LOUISE BROOKS, fugitive from Hollywood

LBS member Marlon Ligeon has translated into English "Louise Brooks, trânsfuga de Hollywood" by Mme Buttuller da Costa, an article which appeared in the October 12, 1929 issue of Cinéfilo magazine. This film journal was published in Lisbon (Portugal), and was likely also distributed in Brazil. The original Portugese article - which I think is an important and telling early piece about the actress - can be found here. 

I want to express my personal appreciation to Marlon for all of his work. THANK YOU MARLON LIGEON. Here is the translation. 

LOUISE BROOKS, fugitive from Hollywood.
By Mme Buttuller da Costa.

The Cineromans studios, situated on the Mediterranean coast, are the life force of Joinville, a small suburb of Paris alongside the Bosque de Vincennes. It is there that we meet, on a hot September afternoon, the Sofar actors working on Prix de Beaute under the direction of Augusto Genina.

A big studio is, in general, the only place in the world where time and space is arranged according to human fantasy. When one enters into these offices of illusion, a big cave suddenly appears full of bandits from the Middle-Ages on the spot where weeks ago a luxurious cosmopolitan restaurant was built. There one encounters a lunar passage on one side of the hall, on the same side of a large Banco do City. All in big contrast with the pillars and scaffolds crossing the floor on which we find the film equipment and projectors. And here and there, situated as in quiet serene islands in this ocean of excitement, spots full of bright lights, in witch we catch people in the middle of filming a scene, and other personnel waiting for that scene to end, to then add to it just the right atmosphere with cardboard and stucco walls. All to bring the filmed sequences to just the exact level of liveliness, required for the viewing pleasure of the spectator.

But the problem this French production suffers from right now is a period of inactivity. The launching of a sound film leaves the Cineromas studios, even though they are the best equipped in Europe, at a standstill. Therefore, they find themselves in silence, as in a forgotten church, in which dozens of assistants devotedly work on the production. Nobody speaks loudly. All tools have been removed so as not to hinder ones walk through the hall. The floor is polished to a luxurious glow.

Genina, the sympathetic director of many films of worldwide acclaim (Boy or Girl, Careful With The Telephone, Latin Quarter, etc.) and of course the big favorite of our readers, comes to meet us and introduce his actors. Between them is Louise Brooks, the perverse Miss Helena from A Girl in Every Port, a pleasant creature perfectly formed and photogenic to an absolute rare degree.

Her black hair, cut like Joan d’Arc, falls towards her eyes - eyes made of melting brown. There is a sad smile and serious look on her face. Louise Brooks is the prototype of the American girl. Or better yet, the chorus girl, according to her physique. Mostly, she is a girl who recalls distant feelings, leaving one almost cold. She is the antithesis of Dina Gralla, the exuberant, and the sentimental.

We accept a cigarette and sit down beside her. As a good American, Louise only smokes cigarettes from the New World and drinks cold water out of an Evian bottle in front of her, taking small sips while having this conversation.

“Yes, I really like working in Europe,” she responds to one of our questions. “This is the third movie I made in a short time on the Continent. The first and second were in Berlin. I like to say I like this one the best, for interviews, but even more in terms of artistic temperament. I wasn't really please with the others. Pandora's Boxand The Diary of a Lost Girl left me in this strange mystified state of mind.”

“And in this film?”

“This film is a completely different. It’s a simple story that evolves around some normal girls who get deceived by fame and fortune. It’s a story about human nature, daily life.”

The sad, timid, smile returns to Louise Brooks lips. Who’ll speak of the enchanted timidness of the artists of the silver screen while talking to an interviewer? Who’ll talk honestly about those who hardly speak of themselves, they who live in their own world, while working for the big public, the entire world?

Brooks asks us where we are from. Silently we gave her a copy of number 50 of Cinéfilo, opened to page 25. Her caricature, drawn by Cebrian, enlightened our eyes. It is a sketch that will never witness the happiness it caused. A gracious, youthful spirit, as exists in all young Americans, immediately emerges. Louise Brooks, almost applauding with joy, laughs:

“Oh, that is me!”

With a smile only we can see, she asks us to tell her our nationality and that of the artist. She was convinced we were Italians and just now found out that we were Portuguese. It was one of the few instances in which we weren’t taken for Spanish.

“I never been to Portugal,” she says, “but I heard about it through Lily Damita, my Portugese girlfriend who works as a French actress. She told me a lot about Lisbon, a place were I would really like to go.”

This was news to us. We always thought that Lily Damita was French. The conversation turned itself to the New World, especially Hollywood. Louise said:

“Don’t talk to me about Hollywood. I simply hate it. I worked in Hollywood for one and a half years, but the whole lifestyle, the snobbism, everything, it isn’t for me. Give me New York, were I made most of my movies. I really think I’ll never return to Hollywood.”

She turned silent for a moment, and the sad expression returned to her face. Her eyes focused on a point far away. Meanwhile, the light was being adjusted for the scene that she was to film next. The stand-in, who would replace Brooks in this scene, was called.

It is a short scene, in which she walks past the table of the editor of Le Globe. Brooks, typist of the secretary of this major Parisian newspaper, speaks of the big beauty pageant about to take place in Colombo.

An excellent actor, André Nicolle, impressed by the beauty of the petite typist, insists that she takes part in the Miss Europe contest, a contest with which she could trade in her typewriter. The petite girl doesn’t really want to, but on the other hand, her chances for success in life don’t seem too grand either as the bride of a honest, sincere, jealous company typesetter....

