Monday, December 3, 2012

A Girl in Every Port with Louise Brooks at George Eastman House

The 1928 Louise Brooks film, A Girl in Every Port, screens on December 4th at 8:00 pm in the Dryden Theater at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. That's the same theater where Louise Brooks used to watch films in the 1960s. Here's what the GEH website has to say about this event:




A Girl in Every Port
(Howard Hawks, US 1928, 62 min.)

Preceded by:
The Treasurer’s Report
(Thomas Chalmers, US 1928, 10 min.)
 
Silent Tuesdays. Movie theatres were just being wired for sound in 1928, so it wouldn’t have been unusual for a cinema to show a silent starring a tried-and-true draw like Louise Brooks in A Girl in Every Port — where Brooks shows her considerable talent for wearing a tight-fitting bathing suit through most of the film — with one of the newfangled “talkies.” Here it’s humorist Robert Benchley’s film debut The Treasurer’s Report, in which he established his soon-to-be world-famous befuddled public speaker routine. A Girl in Every Port was Brooks’s last film before going off to Germany to make Pandora’s Box, her last American silent starring role, and one of the last silent films Fox made. Can Brooks survive both high diving and the “suave” attentions of Victor McLaglen and Robert Armstrong?

Saturday, December 1, 2012

December at Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum

The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont has a festive December schedule. In time for the holidays, there's the classic Babes in Toyland and the great epic Ben-Hur, as well as a classic Buster Keaton comedy filmed in Northern California, an action-packed Western, and a seldom shown, quirky comedy about a rich, hypochondriac heiress. Each is presented with live musical accompaniment.

Along with their regular "Saturday Night at the Movies" programming, there is also a "Comedy Short Subject Night," and the above mentioned special holiday themed Laurel & Hardy Talkie Matinee. All together, it is a great month of early cinema in the East Bay. And what's more, a few of the films feature actors or directors who worked with Louise Brooks. Here's what's playing.

"Saturday Night at the Movies" with Judy Rosenberg at the piano
Saturday December 1  at 7:30 pm


The Great K & A Train Robbery (1926, Fox Film) is an action-packed Western starring Tom Mix, Dorothy Dwan, and Mix's famous horse, Tony. (Future star John Wayne reportedly worked as a property assistant on the film, and also appears as an extra.) The film, based on the story of an actual train robbery, was mostly shot on location in Colorado and is notable for its stunts, action scenes and use of breathtaking locations. This seldom screened feature will be preceded by two shorts, Felix Busts a Bubble (1926, Sullivan) with Felix the Cat, and Mum’s the Word (1926, Roach) with Charley Chase.

"Saturday Night at the Movies" with Bruce Loeb at the piano
Saturday December 8 at 7:30 pm 


In Feel My Pulse (1928, Paramount), a rich, hypochondriac heiress inherits a sanitarium. What she doesn't know is that it's a front for bootleggers, and a hideout for criminals on the run from the law. Directed by Gregory La Cava, the film stars Bebe Daniels, Richard Arlen and William Powell. (The latter two co-starred in three Louise Brooks films: Arlen in Rolled Stockings and Beggars of Life, Powell in The Canary Murder Case.) This quirky comedy, considered La Cava best silent, will be preceded by two shorts, The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra (1928), an experimental short directed by Robert Florey (King of Gamblers, 1937) and photographed by Gregg Toland, and Crazy Like a Fox (1926, Hal Roach), a comedy with Charley Chase.


"Laurel & Hardy Talkie Matinee"
Sunday December 9 at 4:00 pm


Laurel and Hardy star in Babes in Toyland (1934), a Christmas favorite of storybook characters come to life with Ollie Dee and Stanley Dum battling the evil Barnaby (played by Henry Brandon). Also on the bill are Laughing Gravy (1935) starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and Our Gang Follies of 1938 (1938), with Our Gang.

