John Wayne's West: In Music and Poster Art

A follow-up to the previous blog . . . . Late last year, Bear Family Records released a massive and rather expensive 11 disc set called John Wayne's West: In Music and Poster Art. Though Bear Family (who are known for issuing large retrospective collections) is an European company, the set is available in the United States. The amazon.com listing for the set can be found here. (There's also one currently for sale on eBay.)

This impressive set includes the soundtrack music to John Wayne's numerous westerns (he made a lot of them), including all the title songs by the original artists as well as songs inspired by the movies. Also included is a 464-page LP-sized book with a biography by historian Richard W. Bann, and reproductions of hundreds of western movie posters as well as stills and lobby cards. A bonus DVD contains trailers and exclusive 'behind-the-scenes' footage.

I don't count myself a John Wayne fan. But what caught my eye, or rather my ear, about this set is the inclusion of a single track among the 10 audio discs. Track 51 on disc 8 is the orchestral sequence from Overland Stage Raiders, the 1938 B-western John Wayne made with Louise Brooks. That film was Brooks' last.

The Louise Brooks Society would be interested in finding out to what degree Overland Stage Raiders is represented in the book included in this set. And, if any Louise Brooks / John Wayne fans want to spring for a copy of John Wayne's West: In Music and Poster Art for the LBS archives . . . . well then, step right up partner.

Overland Stage Raiders highlighted in new book

McFarland & Company, one of the world's leading publishers of film books, has just released Western Film Series of the Sound Era. This 475 page hardcover book, by Michael R. Pitts, is an impressive reference work.

Pitts is the author of 30 earlier books, including Poverty Row Studios, 1929-1940: An Illustrated History of 55 Independent Film Companies (McFarland), and the two volume Famous Movie Detectives (Scarecrow Press). Those notable works, like Western Film Series of the Sound Era, touch on the career of Louise Brooks.

The western was hugely popular genre in the 1930s, and it packed cinemas during the early sound era. This volume covers 30 western film series produced from the mid 1930s to the early 1950s. Included are such long-running series as Hopalong Cassidy, The Durango Kid, and The Three Mesquiteers, as well as those that had moderate or brief runs like The Singing Cowgirl and The Texas Rangers. There are also chapters on The Cisco Kid and The Lone Ranger. Major stars like John Wayne, Buck Jones, Ken Maynard, Tim McCoy, and Johnny Mack Brown headlined such popular fare.  

Western Film Series of the Sound Era contains a plot synopsis and analysis of each series, it's place in cinema history, photographs, illustrations, a bibliography and a detailed filmography. Western Film Series of the Sound Era does not contain material on Empty Saddles (1936), the western Brooks made near the end of her film career. That film starred Buck Jones and was a stand alone - and thus is not included in this new book devoted to series films.

However, Western Film Series of the Sound Era does contain a substantial chapter on the many films made under The Three Mesquiteers banner. One of them, Overland Stage Raiders (1938), was the last in which Louise Brooks had a role. It starred a youthful John Wayne, who would soon find film immortality as the Ringo Kid in John Ford's Stage Coach (1939). Brooks wrote about Wayne in an uncollected essay, "Duke by Divine Right."

Pitts' book has interesting background material on The Three Mesquiteers series (it's history and changing actors), as well as on the making of Overland Stage Raiders. For example, I hadn't known that the silent film star Raymond Hatton, who appeared along side Brooks in Now We're in the Air (1928), later appeared in the The Three Mesquiteers series. Brooks herself is mentioned on page 352, and the author notes that the actress "was paid $300 for her work in the Republic feature." Pitts also encapsulates the film's admittedly "rather complicated plot."

Western Film Series of the Sound Era is available on-line and at better bookstores. Check it out.

I'm in love with a German film star

Remember the Passions' 1981 hit, "I'm in love with a German film star"? It's a swell bit of early new wave synth pop. And, it's included on RadioLulu - the on-line radio station of the Louise Brooks Society.

Admittedly, the song is not about Louise Brooks (or even Marlene Dietrich). I've exchanged email with the band's singer, Barbara Gogan (whose website is called , curiously, lulumusic.com). And, while she is aware of Louise Brooks, the singer told me the song was not written about the actress.

Grogan wrote, "It's a funny thing about that song, or maybe it's the way with all love songs, but we all sort of put the face of our own beloved into the picture. At the time I wrote it, I was going out with the Sex Pistols' roadie, known then as Roadent. And for me the song is about him. Though I don't think Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters (who recently did a version of the song) would have had him in mind when he was singing it!"

Nevertheless, it's a great song and we like it and that's why it's included it on RadioLulu. It works for us. A short history of "I'm in love with a German film star" can be found here.

Louise Brooks creamer top from Switzerland

This piece of contemporary Louise Brooks ephemera is currently for sale on eBay. This particular item shows up occasionally. I have one which I purchased a few years back.

