Lulu in Rochester: Louise Brooks and the cinema screen as a tabula rasa

A longnew article about Louise Brooks is included in the newest issue of Senses of Cinema (issue #55). The article, by Robert Farmer, is titled "Lulu in Rochester: Louise Brooks and the cinema screen as a tabula rasa."

In it, Farmer looks at the ever evolving nature of Louise Brooks’ reputation. As Farmer notes, Brooks' real fame arrived many years after she abandoned her acting career. He analyzes the life, the films and the screen persona of an actress who has been turned into an icon of modernity. In my opinion, its a thoughtful and well considered piece, though I disagree witha few of his lesser points.

Robert Farmer is a filmmaker and lecturer in film theory and practice living in Northampton, UK. Check out his article at http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2010/feature-articles/lulu-in-rochester-louise-brooks-and-the-cinema-screen-as-a-tabula-rasa-3/   

[ The Louise Brooks Society even gets a shout out in this article. Check out footnote #35 ! ]

G.W. Pabst film festival

On July 15th, Bard College in New York state is hosting a G.W. Pabst film festival. Over the course of a month, they will be screening many of the director's best films including the two Pabst made with Louise Brooks, Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl.

Pandora's Box screens on July 22 at 7 pm with piano accompaniment by Ben Model. Diary of a Lost Girl screens on July 25 at 7 pm with piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin.

The complete line-up of films (including Secrets of a Soul and the Threepenny Opera) as well as ticket information can be found here.

Show-Off screens in Los Angeles July 10

I recently learned that The Show-Off (1926) will be screened "under the stars" on July 10th (that's tomorrow) in Los Angeles, California. This screening is part of a double bill put on by the Heritage Square Museum which celebrates the talents of noted actresses who came to fame during the early years of Hollywood. Also on the bill is A Fool There Was (1915), starring the legendary vamp, Theda Bara.

When The Show-Off opened at the Metropolitan Theater in Los Angeles in August of 1926, it and Louise Brooks drew favorable reviews. The city’s newspapers ran reviews with headlines describing it as a “riot of fun” and a “cure for ailments.” More on this film and this rare screening can be found on examiner.com.

Admission to the Silent and Classic Movie Nights is free for museum members; a $10.00 donation for asked for the general public. These special screenings take place on the lawn near the Palms Depot. Guests are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets to sit on, a small picnic to eat before the movies begin, and warm clothing. Beverages and snacks will be available for purchase. Gates open at 7:30 p.m., with the show starting after 8:00 p.m.
The Heritage Square Museum is located at 3800 Homer Street in Los Angeles. More info at http://www.heritagesquare.org./calendar_of_events.htm

From the picture below, you can see that a crowd is already gathering for what promises to be a swell time.

New Diary of a Lost Girl poster

Back in June, I wrote a blog giving six reasons to attend the upcoming San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Well, here's one more which I've just found out about.

San Francisco poster artist David O'Daniel has created a beautiful limited edition poster for the July 17th SFSFF screening of Diary of a Lost Girl. And of course, the poster features a likeness of Louise Brooks, who starred in the 1929 film.

These silkscreen posters, which measure 19 x 25 inches and were printed in an edition of 75, will be on display and for sale at the event. I plan on getting one. Here is a look. More info at http://aliencorset.blogspot.com/

Rolled Stockings screenwriter turns 110

The woman whose story was the basis for the 1927 Louise Brooks’ film, Rolled Stockings, has turned 110 years old. Frederica Sagor Maas (pictured right in 1925) is one of the last surviving personalities from the silent film era, and perhaps the last living individual associated with one of Brooks’ silent films. 

I first met Maas in June, 1999 when I had lunch with her at the historic Musso and Franks restaurant in downtown Hollywood. 

Just six weeks later, in July, I put on her first bookstore event in connection with her then just published memoir, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (University Press of Kentucky). In it, she recounts her life both in and out of Hollywood, where she worked as a screenwriter during the silent and early sound era. 

At the time, Maas was 99 years old and nearly blind, and instead of a traditional author reading - I interviewed Maas about her remarkable life. The assembled crowd seemed to hang on her every word. Afterwords, we went out for a late supper and talked of many things, including Louise Brooks, who impressed her as someone who seemed "smart" and well educated. 

It was a great pleasure to meet Frederica Sagor Maas. I hope she lives another 100 years. 

More on her remarkable career can be found on examiner.com  - and more on Maas and  Brooks can be found here. [Some of the newspaper advertisements which I have come across for Rolled Stockings, like the one pictured below, include her name - a nod, I think, to her standing in Hollywood at the time.]

Is July 17th international Diary of a Lost Girl day?

Is July 17th international Diary of a Lost Girl day? So it seems.

I've recently learned that the acclaimed 1929 G.W. Pabst-directed film starring Louise Brooks will be shown in Berlin, Germany on the 17th of July as part of the “Berlin Babylon - Silent Film Festival.” And on that same day, the film will be shown in San Francisco as part of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

Simultaneity, synchonicity, a perfect storm - call it what you will. All I can say is "wow" - and, how's that for a world-wide happening?

Following the San Francisco screening, there will also be a book signing for my newly published “Louise Brooks edition” of Margarete Böhme’s The Diary of a Lost Girl (PandorasBox Press). This bestselling and once controversial book, first published in Germany in 1905, had been out-of-print in the United States for more than 100 years. My San Francisco book signing marks its debut event.

The Berlin Babylon - Silent Film Festival will also show Pandora’s Box on July 24th. I posted a short article with a little more information about the multi-day, multi-film Berlin event over on my column at examiner.com.

Louise Brooks and the sexual revolution in Italy

The Italian comix character, Valentina (who was inspired by Louise Brooks), is at the heart of this 2007 Italian television discussion about the sexual revolution of the 1960's and 1970's (as it took place in Italy). The book focuses on Giampiero Mughini and his book Sex Revolution. Also among the speakers on this program is Sara Faillaci of Vanity Fair. [Thanx to Gianluca Chiovelli for forwarding this link.]

Beggars of Life screens Aug 15 in SoCal

The 23rd annual Silents Under the Stars takes place Sunday July 18 and Sunday August 15 at the Paramount Ranch, 2813 Cornell Road, in Agoura, California.

The Lucky Devil, featuring Richard Dix and Esther Ralston, will be shown at 8 p.m. on July 18. This 1925 film “tells a rollicking story of romance and race cars with a crazy uncle thrown in for comic relief,” according to event organizers. This film is being presented on Richard Dix birthday.

Beggars of Life with Louise Brooks, Richard Arlen and Wallace Beery, will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on August 15. Organizers describe this 1928 film as the adventures of Louise Brooks on the run from an abusive father, riding the rails with the help of Richard Arlen. Beggars of Life was directed by William Wellman.

Musical accompaniment for both films will be provided by Michael Mortilla.

Attendees are invited to arrive early with a picnic dinner. Due to limited lighting, patrons are encouraged to bring flashlights. Tickets are $6 general admission; $5 for Hollywood Heritage members; $3 for children under 12. Silents Under the Stars is presented by the National Park Service, The Silent Society and Hollywood Heritage. For more information call (323) 874-4005 or e-mail silents@hollywoodheritage.org

Hollywood Heritage is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of the historic environment in Hollywood and to education about the early film industry and the role its pioneers played in shaping Hollywood’s history.