The Legend of Rudolph Valentino

I watched another documentary. The Legend of Rudolph Valentino was made in 1982, and released on DVD in 2000. It is a pretty poor excuse for a documentary, and is mainly worth watching only for the little seen photographs and film clips it contains (early movies in which Valentino had a small part, Valentino's home movies, footage from Valentino's funeral, etc....) The details of the actor's life are only glossed over. And, there is so much footage from Blood and Sand and Son of the Shiek included that you feel as though you have watched each of those films!



p.s. The director of The Legend of Rudolph Valentino is Graeme Ferguson, who also directed the clumsy 1965 documentary, The Love Goddesses, which included Louise Brooks. Paul Killiam, another familiar name to Brooks' and silent film devotees, was co-producer.

Louise Brooks in Denmark

Here is a link to a nifty website called Louise Brooks in Denmark. It contains a few articles, a list of films, and audio file of an interview with the well known Danish film historian Ib Monty, and more. It is well worth checking out.

A couple of days late

Apparently, Pandora's Box was shown on Friday. I just noticed this Spanish-language newsgroup posting. I am not sure if this screening took place in Argentina, or Spain. Does anyone know?

Viernes 19, 22.30 hs.
Ciclo de Cine Alemán-Cine Mudo-Música en vivo
"Lulu o la Caja de Pandora" (1928/29) de Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Centro Cultural Estación Provincial
Calle 17 y 71 - La Plata
Entada: libre

La obra que lanzó a la fama a Louise Brooks y la obra maestra de su director, Georg Wilhelm Pabst. Una obra clave de la Historia del Cine. Louise Brooks, que se impuso a actrices de la talla de Marlene Dietrich, interpreta a Lulú, una mujer magnética y hechizante, auténtica femme fatale, que hace que todas las personas que la rodean caigan rendidos ante su encanto, y con ello, caigan en la perdición. Todo ello dotado de una ambigüedad que nos hace dudar si Lulú es una mujer que se aprovecha de su belleza, o si, por el contrario, no es consciente de ella y son los demás los que se aprovechan de ella. A la maravillosa interpretación de Louise Brooks se une el extraordinario oficio de su director, el reputado Georg Wilhelm Pabst, que impregna esta película de una sobriedad y de un realismo que dota a todo el film de una verosimilitud y de un ritmo inteligente que sigue vigente 75 años después.

My browser translation utility renders it, somewhat akwardly, thus:

Friday 19, 22,30 hs.
Cycle of Cinema Alema'n-Cine Mudo-Mu'sica live
"Lulu or the Box of Pandora" (1928/29) of Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Cultural Center Provincial Station
71 street 17 and - the Silver
Cost: free

The work that sent to the fame to Louise Brooks and the masterpiece of his director, Georg Wilhelm Pabst. A key work of the History of the Cinema. Louise Brooks, who prevailed actresses of the stature of Marlene Dietrich, interprets Lulu, a magnetic and bewitching woman, authentic femme fatale, that does that all the people who surround it fall tired before his enchantment, and with it, they fall in the perdición. All it equipped with an ambiguity that makes us doubt if Lulu is one woman who takes advantage of her beauty, or if, on the contrary, she is not conscious of her and those are the others that take advantage of her. To wonderful interpretation of Louise Brooks is united the extraordinary one office of its director, the reputed Georg Wilhelm Pabst, that impregnates this film of a sobriety and a realism that it equips to all film of a probability and an intelligent rate that follows effective 75 years later.

On this day in 1927

On this day in 1927, Louise Brooks was listed as the 65th biggest draw among featured players by Film Spectator magazine.

Olive Thomas

Sometimes I get around to things a little late . . . . Tonight I watched Olive Thomas: Everybody's Sweetheart the documentary contained on the DVD release The Olive Thomas Collection. (Tomorrow night I plan to watch The Flapper, the 1920 Olive Thomas film also contained on the disc. From what I have read online, The Flapper is one of Thomas' best films, and only one of two which still survive.) I liked the documntary well enough. It was informative, and was a good introduction to an actress I admittedly knew little about. I would be curious to read a biography of her, if there were one!



A book briefly mentioned and pictured in the documentary was Midnight Frolic: A Ziegfeld Girl's True Story by Marcelle Earle. I am intrigued. Is anyone familiar with it, or has anyone read it ?

Back to Berkeley

Returned to the University of California, Berkeley where I spent the afternoon scrolling through microfilm. I looked at another year's worth of El Mercurio, from Santiago, Chile. Found an article and ads for Medias Enrolladas (aka Rolled Stockings), as well as ads for Reclutas por los Aires (aka Now We're in the Air) and La Ciudad del Mal (aka The City Gone Wild). That completes my survey of this South American newspaper. I then jumped continents and scanned some months of Neue Freie Presse from Vienna, Austria. I found a great ad and a long 1929 review of Die Buchse der Pandora. Very exciting! When I return next week, I plan to look at some more of Neue Freie Presse, as well as hopefully complete my survey of La Prensa (from Buenos Airies, Argentina). Next week's visit will be my last to Berkeley for at least a couple of years, as the library is set to undergo earthquake retrofitting.

One oddity I came across in Neue Freie Presse was this 1928 ad for Clara Bow's 1927 film, Hula - curiously renamed Die Lulu von Honolulu(aka The Lulu from Honolulu). It always interesting to see the titles films take on when shown overseas.

Quick trip to the library

Quick trip to the San Francisco Public Library, where I dug up a whole bunch of Denishawn articles, advertisements and a review in Daily Telelgram (from Eau Claire, Wisconsin). Not as much luck with the Austin Statesman (from Austin, Texas), where I only found one Denishawn article. I will return to the SFPL next week to look at other inter-library loans.