According to the seller, this creamer top was issued in Switzerland by Floralp. This is the foil top from the small plastic milk / cream pots used in restaurants. This pull-tab top depicts the film star Louise Brooks. The reverse side of the top carries the name of her film Pandora's Box. This top measures approx. 2.0 inches by 1.7 inches.

Rufus Wainwright records "All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu"

The big news of late in Lulu-land is that acclaimed singer / songwriter Rufus Wainwright has recorded a new album - his sixth studio work (due in March) called All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu. That's according to an article on the Orange County Register website.

The article by Ben Wener notes, "Songs for Lulu, as a concept, was inspired by, as he put it, 'any kind of reckless woman in your life, in your imagination … or in yourself.' For Rufus, that figure is the great silent-film actress Louise Brooks, as seen in G.W. Pabst’s 1929 film Pandora’s Box. In his mind, she’s wandering the streets of Berlin singing his songs, while Fred Astaire dances nearby. It’s a compelling setting –- I look forward to sinking into it when the record arrives."

Not much else is known about this tantalizing project.

However, there's already a Wikipedia page devoted to the forthcoming album, though it doesn't reveal much. The Wikipedia page states "The first part of the title, "All Days Are Nights", comes from the final couplet of William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 43" ("All days are nights to see till I see thee..."). When asked about the reference to "Lulu", which appears in the second part of the album's title, Wainwright stated in a November 2009 interview that Lulu is a "dark, brooding, dangerous woman that lives within all of us", similar to the Dark Lady character in Shakespeare's sonnets. Wainwright claimed that his Lulu was Louise Brooks in the 1929 movie Pandora's Box."

The interview the Wikipedia entry refers to is one that took place with the musician last November on radio station KUT in Austin, Texas. That interview can be heard on this page. I've listened to it and during the interview Wainwright briefly mentions Brooks and the album. Like Andy McCluskey of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) and Mike Doughty of Soul Coughing (among other rock/pop musicians), Wainwright has turned his passion for Louise Brooks into music.

The Wikipedia entry also notes that in order to promote the album, Wainwright will begin a tour in April, 2010 with a series of 10 concerts throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. There are no indication as yet if Wainwright will tour the United States.

However, the singer's website at http://www.rufuswainwright.com/ reveals that on February 12 of this year he will be performing at the Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie, New York.

That is the same historic venue where on January 15, 1923 Louise Brooks herself performed as a member of the Denishawn Dance Company. Still a teenager, Brooks danced alongside company members Martha Graham, Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis. And in the audience on that special occasion was a lovely young Poughkeepsie teenage girl, Lee Miller - the future Surrealist photographer.

Wainwright's February 12th concert in Poughkeepsie will bring things full circle - as artist meets muse on the stage of history and inspiration. [The Louse Brooks Society blog will bring its readers additional details as this story develops.]

The Street of Forgotten Men, a local perspective

Along with collecting material for my project about Louise Brooks and the San Francisco Bay Area (see previous blog), I have also been collecting material about The Street of Forgotten Men (1925) and the places where it was filmed in New York City.

The Street of Forgotten Men was Brooks' first movie. It is is an underworld romance set among professional beggars in the city's Bowery. Brooks has a brief, uncredited role as a moll (the girlfriend of a gangster, or criminal). She is on screen in one scene which lasts less then five minutes. I had a rare opportunity to see the film a few years back while visiting Washington D.C., where I screened a 16mm print for myself in a small cubicle at the Library of Congress.

The film was adapted from a Liberty magazine story by George Kibbe Turner and directed by Herbert Brenon. I've also had the opportunity to examine a copy of the original script, which resides at Lincoln Center in New York City.

The film was in production during May, 1925. A few reporters from the various New York City newspapers of the time visited the set, or wrote articles on its production. The film was officially released on August 24th of 1925 - though it premiered in at the Rivoli Theater in New York City more than a month earlier. Over the last few years, I have managed to collected a number of articles both on the making of the film as well as reviews from when it was shown. These articles were collected through inter-library loan of microfilm and by visiting various libraries in NYC.

At the time of it's release, The Street of Forgotten Men received excellent notices. One newspaper critic, Mildred Spain of the New York Daily News, even commented, "The Street of Forgotten Men dips into the dark pools of life. It shows you the beggars of life - apologies to Jim Tully - and in showing them it shows them up."

The film was shot in the Astoria studios on Long Island, as well as on location in New York City. One memorable scene – when characters Charles and Fancy (played by Percy Marmont and Mary Brian) come across the colorfully named Bridgeport White-Eye (played by John Harrinton) – was shot on Fifth Avenue. Another, when Fancy marries Philip (played by Neil Hamilton, the future Commissioner Gordon on Batman), took place at one of the city's local landmarks, the Little Church Around the Corner on East 29th.

It is this still standing local landmark that caught my eye. I've managed to collected a handful of pictures, postcards, booklets and books detailing the church's color history. A couple of them are included here. Anyone also interested in collecting material on this one-time Louise Brooks film locale would do well to start here.

