of which is the pronunciation of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is pronounced Keeeve, not Key-ev.

In the course of my ongoing research into the world-wide presentation of Brooks' films, I have found that that they were shown in the Ukraine, which in the silent and early sound era was unwillingly part of Russia (aka the former Soviet Union dba the U.S.S.R.) The results of my research will be published in Around the World with Louise Brooks, which will be released later this year.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to access search results on the sole Ukrainian newspaper archive I have come across, LIBRARIA Ukrainian Online Periodicals Archive. (Search results are only available to institutions, not individuals.) The one and only intriguing piece I found is this half-page article on Buchse de Pandora published in Vorwärts, a German-language newspaper from Chernivtsi in what is now western Ukraine. (UPDATE: In the 1920s, Chernivtsi was part of Romania.) As the Ukrainian database noted above won't let me see anything more than a thumbnail image, I have enlarged it and posted it below. Can any readers of this blog access the above mentioned database and clip this page? I emailed the archive earlier but never heard back.

Otherwise, I have found one other clipping which details when and where the actress' films were shown in the Ukraine. Below is an advertisement for a showing of Pandora's Box (known as Puszka Pandory or Dzieje Kokoty Lulu) published in May, 1929 in Chwila, a Polish-language Zionist daily from Lwów, a city in what is now western Ukraine, around 70 kilometers from the border with Poland. (UPDATE: In the 1920s, Lwów was part of Poland.)

Certainly, there is more to be found ....as I have a number of clippings from nearby nations such as Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Russia. Below, for example, is an ad from the English-language Moscow Daily News.

The Glories of Ukraine's KINO and Chwila film magazines

When we think of the silent era in Europe, films from countries like France, Germany, Italy or the Soviet Union might come to mind. Each produced great actors and directors and landmark motion pictures. However, there were also vital film industries emerging elsewhere - in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, etc... This blog's recent series of posts highlighting Poland's KINO magazine suggest there is much to discover in other European nations - not only in their interest in American film stars, but in their own stars and emerging film industries. If you haven't already done so, be sure and check out 

The Glories of Poland's KINO Magazine, part one

The Glories of Poland's KINO Magazine, part two

The Glories of Poland's KINO Magazine, part three

Ukraine's Online Periodical Archive, The Libraria, contains a number of periodicals for those who like me enjoy surfing the internet and browsing old newspapers and magazines, even though I can't read a word (but I can "read" and appreciate the visuals). I wish to follow-up on those three Polish posts with a similar post highlighting Ukraine's KINO and Chwila  magazines, which I was able to survey. (The Chwila covers continue after the break = "Read more.")

Let's begin with KINO magazine, which was dominated, seemingly, by Soviet actors and films? Unfortunately, because of the way this database is controlled, I wasn't able to look into the magazines themselves - just their 109 covers.  But still, there are some great covers to be seen featuring the likes of Buster Keaton, Anna May Wong and others. Unfortunately, I didn't notice any featuring Louise Brooks. I have included a few other covers simply for their design, which is similarly interesting.

Buster Keaton, 1929

Anna May Wong, 1929

Ramon Novarro ? 1929

Adolphe Menjou? Douglas Fairbanks? 1928

a great design, 1926

another great design, 1928

Ukrainian article about Pandora's Box which pictures film stars Louise Brooks and Francis Lederer

In the course of my ongoing research into the world-wide presentation of the films of Louise Brooks, I have found that that they were shown in what is now Ukraine, which during the silent and early sound era was unwillingly part of Russia (aka the former Soviet Union dba the U.S.S.R.) The results of my research will be published later this year in Around the World with Louise Brooks.

One archive that I have been able to explore is LIBRARIA, the Ukrainian Online Periodicals Archive.Just the other day, it went offline, but then returned. And what's more, the archive has opened itself up and visitors may conduct unrestricted searches. I would encourage everyone to check it out, even if you don't read Ukrainian or Russian, as it can be interesting just to browse. One publication to begin with is KINO magazine, which I wrote about earlier in "The Glories of Ukraine's KINO and Chwila film magazines."

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I also did a search for Louise Brooks' name in Cyrillic "Луїза Брукс", and found a thumbnail image, which I was unable to access in a larger format due to earlier restricted, Ukrainian-only, viewing policies. With those policies lifted, I was able to view and copy what I found. It is an article about Pandora's Box (I believe), and pictures the film's stars Louise Brooks and Francis Lederer. It stands as my best Ukrainian find.

I posted this blog because I support a free and independent Ukraine, whose existence is being threatened by Vladimir Putin and his Russian gang. Hey Putin, the Soviet Union is gone. Get over it. The world hates you.

Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1929

Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1929. Based on two plays by the  German dramatist Frank Wedekind, Die Büchse der Pandora, or Pandora’s Box, tells the story of Lulu, a lovely, amoral, and somewhat petulant showgirl whose behavior leads to tragic consequences. Louise Brooks plays Lulu, the singular femme fatale. As Brooks' biographer Barry Paris put it, her “sinless sexuality hypnotizes and destroys the weak, lustful men around her.” And not just men. . . Lulu’s sexual magnetism had few bounds, and this once controversial film features what may be the screen’s first lesbian character. More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks Society filmography page.

