Believe it or not

This falls under believe it or not . . . . An article in today's North Adams Transcript (the newspaper serving the Northern Berkshires in Massachusetts) called my attention to a bizarre website called The Bone Trade which claims to possess genetic samples from various deceased movie stars - including Louise Brooks.



The website specializes in necrobilia, with their stated aim being "the 'resurrection' of actresses from the Golden era of silent cinema." The small specimens collection claims genetic material from the likes of Garbo, Nazimova, Clara Bow, Colleen Moore, Gloria Swanson, Pola Negri, Olive Thomas, etc.... "To do this we are securing a large body of quality genetic material from a variety of sources which is subjected to rigorous testing to ensure its validity . . . .We intend to work closely with science organisations to perfect safe and reliable human duplication techniques. We are already in discussion with several studios interested in becoming parents to these new stars of old." What will they think of next?

North Carolina and New Jersey

Yesterday, I looked through microfilm of two newspapers, the Charlottle Observer (from Charlotte, North Carolina) and theJerseyman (from Morristown, New Jersey). And in each, I found material about a Louise Brooks' appearance with the Denishawn Dance Company as well as her later role in The American Venus (1926).

Denishawn appeared in Charlotte in February, 1923 - and the substantial review which ran in the Observer noted "Denishawn Company Plays to Large House Here." I found that review, an earlier article, and some advertisements. That coverage was dwarfed by what appeared in the Jerseyman. This small town New Jersey newspaper gave the troupe a substantial front page review of their late April, 1924 performance. Prior to that, the paper had devoted two other front page stories to Denishawn - each noting their upcoming engagement. I also uncovered two distinct advertisements for their appearance at the Morristown High School Auditorium. (This Denishawn event - like many others - was a benefit. This engagement benefitted "the Fund for the Installation of the greatest Carillon of Bells now in this country, recently erected at Morristown." The performance raised more than $2,000.)



Along with the Denishawn material, I also found a few items relating to the screening of  The American Venus in Morristown. (Especially interesting are reviews of this film from New Jersey newspapers, as the film was partially shot at the Atlantic City Miss America contest of 1925.) Among the material I found in the Jerseyman was an article entitled "How Fay Lanphier Was Chosen 'Miss America' and 'American Venus'." No doubt supplied by the studio, it addressed the controversy over Lanphier's selection as Miss America and her awarding of a movie contract (by Walter Wanger) to appear in The American Venus.

A Russian rarity

A Russian postcard depicting Louise Brooks is for sale on eBay. The card dates to 1928! It is amazing to think that Brooks' modest fame travelled as far as the U.S.S.R. (Interestingly, the portrait of Brooks is by M.I. Boris, who before he moved to New York City was at one-time a court photographer in the Austrio-Hungarian Empire!) Also, please note: this card has been trimmed

Today

Today would have been Louise Brooks 99th birthday. Happy birthday Louise, our Lulu.

Beyond the Rocks

I enjoyed Beyond the Rocks (1922), which I saw this afternoon at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. The story, by Elinor Glyn, was melodramatic and the weakest aspect of the film. It was great to see the film's two stars - Rudolph Valentino (who had little to do) and Gloria Swanson (who looked great in her various changes of clothes). Bevan Dufty, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who also happens to be Swanson's step-son, introduced the film with a few anecdotes about her step-mother. Has anyone else seen this film elsewhere?

Louise Brooks and the New Woman in Weimar Cinema

"New Histories of Photography 11: Louise Brooks and the New Woman in Weimar Cinema" is currently scheduled to be on view at the International Center of Photography from December 8, 2006 - February 25, 2007. The International Center of Photography is located at 1114 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street in New York City. The exhibit will likely be on view at the George Eastman House in Rochester during the fall of 2005.

Some neat Louise Brooks pics

Some neat Louise Brooks pics can be found at http://editorial.acionline.biz/  Once there, search for "Louise Brooks." This commercial photo archive also has pics of other silent film stars like Nazimova, Garbo, Clara Bow, Esther Ralston and others.

The Indianapolis News & Montreal Star & two advertisements

Microfilm of the Montreal Daily Star and the Indianapolis News was waiting for me at the library this week. I went through a number of months of each, where I uncovered articles and reviews relating to the Denishawn performances in each town. Denishawn performed twice in Indianapolis during Louise Brooks' tenure with the company, and though she wasn't mentioned by name in the Indianapolis News reviews (she was mentione din an earlier article), one of pieces she and three others performed was singled out for praise. (Martha Graham's efforts were deemed "satisfactory.") Here is an advertisement from the Indianapolis News for the December 4, 1922 Denishawn performance. Notice that Rachmaninoff - the great pianist and composer - followed the Denishawn performance in Indianapolis just six days later.



Culturally speaking, those were heady times: Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Louise Brooks, Martha Graham and Sergie Rachmaninoff in conjunction. I noticed another interesting advertisement while looking through the Indianapolis News. The ad was for a local hardware store run by Kurt Vonnegut's family. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - the now celebrated novelist and author of Slaughterhouse Five (one of my favorite novels and movies) - was born in Indianapolis just three weeks prior to the Denishawn performance. Kurt Jr. would later work in the family hardware store.



Besides the Denishawn material (and some nifty period advertisements), I also scored film reviews of The American Venus (1926) and A Social Celebrity (1926) from both the Montreal Daily Star and the Indianapolis News. It was a good day at the library. Citations for this material will be added to the LBS bibliographies later today.