Louise Brooks is the obvious #1 crush for any thinking human being

"Louise Brooks is the obvious #1 crush for any thinking human being," stated novelist Glenn David Gold in a short interview about Charlie Chaplin and silent film at http://www.examiner.com/silent-movie-in-san-francisco/six-questions-with-novelist-glen-david-gold

Gold is not only a fan of Louise Brooks, but an acclaimed writer and film enthusiast as well. 

His 2001 novel, Carter Beats the Devil - inspired by the early 20th century magician Charles Carter, was a national bestseller. It’s in development as a feature film for possible release in 2013.

His second novel, Sunnyside, was published to great acclaim in 2009. It’s based on incidents in the life of the "Little Tramp." Sunnyside was released by Vintage in softcover in May.

Each are recommended.

Diary of a Lost Girl in Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

My new edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl got a nice write up in today's Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. The article is by Jack Garner, the newspaper's longtime film critic (he also knew Louise Brooks, and wrote the foreword to the Peter Cowie book, Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu). Garner wrote:

A RARE BOOK tie-in. The idea of book tie-ins to movies is well known. But it's not every day that a 1929 film generates the reissue of a book. Yet that's the case with Margarete Bohme's The Diary of a Lost Girl, which was originally published in 1905.

The surprising reissue in 2010 is the brainchild of Thomas Gladysz, a San Francisco journalist and director of the Louise Brooks Society. Fans of Brooks, the beautiful silent film star who finished out her years in Rochester, may recognize the title. The Diary of a Lost Girl was the second of two masterpieces she filmed with Germany's G. W. Pabst in the late '20s. It followed the legendary Pandora's Box into theaters. (Both films are available on DVD — and highly recommended.)

Bohme's book caused a sensation at the early part of the last century, telling in diary fashion the story of an abused young woman who ends up a prostitute. It sold 1.2 million copies, making it one of the best-selling books of its time.

Read today, it's a fascinating time-trip back to another age, and yet remains compelling. As a bonus, Gladysz richly illustrates the text with stills of Brooks from the famous film, and also includes an introduction. The book's available at amazon.com, pandorasbox.com/diary.html, or at the Eastman House gift shop.

New restoration of Pandora's Box announced

A new restoration of Pandora's Box has been announced. The BFI London Film Festival has announced the line-up for its October event, and among the highlights is a new restoration of the famous Louise Brooks film.

Pandora’s Box is set to screen at 6pm on October 14th at the National Film Theater 1 in London. The new restoration is listed at 143 minutes, ten minutes longer than a “restored version” released by Criterion on DVD in 2008. A bit more info at http://www.examiner.com/louise-brooks-in-national/new-restoration-of-pandora-s-box-announced

The Festival, run by the British Film Institute, is in its 54th year. It will include 197 feature films, and 112 shorts. Other restorations are also on the calendar. I sure wish I could be there, but alas . . . .

Canary Murder Case lobby card

This lovely lobby card (11x14) for The Canary Murder Case (1929) is for sale on eBay. Bidding starts at $2,500. It depicts Gustav von Seyffertitz and Louise Brooks. I likes it. Don't you?

Louise Brooks' first movie review

On this day in 1925, Louise Brooks received her first review as movie actress.* Though  not listed in the credits, the Los Angeles Times took note of her brief appearance in the The Street of Forgotten Men when its anonymous critic wrote, "And there was a little rowdy, obviously attached to the 'blind' man, who did some vital work during her few short scenes. She was not listed." 

The paper was referring to Brooks, whose less than 5 minutes of screen time in the Herbert Brenon-directed film went uncredited. It was her first part in a film. She played the role of a  gangster's moll.

* Brooks had been mentioned earlier on in various newspapers and magazines for her appearances as a dancer and showgirl. The above named review was her first in connection with a film.