The film went into production at the Nero-Film Studio in Berlin, with production lasting between October 17 and November 23, 1928. The film premiered on February 9, 1929 at the Gloria-Palast in Berlin, Germany.

Under its original German title, Die Büchse der Pandora, documented screenings of the film took place in Austria, Danzig, Slovakia (then part of Czechoslovakia), Latvia, Luxembourg, Ukraine, and the United States.

Outside Germany, Die Büchse der Pandora was exhibited or written about under the title Loulou (Algeria); La caja de Pandora and Lulu (Argentina); Le boîte de Pandore and Loulou (Belgium); A caixa de Pandora (Brazil); Кутията на Пандора (Bulgaria); La caja de Pandora and Lulu (Chile); Lulu La Pecadora (Cuba); Pandořina skříňka or Pandořina skříňka (Lulu) and Umrít Büchse der Pandoru (Czechoslovakia) and Pandorina skrínka (Slovakia); Pandoras æske (Denmark); De doos van Pandora (Dutch East Indies – Indonesia); Pandora’s Box (England); Pandora laegas (Estonia); Pandoran lipas (Finland); Loulou and Le boîte de Pandore (France); Λούλου and Lulu- το κουτί της Πανδώρας (Greece); Pandóra szelencéje (Hungary); Lulu and Il vaso di Pandora and Jack lo Sventratore (Italy); パンドラの箱 or Pandoranohako and The Box of Pandora (Japan); Korea (Box of Pandora);  Pandoras lade and Pandoras Kaste (Latvia); Pandoros skrynia (Lithuania); Lou lou La Boite de Pandore (Luxembourg); La caja de Pandora (Mexico); De doos van Pandora (The Netherlands*); Pandoras eske (Norway); Lulu and Puszka Pandory (Poland); A Bocéta de Pandora and A caixa de Pandora (Portugal); Cutia Pandorei and Lulu and Pandora szelenceje (Romania); Lulu and Pandorina skrinjica (Slovenia); La caja de Pandora (Spain); Pandoras ask (Sweden); Meş’um Fahişe and Meş’um Fahişe (Lulu) (Turkey); Dzieje Kokoty Lulu (Ukraine); Box of Pandora and Pandora’s Box and Pandora szelencéje (Hungarian-language press) and Ящик Пандоры (Russian-language press) (United States); La caja de Pandora and Lulu and El alma de la herrera (Uruguay, sound version); Lulu and Лулу and Ящик Пандорьі (U.S.S.R.); La caja de Pandora (Venezula).

Since the late 1950s, numerous screenings of the film have been taken place around the world, including first ever showings under the title Pandora’s Box in Australia, Canada, India, Israel, Northern Ireland, and elsewhere. Within the last few years, a showing of the film also took place in Turkey under the titles Pandora’nın Kutusu and Pandora’nýn Kutusuö. The film has also been shown on television across Europe as well as in Australia, Canada, the United States, and elsewhere.

*Despite the film being banned in The Netherlands in 1930, it was shown on October 18, 1935 in Amsterdam at De Uitkijk.

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

 — The jazz combo seen playing in the wedding scene in the film is Sid Kay's Fellows. They were an actual musical group of the time. Founded in 1926 and led by Sigmund Petruschka (“Sid”) and Kurt Kaiser (“Kay”), Sid Kay’s Fellows were a popular ten member dance band based in Berlin. They performed at the Haus Vaterland (a leading Berlin night-spot) between 1930 and 1932. And in 1933, they accompanied the great Sidney Bechet during his recitals in the German capitol. Sid Kay’s Fellows also accompanied various theatrical performances and played in Munich, Dresden, Frankfurt, Vienna, Budapest, Barcelona and elsewhere. The group’s depiction in Pandora’s Box predates their career as recording artists. In 1933, when the Nazis came to power, Sid Kay’s Fellows were forbidden to perform publicly. They disbanded, and transformed themselves into a studio orchestra and made recordings for the Jewish label Lukraphon.

— When Pandora’s Box debuted in Berlin in 1929, an orchestra playing a musical score accompanied the film. The score was reviewed in at least one of the Berlin newspapers. The score, however, does not apparently survive. What is also not known is if the music of Sid Kay’s Fellows, or any sort of jazz, played a part in the music of Pandora’s Box. [Interestingly, director G.W. Pabst included another jazz combo in his next film with Brooks, The Diary of a Lost Girl.]

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.

San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2022

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival held its first event in July, 1996 - a one-day, three-program celebration of silent cinema with live musical accompaniment put on by founders Steven Salmons and Melissa Chittick. The festival was a success from the beginning, and since then it has grown into a multi-day event with satellite programs throughout the year.