She is uncertain. After some thought, and a quick interview, she decides to take a chance in the contest, a contest in which others less beautiful than she don’t dare take part.

Everything about Louise Brooks, the way she looks, her splendidness, her intuition, it all leaves Genina with excitement. But she is not satisfied; she wants it to be perfect. So the scene is done twice. Only then is she satisfied with her performance.

“On tourne!,” laughs the director.

And then the camera films a closing scene, in which André Nicolle’s group leads Brooks to the door of her office, whispering to her the phrase that wraps it up, the perverse phrase:

“Faites cmon, petit, l’avenir est á vons.”

While clutching the copy of Cinéfilo we gave her, Brooks offers us one of her new photographs.

Unsuccessfully, she searches the photographs for one with a smile. But its no use, she can’t find one. She isn’t satisfied with the pictures, with the way she looks. She seems to want to avoid a situation in which she doesn’t look her best in a published photo. However, she seems to make an artistic decision, and offers us one.

We ask about upcoming projects. She’ll go to America after she finishes this movie and settle her divorce. Maybe this is the key to her mood. It is possible that she’ll return to Europe to make more movies, finding some time for a vacation. Up till now, she has seen London, Berlin and Paris, the beautiful sights of France; Italyattracts her greatly.

An unforeseen blackout immobilizes the studio. Genina comes over to us while the mechanics look for what caused the problem.

He talks to us about sound film. Louise Brooks believes its progress and in its perfection within a few years. Meanwhile, she finds the female sound of the equipment used to thicken the sound of a male voice silly. Genina agrees.

Concerning Prix de Beaute, Genina is satisfied. The outdoor scenes, where the pageant takes place, were filmed in San Sebastian, the famous beach of the rich. It’s a pageant where a woman will be crowned Miss Europe, a woman born in Wichita.

She smokes another cigarette, in spite of no smoking signs hanging everywhere. But we are in tolerant France. Genina keeps talking to us about his movie, in a passionate way one only expects from a true artist.

I think about the movie. In my opinion it will serve as an excellent introduction to the sound film. It’s necessary that one goes along.

Looking at the beach of Joinville, I can’t stop thinking that the profession of an actor is really not a sinecure.

One thinks of the efforts of the crew who worked on this movie, and their great efforts on this hot afternoon (registering a high of 38 degrees in the shadow). This is work the sunbathers and swimmers, cooling of in the Mediterranean, are unaware. In the end, I can only conclude that life is made of failures to understand unsatisfied needs.

Biattriz, September 1929.

Los Angeles photo archive

UCLA has recently launched an archive of news photographs taken from the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Daily News. Of the 5,124 high res images in this database, the oldest dates from 1914. One fun way to search the archive is by entering a year, say "1927," and then browse by date. Other valuable keywords or search terms are "motion picture" and "silent film." Nothing turned up under "Louise Brooks," though I did come across rarely seen images of Clara Bow, Lina Basquette, Gloria Swanson, Mary Pickford, etc.... It's well worth checking out.

Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening - the Broadway musical based on Frank Wedekind's play - has received 11 Tony nominations. (see article in today's New York Times) Yes, that's the same Frank Wedekind who wrote the Lulu plays. Can a rock musical adaption of Pandora's Box be far behind ?

In a season rich with contenders, “Spring Awakening,” a dark rock musical based on a 19th century German play about sexually anguished teenagers, led the field of Tony Award nominations this morning with 11, including chances at awards for best musical, director and best actor for two of its cast. . . . 

What a doll

Joe's Bar - an exhibit space located in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle - has an exhibit on display featuring the work of artist Sara Lanzilotta. The exhibit, “Dolls of the Silver Screen,” features likenesses of various actresses and cultural icons. Among them are Bettie Page, Joan Crawford, Liza Minnelli in Cabaret, and Louise Brooks. The exhibit, which lasts through May 31, has received local coverage. Here is the artist's representation of Brooks.

New Louise Brooks DVD

It looks like Diary of a Lost Girl will be released on DVD in the UK. The releasing company - Eureka Entertainment Ltd - has set a release date of May 21st. The run time is 115 minutes - pretty much the same length as the American DVD release on Kino. The package includes a 16 page booklet featuring an essay by R. Dixon Smith, vintage photographs, and more. I haven't seen it yet - this is info I found on the internet. [ An essay by R. Dixon Smith - "The Miracle of Louise Brooks" - can be found here. ]

Brooksie - The Jazz Age Musical

I wanted to let everyone know that Brooksie: The Jazz Age Musical is now available in the United States. A recording can be obtained through CDBaby at www.cdbaby.com/cd/brooksie   There, you can also listen to sample sounds of this enjoyable musical inspired by the life of Louise Brooks. Composed by Sandro Moreni, who lives in Switzerland, this is jazzy music from the Jazz Age, full of swing and interpreted by top European musicians. I would encourage everyone to check it out - as I understand the stage version has proven popular and has been performed in Switzerland and Austria (and perhaps Germany sometime soon).

The composer's website is also well worth checking out. It can be found at www.brooksie.ch    The CD of the musical can also be obtained through such on-line European vendors as Huge Music and amazon.de

Ululu

I've just found out about this new book, which explores the Lulu archetype. Here is what the publisher has to say:

Operatic in scope, ULULU (Clown Shrapnel) is a dramatic, genre-bending narrative and a lyrical cultural biography of the archetypal seductress Lulu. In a furious performance of text and imagery, Thalia Field introduces us to the stock characters of the commedia, the famous plays, operas, and silent films in which Lulu appeared, the artists who brought her to life, and the censorship and controversy that she engendered.

