The Dylan connection and other bibliographic tidbits

There were a few inter-library loans waiting for me this week. . . . For the first time, I looked at microfilm of the London Observer, a weekly (?) newspaper from England. I had based my loans requests on the handful of screening dates I had already uncovered in the London Times. I was hoping to find film reviews. However, most every London newspaper I've looked at from the period gave scant attention to the "pictures" - as they usually were termed. The London Observer was no different. All that I was able to find was a brief summary of The Canary Murder Case(1929) from October, which the paper described as "One of the best of the talking thrillers."

I also went through a couple of months of the Chicago American from 1934, the period when Louise Brooks was dancing in nightclubs as part of "Dario and Brooks." I was hoping to find some textual material (such as reviews or a mention in a column), but all I did uncover were some advertisement for the Chez Paree, a Chicago nightclub where Brooks and her partner were appearing. The ads noted the dance team, who were supporting two bigger name acts, torch singer Helen Morgan and the comedic Ritz Brothers.

I also went through a couple of months of the Hibbing Daily Tribune, from Hibbing, Minnesota. (This small town is perhaps most famous as the childhood home to Robert Zimmerman - a.k.a. the folk singer Bob Dylan.) The Hibbing Daily Tribune gave up a slew of material on the March, 1924 performance the Denishawn dance company. I found five article and a review! One of the articles, which were little more than program notes, mentioned Brooks - while another pictured her and other members of the Denishawn company. The review which ran the day after their performance also mentioned the future actress. "One of the most attractive numbers of the evening was the Music Box with Georgia Graham, Doris Humphrey and Louise Brooks."

Louise Brooks / Dixie Dugan

A rather interesting letter from, and picture of Louise Brooks, has shown up on eBay. "These items were acquired with a collection of Brooks items saved by Fritzi Striebel who was the wife of John H. Striebel (artist and illustrator) who used Louise as his model for Dixie Dugan -  famous comic strip character he created in 1928."

New book on Lois Moran

There is a new book out on the silent film star Lois Moran, a contemporary of Louise Brooks. The book is A Beautiful Fairy Tale: The Life of Actress Lois Moran by Richard Buller.  Here is some descriptive text from the publisher. "Coming of age in Paris in the 1920s, film and stage actress Lois Moran was a rumored paramour of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald and the inspiration for the character of Rosemary in his Tender Is the Night. 

As a young girl, Lois moved to Paris with her mother and thrived in the artistic and literary glow of the city. She danced with the National Paris Opera at age 14 and also was cast in two French films. Samuel Goldwyn, on a European tour in search of new talent, saw her work, was impressed, and cast her in what would become one of the best-known films of the era. With her performance as Laurel, the emotionally conflicted daughter in Stella Dallas, Lois Moran became an overnight sensation and took Hollywood by storm, and on her own terms. 

She appeared in more than 30 Hollywood movies, from silent films to early talkies, and was in one of the first dramatic television series, Waterfront. She starred in two of the Gershwins' original Broadway musical productions, Of Thee I Sing and Let 'Em Eat Cake. Her circle of friends and acquaintances ranged from Howard Hughes and Charles Lindbergh to Al Jolson, John Gilbert, and Man Ray. 



The author, Richard Buller, corresponded with Lois Moran during the last five years of her life. He had full and exclusive access to her journals, scrapbooks, and photos. In telling the Lois Moran story, Buller illuminates the history of film, theater, and television. He also includes a thorough and unique account of the actress's relationship with Fitzgerald." I hope to get a copy and check it out.

A package from France

I received a package from France. It contained a letter from Rene Clementi-Bilinsky, who was enquiring if any "members of the Louise Brooks Society have ever encountered an illustrations of the couple of posters designed by my grandfather, Boris Bilinsky (1900 - 1948), for the movie I recieved a package from France. It contained a letter from Rene Clementi-Bilinsky, who was enquiring if any "members of the Louise Brooks Society have ever encountered an illustrations of the couple of posters designed by my grandfather, Boris Bilinsky (1900 - 1948), for the movie Prix de Beaute." Rene writes that he is certain these posters exist, but he has yet to see them. If you are familiar with them, please post a comment.

Rene also printed out my bibliography of articles and reviews of Prix de Beaute (1930), on which he pointed out a number of typos and errors. I have made corrections, and have posted the revised bibliography to the web.