I have been attending the SFSFF since before it began. Way back in 1994, I attended a screening of I Don't Want to be a Man (1918), delightful German silent starring "Germany's Mary Pickford," Ossi Oswalda. 

The Ernst Lubitsch film was shown at the Castro Theater as part of the SF International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. It was also kind of a tryout event by Salmons and Chittick to see if they could sponsor a silent screening and have someone show up! It worked, and the rest is, as they say, silent film festival history. I wrote an article about that tryout event, and another about the festival's 1996 debut, for Classic Images. And I have been writing about the festival for various publications ever since.

As a longtime attendee and observer of the festival, I want to make a simple observation - that this year's covid-delayed 25th anniversary event is the most promising ever. What an impressive line-up of films - classics, popular fair, new restorations, and discoveries from all around the world. All together, the 7-day 2022 event features 29 programs featuring film from 14 countries.

The official announcement reads thus: "San Francisco Silent Film Festival announces the complete lineup for its 2022 Festival, May 5–11 at the Castro Theatre, San Francisco. In fact, it's been 27 years since SFSFF began but we're celebrating our 25th anniversary festival this year (after being waylaid by the pandemic) with a full week of live cinema, pairing beautiful images on screen with superb live music. Twenty-nine programs, all with live musical accompaniment, including nineteen recent film restorations, nine of which will make their North American premieres at the festival.

The festival begins on Thursday, May 5, with the long-awaited world premiere of the full-scale restoration of Erich von Stroheim’s FOOLISH WIVES. This presentation also marks the world premiere of Timothy Brock’s SFSFF-commissioned score! Brock will conduct the SF Conservatory of Music Orchestra.

Many countries will be represented at the festival with films from Austria, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Sweden, USA, and the USSR, including Soviet Georgia and Soviet Ukraine, with more than 50 extraordinary musical accompanists from around the world. Our screening of the Ukrainian film ARREST WARRANT on May 8 will be a benefit with proceeds going to the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre in Kyiv (Ukraine's film archive) and to World Central Kitchen, serving nourishing meals to refugees in the region.
 
Two San Francisco Silent Film Festival Awards for commitment to the preservation and presentation of silent cinema will be given at SFSFF 2022. The first will be presented to New York’s MoMA at the premiere of SFSFF and MoMA's restoration of FOOLISH WIVES on opening night Thursday, May 5, 7:00 pm. The second will be presented to the Deutsche Kinemathek at the North American premiere of their restoration of SYLVESTER on Sunday, May 8, 7:00 pm.

Visit silentfilm.org for complete schedule information, tickets, and passes." 

Or click here to download a handy guide in a pdf format.

 

I have an article previewing the Festival on Film International -- see "Ukrainian Film and Restorations at Silent Film Festival".

Oh, and incidentally... This year the San Francisco Silent Film Festival will premiere its new restoration of The Street of Forgotten Men (1925), Louise Brooks' first film. For fans of the actress, it is an event not to be missed. More information about the film can found HERE. And more information about the event can be found HERE.

Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1929

Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1929. Based on two plays by the  German dramatist Frank Wedekind, Die Büchse der Pandora, or Pandora’s Box, tells the story of Lulu, a lovely, amoral, and somewhat petulant showgirl whose behavior leads to tragic consequences. Louise Brooks plays Lulu, the singular femme fatale. As Brooks' biographer Barry Paris put it, her “sinless sexuality hypnotizes and destroys the weak, lustful men around her.” And not just men. . . Lulu’s sexual magnetism had few bounds, and this once controversial film features what may be the screen’s first lesbian character. More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks Society filmography page.

The film went into production at the Nero-Film Studio in Berlin, with production lasting between October 17 and November 23, 1928. The film premiered on February 9, 1929 at the Gloria-Palast in Berlin, Germany.

Under its original German title, Die Büchse der Pandora, documented screenings of the film took place in Austria, Danzig, Slovakia (then part of Czechoslovakia), Latvia, Luxembourg, Ukraine, and the United States.