The myth of "Lulu" began during the height of late-nineteenth-century Viennese culture with a sequence of two plays by Frank Wedekind (Earth Spirit and Pandora's Box), and continued through the two world wars with Lulu, an unfinished opera by Alban Berg, and Pandora's Box, a highly acclaimed film by G.W. Pabst, starring Louise Brooks. Throughout all of Lulu's incarnations she met with censure - Wedekind's plays were banned from the stage, Berg's opera, which contained a secret score for his young lover, was kept from the public by his widow, and Pabst's erotic film was too risque for many.

As Field's story peeks into the dressing rooms and back alleys of history, words take the stage, "fictional" and "historical" characters speak side by side, and lyrical symbolism undulates throughout the pages. Original and treated footage from award-winning filmmaker Bill Morrison and illustrations from artist Abbot Stranahan complete this masterful work of avant-garde fiction, presented in a numbered and signed first edition limited to 1,500 copies.

In addition to her multimedia performance work, Thalia Field, an assistant professor at Brown University, is the author of Point and Line and Incarnate: Story Material. Has anyone seen a copy of her new book?

Etch-a-Sketchist Draws Louise Brooks

This blog entry by the Etch-a-Sketchist featuring Louise Brooks drawn on a Etch-a-Sketch just popped up. Isn't it kinda nifty? I could never manage more than a stick figure or two on those things.

Kevin Brownlow's SF visit

John Bengtson - a friend and the author of two excellent books, "Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton" and "Silent Traces: Discovering Early Hollywood through the Films of Charlie Chaplin" - posted a detailed account of Kevin Brownlow's visit to San Francisco. John posted it to the alt.movies.silent newsgroup. It can be read here.

Along with hosting the Brownlow booksigning at the Castro Theater on Saturday, I also attended the two events described by John in his post. And, I had a chance to speak with Kevin Brownlow at a small gathering on Sunday. Of course, we spoke about Louise Brooks - among other subjects. I told Kevin about the Louise Brooks Society and the various projects I have been working on. . . . We also spoke about Louise Brooks' inspired literature. Kevin had seen Smoking with Lulu when it played in London, and recommended I read Jack Finney's novel Marion's Wall. (I've just started the book. It is about a a young couple who move into an old San Francisco house possessed by a screen queen of the twenties who takes over the wife's body.)

It was a thrill to spend time with Kevin Brownlow. And just as you would expect, he "showed himself to be articulate, kind, modest, humorous, and generous. It was a delight to spend some moments in his company."

I took a few snapshots which I hope to post later. . . . My camera is at work awaiting tomorrow night's event with film biographer Steven Bach.

Lulu in Manilla

Louise Brooks is mentioned in an article which appeared in The Philippine Star. Admittedly, the author drops lots of names - but its neat to see Brooks mentioned in an Asian newspaper. The article - which discusses a number of things including the Ziegfeld Follies - reads in part

The Ziegfeld Follies was a series of elaborate theatrical productions inspired by the Folies Bergères of Paris. The Ziegfeld Follies was conceived and mounted by Florenz Ziegfeld, at the suggestion of his then-wife, the entertainer Anna Held. Top entertainers of the period like Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Ann Pennington, Bert Williams, Will Rogers, Ruth Etting, Helen Morgan, Marilyn Miller, W.C. Fields, Ed Wynn and Nora Bayes, appeared in the shows. Fanny Brice was one of the most celebrated Ziegfeld Girls whose life story was made into a movie entitled Funny Girl that starred Barbra Streisand.

Ziegfeld Follies was such a big hit that many future movie stars of the era once enlisted themselves as Ziegfeld Girls. The list includes Marilyn Miller, Marion Davies, Mae Murray, Paulette Goddard, Joan Blondell, Nita Naldi, Dorothy Mackaill, Eve Arden, Billie Dove, Gilda Gray, Barbara Stanwyck and Louise Brooks. Norma Shearer who became a Hollywood superstar was turned down by Ziegfeld for being "not up to standards." Ziegfeld Girls were usually decked in the most elaborate costumes. Ziegfeld hired the best designers like Erte, Lady Duff and Ali Ben Hagan.

So popular were the Ziegfeld Follies that several movies were inspired by the revue. The Great Ziegfeld, starring William Powell as the master showman, Myrna Loy as Ziegfeld’s second wife Billie Burke, Luise Rainer as Anna Held, (which won her an Academy Award for Best Actress), and Frank Morgan (as a rival showman) won the 1936 Oscar Best Picture. The 1946 feature motion picture entitled Ziegfeld Follies starred Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Lena Horne, William Powell, Gene Kelly, Fanny Brice, Red Skelton, Esther Williams, Cyd Charisse, Lucille Ball and Kathryn Grayson.

Lulu in Göttingen

Pandora's Box will be screened on May 3rd, with live music performed by "Ensemble Werner Küspert," as part of the 2nd Göttingen Silent Film Festival. For more information, please visitwww.stummfilm.info/festival/goettingen/2007/index.html

RadioLulu in danger

For the last few years, I have paid to have RadioLulu broadcast over the internet. I figured it was a great way for fans of Louise Brooks and the silent film era to hear related music - most of which is rarely broadcast anywhere else. Where else, for example, can one hear the theme song to such Louise Brooks films as Beggars of Life or Prix de Beaute ? To broadcast over the internet via Live365.com, it costs me more than $100.00 per year. Some of that money goes to pay artist royalties. Now, things might change. . . . 

