Henri Langlois gravesite

Yesterday, I received a fascinating email about the gravesite of Henri Langlois, the famous French film archivist and co-founder of the Cinémathèque Française.As most any fan of Louise Brooks knows, Langlois was an admirer of the actress. He uttered the now famous declaration, "There is no Garbo, there is no Dietrich, there is only Louise Brooks."

Brooks' fan Steve Robinson emailed me a couple of images he took in the cemetery in Montparnasse where Langlois is buried. He wanted me to share them with everyone. The first image is of the gravesite, and the second is of a collage on the gravestone which includes an image of Louise Brooks from Pandora's Box. Thank you Steve.

Rosetta Stone: Celebrate Paramount Week advertisement

Below, I've posted a large scan of a "Celebrate Paramount Week" advertisement which I recently came across in a San Francisco newspaper. It dates from 1926. This ad is not unique to San Francisco. In the past, I've dug up these kind of advertisements in other newspapers located across California and the United States.

A close reading of the advertisement reveals that the Louise Brooks - W.C. Fields film, It's the Old Army Game, play at two theatres in San Francisco on September 4th and 5th. As I am currently engaged in a project documenting the exhibition of Brooks' films in the City by the Bay, that's useful information. (The New Mission Theatre and the New Fillmore Theatre were sister theatres which almost always shared programming.)

However, what makes this large advertisement especially revealing is the extensive listing of San Francisco, Bay Area, and Northern California theatres. All of the venues listed here - including the various "irregular exhibition spaces" like hospitals, retirement homes and army base theatres - participated in Paramount Week. And by inference, these were theatres where Brooks' other Paramount features might have been shown. That's also useful information.

This advertisement - and the names and locales of the theatres contained within it - acts as a kind of Rosetta Stone in helping to document the exhibition of Brooks' films. It also reveals which theatres were allied with Paramount (this being the days of block booking) - and in some instances, the very existence of a theatre.

I was especially pleased to spot a listing for the Empress Theatre, located at 28th and Church street in San Francisco. That venue, which was torn down a few weeks ago, is located just a couple of block from where I live in San Francisco. I had written about its demise for my regular column on examiner.com.

If you live in Northern California, you will likely enjoy scouring this advertisement for a theatre near you. Because of its fine print, I have posted a rather large scan. Double-clicking on the image will reveal its full size. Isn't it impressive how many movie theatres there were back in the 1920's? They seemed to located just about everywhere!

Advertisements for myself

I spotted this advertisement for Jan Wahl's Through A Lense Darkly, a highly readable collection of autobiographical essays which includes a piece on Louise Brooks.

I wrote about the book back in August for examiner.com. You can read my article here.

I am honored to be listed after sci-fi great Ray Bradbury and actress Julie Harris as someone with something to say about this fine book! That's fine company indeed.

If you haven't gotten a copy of Through a Lense Darkly already, don't hesitate. It was published by BearManor, and can be purchased on-line and at better bookstores.

Jan Wahl is also the author of another new book, of interest, Dear Stinkpot: Letters from Louise Brooks, also published by BearManor. That title is also available on-line. Check it out.

A Screen Test for Bobbed Hair

I do a lot of research - usually of the reading through old newspapers on microfilm variety. And I come across - often by chance - a lot of interesting material unrelated to Louise Brooks. Sometimes I will make a copy of what I find for my files, or to share.

Here is something nifty I recently found. "A Screen Test for Bobbed Hair" ran in a local newspaper in November, 1925.

Just below this contest application was an anonymous article of interest, "Bobbed Hair Brides Are the Fashion Now." Both pieces certainly reflect their times.

Italian censorship of Louise Brooks' films during the Fascist era

I have spent nearly 15 years looking into and researching various aspects of Louise Brooks life and career. One of the most fascinating though obscure aspects is the censorship of her films both in the United States and abroad.

Both Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl were censored in Germany - the country were they were made. This is documented in the biography by Barry Paris. What's less known is that a number of her other films were also censored in other parts of Europe as well in the United States.

My great good friend Gianluca Chiovelli, Italy's best Louise Brooks fan and her number one researcher there, has uncovered Italian censorship of Brooks' films during the Fascist era. He emailed me with what he found. Gianluca wrote, "Go to http://www.italiataglia.it/search and type the Italian title of Brooks' films."

Trionfo di Venere (American Venus)
Un barbiere di qualità (A Social Celebrity)
Signore della notte (Evening Clothes)
Aviatori per forza (Now We're in the Air)
Capitan Barbableu (A Girl in Every Port)
Miss Europa (Prix de Beaute)
Amanti di domani (When You’re in Love)

In the results, you'll see very brief notes regarding censorship at the time of the Fascist government. Gianluca noted that both American Venus and A Girl in Every Port ran into a bit of trouble.

-----------

In the past, I have been able to gain access to the state censorship records of Kansas and New York State. (In the 1920's, many states and some cities had their own censorship boards.) And as with Italy, a few of Brooks' films were edited to conform to local standards.

Louise Brooks look-alike in new Dr. Who comic

Don't know if anyone has noticed, but there is a very obvious Louise Brooks look-alike featured in one of the newest Doctor Who comic books.

I recently picked up a copy of "Silver Scream," the first issue of a new ongoing series based on Doctor Who, a time traveling alien. I love the show - especially its recent incarnations.

Part of the body of literature that has grown up around this long-running British TV show are a slew of novels, comics and other spin-offs. Including this newest example.

In "Silver Scream," the good Doctor travels to 1920's Los Angeles where he encounters not only the Hollywood crowd but some aliens from God knows where intent on doing harm.

Louise Brooks is not the only silent film star depicted in this recently issued comic. Charlie Chaplin is also prominent - his character name is Archie Maplin. And in various panels I spotted Pola Negri, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Adolphe Menjou, Rudolph Valentino, Chester Conklin, and Buster Keaton look-alikes. Some sample pages from the comic can be found here.

Apparently, the second installment, titled "Film Lovers Almanac," has recently been issued. This comic, of course, is not the first Doctor Who - Louise Brooks intersection.