Outside Germany, Die Büchse der Pandora was exhibited or written about under the title Loulou (Algeria); La caja de Pandora and Lulu (Argentina); Le boîte de Pandore and Loulou (Belgium); A caixa de Pandora (Brazil); Кутията на Пандора (Bulgaria); La caja de Pandora and Lulu (Chile); Lulu La Pecadora (Cuba); Pandořina skříňka or Pandořina skříňka (Lulu) and Umrít Büchse der Pandoru (Czechoslovakia) and Pandorina skrínka (Slovakia); Pandoras æske (Denmark); De doos van Pandora (Dutch East Indies – Indonesia); Pandora’s Box (England); Pandora laegas (Estonia); Pandoran lipas (Finland); Loulou and Le boîte de Pandore (France); Λούλου and Lulu- το κουτί της Πανδώρας (Greece); Pandóra szelencéje (Hungary); Lulu and Il vaso di Pandora and Jack lo Sventratore (Italy); パンドラの箱 or Pandoranohako and The Box of Pandora (Japan); Korea (Box of Pandora);  Pandoras lade and Pandoras Kaste (Latvia); Pandoros skrynia (Lithuania); Lou lou La Boite de Pandore (Luxembourg); La caja de Pandora (Mexico); De doos van Pandora (The Netherlands*); Pandoras eske (Norway); Lulu and Puszka Pandory (Poland); A Bocéta de Pandora and A caixa de Pandora (Portugal); Cutia Pandorei and Lulu and Pandora szelenceje (Romania); Lulu and Pandorina skrinjica (Slovenia); La caja de Pandora (Spain); Pandoras ask (Sweden); Meş’um Fahişe and Meş’um Fahişe (Lulu) (Turkey); Dzieje Kokoty Lulu (Ukraine); Box of Pandora and Pandora’s Box and Pandora szelencéje (Hungarian-language press) and Ящик Пандоры (Russian-language press) (United States); La caja de Pandora and Lulu and El alma de la herrera (Uruguay, sound version); Lulu and Лулу and Ящик Пандорьі (U.S.S.R.); La caja de Pandora (Venezula).

Since the late 1950s, numerous screenings of the film have been taken place around the world, including first ever showings under the title Pandora’s Box in Australia, Canada, India, Israel, Northern Ireland, and elsewhere. Within the last few years, a showing of the film also took place in Turkey under the titles Pandora’nın Kutusu and Pandora’nýn Kutusuö. The film has also been shown on television across Europe as well as in Australia, Canada, the United States, and elsewhere.

*Despite the film being banned in The Netherlands in 1930, it was shown on October 18, 1935 in Amsterdam at De Uitkijk.

 — The jazz combo seen playing in the wedding scene in the film is Sid Kay's Fellows. They were an actual musical group of the time. Founded in 1926 and led by Sigmund Petruschka (“Sid”) and Kurt Kaiser (“Kay”), Sid Kay’s Fellows were a popular ten member dance band based in Berlin. They performed at the Haus Vaterland (a leading Berlin night-spot) between 1930 and 1932. And in 1933, they accompanied the great Sidney Bechet during his recitals in the German capitol. Sid Kay’s Fellows also accompanied various theatrical performances and played in Munich, Dresden, Frankfurt, Vienna, Budapest, Barcelona and elsewhere. The group’s depiction in Pandora’s Box predates their career as recording artists. In 1933, when the Nazis came to power, Sid Kay’s Fellows were forbidden to perform publicly. They disbanded, and transformed themselves into a studio orchestra and made recordings for the Jewish label Lukraphon.

— When Pandora’s Box debuted in Berlin in 1929, an orchestra playing a musical score accompanied the film. The score was reviewed in at least one of the Berlin newspapers. The score, however, does not apparently survive. What is also not known is if the music of Sid Kay’s Fellows, or any sort of jazz, played a part in the music of Pandora’s Box. [Interestingly, director G.W. Pabst included another jazz combo in his next film with Brooks, The Diary of a Lost Girl.]

The 2017 San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Here is the line-up of films for the 2017 San Francisco Silent Film Festival at the historic Castro Theatre in San Francisco. Not only am I and Louise Brooks fans everywhere excited about seeing Now We're in the Air 90 years after it was first released, but I am especially thrilled to see what is certainly one of my favorite silent films, the Polish classic, The Strong Man. Hope to see you at one or more of these screenings!

THE FRESHMAN

with musical accompaniment by Berklee Silent Film Orchestra

Thu, Jun 1 7:00 PM 

 

Harold Lloyd’s biggest box-office hit stars Lloyd as Harold Lamb, a college freshman who dreams of being a big man on campus and gets advice from pamphlets such as “Clever College Clothes” and “How to Play Football.” A disastrous tryout lands him a spot on the football team as a human tackling dummy before he becomes the team’s water boy. But Harold holds on to his dreams, aided by his sweetheart, Peggy (Jobyna Ralston). The Freshman’s climactic football game was filmed at UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium! 

 

 

AMAZING TALES FROM THE ARCHIVES

with musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin

Fri, Jun 2 10:00 AM

Sharing their amazing preservation tales are Library of Congress’s George Willeman, who has managed to sync cylinders from Edison National Historical Park with eight films from LOC’s collection for his presentation on Edison Kinetophones from 1912–13; Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi from EYE Filmmuseum, whose presentation will reveal the wonders of EYE’s UNESCO-inscribed Jean Desmet collection; and Heather Linville from the Academy Film Archive, sharing rarely seen footage of globetrotting filmmaker adventuress Aloha Wanderwell.

