First blurb and first notice

Recently, I received my first blurb for my new edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl. It was from Lon Davis, a film historian and the author of Silent Lives and King of the Movies: Francis X. Bushman.

Lon Davis said, "Thomas Gladysz is the leading authority on all matters pertaining to the legendary Louise Brooks. We owe him a debt of gratitude for bringing the groundbreaking novel, The Diary of a Lost Girl - the basis of Miss Brooks's classic 1929 film - back from obscurity. It remains a fascinating work."

Today, the first newspaper notice of the book also appeared, in my (San Francisco) neighborhood paper, the Noe Valley Voice. Here it is.

Any San Francisco neighbors can find the book at Cover to Cover on 24th street in Noe Valley. Here is the San Francisco Chronicle link to my book signing event on July 17th at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. Onward and upward!

Baby Peggy

Considering all she has been through, Diana Serra Cary is a survivor. And a remarkable one at that. She is also, as Baby Peggy, one of the last surviving silent film film stars. Should you ever have a chance to see Captain January (perhaps her best surviving film), do so! It is wonderful.

And should you ever come across her recently reissued autobiography,What Ever Happened to Baby Peggy: The Autobiography of Hollywood's Pioneer Child Star, read it! It too is wonderful - a great read, a moving memoir. When I read a few years ago, and I think I fell a little bit in love with the author's indomitable spirit.

Today, I published a two pieces on this diminutive actress  - one was in the book section of the Huffington Post. My article is called "The Bookseller Who Became an Author and Who Once Had Been the Biggest Little Film Star in the World." It tells the story of Diana Serra Cary after she left Hollywood. The other was  a short article on examiner.com. (Today, Kenneth Turan also ran a piece on the actress in the Los Angeles Times.)

If you live in Los Angeles or San Francisco, you have a chance to meet Baby Peggy in person. Cary, aka "Baby Peggy," will give a short talk and introduce her 1924 film, Captain January, at the Cinefamily's Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles on July 7th. And, she will be signing copies of her books at the Castro Theater in San Francisco on July 16th as part of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Don't miss one of these opportunities to meet a real movie star - a living legend.

OK, so you may be wondering, what does all this have to do with Louise Brooks, as Baby Peggy's film career was largely over with by the time Brooks' had started. Nevertheless, the one-time child star did encounter a few individuals who also figure in Brooks' story.

For example, one of the Baby Peggy's major films was Helen's Babies (1924), which co-starred Brooks' contemporary, Clara Bow. And in her autobiography, Baby Peggy tells a story about The Captain Hates the Sea (1934), a film in which her mother had a bit part as a dress extra. That Lewis Milestone film starred John Gilbert, and also featured three actors with whom Brooks worked - Leon Errol ("Louie the 14th"), Victor McLaglen (A Girl in Every Port) and Akin Tamiroff (King of Gamblers).

And, as the picture above shows, the 13 year old Baby Peggy also met Louise Brooks' former husband, director Eddie Sutherland. She is pictured in the middle, between her parents on the right and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. (with a monkey on his head) watched by a smiling Sutherland on the left. [Image courtesy of Diana Serra Cary.] Below is a short, three minute film in tribute to Baby Peggy and her appearance in Pordenone, Italy in 2005.

L'Actrice Degeneree

While looking around the DailyMotion website, I came across another short French film which is a kind of homage to Louise Brooks. It's called L'Actrice Dégénérée, and it's by Laure Springer. It is a recent work, though I am not sure from when exactly.

Its story focuses on Samuel and Julian, two journalists. Samuel is attempting to write an article on Louise Brooks, but Julien is unable to understand his fascination with the actress.

Article about Loving Louise Brooks

I posted an article about the new short film, Loving Louise Brooks, over at examiner.com It’s a very true film well worth watching. Loving Louise Brooks is an 11 minute work which speaks not only to the vagaries of young love, but also to cinematic obsession – and the times when those forces collide. Check out my article at http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-48577-Louise-Brooks-Examiner~y2010m6d29-New-short-film-homage-to-Louise-Brooks

 

Loving Louise Brooks

I just came across this short film on Daily Motion. It's called Loving Louise Brooks. It is a wordless sound film, in effect a silent film. It is really good. I believe it was made in France. Check it out.

Remembering Daisy D'Ora

Daisy D'Ora was what one would call a personality. She was a free spirit. I wrote an article about her which I posted to my Louise Brooks column on examiner.com. Please check it out.

D’Ora was discovered at the age of 15 by director G.W. Pabst, who noticed her in a cosmetics advertisement. In the ad, according to one article, she was dressed in her confirmation dress (a la Thymain in Diary of a Lost Girl). 

Pabst cast her in a small role in Pandora's Box, her first film. She was only 16 years old when it debuted in Berlin in February, 1929. After that, she appeared in only a few more films in 1929 and 1930.

In 1931, she was selected "Miss Germany," and was a contestant in that's year's international beauty pageant in Galveston, Texas. She placed fourth. She was not, as far I can tell, ever named "Miss Europe" (a la Prix de Beaute), as is claimed on some web pages. (There was such a contest in Europe in the 1930's.)

[This German newspaper obituary has a remarkable photo of D'Ora standing next to a painting of herself as a young woman.]

Daisy D'Ora (1913-2010)

Daisy D'Ora, a German actress whose brief career included a role as Charlotte Marie Adelaide in the 1929 Louise Brooks' film Pandora's Box, has died. D'Ora was one of the last surviving German actresses of the silent era. D'Ora, born February 2, 1913, died on June 19, 2010.