Rene also sent along a newly published article about Prix de Beaute which appeared in April, 2005 issue of 1895, a French journal focussing on film history. This long article, by Davide Pozzi, was followed by a second piece which contained Rene Clair's original outlines and synopsis for the film. There were also some swell pics of Louise Brooks. Thank you Rene." Rene writes that he is certain these posters exist, but he has yet to see them. If you are familiar with them, please post a comment.

Buster Keaton

There is big article about Buster Keaton in today's Los Angeles Times. The article mentions a lecture on Keaton by John Bengston as well as some screenings of Keaton films. "Buster Keaton’s doleful face and agile antics are as delightful today as in the ’20s. His comic mastery is honored at UCLA. . . ."



BTW: There is a new book about Keaton being released in the United States. It is called Buster Keaton: Tempest in a Flat Hat, by Edward McPherson. The book releases in May.

Louise Brooks group on tribe.net

There is a Louise Brooks group on tribe.net.  It is located at http://ladivinelouise.tribe.net/  Check it out.

An early movie ad

I was digging around the website of the Lansing State Journal, the major daily in Lansing, Michigan. (I went to school at Michigan State University in nearby East Lansing. . . and still have a lingering interest in that part of the world.) And I noticed an historical feature on the website entitled "Looking Back 150 Years: A decade-by-decade look at the history of Lansing." The feature is broken down into decades, with a timeline and photo gallery for each decade. In the decade devoted to the Jazz Age - "1920s - A time for 'wonderful nonsense' " - I found this nifty image of an advertisement on the side of a street car (today's equivalent of ads on the sides of buses). Notice that the screen attraction is Norma Shearer in The Demi-Bride.

Censorship of films

One of my areas of interest regarding Louise Brooks (and silent film) is censorship. Anyone who has read the Barry Paris biography knows that her two German films were subject to censorship in Europe. As well, Pandora's Box was heavily censored when shown in the New York City in 1929. 

What few people know is that some of Brooks' American films were also censored. The American Venus (1926) was criticized in Chicago because of "nudity." The City Gone Wild (1927) andKing of Gamblers (1937) were cut because of violence. God's Gift to Women (1931) was reproached because of its suggestive nature. During the 1920's and 1930's, some cities and states had their own censorship boards - and each ruled over the exhibition of motion pictures.

Some time ago, I came across a massive bibliography devoted to freedom of the press. This online bibliography, by Ralph E. McCoy, was published in 1967 and covered censorship of ideas in all forms - including books, newspapers, radio, television and film. I have gone through it and extracted (for my own reference)  the many citations pertaining to film censorship in the United States during the teens, twenties and thirties. Here are a few articles and books that stand out:

Abbott, Clarence M. "How They 'Censor' the Films at the National Board of Censorship." Motion Picture Magazine,  September 1917.
Ames, Hector. "Censoring the Film Kiss." Motion Picture Magazine, December 1916.
Beman, Lemar T. Selected Articles on Censorship of the Theater and Motion Pictures. New York, Wilson, 1931. 

Chase, William S. The Case for the Federal Supervision of Motion Pictures. Washington, D.C., International Reform Federation, 1927.
Clements, Traverse. "Censoring the Talkies." New Republic, 5 June 1929.
De Mille, William C. "Bigoted and Bettered Pictures." Scribner's Magazine, September 1924.
Ernst, Morris L., and Pare Lorentz. Censored: The Private Life of the Movies. New York, Cape & Smith, 1930.
Howe, Frederic C. "What To Do With the Motion-Picture Show; Shall It Be Censored?" Outlook,  20 June 1914.
Inglis, William. "Morals and Moving Pictures." Harper's Weekly,  30 July 1910.
Lawson, W. P. "How the Censor Works." Harper's Weekly, 9 January 1915.
MacCulloch, Campbell. "How Free Is Speech?" Motion Picture Classic, September 1920.
 McGuire, W. D., Jr. "Censoring Motion Pictures." New Republic, 10 April 1915.
McKeown, E. J. "Censoring the Moving Picture." Common Cause, July 1913.
McMahon, Charles A. "Inviting Motion Picture Censorship." Child Welfare Magazine, September 1924.
Oberholtzer, Ellis P. "Censor and the 'Movie Menace.'" North American Review, November 1920.
Peet, Creighton. "Our Lady Censors." Outlook, 25 December 1929.
Poffenberger, A. T. "Motion Pictures and Crime." Scientific Monthly, April 1921.
Quirk, James R. "The Wowsers Tackle the Movies." American Mercury, July 1927.
Rorty, James. "It Ain't No Sin!" Nation, 1 August 1934.