Recently, a ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) - which governs broadcast and internet radio - announced catastrophically high new royalty rates (higher for internet broadcasters than over-the-air broadcasters) as well as a $500 / year minimum per station. Despite the outcry of nearly all webcasters, the CRB denied the request for a rehearing and has proceeded with their ruling.

In response to these new and unfair fees, Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA) introduced the Internet Radio Equality Act (HR 2060). This bill will provide immediate relief from the proposed new rates and can save thousands of Internet radio stations from going off the air, including RadioLulu!

RadioLulu, Live365, and the other members of the SaveNetRadio Coalition fully support this proposal and are working diligently to see it turned into law. The next step is to line up cosponsors for HR 2060, but time is running short.

We ask that you IMMEDIATELY:

CALL your Representative and ask them to cosponsor HR 2060 -- the Internet Radio Equality Act. Click here to find your Representative's number. And, notify others and have them call THEIR Representatives with the same request to cosponsor HR 2060. Without your help, RadioLulu and other stations that play music of the 1920's and 1930's over the internet may cease to exist.

Thank you for your support! And let's keep the music playing.

Speaking of Evolution

Evolution was a controversial topic back in the 1920's - as it still is today (sadly enough). This amusing editorial cartoon plays off to controversy to comment on changes in social behavior.



I came across this cartoon while researching and though I would share it with my hotsy totsy readers.

Quick, quick

Attention New York City fans of Louise Brooks, go see Louise Brooks and the 'New Woman' in Weimar Cinema at the International Center of Photography before it closes on Sunday.

Kevin Brownlow booksigning!

I have just learned that Kevin Brownlow will be signing books following the screening of his restored version of The Iron Mask at the Castro Theater in San Francisco this Saturday afternoon. If you love Louise Brooks, if you love silent film, this is a booksigning not to miss! Copies of Brownlow's classic book on early cinema, The Parade's Gone By, will be for sale in the Castro lobby.

W.C. Fields exhibit

I just received my copy of the Lompoc Picayune-Intelligencer, the official newsletter of the W.C. Fields Fan Club. In it, there is an article about a large W. C. Fields exhibit currently on display at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles. The exhibit - “The Peregrinations & Pettifoggery of W.C. Fields” - runs through Sunday, May 13. Click through to the on-line press release for further information and details about a special May 11th event. Pictures of the exhibit in the newsletter didn't include any images of Louise Brooks (who performed with Fields in the 1925 Ziegfeld Follies, as well as the 1926 film It's the Old Army Game, but I am sure it is well worth checking out for anyone who lives in Southern California.)

Pandora's Box in Minneapolis / St. Paul

Pandora's Box will be shown this coming Tuesday at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. Interestingly, the film will be musically accompanied by students Bri'Ann Wright and Adrian Moravec, who will play their own cabaret-inspired score for the silent film on two grand pianos simultaneously. Are any readers of this blog planning to attend ?

This short article, along with a still from the film, appeared in yesterday's Star Tribune. 

Art house spotlight: 'Pandora's Box'

German director G.W. Pabst's scandalous, sensual "Pandora's Box" is mostly famous for the devastatingly beautiful Louise Brooks. She indelibly personifies the depravity of Weimar Berlin as Lola, a provocative dancer and irresistible seductress. Neither a vamp nor an innocent, Lola's amoral sexuality unleashes a vortex of lust, gambling, promiscuity, suicide, blackmail, prostitution and murder on those around her. Even in the free-swinging Jazz Age of 1929, the film provoked outrage. Lola chooses her lovers freely (the film contains what is reportedly the first overt lesbian subplot in cinema) and indiscriminately, given that she dies in the arms of Jack the Ripper. The film will be screened Tuesday, musically accompanied by Augsburg College students Bri'Ann Wright and Adrian Moravec. They will play their own cabaret-inspired score for the silent film on two grand pianos simultaneously. (8 p.m. Tuesday, Sateren Auditorium, Augsburg College, at Riverside Av. and 22nd Av. S., Mpls. Free and open to the public.)

COLIN COVERT

Leni Riefenstahl

In two weeks time, I'll be hosting Steven Bach - the noted film biographer and author of the recently published book on filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl. Steven Bach will be appearing at The Booksmith in San Francisco - where I work as the events coordinator - to talk about his widely reviewed new book. Bach will give a short talk, show some brief film clips, answer questions from the audience, and then sign books. I hope anyone interested would attend.

Like Louise Brooks, Riefenstahl worked with director G.W. Pabst and made both silent and sound films. Brooks figures in this new book. I am really looking forward to this special event. Here is some descriptive material about it from the Booksmith.

STEVEN BACH - talk & booksigning for "Leni: The Life and Work of Leni Riefenstahl"
Thursday, May 3rd at 7 pm
at The Booksmith (1644 Haight Street in San Francisco) 

"Leni: The Life and Work of Leni Riefenstahl" is the definitive biography of the woman known as "Hitler's filmmaker" - one of the most controversial personalities of the 20th century. Relying on new sources,­ Steven Bach has produced an exceptional work of historical investigation which both untangles the past and is an objective and unsparing appraisal of a woman of spectacular gifts corrupted by ruthless personal ambition. 