"Comedy Short Subject Night" with Judy Rosenberg at the piano
Saturday December 15 at 7:30 pm


If you love to laugh, then don't miss this monthly program of short films featuring some of the most famous comedians of the silent film era. On the bill are His New Job (1915, Essanay) with Charlie Chaplin, The Goat (1921, Comique) with Buster Keaton, High and Dizzy (1920, Rolin) with Harold Lloyd, an Big Business (1929, Hal Roach) with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

"Saturday Night at the Movies" with Jon Mirsalis at the Kurzweil
Saturday December 22 at 7:30 pm 


Ramon Novarro (as Judah Ben-Hur) and Francis X. Bush­man (as Messala) lead a big cast of stars (May McAvoy, Betty Bronson, Carmel Myers, Claire McDowell - the latter was featured in the 1926 Louise Brooks film, The Show Off) in Ben-Hur (1925, MGM), Fred Niblo's Biblical epic that rivals and some say surpasses the popular 1959 William Wyler remake. The film is notable for many reasons, especially the chariot race. Ben-Hur marked a comeback for Bush­man, who got his start at the Essanay studio in Chicago.  No shorts will be shown beforehand for this program due to its length. There will also be an intermission.

"Saturday Night at the Movies" with Frederick Hodges at the piano
Saturday December 29 at 7:30 pm 


Buster Keaton filmed Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928, Buster Keaton Produc­tions), a Mississippi riverboat comedy, in and around Sacramento, California. The film, which includes one of his most famous and dangerous stunts, tells the story of the effete son of a cantankerous riverboat captain who joins his father's crew. This classic feature will be preceded by two shorts, The Stagecoach Driver and the Girl (1915, Selig Polyscope) with Tom Mix, and Fluttering Hearts (1927, Hal Roach) with Charley Chase.

For more info: The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum is located at 37417 Niles Blvd. in Fremont, California. For further information, call (510) 494-1411 or visit the Museum's website at www.nilesfilmmuseum.org/.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Andy Stott - Numb (Video)


This music video includes a bit of Louise Brooks.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Louise Brooks inspired music by Cristiano Arcelli

Italian musician Cristiano Arcelli is hoping to raise funds for his Louise Brooks inspired music. Read more (in Italian) on this webpage.


Sponsorizza il nuovo cd di Cristiano Arcelli, vai su www.musicraiser.com e scegli fra le ricompense in basso a destra.

BROOKS.
Il nuovo gruppo di Cristiano Arcelli dedicato a Louise Brook, la diva dark del cinema muto.
Una musica di fusione tra il jazz, l'hardcore e il punk.

Cristiano Arcelli - sax alto, composizioni, arrangiamento
Federico Casagrande - chitarra elettrica
Marcello Giannini - chitarra elettrica
Zeno de Rossi - batteria

Friday, November 23, 2012

Louise Brooks tribute video, with music by Marcella Detroit

Found on YouTube, a Louise Brooks tribute video, with music by Marcella Detroit (formerly of Shakespear's Sister).

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Pandora's Box - Jóhann Jóhannsson and Hildur Guðnadóttir Live Soundtrack

Follow this link to a review of the Jóhann Jóhannsson and Hildur Guðnadóttir Live Soundtrack of Pandora's Box, as performed in Manchester, England on November 2, 2012 - http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=43335#.UKxlO4b5UZA

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

2012 James Card Memorial Lecture

Don't miss the 2012 James Card Memorial Lecture by Denis Doros of Milestone Films, at http://milestonefilms.com/blogs/news/6912078-my-time-with-james-card

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Louise Brooks shout out on SNL

Louise Brooks got a shout out on this past weekend's episode of Saturday Night Live. Former CIA Director David Petraeus' personal life was fodder for the show's opening skit, a send-up of the C-SPAN Book TV series. The sketch featured "Paula Broadwell" reading from her Petraeus biography, All In, at a local bookstore. However, in this satirical version of All In, Broadwell—played by Cecily Strong—gave a more lurid portrayal of Petraeus' time as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan:
The deadbolt slid into place with a loud thunk, and I knew the junior officers outside could easily tell what was going on, but I was beyond caring. The general reached into his desk drawer and pulled something out. ‘Put this on, Paula.’ It was a synthetic wig cut Louise Brooks-style and cotton candy pink. ‘No, David, it makes me feel like a dirty girl,’ I whispered. ‘But you are a dirty girl, Paula,’ he replied. ‘You’re my dirty girl. Now get on that couch.

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