re: Lulu in Marrakech

Back on October 30th, I blogged about Diane Johnson's new novel, Lulu in Marrakech. Then, I wrote "Recently, the New York Times ran a couple of reviews of the new Diane Johnson novel, Lulu in Marrakech. I haven't read the book, but it's title caught my attention because of the name of its title character. (Johnson's novel is described as a social comedy about a clueless young American woman named Lulu.) What also caught my attention was the newspaper's suggestion that the novel's main character has some connection to Louise Brooks and the character she once played, also named Lulu."

Today, the Boston Globe ran a review of the book by Elizabeth Hand, the critically acclaimed fantasy author. Hands' review is a good one, and like the New York Times reviews, it picks up on some of the thematic / mythological tropes employed in the novel. In her review, Hand writes

The greatest irony, of course, is that the emotionally detached Lulu is as expendable to her government, and others, as suicide bombers are to their terrorist cause. Despite a passing reference to Mata Hari, she has far more in common with her namesake: the blithely amoral, guileless, and ultimately doomed femme fatale Lulu, embodied by Louise Brooks in G. W. Pabst's great film "Pandora's Box." At the end, Diane Johnson's Lulu is being coolly reassigned from Marrakech to London with the prospect of a posh new flat and another man's bed to warm as she goes about her business.
 

Hand's appreciation of Brooks' is not a surprise. Hand has mentioned Brooks before in her prose. In her World Fantasy Award-nominated short story, Cleopatra Brimstone (2001), Hand mentions the actress, " 'Did you do something different with your hair?' She nodded once, brushing the edge of her bangs with a finger. 'Yeah.' 'Nice. Very Louise Brooks.'"

[A number of other fantasy / horror writers have also referenced Louise Brooks in their work, Most famously and most prominently among them are Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman. I have spoken to each of them about their appreciation of the actress. Other genre writers who have given a shout our to Lulu are Fritz Leiber, Jr. and Peter Straub. For more, see "Louise Brooks in Contemporary Fiction" on the LBS website.]

F. Scott Fitzgerald and Louise Brooks

Louise Brooks first encountered F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood. According to the Barry Paris biography, they first met in 1927 in the lobby of the Ambassador Hotel. In letters and in interviews, Brooks recounted their one or two additional meetings over the years. What Fitzgerald and Brooks shared was a dislike of Hollywood. Despite its reputation as a dream factory, both the writer and the actress were profoundly unhappy during their tenures in Tinseltown.

I was reminded of all of this while reading David Wiegand's article about Fitzgerald in today's San Francisco Chronicle. The article, which looks at Fitzgerald's relationship with Hollywood and the films made from his books, was prompted by the forthcoming release of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett star in this adaptation of one of the writer's most unusual short stories. [It's a film I am looking forward to seeing, as I am a BIG Fitzgerald fan.]

Weigand raves over Bernice Bobs Her Hair, a 1976 film written and directed for TV by Joan Micklin Silver and starring Shelley Duvall. Has anybody seen this particlur work?

Curiously, Weigand fails to make note of some earlier films based on Fitzgerald's work. Most important among them is The Great Gatsby, a now lost 1926 film directed by Herbert Brenon (who directed Brooks in her first film, The Street of Forgotten Men). Check out the article. It is worth reading.

Early Modern Dance: The Denishawn Collection

There is a real nice collection of Denishawn images on Flickr ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/nypl/sets/72157610902043629/ ) . These images are exotic, erotic (at least I think so) and visually so very interesting. God, how I wish someone would publish a pictorial book devoted to Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, and the Denishawn Dance Company. And by the way, Louise Brooks can be seen in at least two of the images gathered on Flickr.

New Chaplin bio

It seems as though there is a new book or two out on Charlie Chaplin every few years. Forthcoming from Faber and Faber isChaplin: The Life and Times of a Tramp, by Simon Louvish. That should be good. I have a couple of other film books by this noted British film biographer, and each is worthwhile.

Just released is Chaplin: A Life, by Stephen Weissman, M.D. What makes this book stand out among the dozens of earlier books on the actor is the fact that it is not by a film historian or biographer, but a medical doctor. And what's more, the book is endorsed by Geraldine Chaplin, Charlie's daughter. Geraldine (who will always be favorite of mine because of her role as Tonya in Dr. Zhivago) wrote an introduction to the book, and a quote from that short piece graces the cover. "Always provocative and at times heart wrenching . . . An important addition to an understanding of my father's genius and art."

As every Louise Brooks fan knows, Chaplin had a brief but intense affair with then 18 years old Brooks in the summer of 1925. The affair is detailed in Barry Paris' outstanding biography of the actress. In his new book, Weissman cover the same ground in a few paragraphs over the course of a couple of pages. Weissman notes "Looking back on their amorous interlude many years later, Louise recalled with good-natured amusement Chaplin's odd habit of painting his penis with iodine to protect himself from contracting a venereal disease. As she put it, 'Charlie came running at me with his little red sword'."

Seemingly, this is a new source for this particular anecdote. The red sword-iodine detail is attributed to an "Unpublished letter from Jan Wahl to the author" dating from 1989. Today, Wahl is a well-known children's book author. But in the 1950's, as a young man on a Fullbright in Denmark, he met and befriended the then middle-aged actress. Brooks and Wahl corresponded for years afterword.



Chaplin: A Life, by Stephen Weissman, M.D., looks like a good read. It takes a psychoanalytical approach to the Chaplin's life and films. Thank you to my longtime friend Tom McIntyre - publisher sales rep extraordinaire - who alerted me to this new book. Thanx Tom! You are a gentelman and a scholar.

100 Most Influential People in Fashion

The editors of Zimbio.com have named the 100 people who they think have made the greatest impact on the way we dress - from Coco Chanel to Andre 3000. Louise Brooks comes in at #83, in between Gwen Stefani at 82 and David LaChappelle at 84. The complete list, for those curious to know who made the list (and who didn't), can be found here.

Our favorite silent film star also got her own facile Zimbio.com page outlining her career and contributions to 20th century fashion. (Hey - it's Kenneth Tynan, not "Kenneth Tyman.")

New Victor Fleming book

There is a new book out on director Victor Fleming. The book is called Victor Fleming: American Movie Master, and it is by Michael Sragow, film critic for the Baltimore Sun and a contributor to the New Yorker.  The book - which looks like a great read - received a nice review by Jeanine Bassinger in today's New York Times.

Fleming, for those not familiar with his name but undoubtably familiar with his work, was active during the silent film era. He directed Clara Bow in Mantrap, but is best known today for two later films, The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind. Fleming and Bow also had an affair.  Though they never worked together, Louise Brooks is referenced a few times and quoted twice in this new book.