Steven Bach is the author of two previous biographies, "Marlene Dietrich: Life and Legend" and "Dazzler: The Life and Times of Moss Hart." He was in charge of worldwide production for United Artists, where he was involved in such films as Raging Bull, Manhattan, The French Lieutenant's Woman, and Heaven's Gate, about which he wrote the bestseller "Final Cut." 

This Booksmith sponsored event will take place at The Booksmith (1644 Haight Street in San Francisco). For further information, call 415-863-8688 or visit www.booksmith.com     If you can't attend this event and would like to order a signed copy of the author's new book, please email or phone our store.

"Steven Bach's Leni finally presents Riefenstahl as she genuinely was: not as we have seen her so far but as Hitler's self-serving and mendacious p.r. handmaiden. If you haven't thought of 'Nazi artist' as a noxious and corrupting oxymoron, Bach's scrupulous account of a zealously masked life may persuade you otherwise." 
-- Cynthia Ozick

"In this lively, engaging biography of the legendary Leni Riefenstahl, Steven Bach finally separates fact from fiction to give the powerful filmmaker, manipulative narcissist and friend of Hitler her due." 
--Richard Rhodes

“It is difficult to overpraise Bach’s efforts . . . Bach is determined to present [Leni Riefenstahl] coolly, ironically, without loss of his own moral vector. What emerges is a compulsively readable and scrupulously crafted work . . . an almost novelistically compelling narrative of a life endlessly obfuscated by lies . . . graceful . . . nuanced . . . brilliant.”
-Richard Schickel, The Los Angeles Times (March 11, 2007)

“First-rate . . . [a] richly fleshed-out portraiture and social history”
- Judith Thurman, The New Yorker (March 19, 2007)

“Energetic . . . Serves as [a] much needed corrective to all the spin, evasions and distortions of the record purveyed by Riefenstahl.”
-Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times (March 13, 2007)

“Bach makes the vivid and exasperating Riefenstahl come back to life and stand before us to be judged . . . Meticulous . . . Bach unearths the buried facts, finds the truth behind the lies.”
-Book World (March 4, 2007) 

“Penetrating and superbly well-written . . . As Bach expertly elucidates the opportunistic Riefenstahl’s exploits . . . he takes measure, as no one else has, of her ruthless ambition . . . Riefenstahl loved fairy tales, and, as Bach so perceptively and artistically reveals, she succeeded in living one, however insidious.”
-Donna Seaman, Booklist (February 15, 2007)

Screenings in Toronto

Two films featuring Louise Brooks will be shown in Toronto at the Goethe-Institut. Pandora's Box will be shown on Thursday, April 19th and Diary of a Lost Girl will be shown on May 24th. Both screenings are set for 7 pm.  Further information here.

FILMS AT THE GOETHE-INSTITUT TORONTO  Kinowelt Hall
163 King St. W. (St. Andrew subway), 416/593-5257
-admission $5., reservations possible, 18 yrs. +
Silent Films with live accompaniment by some of Toronto’s most innovative contemporary musicians!

Thu, Apr 19, 7pm
Pandora’s Box (“Die Büchse der Pandora”),1929, large screen projection, 131 min, by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, with Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner - Five Stars/Now Magazine      With live music accompaniment by Marilyn Lerner (piano) and Mark Duggan (marimba/percussion).

Pandora’s Box is the story of Lulu, a femme fatale, whose innocent sexuality destroys the men around her. The best known of G.W. Pabst’s works, and the most famous masterwork of eroticism and desire in German silent film!

Thu, May 10, 7pm
Madame Dubarry,1919, 16mm, 92 min,
by Ernst Lubitsch, with Pola Negri, Emil Jannings.     With live music accompaniment by Susanna Hood (voice) and Debashi Sinha (percussion).

Lubitsch’s first historical film and the best of his early silent films, Madame Dubarry is the story of a poor French seamstress who sleeps her way to the top in the court of King Louis XV and ultimately suffers the consequences. Legendary screen actress Pola Negri plays the courtesan, and the inimitable Emil Jannings plays the king. This film was a big audience success at its time! Rare screening!

Thu, May 24, 7pm
Diary of a Lost Girl (“Tagebuch einer Verlorenen”), 1929, 16mm, 100 min, by Wilhelm Pabst, with Siegfried Arno, Louise Brooks.     With live music accompaniment by Kathleen Kajioka (violin) and Rich Brown (electric bass).

As in Pandora's Box, Brooks plays an outcast, but when the film begins, Thymiane is a world away from Pandora's Lulu. Whereas Lulu had men eating out of her hand, Thymiane is an innocent cast adrift in a hostile world. Thymiane is less in control of the men around her and much more dependent on them than they are on her. After enduring many hardships in the first half of the film, the second half sees Thymiane gain the strength to reassert herself and take back control of her life. 

Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo died 7 years ago on April 15, 2000. The long obituary which appeared in the New York Times the following day can be found online. The article is titled "Greta Garbo, 84, Screen Icon Who Fled Her Stardom, Dies."

There is also a rather interesting article in the Sunday New York Times about the influence of the cinema on the art of Picasso and Braque. The article by Randy Kennedy, "When Picasso and Braque Went to the Movies," appears in the art section. It disccusses an exhibition which seeks cinematic clues to the roots of Cubism.

