20th Century American Culture links

Here's a page of links on 20th Century American Culture, including a section on the 1920's.

The Scotsman

I just read that a searchable archive for The Scotsman, the leading Edinburgh newspaper, is now on-line. The archive contains most all issues of the paper dating from 1800 - 1950. And so, I purchased a subscription to see what (if any) Louise Brooks material I could find. My approach in searching this archive is similar to the way I approach other on-line databases. First I try searching under "Louise Brooks." Then I try each individual film title. Then I try other keywords and names, such as G.W. Pabst, Frank Wedekind, or Lulu.

What I found this time were listings/plain text advertisements for screenings of a half-dozen of Brooks' American silent films. Among them were American Venus, Love Em and Leave Em, and The City Gone Wild. Each showed in Edinburgh about a year after it's American release. I also uncovered an advertisement for a recording of Beggars of Life, by the Troubadours, which noted that it was the theme song to the film of the same name. Among these listings, the only one which named Brooks was that for The Canary Murder Case. Brooks and William Powell were given top billing. I had hoped to find something about Pandora's Box, but came up empty. The only full-fledged review I found was for King of Gamblers, which screened in Edinburgh in September, 1937.

One interesting, related article I uncovered reported on a 1929 lawsuit brought against actor Percy Marmont. The article stated that he had been accused of abandoning his wife in 1903. Marmont, it was claimed, was then known as Garland Scholes, and one day, he simply dissappeared. Some twenty years later, the women said that an actor she saw in the movies was her long missing husband! At the trial, the woman went on to say that she had seen her husband in a film in which he played a blind man - The Street of Forgotten Men.

I think I found all of the Brooks-related material there was. I did notice a bunch of other articles about G.W. Pabst (he was referred to time and again as one of the world's great directors), as well as Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, etc.... I hope to return to The Scotsman  archive sometime in the future in search of other interesting stuff.

A visit to an archive

As there were no inter-library loans waiting for me at the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL), I decided to walk over to the near-by San Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum (SF-PALM). I had been there once before (perhaps two or three years ago?) to research Louise Brooks, when I looked through their clipping files and books. At that time, I came away with copies of a few choice items.

This time, I had it in mind to browse dance magazines from the 1920's. Like most libraries and archives, this institution has scattered holdings. I looked through actual issues (not microfilm) ofDance Lovers and The Dance - as these were the only periodicals which they had from the 1920's. I had hoped to find three particular articles, and ended up with two. One of them, "The Rhythmic Road to Hollywood" from 1927, was about film actresses who got their start as dancers or showgirls. It featured a portrait of Brooks as well as a paragraph of text about the actress which noted her apprenticeship with Denishawn and experience with the George White Scandals and Ziegfeld Follies. The other, a two-and-a-half-page article from 1928 entitled "The Wichita Wow," was all about Brooks and her beginnings as a dancer. This is one of the most interesting early pieces I have ever read about the actress. Especially since the author seemed to have actually interviewed Louise Brooks!

Copyright Reform to Free Orphans?

Wired News has an interesting article on copyright reform. I would encourage everyone to read it, as it is relevant to anyone interested in silent film and early 20th century culture. There are also links on this page to other interesting, related articles.

Brick collectors

Did you know that there are people out there who collect old bricks for their decorative or historic value? And I am now one of them. . . .  How could I pass up this vintage sidewalk brick from Cherryvale, Kansas - Louise Brooks' hometown.



I found this item on eBay, of course. The seller has another brick for sale, a nifty one with a double sunflower design. (Kansas is the sunflower state.)

The Lawless Decade

The Lawless Decade: a somewhat sensational, though nifty website about the 1920's. This website is based on a book (which I have), and which you may also find interesting.