 

GET YOUR MAN

with musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne / Introduced by Cari Beauchamp

Fri, Jun 2 1:00 PM

 

Silent-era “It” girl Clara Bow falls for French aristocrat (Buddy Rogers!) after they are locked overnight in a Paris wax museum. There’s a sticking point, though—Rogers’s blueblood is betrothed to another! The Library of Congress has reconstructed the film from recovered materials, filling in missing sequences with key photos and intertitles—and in the process rescuing Bow’s incandescent performance for posterity. Restoration by the Library of Congress

Plus: SFSFF’s Rob Byrne made a remarkable discovery in the National Film Archive of the Czech Republic—footage from the lost Wallace Beery/Louise Brooks comedy, Now We’re in the Air! He was able to restore the 23-minute fragment in time for its premiere in this program. Restoration by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and National Film Archive, Czech Republic

THE DUMB GIRL OF PORTICI

with musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin and Frank Bockius / Introduced by Shelley Stamp

Fri, Jun 2 3:30 PM

 

Legendary ballet dancer Anna Pavlova was at the height of her fame when she teamed up with director Lois Weber to make The Dumb Girl of Portici. Pavlova choreographed, produced, and starred in this historical epic, Universal’s most expensive production to date and the first blockbuster ever directed by a woman. Set in mid-17th-century Spanish-occupied Naples, Pavlova’s mute fisher-girl sparks a revolution. 

 

BODY AND SOUL

Musical accompaniment and introduction by DJ Spooky

Fri, Jun 2 7:00 PM

 

One of the few surviving titles from the groundbreaking African-American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, Body and Soul features the great Paul Robeson in his film debut. Robeson is magnificent in dual roles—as an escaped convict posing as a preacher and the corrupt preacher’s honorable twin brother.  

THE INFORMER

with musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne, Guenter Buchwald, and Frank Bockius /
Introduced by Bryony Dixon, BFI Curator of Silent Film

Fri, Jun 2 9:30 PM

 

The earliest adaptation of Liam O’Flaherty’s novel, this Irish revolutionary drama anticipates film noir in its aesthetics and fast-moving narrative. Set among Dublin revolutionaries in the early days of the Irish Free State (formed in 1922), the action starts when a clandestine meeting of revolutionaries is raided by the police and the police chief is shot and killed. Director Arthur Robison's taut masterpiece was famously remade in 1935 by John Ford.

 

 

MAGIC AND MIRTH: A Collection of Enchanting Short Films, 1906–1924

with musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin and Frank Bockius / Introduced by Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films

Sat, Jun 3 10:00 AM

 

This enchanting collection of short films was selected by Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films to commemorate preservationist David Shepard’s contribution to film culture. Titles include THOSE AWFUL HATS (USA, 1909, d. D.W. Griffith), CARTOON FACTORY (USA, 1924, p. Fleischer Studios), THE MASQUERADER (USA, 1914, d. Charlie Chaplin), FIRST PRIZE FOR CELLO PLAYING (France, 1907, p. Pathé Frères), FANTASMAGORIE (France, 1908, d. Émile Cohl), TIT FOR TAT (France, 1906, d. Gaston Velle), WHEN THE DEVIL DRIVES (UK, 1907, d. Walter Booth), DOWN IN THE DEEP (France, 1906, d. Ferdinand Zecca), THE DANCING PIG (France, 1907, p. Pathé Frères), THE WITCH (France, 1906, d. Georges Méliès). 

 

 

A STRONG MAN

with musical accompaniment by Guenter Buchwald and Sascha Jacobsen / Introduction by Eddie Muller

Sat, Jun 3 12:00 PM

 

Unsuccessful writer Henryk Bielecki coaxes his friend Jerzy to suicide so he can steal the manuscript of Jerzy’s book and publish it as his own. The book becomes a bestseller, leading to fame and fortune for Henryk—and a stage production. But as the play is about to go on, Henryk’s secrets start to unravel. This elegant thriller is based on a novel by Polish modernist Stanislaw Przybyszewski. 

 

 

FILIBUS

with musical accompaniment by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra /
Introduced by Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi of EYE Filmmuseum

Sat, Jun 3 2:30 PM

 

Glamorous Baroness de Troixmonde has a secret—her alternate identity is a criminal mastermind called Filibus! The masked sky-pirate flies around in her technologically advanced zeppelin—manned by black-suited, masked, obedient male acolytes—committing crimes and toying with the police. When a reward is offered for information leading to the capture of the notorious criminal, the Baroness visits the police station to declare her intention to prove that Filibus is no other than the detective assigned to the case! The beautifully tinted and toned print adds to the wonderment! 

 

 

OUTSIDE THE LAW

with musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne and Frank Bockius

Sat, Jun 3 5:00 PM

 

San Francisco crime boss Silent Madden and his daughter, Molly ‘Silky Moll’ Madden are friends with respected Confucian master Chang Lo, whose influence is shifting the Maddens’ thinking toward the straight-and-narrow. But nefarious bad guy Black Mike Sylva has other ideas! Sylva frames Silent for murder and manipulates Molly into a return to crime. Lon Chaney has dual roles in the story—as the evil Sylva and as Ah Wing, Chang Lo’s dedicated servant—but the real star is the tough-as-nails Priscilla Dean as Molly. Look for Anna May Wong in one of her earliest roles!
 

BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (Bronenosets Potyomkin)

with musical accompaniment by the Matti Bye Ensemble

Sat, Jun 3 7:15 PM

 

Battleship Potemkin changed cinema history forever. Commissioned to mark the 20th anniversary of the failed 1905 revolution, Sergei Eisenstein’s masterpiece is a vibrant paean to collective heroism. From the moment of its 1925 premiere at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre, the film was hailed as a masterpiece and Eisenstein’s theories of montage became aesthetic tools for filmmakers everywhere. But almost from the beginning, Potemkin was the object of censorship and suffered decades of re-cuts and re-translations that blunted its energy and originality—which makes it a special delight to present the film in its definitive restoration, completed in 2007.

 

 

A PAGE OF MADNESS (Kurutta Ichipeiji)

with musical accompaniment by Alloy Orchestra 

Sat, Jun 3 9:30 PM

 

A retired sailor volunteers to work odd jobs at the asylum where his wife has been confined since her attempt to drown their infant son many years before. Without intertitles, Page evokes a world as seen by the mentally disturbed—through shifting images and rapid editing—and creates a modernist tour-de-force as psychologically and aesthetically compelling as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. 

 

 

HE DOLL (Die Puppe)

with musical accompaniment by Guenter Buchwald and Frank Bockius / Introduced by Jay Weissberg, director of Le giornate del cinema muto

Sun, Jun 4 10:00 AM

 

Baron von Chanterelle has one condition in his will: His beloved nephew Lancelot must be married to inherit the estate. But Lancelot is so averse to marriage that he flees to a monastery, where the financially ailing monks devise a plan that will make everyone happy! One trip to the dollmaker and ersatz wedding later, Lancelot brings his mechanical bride back to the friary, planning to share the bequest with the brothers. What could possibly go wrong?

 

SILENCE

with musical accompaniment by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra / Introduced by SFSFF President Robert Byrne

Sun, Jun 4 12:00 PM

 

This Cecil B. DeMille production was considered lost for many decades and the recent discovery of materials at the Cinémathèque Française is cause for celebration! Based on a successful Broadway play, Silence opens with gallows being constructed. Jim Warren (H.B. Warner) awaits hanging for murder, but his lawyer is certain that Warren is innocent and shielding the guilty person. What follows is a gripping tale of love and sacrifice. 

 

A MAN THERE WAS (Terje Vigen)

with musical accompaniment by the Matti Bye Ensemble / Introduced by Jay Weissberg, director of Le giornate del cinema muto

 Sun, Jun 4 2:00 PM

 

Terje Vigen inaugurated Sweden’s Golden Age of film and confirmed Victor Sjöström’s primacy as a filmmaker. Here he brilliantly captures the spirit of Henrik Ibsen’s epic poem, aided by Julius Jaenzon’s beautiful camerawork. Sjöström plays the sailor Terje, who braves a British blockade to find food for his starving family but is captured and imprisoned by a heartless British captain. While languishing in prison, Terje’s family dies. His bitterness and desire for revenge grows until... 

 

THE LOST WORLD

with musical accompaniment by Alloy Orchestra / Introduced by Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films

Sun, Jun 4 4:00 PM

  

This was the first of many film adaptations based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel about an Amazonian land where prehistoric creatures hold sway, and for decades it could only be seen in an abridged version. This new edition combines portions of eleven film elements to present the most complete reconstruction possible. Wallace Beery arranges an expedition to the Amazon and a motley crew—including Lewis Stone, Bessie Love, and Lloyd Hughes—sign on. But the creatures engineered by Willis O’Brien (King Kong) are the true stars.  

 

 

TWO DAYS (Dva Dni)

with musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne

Sun, Jun 4 6:30 PM

 

Set during the 1917–21 Civil War in Ukraine, Two Days tells the story of a faithful servant, Anton, who remains behind to guard the master’s mansion as the family flees the approaching Bolsheviks. In the chaos of their escape, the landowner’s young son is left behind and Anton hides the boy in the attic. The Bolsheviks arrive to occupy the house, and it turns out that Anton’s son—whose political beliefs run counter to his father’s—is their leader. What unfolds is a complex drama, full of nuance and expressively told. 

 

THE THREE MUSKETEERS

with musical accompaniment by the Guenter Buchwald Ensemble / Introduction by Tracey Goessel

Sun, Jun 4 8:15 PM

 

The story is familiar—young Gascon D’Artagnan shows up in 1625 Paris eager to join forces with the King’s musketeers to save the Queen’s honor—it’s been told many times. But through sheer force of his exuberant physicality, Douglas Fairbanks puts his indelible stamp on Alexander Dumas’s character—and creates the playbook for swashbucklers in the meantime. The Three Musketeers features lavish sets, romance, intrigue, and sword play aplenty!  