In Memorium

And advertisement for the Vonnegut family store in Indianapolis found while researching Louise Brooks films in that Indiana town. God Bless you, Mr. Kurt Vonnegut.

Beggars of Life screening in 35mm !

Speaking of Beggars of Life, a newly struck 35mm print of the film will be shown this summer as part of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. And what's more, actor William Wellman Jr., the son of the film's famous director, will be on hand to speak about the film. The press release announcing the festival was just released:

Special Programs and Classic Films Take To the Screen at 12th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival

    SAN FRANCISCO, April 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The art of silent film will be 
restored to its original brilliance when The 12th Annual San Francisco
Silent Film Festival brings a classic love story, a dramatic portrayal of
hobo life, a British suspense-thriller and other great silent films back to
the big screen, all with live musical accompaniment, on July 13-15.
    "The majestic Castro Theatre in San Francisco will once again be the
site for a weekend-long celebration of silent film, so we can continue to
raise awareness of the need to protect, preserve and restore these precious
movies," said Artistic Director Stephen Salmons.
    "The movies that Hollywood produces today owe their inspiration and
their soul to the pioneering geniuses of the silent era, many of whom we
will salute at this year's festival," Salmons said.
    Among the special programs that will highlight the 2007 festival is an
Opening Night Presentation of Ernst Lubitsch's THE STUDENT PRINCE IN OLD
HEIDELBERG (1927), starring Norma Shearer and Ramon Novarro. "This is one
of the all-time great love stories, full of wit, zest and heart," Salmons
said. The festival also will screen William A. Wellman's BEGGARS OF LIFE
(1928), a gritty, unsentimental portrait of hobo life starring Richard
Arlen, Louise Brooks and Wallace Beery.
    "BEGGARS OF LIFE is a film we have hoped to show for years," Salmons
said. "It depicts homelessness in the pre-crash 1920s - something rarely
seen in mainstream cinema. Thanks to George Eastman House, the sole
surviving 16mm print has now been returned to 35mm, so we can finally show
the film again in its original format." Live musical accompaniment will be
provided by The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, a chamber ensemble that
performs period- authentic photoplay music.
    The festival will highlight the work of an early master of British
cinema "- and no, it isn't Alfred Hitchcock," Salmons said, "even though
the film we are showing is a real nail-biter, every bit as suspenseful and
surprising as anything Hitchcock dreamt up." A COTTAGE ON DARTMOOR (1929),
directed by Anthony Asquith, is a psychological thriller which relates the
story of a love triangle between a barber's assistant, a manicurist, and
one of their clients. The musical accompaniment also will be "the work of a
British master," Salmons noted. "We are importing pianist Stephen Horne
from London to perform his acclaimed solo score for this film."
    The festival's tribute to Turner Classic Movies will feature a rare
screening of the infamous 1921 version of CAMILLE, starring Rudolph
Valentino and Alla Nazimova.
    "It holds a unique position in film history as one of the most
flamboyant art films ever to come out of a Hollywood studio, "Salmons said.
"The costumes, the sets, and above all the extraordinary stylized acting of
Nazimova, a notorious figure of the silent era, make it a
once-in-a-lifetime experience. It will absolutely light up the big screen."
    The 12th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival opens on Friday,
July 13 and runs through Sunday, July 15, at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro
Street in San Francisco. Complete program details and information on how to
purchase tickets will be announced in May at http://www.silentfilm.org. The San
Francisco Silent Film Festival is a nonprofit organization dedicated to
promoting silent film as an art form and as a cultural and historical
record.

Scrappy Lambert

A new-to-me vintage version of "Beggars of Life" has turned up on youtube.com (Thanx to Belgian LBS member Patrick Mathay for pointing this out.) This newly discovered recording of the Beggars of Life theme song is by Scrappy Lambert, and was released as a 78 rpm on the Bruswick label. Check it out at www.youtube.com/watch?v=FciasJD8C_8

Does anyone know anything about this recording, or anything about Scrappy Lambert ?

Two announcements: Jack Garner & Kevin Brownlow

The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle has announced that long-time film critic Jack Garner will retire. The nationally syndicated journalist was a friend to all those interested in Louise Brooks. Not only had Garner known the actress in Rochester (where he had worked since the early 1970's), he had also interviewed her and her fellow silent film star, Lillian Gish. Garner had also introduced a recent centennial celebration screening of Pandora's Box, and contributed the forward to the recent book by Peter Cowie, Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever. And, way back in 2000, Garner praised the Louise Brooks Society website in the pages of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. According to the article announcing his retirement, Garner will continue to contribute occassional articles and columns. Good luck Jack !

----------

I am very excited to learn that Kevin Brownlow - film historian extraordinaire and friend of Louise Brooks - will be coming to San Francisco at the end of the month. Brownlow will be given the Mel Novikoff Award from the San Francisco Film Society. Brownlow will also be participating in two programs as part of the San Francisco International Film Festival. I am excitied because Kevin Brownlow - the author of The Parade's Gone By - is a legend among those who love silent film. (I had the pleasure of seeing Brownlow once before - at Cinecon in Los Angeles - and even got him to sign a few books for me then.)

