Thursday, March 9, 2006

The search goes on

After a week away, I returned to the library, where three inter-library loans were waiting for me. In short, I excavated some articles, reviews and advertisements regarding Louise Brooks / Denishawn performances in the Stamford Advocate (from Stamford, Connecticut), the Fond du Lac Daily Reporter (from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin), and the Oklahoma City Times (from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma). Louise Brooks was mentioned in a couple of the reviews, and was singled out in one of the reviews. All together, a nice haul. The search goes on.

Wednesday, March 8, 2006

Prix de beauté review

A review of the new KINO release of Prix de beauté has turned up on-line at dvdtalk.com. "The script by Pabst and Rene Clair repeats the tale of beauty entrapped by possessive men, a pattern almost identical to the Dorothy Stratten tragedy told in Bob Fosse's Star 80." More from the review by Glenn Erickson can be found here.

Tuesday, March 7, 2006

Bruz Fletcher

Recently, while working on new programing for RadioLulu, I came across the name of Bruz Fletcher, a now little known musician and nightclub singer. Fletcher led an interesting life, and was something of a fixture on the Hollywood social scene in the late 1930's. His name frequently shows up in articles and in gossip columns of the time. I would recommend everyone check out Tyler Alpern's informative web pages devoted to this unique talent.

My interest was peaked because, according to newspaper reports, Louise Brooks attend performances by Fletcher on at least five different occasions in 1937 and 1938. (Well known costume designer Travis Banton, who was gay, was her companion on two of those reported outings.) Fletcher was also gay. And, he developed a somewhat campy though coded routine which he showcased at Club Bali, a nightclub he "owned" in Hollywood. That's where Brooks, and many other celebrities, saw him perform.

Tyler Alpern's webpages are a treasure trove of information. I emailed Alpern, as I was curious to know what Fletcher's act was like, and he generously provided me with a few rare recordings. One of those songs he sent me, "Drunk with Love," can now be heard on RadioLulu. Thank you Tyler Alpern!

Monday, March 6, 2006

Leatherock undergoes huge renovation

The Parsons Sun newspaper (from Parsons, Kansas), reports that the Leatherock Hotel in Cherryvale is to undergo a huge renovation. Built in 1912, the two-story brick hotel is across the street from the former Frisco and Santa Fe railroad depots in Cherryvale.
Hallowell began work on the project several years ago. The bed and breakfast now has three rooms available for rent and an apartment.
One small room, Bertha's Room, is named for Bertha Leatherock, the wife of Fred Leatherock who was influential in the hotel being built to serve as a place for railroad workers and passengers to get a bite to eat or spend the night. The room is decorated in early 1900s motif. Other rooms will honor Cherryvale residents and actresses Louise Brooks, a very famous silent screen artist, and Vivian Vance, who played Ethel on "I Love Lucy."
Hallowell said the bed and breakfast's hallway will someday be a museum, with Cherryvale history on one side and U.S. and world history on the opposite wall. "It's a little bit of a different concept for a museum," Hallowell said.
For more on this hotel, check out www.leatherockhotel.com The hotel website even has a page on Louise Brooks and other local celebrities.

Friday, March 3, 2006

Early review for "Flapper"

An early, if not entirely praiseworthy, review of Flapper, by Joshua Zeitz, has shown up on-line. Despite the mixed review, I am looking forward to this book. I had exchanged a few emails with the author a while back, and helped with a fact or two. This new book includes a chapter on Louise Brooks and some of the other film personalities of the time. "In California, where orange groves gave way to studio lots and fairytale mansions, three of America’s first celebrities - Clara Bow, Colleen Moore, and Louise Brooks, Hollywood’s great flapper triumvirate - fired the imaginations of millions of filmgoers." Another review describes the book as ". . . an entertaining, well-researched and charmingly illustrated dissection of the 1920s flapper, who flouted conventions and epitomized the naughtiness of the Jazz Age as she 'bobbed her hair, smoked cigarettes, drank gin, sported short skirts, and passed her evenings in steamy jazz clubs'." More on this title, which will be released on March 14th, can be found here.

Thursday, March 2, 2006

Richard Leacock



Just returned from a San Francisco screening of Richard Leacock's wonderful Lulu in Berlin. Shot in 1974 - though not released until the early 1980's, Lulu in Berlin is one of only three filmed interviews with Louise Brooks. If you haven't seen it, you should! Leacock himself was present, and he spoke about his experience filming the actress. I asked him before the film if there was any unseen material. Leacock told me that pretty much everything he shot in Brooks' Rochester apartment some thirty years ago is included in his documentary, as his filmed interview with the actress only lasted some 20 minutes. Lulu in Berlin lasts 50 minutes, with clips from Brooks' films interspersed among her comments.

During the question and answer session after the film, Leacock recounted the circumstances behind the making of this interview film, how much "fun" it was, and how much he adored Louise Brooks. After there filming was complete, the actress made an omlet, and ordered Leacock to go to the liquer store and buy a quart of gin! According to the filmmaker, Lulu in Berlin was shown on the BBC in England (in the 1980's?), though with added dramatic parts depicting Brooks life. Leacock had nothing to do with the added bits, and was dismayed that the BBC altered his film. Has anyone ever seen this "other" version? Leacock also mentioned some earlier footage he shot for a staging of Alban Berg's opera, Lulu. This late 1960's stage production, under conductor Sarah Caldwell, included Edie Sedgwick as Lulu! Just imagine . . . .

During the question and answer session, Leacock also mentioned that he had completed a 400 page autobiography, which is so far unpublished. Presumably, something about his making of Lulu in Berlin would be contained in that book. It was a memorable evening. Were any of the readers of this blog present? For more about Richard Leacock, check out his website at www.richardleacock.com/

Another new Louise Brooks book!

I've been informed that the Filmarchiv Austria plans to publish a new book about Louise Brooks. It is planned as a collection of essays on various topics - including a special focus on the Pabst films. Though still in the works, the book may be released around November 14, 2006 - what would have been Brooks 100th birthday. Additional information will be posted as it becomes known.

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Ye Olde Laser Lisc

Remember laser discs? They were LP-sized discs, much like DVDs, which contained a movie. Along with video tapes, they were the dominant form of commercially released movies in the early 1990's. A laser disc of The Show-Off is currently for sale oneBay. I know that Diary of a Lost Girl was also released on laser disc. Seeing this disc gets me to wondering. Does anyone have any commercially released Louise Brooks' films on Beta?
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