Thursday, December 20, 2012

Tour Around Berlin In 1929

Thanx to Bryan McCarthy for sending this delightful link to a YouTube video of Berlin in the late 1920's. The first song is by Marlene Dietrich. The film footage is from Menschen am Sonntag (People on Sunday), which was scripted Billy Wilder.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Pandora's Box shows in Buffalo, NY on Jan 15

Mark your calendar: Pandora's Box will be shown in Buffalo, New York on January 15, 2013. The film, which stars Louise Brooks, begins the 2013 film series sponsored by the Buffalo Film Seminars at the University of Buffalo. The announcement of the screening was made in the UB Reporter, the campus newspaper.


The Buffalo Film Seminars take place Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. promptly at the Market Arcade Film and Arts Center in downtown Buffalo, the only eight-screen publicly-owned film theater in the United States. Each week Diane Christian and Bruce Jackson introduce the film, the film is screened, we take a brief break, and then have an open discussion with students in a University at Buffalo film class and anyone else who cares to join us.

Tickets for the seminars are adults $9, students $7, seniors $6.50. Season tickets are available any time at a 15% reduction for the cost of the remaining films. Free parking is available in the M&T fenced lot opposite the theatre's Washington Street entrance: pay the attendant $3, given the parking ticket to the ticket clerk in the theatre and get the $3 back.

Handouts with production details, anecdotes and critical comments about each week's film on goldenrod paper are available in the Market Arcade lobby 45 minutes before each session. The Goldenrod handouts are posted online one day before the screening. (All previous handouts are also online.) The Buffalo Film Seminars are presented by the Market Arcade Film and Arts Center and the University at Buffalo.

Pandora's Box has also been shown in Buffalo as part of the Buffalo Film Seminars in Fall of 2001 and the Spring of 2007. Read the earlier film notes by clicking on the links.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Diary of a Lost Girl tonight on Swiss TV

Diary of a Lost Girl, the classic 1929 German silent film starring Louise Brooks, will be shown tonight on Swiss television. That's according to this webpage. The film gets four stars out of five.

Cineasten-Tipp

Tagebuch einer Verlorenen

Diary of a Lost Girl
Stummfilm, Deutschland 1929, Regie: Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Buch: Rudolf Leonhardt, Kamera: Sepp Allgeier. Autor: Roman von Margarete Böhme. Musik: Hans Jönsson, Produzent: Georg Wilhelm Pabst. Mit: Louise Brooks, Vera Pawlowa, Franziska Kinz, Fritz Rasp, André Roanne, Josef Rovenský, Arnold Korff, Andrews Engelmann, Valeska Gert, Edith Meinhard, Sybille Schmitz, Sig Arno, Kurt Gerron, Hedwig Schlichter, Hans Casparius, Jaro Fürth, Emmy Wyda, Marfa Kassatskaya, Sylvia Torf, Michael von Newlinsky.

Thymian (Louise Brooks) ist nicht gerade vom Glück verfolgt ...
¿T?
Die junge Apotheker-Tochter Thymian wird von dem Gehilfen ihres Vaters verführt, vergewaltigt und nach der Geburt ihres unehelichen Kindes von der Familie in ein Heim für "gefallene Mädchen" gesteckt. Dort leidet sie, wie die anderen Mädchen, unter dem sadistischen Regiment des Vorsteher-Paares. Mit Hilfe des jungen Grafen Osdorff gelingt ihr schließlich die Flucht. Doch ihr Kind ist verstorben und so landet die mittellose Thymian in einem großstädtischen Edel-Bordell. Mit ehrlicher, wenn auch der gesellschaftlich nicht akzeptierter Arbeit als Prostituierte will sie sich selbst aus ihrer misslichen Lage befreien. Als ihr Vater stirbt, erhält Thymian von ihrem Vergewaltiger, der die Apotheke erstanden hat, eine hohe Abfindung, da sie als Alleinerbin eingesetzt war. Das ruft Graf Osdorff auf den Plan, der die vermögende Thymian heiratet. Doch die hat ihr Geld längst verschenkt … (- 1.30 Uhr) 