Here is San Francisco Film Society press release:

Kevin Brownlow To Receive Mel Novikoff Award At 50th San Francisco International Film Festival

Archivist, Historian, Author, Documentarian and Director Honored for His Extensive and Peerless Body of Work

April 3, 2007

San Francisco, CA – Kevin Brownlow will receive the Mel Novikoff Award at the 50th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 26–May 10). Named for the pioneering San Francisco art and repertory film exhibitor Mel Novikoff (1922–1987), the Award acknowledges an individual or institution whose work has enhanced the filmgoing public’s knowledge and appreciation of world cinema. The Novikoff Award will be presented at An Afternoon with Kevin Brownlow on Saturday, April 28 at 2:00 pm at the Castro Theatre, preceding an onstage interview with film scholar Russell Merritt. Afterwards Brownlow will introduce the screening of his selection, The Iron Mask (1929). The gallant Douglas Fairbanks must save the French crown from black-hearted schemers in Alan Dwan’s lavish version of The Three Musketeers, filled with chivalry, derring-do and impressive pre–special effects stuntwork. Mask was made at the end of the silent era and is considered the summation of the swashbuckling genre.

As it is impossible to do justice to Brownlow’s body of work in just one afternoon or even one day, Cecil B. De Mille – An American Epic (2004), directed by Brownlow and produced by his colleague Patrick Stanbury, will play at 9:15 pm on Saturday, April 28 at the Sundance Cinemas Kabuki. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh and featuring music by Elmer Bernstein, Cecil B. De Mille follows the career of one of Hollywood’s original pioneers. Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Charlton Heston and Angela Lansbury are some of the many well-known names that appear, while De Mille’s surviving kin also lend insight into his personal and family life. His (and by extension, Hollywood’s) greatest hits are covered in detail, including later historical and Biblical epics like Cleopatra (1934), Samson and Delilah (1949) and The Ten Commandments (1956). The documentary includes never-before-seen footage of the parting of the Red Sea, which Spielberg declares “the best special-effects sequence of all time.”

Finally Brownlow will present the lecture Kevin Brownlow: Introduction to Silents on the pre-talkie era and screen excerpts from silent gems including Bronco Billy’s Adventure (1911),Scaramouche (1924), The Chess Player (1926) and Fire Brigade (1926) at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley on Sunday, April 29, at 5:30 pm. PFA pianist Judith F. Rosenberg will provide accompaniment. This program is presented in association with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

Born in Sussex, England in 1938, Kevin Brownlow is the godfather of modern film archiving practices. He is the preeminent film historian and documentarian of the silent era. He is also one of the most accomplished British directors of his era, having made the masterpieces It Happened Here (1966) and Winstanley (1975).

How It Happened Here, a warts-and-all account of the making of his first feature, is an important book on the difficulties and triumphs of making an indie film. Brownlow’s collection of interviews with silent-film stars, The Parade’s Gone By (1968), and his ensuing 12-part television documentary Hollywood (made with David Gill) have inspired numerous film archivists, critics and professors.

Brownlow’s magnificent restoration of Abel Gance’s 1927 classic Napoleon wasn’t just the film preservation event of the decade when it was rereleased in a gloriously restored version in 1981, but a cultural phenomenon. For nearly 40 years, he assembled every scrap of celluloid he could find, searching flea markets and the world’s archives. He championed the film and Gance at every opportunity. And he is still restoring the film. Like the Flying Dutchman, the film is his curse—and the world’s blessing.

Most of all, there are the films he has salvaged and dusted off for Photoplay Productions, the company he founded to focus on important restorations like The Eagle, The Phantom of the Opera, The Thief of Bagdad and The Gold Rush to name just a few. To see a film bearing the Brownlow touch is to go back to a magical time when the silent movies glowed on the silver screen and cinema was a physical experience.

Brownlow’s intense passion is something to emulate. His utter tenacity to present the best restorations and orchestral scores has always been about the value of the film itself. And his writings make the reader want to see every movie he mentions because he loves them so much. 

Previous recipients of the Mel Novikoff Award are Anita Monga (2005), Paolo Cherchi Usai (2004), Manny Farber (2003), David Francis (2002), Cahiers du Cinéma (2001), San Francisco Cinematheque (2001), Donald Krim (2000), David Shepard (2000), Enno Patalas (1999), Adrienne Mancia (1998), Judy Stone (1997), Film Arts Foundation (1997), David Robinson (1996), Institut Lumière (1995), Naum Kleiman (1994), Andrew Sarris (1993), Jonas Mekas (1992), Pauline Kael (1991), Donald Richie (1990), USSR Filmmakers Association (1989) and Dan Talbot (1988). The Mel Novikoff Award Committee members are Francis J. Rigney (chairman), Linda Blackaby (ex officio), Helena R. Foster, George Gund III, Maurice Kanbar, Philip Kaufman, Edith Kramer, Tom Luddy, Gary Meyer, Anita Monga, Janis Plotkin and Peter Scarlet.

Here is a link to the Iron Mask screening, which I believe Brownlow will be attending. And here is a link to the screening of the new Brownlow documentary on Cecil B. DeMille at the Kabuki. And here is a link to the Kevin Brownlow: Introduction to Silents program at the PFA.

Out

I just came across this piece on Peter Cowie's Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever. It appeared in the September 2006 issue of Out, a gay men's magazine.

In case you haven't already gotten a copy of Peter Cowie's book, now is the time to do so! It contains a thoughtful text on Brooks (who Cowie knew), as well as dozens and dozens of lovely and rare images of the actress.

If you can't afford a copy, perhaps you local library  has one on the shelves. If they don't, suggest they purchase a copy for their collection. Many local library websites have a  "make a suggestion" page where patrons can suggest  new books.

