Louise Brooks, at home

I am not sure, but I would guess that this image depicts Louise Brooks, at home in the 1920s. The staircase is different from the one depicted in the image five entries earlier.

Diary of a Lost Girl to show in Flint, Michigan

Diary of a Lost Girl, the 1929 film starring Louise Brooks, will be shown in Flint. Michigan at the Flint Institute of the Arts. According to an article in the Flint Journal,

On Oct. 12-14, to commemorate National Coming Out Day (Oct. 11), an Out 'n About Film Festival will present movies with characters or themes connected to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and other nontraditional sexual identities. Among the entries are the German silent drama "Diary of a Lost Girl," with American star Louise Brooks, and the 1996 documentary "The Celluloid Closet."

More information can eventually be found at the Flint Institute of the Arts website.

[ Back in the 1920's, when Brooks'  American silent films were first screened in Flint, the actress was well liked by the Flint Journal  - the industrial city's leading newspaper then and now. The Journal described Brooks as "smart" and "picquant" and noted she acted "with distinction." We shall see if they review Diary - which may or may not be making its Flint debut.]

Jennifer Gilmore event

On Thursday, I will be hosting an author event with Jennifer Gilmore. Not only is Jennifer an accomplished writer with a published novel to her credit, she is also a fan on Louise Brooks. As a matter of fact, the actress is referenced in Jennifer's novel, Golden Country, which is just out in paperback.

              

Golden Country vividly brings to life the intertwining stories of three immigrants: handsome and ambitious Seymour, a salesman turned gangster turned Broadway producer; gentle and pragmatic Joseph, a door-to-door salesman driven to invent a cleanser effective enough to wipe away the shame of his brother’s mob connections; and irresistible Frances Gold, who grows up in Brooklyn, stars in Seymour’s first show, and marries the man who invents television. Spanning the first half of the 20th century, Jennifer Gilmore’s debut novel captures the exuberance of the American dream - while exposing its underbelly of disillusionment, greed, and disaffection bred by success.

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and can make it to Thursday night's event at The Booksmith, be sure and say hello.

A William Wellman jag

After having watched William Wellman Jr.'s superb documentary on his father, Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick, I have been on something of a William Wellman jag lately. Wellmann, of course, directed Louise Brooks in Beggars of Life, not to mention Clara Bow in Wings - the first film to win an Academy Award.

I just saw Roxie Hart, the director's 1942 remake of Chicago with Ginger Roger's playing the title character. The film also featured Adolphe Menjou and a bunch of character actors I recognized. I liked the film, though I found it a little uneven at times. All in all, it's good and worth checking out. Right now I am watching A Star is Born (1937), Wellman's sparkling look at Hollywood then, (and now). Wellman co-wrote the story, and Dorothy Parker contributed to the screenplay. The film stars Janet Gaynor, Fredric March and Adolphe Menjou. If you haven't seen it, you must. It is really delightful, and something of a tear-jerker. It is a great film.

An Aussie bob

A fashion plate

A bunch of images from the San Francisco Examiner photo archive have been put up for sale on eBay. One particular image ran alongside a fashion column by Babette, which was syndicated in Hearts' newspaper syndicate.

Spring Awakening, a new translation

Today, I received an advance copy of Jonathan Franzen's new translation of Frank Wedekind's play, Spring Awakening. Here is what the publisher has to say.

First performed in Germany in 1906, Frank Wedekind’s controversial play Spring Awakening closed after one night in New York in 1917 amid charges of obscenity and public outrage. For the better part of the twentieth century Wedekind’s intense body of work was largely unpublished and rarely performed. Yet the play’s subject matter—teenage desire, suicide, abortion, and homosexuality—is as explosive and important today as it was a century ago. Spring Awakening follows the lives of three teenagers, Melchior, Moritz, and Wendl, as they navigate their entry into sexual awareness. Unlike so many works that claim to tell the truth of adolescence, Spring Awakening offers no easy answers or redemption.

I haven't had a chance to yet read the work, though I did read Franzen's challenging introduction. In it, the acclaimed, National Book Award winning novelist (The Corrections, etc...) notes Wedekind's California origins, his troubled history, as well as the play's controversial New York City debut. Franzen also mentions Wedekind's Pandora's Box, the character of Lulu, and their relationship to Spring Awakening, as well as the fact that Alban Berg wrote an opera based on the Wedekind play. (Franzen did not mention Pabst's film or Louise Brooks.)

I term Franzen's introduction challenging because Franzen does not hold his punches when discussing earlier translations, or even the recent Broadway musical - which he terms "insipid." From what I gather, this new translation promises a fuller and more truly representative version of Wedekind's work. We shall see. It would be great to see him translate Pandora's Box.

“Spring Awakening is the best play ever written about teenagers, and Jonathan Franzen's fraught yet buoyant translation is the best I've ever read.  In a culture where lies about adolescence prevail, this funny and honest play is more relevant than ever. Spring Awakening is essential reading.”  — Christopher Shinn