The Bowery, and the catch-phrase used to describe it as "The Street of Forgotten Men," seemingly came into circulation because of Turner's story and Brenon's film. (Though I may be wrong about this.) The film in which Brooks appeared was a look back at the Bowery of old. Here is a short 1930's film titled Street of Forgotten Men which gives a sense of the place during the Depression. Things hadn't changed all that much.

Rolled Stocking, a local perspective

It's a little known fact, but Rolled Stockings, the now lost 1927 Paramount film which starred the Paramount Junior Stars (James Hall, Louise Brooks, Richard Arlen, Nancy Philips and El Brendel) was partly made in and around Berkeley, California.

The film was adapted from an original story by Frederica Sagor (whom I met when she was 99 years old!) and directed by Richard Rosson. The film was in production between April 4th and May 5th of 1927. It was officially released on June 18th of the same year.

Why Berkeley? Because in the mid-1920's, it was a famous college town with an equally well known athletic program. In essence, Rolled Stockings is a college-set romantic comedy with racy roadhouse adventures (i.e., youthful high jinx) which lead up to a climatic rowing-team race. Some of the race footage included in the film depicts an actual rowing competition (the University of California vs. the University of Washington) filmed on San Francisco Bay.

As the film is lost, we will never really know what it was like. All that's really left of it is advertising art, stills, publicity material and the remaining, fragmentary record of its exhibition. Part of that record is what critics and reviewers thought of it, and where it played.

So, where did Rolled Stockings show in the San Francisco Bay Area when it played locally? The answer is just about everywhere - Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Sausalito, San Jose, Palo Alto and many points in-between.

Here is a record of some of the theaters where the film was shown around the greater San Francisco Bay Area. The name of the theater is given followed by the city and the known dates of exhibition.

American in San Jose (June 15-17, 1927); California in Santa Rosa (July 2, 1927); Hub in Mill Valley (July 5-6, 1927); New Stanford in Palo Alto (July 10, 1927 with Whispering Stage); Princess in Sausalito (July 10-11, 1927); Strand in Los Gatos (July 14-15, 1927); California in Pittsburg (Aug. 2-3, 1927); Grand Lake in Oakland (Aug. 6-12, 1927); Casino in Antioch (Aug 7, 1927); Mystic in Petaluma (Aug. 8, 1927); Granada in San Francisco (Aug. 13-19, 1927); Playhouse in Calistoga (Aug. 23-24, 1927); Boyes Hot Springs Theatre in Boyes Hot Springs (Aug. 26, 1927); California in Berkeley (Aug. 28-30, 1927); Peninsula in Burlingame (Sept. 4, 1927); Manzanita in Carmel (Sept. 4, 1927); Golden State in Monterey (Aug. 7, 1927); Columbia & Loring in Crockett (Sept. 6, 1937); Sequoia in Redwood City (Sept. 9, 1927); Hippodrome in Napa (Sept. 11, 1927); New San Mateo Theatre in San Mateo (Sept. 11, 1927); Orpheus in San Rafael (Sept. 11, 1927); Lorin in Berkeley (Sept. 16, 1927); Starland in Sebastopol (Sept. 17, 1927); Chimes in Oakland (Sept. 18, 1927); Opal in Hollister (Oct. 12, 1927 with On Ze Boulevard); Hayward Theatre in Hayward (Oct. 14, 1927); Mountain View Theatre in Mountain View (Nov. 16, 1927); Rivoli in Berkeley (Nov. 26, 1927); Tamalpias in San Anselmo (Nov. 30, 1927); Broadway in Oakland (Dec. 9-10, 1927); New Fillmore in San Francisco (Dec. 19-21, 1927); New Mission in San Francisco (Dec. 19-21, 1927); California in Livermore (Dec. 23, 1927); Fern in Oakland (Feb. 8-9, 1928).

I don't think anyone ever kept a record of what showed where - thus I compiled my own regional record by scouring dozens of local newspapers for movie advertisements and listings. To do so, I traveled to libraries all around Northern California. It was time consuming and sometimes fatiguing work, but I loved doing it. I got to know all the varied newspapers published locally. And, I also got to know this wonderful region where I live a little bit better.

Of course, this record is not complete, and can probably never be made complete. Unfortunately, the sad fact of the matter is that a number of  local newspapers are no longer extant, or can't be gotten at for one reason or another. The record of our history has been lost to the ravages of time.

When it comes to history and cultural matters, I find local perspectives quite interesting. And even at times fascinating. The compilation of a local exhibition record for Rolled Stockings and each of Louise Brooks' 23 other films is one of my recent projects. I have just a half dozen or so other local papers to look at, and then I am through! To date, I have put together a near 20 page document.

If you are ever looking for something to do, why not try compiling your own local record of where and when each of Brooks' films were shown. It may prove to be a compelling exercise, as it was for me.