William Wellman Jr

Today, I had a very pleasant telephone chat with William Wellman Jr. We spoke about many things, including an upcoming screening of Beggars of Life. (More on that at a later date.) 

Along with Beggars of Life - the excellent 1928 film starring Louise Brooks, Wellman Sr directed many other notable films, including Wings, Public Enemy, Call of the Wild, Beau Geste, the original A Star Is Born, and The Ox-Bow Incident. He is certainly one of the great directors of his time. His son, with whom I spoke, has recently authored a book.



I haven't yet seen the book, but Wellman Jr told me the book does discuss Louise Brooks. I am looking forward to getting a copy, and all interested should check it out. More about the book and its subject and the author at www.williamwellmanjr.com

Lulu in KC today

From today's Kansas City Star newspaper

Who knows what will come out of “Pandora’s Box” when the classic silent film is accompanied by a live score performed by the Gillham Park Orchtet at 2 p.m. today at the Kansas City Central Library, 1410 10th St.

My guess: A mesmerizing experience.

German director G.W. Pabst’s ahead-of-its-time psycho-sexual melodrama from 1928 stars bangs-wearing beauty Louise Brooks (a Kansas native), whose party-girl character Lulu expects a bang out of life — until her luck runs out.

“She looks modern,” wrote film guru Roger Ebert about Brooks as Lulu. “She doesn’t have the dated makeup of many silent stars. … She wants to party, she wants to make love, she wants to drink, she wants to tell men what she wants and she wants to get it.”

Orchtet leader Jeffery Ruckman wrote the all-acoustic score for “Pandora’s Box.” The group’s inventive soundscapes have also been featured on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

Consider this: Brooks’ career faded with the advent of talkies, but her legacy is right up there with Greta Garbo and Marlena Dietrich. Be seduced by it in this free screening.

I would love to hear from anyone who attends this screening, and know their impressions of the soundtrack.

Lulu in Malaysia

Louise Brooks was mentioned today in The Star, a Malayasian newspaper. The article about jewelry - and pearls in particular - name-checks the actress. The article, entiled "Ageless Bijoux," begins

O E Jewellery’s founding in 1906 coincided with the the Art Nouveau movement. Icons like Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin ruled the silent movie scene. In Germany, all artistic endeavours stopped during World War I from 1914 to 1918.

A weary world found solace in the Roaring Twenties. It was the Age of the Flapper. Music roared in as jazz took over. Machines became the new fascination. With their snazzy, short bob, women looked androgynous and shocked polite society. Pearls were worn by the yard and sleek elegant designs were the rage. Famous icons of the 1920s included silent stars like Louise Brooks and Marlene Dietrich. 

The 1930s saw a return to a more genteel ladylike appearance. Clothes were feminine and jewellery was beautifully ornate. Greta Garbo was one of the most popular icons of that era.

This is the first reference to Brooks which I have come across in a Malaysian publication.

Who is Lulu?

"Who is Lulu?" asks an article in today's Hartford Courant. The article by Frank Rizzo, "Yale Rep's Searing Study In Eroticism Isn't For The Timid," begins:

The poster in front of the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven stops the passerby dead in his tracks, but it isn't the one that features feminine flesh and fruit - the image that caused a stir last week when newspapers refused to run ads featuring that photo.

This image simply asks in large, in-your-face typography: "Who Is Lulu?"

Who indeed?

Not that most people, save a German theater major or a silent movie buff, would have any idea.

"Lulu" is the central character created by turn-of-the-last-century German playwright Frank Wedekind, who is having a banner year after a century of neglect. The hip, rock Broadway musical "Spring Awakening," another of his plays, has its own provocative subject of adolescent sexual angst.

But "Lulu" makes ""Spring Awakening" seem like child's play.

"Lulu" is the collective title of the merging of two of Wedekind's plays, "Earth Spirit" and "Pandora's Box," written over 10 years. The works center on a charismatic female character, the object of all men's affections - not to mention lust, perversion, sadism and savagery.

His expressionistic plays - and "Lulu" is a prime example - expose bourgeois morality for all its absurdity and hypocrisy. "Lulu" focuses on the 18-year-old who destroys a series of males "through her uninhibited but essentially innocent enjoyment of sex," according to theater scholar Trevor R. Griffiths.

There have been many artists who sought to tame Wedekind's wild "Lulu." The play was banned (it was only produced once in Wedekind's lifetime, at a private showing in 1905), emerging in 1928, when it became a now-celebrated German silent film, "Pandora's Box," directed by G.W. Pabst. The film starred American actress Louise Brooks, who gave an extraordinarily fresh and vivid performance. (A new Criterion Collection DVD with extras is out.)

An Alban Berg opera version was produced in the '30s. Other rare stage productions include one presented by Lee Brauer at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Mass., in 1980; another in 1999 with an adaptation by English playwright Peter Barnes; and another in London in 2001, starring Anna Friel.

I wish I could be there. If you live in the Hartford area, GO SEE THIS PLAY! And if you do, please post a report.

To learn more about "Lulu" and to see pictures from the Yale Rep production, go to www.yalerep.org. "Lulu" runs Friday through April 21 at the Yale Repertory Theater, York and Chapel streets, New Haven. Performances are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. There is an 8 p.m. performance this Sunday. Matinees at 2 will be held on April 7, 11, 14 and 21. Tickets are $35 to $55. Tickets and information 203-432-1234 orwww.yalerep.org.