Sunday, January 9, 2011

At Village Voice Bookshop

This snapshot was taken outside the Village Voice bookshop in Paris. I will be speaking there on Thursday, and you can spot a small poster for the event in the shop window, as well as a collection of Louise Brooks books in the lower right hand corner of the window.

My wife and I came across the shop while wandering the streets on our first day here in the City of Lights. After introducing myself, we were told that the famous French writer Roland Jaccard had been in earlier and had purchased a copy of The Diary of a Lost Girl. I believe he will be attending the Thursday event, along with a few others associated in some way with the actress and her legacy.

Jaccard, of course, is the author of the very first book on the actress, Louise Brooks: Portrait of a Anti-Star (1977). He also authored a not yet translated book, Portrait d'une flapper (2007). [Someday, we should start an American publishing company to publish it and the handful of other LB related books French-language books in English translation. I can think of a half-dozen titles right off.] If you don't already have a copy of Anti-Star, second hand copies can still be found online and on eBay on occasion. (I am proud of the fact that during my past tenure as a bookseller, I was able to sell more than 800 copies of that book.)

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Louise Brooks

Louise Brooks, 20th century icon

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Polish film mag cover

For sale on eBay is this 1993 Polish film magazine featuring Louise Brooks on the cover. And according to the seller description, there is also a 2 page article inside on the actress. The name of the magazine is ILUZJON. As someone of Polish descent, I enjoy coming across stuff like this.

There is also an article on Harrison Ford - not the silent film star Harrison Ford, but rather the contemporary film star of the same name. (If Harrison Ford were to appear in a bio-pic about the first Harrison Ford, would he then be playing himself?)

OK, enough kidding around. There are also articles on Federico Fellini and Jack Nicholson and others. The seller emphasizes these latter stars - but I would be willing to wager that it is the lovely picture of Louise Brooks on the cover which causes it to sell. Here is a scan of the back and front covers: the exotic and the erotic look across at one another through time.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Action Christine Cinema

On January 13th, the Action Christine Cinema in Paris (France) will screen the 1929 Louise Brooks film, Diary of a Lost Girl. Here is the theater page listing for the event. And below is the press release announcing the event. [please note: The 8:30 event at the Action Christine will be preceded by a 7:00 author talk at the nearby Village Voice bookshop.]

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Cinémathèque Française article

France Today ran an article on the Cinémathèque Française which mentions Louise Brooks. The famous French film museum, founded by Henri Langlois, has at least a few items related to the actress on display, including " Louise Brooks's spangled silver flapper dress."


I plan on visiting the Cinémathèque Française when I visit Paris in the coming weeks, in conjunction with an author event for The Diary of a Lost Girl at the Village Voice Bookshop / Action Christine Cinema on January 13.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

A Girl in Every Port: a review of reviews

As part of its month long tribute to director Howard Hawks, the British Film Institute will twice screen the 1928 Louise Brooks film, A Girl in Every Port. The film, by consensus the best of Hawks' early efforts, is set to play on January 2 and January 7, 2011.

Following its February 18, 1928 world premiere at the Roxy Theater in New York City (where on February 22 of that year it set a record for the highest ever single day gross), the Fox film received glowing reviews in New York's many daily newspapers. Read more on this story on examiner.com

The film also received positive reviews in newspapers elsewhere around the country. 
Mae Tinee, writing in the Chicago Tribune, stated "A Girl in Every Port is a good little yarn that suits Mr. McLaglen better than other things he has had since What Price Glory? . . . Various damsels rage through the action, but to Louise Brooks falls, as should, the plum feminine characterization. She pulls it off in her customary deft fashion - and the enchanting bob in which she first appeared before the movie camera."

Arthur Sheekman, in the cross-town Chicago Daily Journal, echoed those sentiments.  “Your correspondent, partial to all the McLaglen performances, had a grand time watching A Girl in Every Port, in which so much loveliness is contributed by that dark young venus, Miss Brooks.”

The critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer noted, “The picture fairly overflows with feminine near-stars. The outstanding feminine role is played very well, indeed, by Louise Brooks.”

The most extravagant praise Brooks received came from the critic for the Washington Times, who went so far as to state, “The girl is Louise Brooks, who could supply half the so-called stars of Hollywood with ‘IT’ and still have enough left to outclass Clara Bow.”
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