Today in history - Nov. 14

According to the Associated Press syndicated feature - "Today in history - Nov. 14" - which has been printed in newspapers across the country

"In 1906, 100 years ago, actress and dancer Louise Brooks was born in Cherryvale, Kan."



HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOUISE BROOKS !

Marian Marsh

Marian Marsh, petite film star of the 1930's, has died. I always liked her bangs. Here is an excerpt from the New York Timesarticle on her death.

Marian Marsh, 93, Petite Star of ‘Svengali,’ Dies

By MARGARLIT FOX

Marian Marsh, a Hollywood actress of the 1930s and early ’40s best known for starring opposite John Barrymore in the 1931 melodrama “Svengali,” died on Thursday at her home in Palm Desert, Calif. She was 93.

Ms. Marsh, who was known by her married name, Marian Marsh Henderson, died in her sleep, her daughter, Cathy Scott, said.

Mr. Barrymore handpicked Ms. Marsh, then a teenage bit player, for the role of Trilby, the virginal young singer who falls under Svengali’s control. The film was based on “Trilby,” the 1894 novel by George du Maurier.

A petite blond actress described by critics of the day as doll-like, Ms. Marsh was also known for her performance opposite Edward G. Robinson in “Five Star Final” (1931). She played Sonya to Peter Lorre's Raskolnikov in “Crime and Punishment” in 1935. Her last film role was in the 1942 comedy “House of Errors.”

Ms. Marsh was born Violet Ethelred Krauth on Oct. 17, 1913, in Trinidad, West Indies, where her parents ran a chocolate factory. The family moved to the Boston area when she was a child. After her older sister, Jean, became a bit player in Hollywood — she worked first as Jean Morgan and later as Jean Fenwick — the family relocated to California.

Following her sister into acting, Ms. Marsh began her career in the late 1920s as Marilyn Morgan. Under that name, she had a small role in “Hell’s Angels,” the 1930 war drama directed by Howard Hughes.

Pandora's Box in San Rafael

Last night I attended the screening of Pandora's Box at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, California. (That's about 45 minutes north of San Francisco - across the Golden Gate Bridge.) Peter Cowie, author of the just released must-have new book,Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu, gave some introductory remarks. He told how he came to meet Louise Brooks. And what her life was like in the 1970's while living in Rochester, New York. Cowie discussed Brooks' brief affair with Charlie Chaplin. And, Cowie made some interesting references to the existentialist author Jean-Paul Sarte and the Bauhaus artist Herbert Bayer - both of which I hope to ask him about tonight, when I host him at the Balboa Theater in San Francisco. I will be meeting him for dinner before hand - so there will be time to talk!

Tonight on IFC

Tonight on the Independent Film Channel, Lulu on the Bridge (1998), the Louise Brooks / Pandora's Box - "inspired" film.

A seemingly magic stone leads an aging, injured musician into love with a young, aspiring actress.
Cast: Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino, Willem Dafoe, Gina Gershon, Mandy Patinkin, Vanessa Redgrave, Victor Argo, Don Byron, Richard Edson, Kevin Corrigan.

Director(s): Paul Auster.
Producer(s): Sharon Harel, Jane Barclay, Ira Deutchman, Peter Newman, Greg Johnson, Amy Kaufman , Amy J. Kaufman.
Writer(s): Paul Auster

This Sunday in Witchita

Don't forget, this Sunday in Witchita: Louise Brooks' Centennial Birthday Bash, a viewing of two films by the Kansas-born silent film star, 2-4:30 p.m., Wichita Public Library, 223 S. Main. Free. Information, 316-261-8500.  Longtime LBS member Amanda Howard has a display of some of her Louise Brooks' treasures on display. Check it out!

What a Lulu!

from today's San Francisco Chronicle website. The two area Louise Brooks screenings were the e-pick of the week!

'Pandora's Box' (Sat/11)
What a Lulu!
Kansas-born Mary Louise "Brooksie" Brooks went to New York to become a dancer, joined the Ziegfield Follies and then headed west, and Hollywood -- though she despised the movie-making culture -- was never the same. Shortening her name to Louise Brooks, she created a screen persona of a magnitude hard to imagine today: Her slinky on-screen and off-screen wardrobe was a model for the glamorous garments that have been ubiquitous in Tinseltown ever since, and her pageboy hairstyle became all the rage. And it is this movie that she was and has ever since been identified with -- G.W. Pabst's German silent film "Pandora's Box" (also known as "Lulu," after its title character's name), about a man-eating vamp. Indeed, the scandal that ensued in response to the provocative movie nearly killed her career; she made only 10 mostly forgettable films after that, seldom receiving top billing, and retired when she was only 32 years old. The Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center marks the centenary of her birth with a screening of her signature film, introduced by film historian Peter Cowie, author of "Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever." Cowie will also appear Sun/12 at the Balboa Theater, to give a short talk and presentation preceding a surprise Louise Brooks feature. -- Mark Nichol, special to SFGate
 Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 Fourth St., San Rafael; 7 pm; $6-$9.25; (415) 454-1222.

p.s. I am planning on making a give-away "limited edition" reproduction movie herald for the Balboa event, which will be distributed at the door. It will make a nice keepsake.

p.s.s. I am also working on a powerpoint presentation, which provided all goes according to plan, will be screened prior to the event. It will be accompanied by a special selection of Louise Brooks related music.