Daisy D'Ora was a baroness named Daisy, Baroness von Freyberg. Because it was thought improper in her circle in those days to work in show business, she acquired a stage name. At the end of the 20's, she had appeared in a few silent movies.

The famous writer Erich Maria Remarque persuaded her to take part in a beauty contest in Germany. She won and as a result she was sent to Miami for the Miss Universe contest. The famous vocal group, Comedian Harmonists, sang of her beauty in later years.

Here she is, as depicted in Pandora's Box. She played Dr. Schon's fiance, and it is her and Schon's son (played by Francis Lederer) who discover Brooks and Dr. Schon (played by Fritz Kortner) in an compromising position backstage. The hands that hold the picture are those of Lousie Brooks.

Six reasons to attend the SF Silent Film Festival

If you’re a fan of Louise Brooks and have been thinking about attending the upcoming San Francisco Silent Film Festival, and need a few reasons to encourage you to purchase a ticket – then here are six. Each, on its own, is reason enough IMHO.

1) The Festival, which is putting on its 15th annual event this July, will screen one of Louise Brooks’ best films, Diary of a Lost Girl. As the "Founder’s Pick" film, this 1929 German movie has been designated the centerpiece work at this year’s event. It will be shown with live musical accompaniment provided by the outstanding Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

According to the world renowned British film historian Kevin Brownlow, the collaboration between director G.W. Pabst and actress Louise Brooks helped establish Brooks as an “actress of brilliance, a luminescent personality and a beauty unparalleled in screen history.” I think we would all agree.

2) Kevin Brownlow will be in attendance. If you know Brooks’ life story (or you’ve read Barry Paris’ outstanding biography), then you’re aware of the importance of this film historian in the revival of interest in the actress.

Let's put it this way: there is no more important film historian in the history of silent film. And, there is no more important book than Brownlow’s classic 1969 study, The Parade’s Gone By (University of California press). Interestingly, Brownlow's book carries this acknowledgment, “I owe an especial debt to Louise Brooks for acting as a prime mover in this book’s publication.”

This film historian lives in England, and doesn’t make all that many appearances in the United States. Brownlow will be signing books twice over the course of the Festival, as well as introducing a couple of films. Bring your copy of The Parade’s Gone By and get is signed. Or buy a copy at the Festival and get it signed. (Brownlow's book and the other books mentioned in this post will all be on sale at the Festival.) And don’t miss this opportunity to meet the man.

3) Another author who knew the actress will also be in attendance. Ira Resnick, a longtime collector and the founder of the Motion Picture Arts Gallery in New York City (the first gallery devoted exclusively to the art of the movies) will be signing copies of his superb new book, Starstruck: Vintage Movie Posters from Classic Hollywood (Abbeville).

This book features posters and lobby cards of many silent films including a handful of Brooks’ films, and notably a one-of-a-kind poster for Diary of a Lost Girl (pictured left) for which the author once paid the near record setting sum of $60,000. Another illustration in the book is inscribed to Resnick from Brooks.

Resnick will  be signing books following the July 17th screening of Diary of a Lost Girl.

4) Also signing books following Diary of a Lost Girl will be Hollywood screenwriter Samuel Bernstein, whose Lulu: A Novel, has recently been published by Walford Press. The subject of this “non-fiction” novel is Louise Brooks and the period in her life when she went to work with Pabst in Germany. It’s an enjoyable read, and the latest in a shelf worth of worthwhile works of fiction which have taken the silent film star as its muse.

Bernstein, who lives in Los Angeles, will be signing books following the July 17th screening of Diary of a Lost Girl.

5) The San Francisco Silent Film Festival takes place at the historic Castro Theater. Built in 1922, this grand theater is one of the last standing movie palaces in the San Francisco Bay Area. And what’s more, no theater in San Francisco can claim to have shown more Brooks films.

As a neighborhood movie theater in the 1920’s and 1930’s, the Castro screened just about every Brooks’ film back then. And beginning with the late 1970’s revival of interest in Brooks, the Castro has regularly shown the actress’ surviving works. The two Pabst films, along with A Girl in Every Port (1928), Beggars of Life (1928), Prix de Beaute (1930) and the remaining fragments of The American Venus (1926) and Just Another Blonde (1926) have all been shown at the Castro in recent decades. The July 17th screening of Diary of a Lost Girl is the latest in a long history of Castro love for Lulu.

6) I will be there. Recently, as I am always going on about, I edited and wrote the introduction to a new “Louise Brooks edition” of Margarete Böhme’s 1905 book, The Diary of a Lost Girl (PandorasBox Press). Böhme’s book was the basis for the 1929 film of the same name. This just published illustrated edition includes the original English-language translation of this once controversial and bestselling work, which has been out of print in the United States for a century. My edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl is making its debut at the Festival. And what's more, I'll be giving away a mini-Thymain or mini-Louise Brooks button to those who line up to get a book.

Along with Resnick and Bernstein, I will also be meeting the public and signing books following the July 17th screening of Diary of a Lost Girl. That's a trio.

Hopefully, one of these six reasons should provide the tipping point in deciding to attend the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Please note, however, that when the Festival screened Pandora’s Box in 2006, it became the only film in the Festival’s now 15 year history to sell out in advance. The Castro Theater holds 1,400 people! That's a lot of Louise Brooks' fans.