 

Louise Brooks film Prix de beauté made available for online streaming during coronavirus crisis

Yesterday's blog,Where and how to stream Louise Brooks and silent & classic film from home, featured a segment on Italy's Cineteca Milano. In response to the worldwide coronavirus crisis, that prestigious film archive has made parts of its rich catalogue available to stream online. Among the 500 films available for streaming are a number of silent era features and shorts, including the 1930 Louise Brooks film, Prix de beauté.

To access the Cineteca Milano film catalogue, you must first register at this address - click HERE. Instructions are pretty easy to follow, even if you don’t speak or read Italian. I used the the Chrome browser, which can translate pages on the fly. Once you have set up your free account, search for Louise Brooks, or Miss Europa (the Italian title for Prix de beauté).

I can't stress enough what an extraordinary opportunity this is to view this RARE version of this great Louise Brooks film. First, consider this. The sound version which most Louise Brooks fans are familiar with was released on DVD by KINO. That version runs 1 hour and 28 minutes. This Italian version runs 2 hours and 3 minutes. That's 35 more minutes! I realize that "projection speeds" or FPS can account for varying lengths - but I have watched the Italian version and believe it does contain footage I haven't seen before!

As is known, Prix de beauté was released as both a sound and silent film, and, it was released in four different languages, French, English, German and Italian. (I don't know that the film was released in four different language as both a silent and sound film. That questions still needs to be resolved.)

The version made available through the Cineteca Milano is the silent Italian version. There is no music, and the subtitles are in Italian. Here is the basic film information offered by Cineteca Milano.

TITLE: Miss Europa
ORIGINAL TITLE: Prix ​​De Beauté
FILM DIRECTOR: Augusto Genina
COUNTRY: France
DURATION: 124 '
YEAR: 1930

CAST & CREDITS: Cast: Louise Brooks Georges Charlia Augusto Bandini; Subject: Augusto Genina Rebé Clair Bernard Zimmer Alessandro De Stefani; Screenplay: GW Pabst René Clair; Photogafia: Rudolph Maté Louis Née; Editing: T. Edmond Greville; Scenography: Robert Gys; Costumes: Jean Patou; Production: Sofar-Film

SYNOPSIS: Lucienne, who has a modest job in an office, is a very beautiful and unscrupulous girl. Unbeknownst to her boyfriend, she takes part in the beauty contest for Miss Europe and wins it but then chooses to be his wife, giving up the courtship of a prince. One night, however, she leaves the house and her husband because she wants to try to live in luxury and, above all, she needs to feel surrounded by the admiration of others. The prince has not forgotten her and helps her to enter the world of cinema but her husband will find her and, not knowing how to forgive her, will be ruthless with her.

As I mentioned above, I have viewed the silent Italian version of Prix de beauté. I have always thought it was a good film, but now feel it is better in this longer, silent edition. I also now feel that Louise Brooks did some of the best acting of her career in this film, especially in scenes which I think are not present in the sound version I am far more familiar with.

I have seen a silent version once before. In 2013, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival screened a version of the film, which ran 1 hour and 48 minutes. That version was restored in a silent version by the Cineteca del Comune di Bologna from a silent copy with Italian intertitles from the Cineteca Italiana and a French sound copy from the Cinémathèque française.

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival program essay on Prix de beauté states "Even as Brooks earned some kudos for her performance, particularly from the French critics, the film was a quick flop in Europe and didn’t even merit a U.S. release." While it is true that the film wasn't shown in the United States until 1957 when the Eastman House screened a print, it is NOT TRUE that "the film was a quick flop in Europe." In fact, it was something of a sensation. In Paris, the film enjoyed an extended run and ran  for more than two months. The film was shown across France and Europe in 1930 - in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, and elsewhere. The film continued to be shown in Europe - in Hungary, Spain, Iceland (shown below) and Turkey in 1931, in Poland and Switzerland in 1932, in The Netherlands in 1933, and in Luxembourg in 1934.

I have also documented screenings in Haiti in 1932, 1933, 1935, and 1936 - as well as in Algeria and even Madagascar in 1933. The film was a huge hit in Ro de Janiero, Brazil in 1930, and was also shown in Japan. There was even a revival screening in Uruguay in 1952!

A full record of the rich exhibition history of Prix de beauté will be documented in volume 2 of my forthcoming book, Around the World with Louise Brooks. In the mean time, here is a record of where the film was shown, as well as under what title.

Under its French title, documented screenings of the film took place in Algeria, Belgium, Haiti, Japan, Madagascar, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey.

