On the cover of CineAction

A full page photograph of Louise Brooks is on the back cover of the current issue of CineAction (issue number 71, 2007). This issue of this Toronto-based film periodical is devoted to sexuality in the cinema. (Catherine Denevue is on the front cover.) I didn't notice anything about Brooks among the articles, though the credit for the back cover image reads "Louise Brooks Centenery 1906-2006."

On the road again

Wow! I just received the program brochure (pictured above) for the 2007 San Francisco Silent Film Festival. This year, among other films, the festival is showing Beggars of Life (1928), starring Louise Brooks and Richard Arlen. Set among the hobo-camps of the American west, Brooks plays a girl - dressed as a boy - who murders her abusive step-father and goes on the run. It's a really fine film. And Brooks makes for one terrific cover girl on this brochure! Hope to see you at this year's festival !

Speaking of life on the road, later today I leave for New York City. I'll be attending the annual booksellers convention, as well as taking a few personal days to do some research in the Big Apple. I have an appointment scheduled at the Museum of the City of New, where I will be looking through their files on the 1924 George White Scandals and 1925 Ziegfeld Follies. (Brooks appeared in each show.) I will also be visiting the New York Public Library, where I plan to look through yet more reels of microfilm of the various New York and Brooklyn newspapers. And finally, I plan to spend a couple of days at the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, where I hope to look through files, personal papers, and scrapbooks belonging to Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn and Louis Horst - all of which relate to the Denishawn Dance Company and Brooks two-plus years as member of the company. What I'll find, I can't say. . . .  At Lincoln Center, I will also be looking through other scrapbooks and files and microfilm and magazines in search of material relating to Brooks' 24 films.

I will be back in a week's time, and will let everyone know what I find.

Lulu Allusions

The debut novel by Danielle Ganek, titled Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him, has just been published. There was a big review of the book in today's New York Times. The title of the book refers to a painting on display in an art gallery - the setting for much of the action in the novel. I'm not sure if this Lulu has anything to do with our Lulu. One never knows - I haven't read the book. Has anyone read this new novel ?

Images of film and television actress Mischa Barton can be found in the current issue of the French Elle. The actress is dressed up to look like various cinematic icons - such as Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe and of course, Louise Brooks. This blog has some scans from the magazine. Here is one of them - Mischa Barton as Louise Brooks.

              

Life's Little Joke

An amusing cartoon strip found while doing research. It dates from 1926.

God's Gift to Women - trailer online

The trailer to the 1931 romantic comedy, God's Gift to Women, starring Frank Fay and a bevy of beauties Louise Brooks, can be found on the Turner Classic Movieswebsite. Wow, I had never seen the trailer before!  Brooks' role in the film is that of a supporting actress. However, in the trailer, she is the most prominent of all the beauties courted by Fay. More prominent even than stars Laura LaPlante and Joan Blondell, I would dare say. (And what's more, she's not wearing her trademark bangs.) Be sure and check it out. If you haven't seen the film, check that out too. It's not half bad.

The trailer is part of a newly announced section of the TCM website devoted to video content. According to a recent article, this  "video portal lives on the TCM.comsite and launched on Tuesday with more than 3,000 pieces of video content in the form of short films, movie clips, trailers and interstitials from TCM programming."

Martin Scorsese's love of old films

According to numerous widely reported wire service articles, Martin Scorcese has launched a new foundation to preserve negelected films. Reuters reported

Director Martin Scorsese launched the World Cinema Foundation on Tuesday in a bid to preserve neglected films for posterity and restore others that have been damaged.

Inspired by a similar venture in the United States that Scorsese launched with George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood, the nonprofit foundation was formally unveiled at the 60th Cannes Film Festival.

"This goes back to the founding of the Film Foundation in America," Scorsese told a news conference.

"That was started in 1990 and for the past 16 years that actually has changed and things have gotten different there in terms of restoration of films and preservation of archives." 

Let's hope some of his the foundations' preservation efforts go to restoring silent films.