Louise Brooks in Love Em and Leave Em screens Oct 9

The 1926 Louise Brooks film, Love Em and Leave Em, will be shown in Fremont, California at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum on October 9, 2010. The listing for this rare screening was just announced on the Niles website at http://www.nilesfilmmuseum.org/sept-oct2010.pdf

This Frank Tuttle-directed film is quite good. It is one of Brooks' best American silents. The last time Love Em and Leave Em was publicly screened in the Bay Area was on November 21, 2006 in the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Public Library. That screening was held in conjunction with the SFPL exhibit, "Homage to Lulu," which celebrated the Brooks' centenary.

Prior to that, the film has enjoyed numerous screenings in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. The film's local exhibition record, as best I could figure it, is thus:

California in Pittsburg (Dec. 14, 1926); California in Richmond (Dec. 26, 1926); National in San Jose (Dec. 29, 1926 – Jan. 1, 1927); American in Oakland (Dec. 31, 1926 special midnight matinee showing); Hub in Mill Valley (Jan. 1, 1927); Princess in Sausalito (Jan. 2-3, 1927);  New Stanford in Palo Alto (Jan. 6-7, 1927); Granada in San Francisco (Jan. 8-14, 1927); Majestic in Benicia (Jan. 9, 1927); Virginia in Vallejo (Jan. 9, 1927); Novelty in San Bruno (Jan. 12, 1927); Strand in Los Gatos (Jan. 20-21, 1927); Sequoia in Redwood City (Jan. 21, 1927); Casino in Antioch (Jan. 23, 1927); Peninsula in Burlingame (Jan. 29, 1927); California in Livermore (Jan. 30, 1927); American in Oakland (Feb. 5-11, 1927); Regent in San Mateo (Feb. 11-12, 1927); Mountain View Theatre in Mountain View (Feb. 12, 1927); New Fillmore in San Francisco (Mar. 12-13, 1927); New Mission in San Francisco (Mar. 12-13, 1927); Richmond in Richmond (Mar. 13, 1927); California in Berkeley (Mar. 20-22, 1927 with While London Sleeps); Chimes in Oakland (Mar. 29-30, 1927 with A Regular Scout); Lorin in Berkeley (Apr. 2, 1927 with The Night Patrol); Alhambra in San Francisco (Apr. 2-3, 1927); Castro in San Francisco (Apr. 7-8, 1927); Coliseum in San Francisco (Apr. 9, 1927); West Portal in San Francisco (Apr. 16, 1927); Balboa in San Francisco (Apr. 23, 1927); Strand in Berkeley (Apr. 23, 1927); Irving in San Francisco (Apr. 24, 1927); Alexandria in San Francisco (Apr. 28-29, 1927); Washington in San Francisco (May 1, 1927); Plaza in Oakland (May 1, 1927 with The Western Whirlwind); Metropolitan in San Francisco (May 12-14, 1927 with The Timid Terror); Roosevelt in San Francisco (May 15, 1927); Fairfax in Oakland (May 31, 1927 with White Black Sheep); Excelsior in San Francisco (June 6-7, 1927); New State in San Francisco (June 6-7, 1927 with The Gorilla Hunt); Rivoli in Berkeley (June 8, 1927 with Flesh and the Blood); New Balboa in San Francisco (June 12, 1927); Metropolitan in San Francisco (June 18, 1927); and Pompeii in San Francisco (July 31 – Aug. 1, 1927); Century in Oakland (Nov. 1-2, 1927).

And then, in more recent years, the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley (Sept. 30, 1979); and Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley (Mar. 15, 1981 as part of the series “The American Films of Louise Brooks”). This latest screening is another addition to the record.

Pandora's Box screens in Kansas City, MO

Pandora’s Box will be shown on Thursday, September 2 at 6:30pm at the Tivoli Cinema in Kansas City, Missouri. The screening is part of a “Silent Film Series” sponsored by the Tivoli Cinemas and the University of Missouri – Kansas City Department of Communication Studies. All seats are $4.00 / free for UMKC Students / Staff with ID. Tickets are available day of show only at the Tivoli box office. Details at http://www.tivolikc.com/silentfilmseries.html