Elsewhere, Prix de beauté was shown under the title Vanidad (Argentina); Miss Europa (Austria); Miss Europa (Brazil); El Premio Fatal (Cuba); Miss Europa and Der Schönheitspreis (Czechoslovakia) and Miss Európa (Slovakia); Miss Europa (Danzig); Beauty Prize and Miss Europe (England); Miss Europa and Preis der Schönheit and Der Schönheitpreis (Germany); A szépsvg vására or Szépségvásár and Miss Europa (Hungary); Fegurðardrottning Euröpu (Iceland); Miss Europa and Premio di bellezza and Regina di bellezza (Italy); Premija par skaistumu and Skaistuma godalga (Latvia); Miss Europa (Der Schonheitspreis) (Luxembourg); Miss Europa and Schoonheidsprijs (The Netherlands); Skjønhetskonkurransen (Norway); Kobieto nie grzesz and Nagroda pieknosci and Nie Grzesz Kobieto (Poland); Miss Europa (Der Schonheitspreis) and Weib, sündige nicht (Poland, German language publication); Prémio de Beleza (Portugal); Nagrada za lepoto and Zrtev velike ljubezni (Slovenia); Premio de belleza (Spain, including Catalonia); Miss Europe (Switzerland); Kuzellik Kirali-Casi and Güzellik Ödülü (Turkey); Nie Grzesz Kobieto! (Ukraine); Приз краси and Приз за красоту (U.S.S.R.); Vanidad (Uruguay); Vanidad (Venezuela).

In recent years, numerous screenings of the film have been taken place around the world, including first ever showings under the title Prix de beauté (or Beauty Prize or Miss Europe) in Australia, Canada, Europe, United States and elsewhere.

New Find 6 - a few Louise Brooks treasures from opened archives

There is still a lot of interesting Louise Brooks & silent film material yet to discover. This post is the sixth in an ongoing series highlighting some of the newly found material I have just recently come across while stuck at home due to the corona-virus. With time on my hands, I have turned to picking through some of the many online databases and archives - some of which are newly accessible (due to the physical restrictions put on researchers because of the corona-virus), and some of which I am returning to in order to more thoroughly explore their holdings. As I am always finding out, it pays to not only have more than one set of key words to search under, but to look in the most unlikely places. You never know what you will find.

A small number of online archives have generously opened up their collections during the corona-virus crisis, thereby giving those of us stuck at home in front of our computers with an interest in the past something more to do with our time. Usually, these archives can be explored only by paid subscribers....

One such archive is Manx Newspapers and Publications, which covers the Isle of Man (a self-governing British Crown dependency situated in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland). I spend a couple of hours looking through it's holdings, and determined that every one of Louise Brooks silent films were shown on the island except for It's the Old Army Game (1926). Why it didn't show there is not known, though I did determine that other Fields films were shown on the Isle of Man. It's the Old Army Game was shown in England (including on the Isle of Wight), as well as in Northern Ireland and Scotland. I have not been able to find any record of it having been shown in Wales. The film was shown in Ireland. Why It's the Old Army Game wasn't shown on the Isle of Man I can't say, but were I to guess I would suggest it was because the Isle of Man didn't have enough theaters to show all film available, and the managers of the local theaters on the island passed it over if favor of some other Paramount release. When it comes to the silent era, it cannot be assumed that every film was shown everywhere. And among Brooks' silent films, It's the Old Army Game has the slightest international exhibition records.

Among Brooks' early efforts, one film that enjoyed a good reception on the Isle of Man was The Canary Murder Case (1929). As a matter of fact, it was shown twice on the island, first in January 1930 (eleven months after it was first released in the United States), and then again for three days in July 1930. Here are the advertisements from the local press which document its exhibition.

"stupendous weekend attraction" or roller skating

the "most fascinating thriller of them all" or ballroom dancing

The Canary Murder Case was released as both a sound and silent film.... (there are those who say that the silent version is better). Which version was shown on the Isle of Man? We don't know for sure, as some theaters in the UK were not yet wired for sound as late as 1930. Additionally, it is worth noting, the Pavilion Cinema was billing itself as "The House of Golden Silence," which suggests it was still showing silent films.

Another archive that has generously opened its archive is LIBRARIA Ukrainian Online Periodicals Archive. I have written about my Ukrainian newspaper search in the past, and the frustration I felt at not being able to access material that I knew was there and otherwise was only available onsite in the Ukraine. But with the opening of this archive, I was able to access a 1929 page from a German-language newspaper in that country. With its half-page spread on Die Buchse der Pandora, I think you can see why I was pleased to take a look at this page.

Speaking of Pandora's Box, just a couple-three days ago I came across a rare clipping about its American showing in New York City in - of all places - a Hungarian periodical archive, Arcanum Digitheca. This new-to-me clipping dates to December 1929 and comes from Uj Előre (New Forward), a Hungarian-language newspaper based in New York City. The film, which was sometimes exhibited in the United States under the title Box of Pandora, was showing at the 55th Street Playhouse in Manhattan. (In Hungary, the film was shown under the title Pandora szelenceje.)

In the past, I have found material on the 1929 showing of Pandora Box in NYC in a variety of ethnic newspapers, including those printed in German, Russian, and Yiddish. This Hungarian clipping, along with my earlier discoveries, will go into a special chapter in my forthcoming work, Around the World with Louise Brooks. That chapter looks at the way Brooks' films were advertised and received in America's non-English language ethnic and emigre press. Here is one more little Pandora's Box gem from the book, which I think you may appreciate. Such a smile....