Yesterday I went to the library

Yesterday I went to the library, where a half-dozen inter-library loans were waiting. I got some good Denishawn material (articles, reviews, and advertisements) from the Rockford Republic (from Rockford, Illinois) and St. Joseph Gazette (from St. Joseph, Missouri). I also went through a couple of months of the Daily Progress (from Charlottesville, Virginia), as I had recently come across a fleeting reference to a little known Denishawn performance which took place in the Summer of 1923. Apparently, this particular performance on the campus of the University of Virginia was occasioned by that fact that Robert Gorham, who was then a member of Denishawn, had been a student at this historic university a couple of years earlier. (While Louise Brooks was a member of Denishawn, the dancers had summers off; the company only toured during the Fall, Winter, and Spring months.)

About half way through microfilm for July, I came across a couple of articles about the performance. One article printed the program notes for the evening, and from what I could discern, Brooks did not participate. Also, she wasn't mentioned in any of the articles, as was Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Martha Graham, Lenore Scheffer, Charles Weidman and accompaniest Lois Horst. I wonder, why weren't Brooks and the other Denishawn dancers present? What was Brooks doing during the Summer of 1923?

I also went through some microfilm of the New Orleans Item, and the Spokesman Review (from Spokane, Washington), where I gathered a couple more film reviews. Then, I went through three years of microfilm of McCall's magazine. (Yes, the same McCall's our mothers and grandmothers read!) While reading A Beautiful Fairy Tale, the biography of Lois Moran, author Richard Buller (who I just recently had the pleasure to meet) mentioned that critic Robert Sherwood had written about Stella Dallas in the pages of the magazine. I was intrigued, as I didn't know McCall's covered films! As it turned out, starting in 1926, the future Pulitzer Prise winning playwright wrote about one "film of the month" every issue. His picks included Stella Dallas, The Big Parade, The Sorrows of Satan, The Circus, etc. . . . The only Brooks' film mentioned was The Show-Off,which received his "also recommended" notation in December, 1926 and January, 1927.

HE Who Gets Slapped

Once again, I am watching the perverse film, He Who Gets Slapped (1924), which is showing on TCM. The film stars Lon Chaney, John Gilbert, Norma Shearer and Ford Sterling. Each are excellent in their roles. If you haven't seen this sublime film, you should!

Referenced in China Daily

Louise Brooks was referenced in the July 6th edition of China Daily. In an article on hair entitled "China's first lady of long hair reveals scalp secret," Zhao Feifei wrote " The styles date from the 16th, 18th or early 20th century down to a quiff right out of the 1960s, a bob in the style of Louise Brooks  . . . . " Louise Brooks is certainly a world wide cultural icon.

SFSFF first day

Lots of fun last night at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. The 1926 Harold Lloyd film, For Heaven's Sake (1926), was screened to applause and laughter. Suzanne Lloyd, Harold's granddaughter and the author of three books about the great comedian, was on-hand to introduce the film. (She was interviewed on-stage by Frank Buxton. As a young man, Frank was the bartender in a play called "Three Men on a Horse" with Buster Keaton in 1949. He then went on to a highly accomplished career in TV and films, including working with Woody Allen and writing, producing and directing shows like "The Odd Couple," "Happy Days," and "Mork and Mindy.") Suzanne Lloyd was also on hand to sign books. We chatted a bit at the booktable. (This is the forth event I have done around one of her books.) Suzanne is very nice, and told stories about her grandfather - who raised her, and a trip they took together with King Vidor and Colleen Moore, her godmother.

I was working the booktable, and other friends dropped by to say "hello." Philip Ituarte, the Jeanne Eagels expert, was up from Los Angeles. At long last, I was able to pass along an "as told to" article on excercise by the actress, "How I Keep Fit," which I came across in the Hollywood Daily Citizen. This 1927 piece includes sage observations such as "I do the 'bear-walk' before every performance." Be sure and check out his Jeanne Eagels website at www.jeanneeagels.com. Also stopping by was my old pal, Remy Charlip - the dancer and acclaimed children's book author. A long time ago (when he was part of the Merce Cunningham dance company), Remy also worked as an arttist designing book covers. He, along with his friend Edward Gorey, worked for Doubleday - and designed many memorable dust jackets. Among Remy's designs is the original cover for Buster Keaton's autobiography.

I am looking forward to today's festival. Hopefully, I will be able to see a film or two.

Baba Yaga

Thanx to my friend voxylou I was able to view Baba Yaga (1973), an Italian film based on the comix of Guido Crepax. In this sometimes surreal, very 70's, almost gothic film, Isabelle De Funes plays the bobbed-hair Valentina. She resembles Valentina more than she looks like Louise Brooks (the inspiration for Valentina, the comix character by Crepax). Also appearing in the film is Oscar-nominee Caroll Baker. Along with the movie was a brief Italian documentary about Crepax and the comics. Louise Brooks is mentioned. Has anyone else ever seen Baba Yaga? Apparently, it is available on DVD in the United States and Canada. For those keeping score, here is the IMdb page on the film.

Saved from ignominy

Here is a link to an excellent article by Mick LaSalle which appeared in today's San Francisco Chronicle. It is about Leatrice Fountain, the daughter of John Gilbert, and her campaign to restore her father's reputation. The article can be found athttp://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/07/06/DDGMIDI4JU1.DTL ( Pictured below is Gilbert and his one time lover, Greta Garbo. )



[ FYI: After the screening of The Big Parade at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Leatrice Fountain will be signing copies of Dark Star - the rather excellent book she wrote about her father. Though the book is now out-of-print and somewhat hard-to-find, two dozen copies will be for sale courtesy of the author and The Booksmith. ]

Travelling radio station

Here is another item I found in the Riverside Daily Press. This 1927 article talks about radio station 6XBR, the "travelling broadcast station of Warner Brothers" (see the truck pictured above), which was to visit Riverside and broadcast live from the sight of a motion picture production (featuring Patsy Ruth Miller and others). In my research, I've come across references to other early radio broadcasts from Hollywood. I wonder if any records exist of such programs? And if the programs themselves still exist ? I wonder if Louise Brooks ever appeared on radio in the 1920's or early 1930's? Any radio buffs out there familiar with these earliest days of radio ?