A chat with Salman Rushdie

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to chat with novelist Salman Rushdie. He dropped by the store where I work to sign copies of his new book, Shalimar the Clown. In the course of our conversation, I asked him about the name of one of the characters in the new novel, Maximilian Ophuls. Rushie said it was based on the once famous director, Max Ophuls. At first, Rushdie recounted, he adopted the name because of its  blending of the German and the French. Later in the writing process, he said he intended to change the character's name - but, as Rushdie put it, "the character wouldn't let me."

Rushdie is obviously a film buff. In the course of our conversation, the author spoke of Ophuls' work, and mentioned the titles of a number of the director's films dating from the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's. Rushdie has also written a long essay on The Wizard of Oz, which was published in a book on the film. And in The Ground Beneath Her Feet, his 1999 novel, Rushdie wrote, " . . . by the emerging gay icon lil dagover, who insists on lower-case initials, wears men's suits and a monocle and a Louise Brooks haircut, and plays like an expressionist dream."

Brooksie: The Jazz Age Musical

For those who haven't already checked it out, well worth visiting is the Swiss website for Brooksie: The Jazz Age Musical. You can even order CD's.

SFPL book sale

This morning, I went to the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library annual book sale. Some 8000 boxes of books (nearly 200,000 titles) are put on tables in a big exhibition hall, where they are loosely arranged by subject. Today, the last day of the sale, everything is one dollar or less . . . . I picked up a bunch of swell books, including a vintage copy of Vagabond Dreams Come True by crooner Rudy Vallee - I like his singing; a first edition of Love, Laughter and Tears by Adela Rogers St. Johns - this memoir has lots of early Hollywood stuff including a rather nifty pic of Colleen Moore (be still by beating heart); a nice copy of Kid, a 1981 novel about Charlie Chaplin by John Baxter; the film script of Grand Illusion, with Erich von Stroheim on the cover - haven't seen that before; three books on Will Rogers; and three pictorial booklets from Hearst Castle; a biography of Fred Astaire; the autobiography of Edward G. Robinson; and a book on Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. In actuality, I spent $51.00 - which means I came home with 51 books. Where will I put them ? At least 45 of them were film related.

I also found a mass market paperback of The Other Side of Ethel Mertz: The Life Story of Vivian Vance. I can't believe I have never looked at this title before, as Vance (famous for her role in I Love Lucy) and Louise Brooks knew each other as kids in Kansas. Barry Paris covers their friendship in his biography, and the authors of this book devote three paragraphs to the "local girl whose warm smile and expressive eyes exuded that special something."

I also found a few titles for my friend Amanda, who I know enjoys film books. For Amanda, I found The Talmadge Girls by Anita Loos, a biography of Marion Davies by Fred Laurence Guiles (that's the book I am reading now), and The Paramount Pretties, by James Robert Parish (profiles of various stars associated with the studio). Each are uncommon, worthwhile titles. Each orphaned, I knew they needed a home.

On this day in 1927

On this day in 1927: The critic of the Manchester Guardian writes "What a curious, one-sided, one-sexed, treacherous thing is this charm, or personal magnetism, that Elinor Glyn adulates as 'It' and all spectacular entertainments cry out for in their stars! How much men love it in women! How much women hate it in men! When Louise Brooks, or Estelle Brody, or Mady Christians spends an evening demonstrating it on the screen, we are all of us, sane and silly, young and old, men and women, delighted."

I was glad to finally see the actual clippings!

Today's trip to the library resulted in a few new citations. I got some Denishawn material from the St. Joseph Press-News (from St. Joseph, Missouri), and film reviews from the Charlotte News (from Charlotte, North Carolina), Des Moines Register (Des Moines, Iowa) and Cleveland Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio). The film material was mostly related to The Street of Forgotten Men (1925) and The American Venus (1926).
I also went through the long elusive "Vertical File microfilm reel 251" from the Kansas State Historical Society. (It has taken me three attempts over the course of nearly nine months to secure this item.) The reel consists of newspaper articles that have been collected regarding various Kansas citizens - including one-time Wichita resident Louise Brooks. Most of the material on the reel can be found onthis page. I was glad to finally see the actual clippings!

Today's new citations have been added to the various LBS bibliographies. . . . And today, I created a new bibliography devoted to the many articles I have collected regarding Louise Brooks' love affairs, marriages, and divorces. One new-to-me 1933 clipping from the Kansas City Star I found on"Vertical File microfilm reel 251". The new bibliography can be found here.

Mary Lee Settle (1918 - 2005)

The New York Times reported today that "Mary Lee Settle, a master of historical fiction who recreated time and place with visceral, almost fanatical accuracy, died Tuesday at a hospice in Charlottesville, Va. She was 87." Settle was a National Book Award winner and the author of the novels known as The Beulah Quintet. Because of her natural good looks, "she is also said to have been given a screen test, along with half of Hollywood, for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind." Along with numerous books, Settle was the author of Charly Bland, a 1987 novels which references Louise Brooks. " . . . a cloche hat. Nobody was looking at the camera except Dearie, without a hat, her sleek black hair cut like Louise Brooks's, staring startled at what must . . . ."

Letters to Jimmy Carter

In the documentary, Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu, Brooks' longtime friend Bill Klein mentions that the actress wrote letters to the President of the United States. I guessed that the President Klein refers to was Jimmy Carter. Chronoligically speaking, that seemed to make sense. And so, I wrote to Carter's Presidential library to obtain verification of this fact, and hopefully, copies of the letters as well. However, the archivist who wrote back said no letters could be found. . . . 

A limited edition porcelain plate

A limited edition porcelain plate, featuring an image of Louise Brooks, for sale on eBay. Made by the Canne Film Festival in 1995 to celebrate 100 years of the cinema.

Beyond the Rocks

On Sunday November 13, 2005, The San Francisco Silent Film Festival will present the West Coast Premiere Revival Screening of Beyond the Rocks (1922), the only film that Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson made together. For nearly 80 years, only a one-minute fragment ofBeyond the Rocks was thought to exist. But in 2003, a complete print was discovered among 2,000 unmarked cans of film by the Nederlands Filmmuseum. In partnership with Haghefilm Conservation, they have employed state-of-the-art technology to create a dazzling new print of this long-sought-after classic.

Based on a novel by Elinor Glyn (author of IT ), Beyond the Rocks features Valentino at his most dashing as Lord Bracondale, a desirable bachelor who finds himself enchanted by Theodora (Swanson), a simple girl from the Dorset coast. There will be two screenings of this delightful romantic drama on Sunday November 13, 2005 at the Castro Theatre. Both programs will be presented with live musical accompaniment on the Mighty Wurlitzer by Dennis James.

I will be there! And am really looking forward to seeing this long lost film. For more information, check out the San Francisco Silent Film Festivalwebsite.