 Der aus dem böhmischen Raudnitz (heute Roudnice nad Labem, Tschechien) stammende Georg Wilhelm Pabst (1885–1967) gilt als einer der größten deutschen Regisseure der Stummfilmzeit, bis heute unvergessen sind Meisterwerke wie "Die freudlose Gasse", "Geheimnisse einer Seele" oder "Die Dreigroschenoper". Nach dem 1905 erstmals erschienenen, gleichnamigen Roman von Margarete Böhme - seinerzeit ein Bestseller - inszenierte Pabst nach seinem Kassenerfolg mit "Die Büchse der Pandora" dieses Stummfilmdrama erneut mit der wunderbaren US-Schauspielerin Louise Brooks, die in der Rolle der jungen Thymian glänzt, die sich gegen alle Widrigkeiten des Lebens behauptet. "Tagebuch einer Verlorenen" gilt als einer der am meisten zensierten Filme der Weimarer Zeit, denn ursprünglich hatte Pabst der Berliner Filmprüfstelle 3132 Meter vorlegt, doch das Werk wurde mit Jugendverbot belegt und zunächst auf 2863 verkürzt, 1930 schnitt Hans H. Zerlett, der unter den Nationalsozialisten 25 Filme drehte, den Film wegen "entsittlichender Wirkung" auf 2001 Meter zusammen. Besonders die Internats- und Bordellszenen waren der Zensur zum Opfer gefallen, konnten aber in einer aufwändigen Rekonstruktion durch das Deutsche Filminstitut - DIF in Zusammenarbeit mit der Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung fast komplett wieder hergestellt werden. Heute liegt "Tagebuch einer Verlorenen" wieder in einer Länge von 2980 Metern vor, allerdings fehlen gegenüber der Originallaufzeit immer noch rund sechs Minuten.
Foto: ARD/Degeto

Monday, December 17, 2012

Screen Goddesses airs on BBC TV

On Saturday December 22 and Sunday December 23, BBC TV will air Screen Goddesses. This one hour documentary might include footage of Louise Brooks. At least, she is mentioned in the program description. Here is what the BBC page says:
Documentary about the early female movie stars - Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe; immortal goddesses made by Hollywood to reign over the silver screen.

With the beginnings of Hollywood, the star system was born with an archetypal bad girl - the vampish Theda Bara - and the good girl - the blazingly sincere Lillian Gish. From the 1920s, vivacious Clara Bow and seductive siren Louise Brooks are most remembered, but none made the impact of Marlene Dietrich, an icon of mystery, or Greta Garbo, with her perfect features and gloomy introspection.

From the power of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis to the seductiveness of Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardner, Hollywood studios produced their own brand of beautiful, sassy and confident women. But it wasn't to last. The era drew to a close with the supreme fame of Elizabeth Taylor and the tragic death of Marilyn Monroe.

Narrated by Elizabeth McGovern.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Recommended New Releases for the Louise Brooks Fan

It’s that time of the year when critics, journalists, bloggers and others issue their "Best of" lists - the year’s recommended new releases in the world of books, movies, music and more. Here's the best of 2012 with a twist, exceptional new releases for fans of the silent film star Louise Brooks.

Like last year, 2012 saw the release of a small but distinguished number of new releases related to the legendary silent film star. Prominent among them is Laura Moriarty's widely acclaimed bestselling novel, The Chaperone, as well as a handful of DVD's including the first ever DVD release of Brooks' last film, Overland Stage Raiders. Fans of the actress will want to check out all of these recent releases.


In 1922, only a few years before becoming a famous silent-film star, fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks left Wichita, Kansas to study dance in New York City. Accompanying Brooks was her thirty-six-year-old, somewhat stodgy neighbor, who acted as chaperone. Based on these few facts, Laura Moriarty has penned a captivating, quietly powerful, and moving historical novel about these two woman and the summer they spent together which changed them both. Both critically acclaimed and a New York Times bestseller, this new book is highly recommended. Also available as an audio book read by actress Elizabeth McGovern. (Riverhead)



DVD-R: God's Gift to Women, directed by Michael Curtiz

It's no secret that Louise Brooks appeared in mostly mediocre sound films. With her career in decline, the one-time silent era star took what roles came her way in the sound era. God's Gift to Women, one of three films she made in 1931, is easily the actress' best talkie. It is also an enjoyable pre-Code romp, a comedy about romance with an impressive cast that includes Frank Fay, Laura La Plante, Joan Blondell, Charles Winninger, Yola d'Avril and Margaret Livingston (Brooks' voice double in The Canary Murder Case). Brooks doesn't have a very big part in this farce, but she makes an impression in a bedroom scene when some of the film's pulchritude gets into a cat fight.  (Warner Archive)


BOOK: Valentina come Louise Brooks. Il libro nascosto, edited by Vincenzo Mollica and Antonio Crepax.

This Italian book was the companion publication to "Valentina Movie," an exhibit held this past summer at the Palazzo Incontro in Rome. It featured the work of the late Italian comix artist Guido Crepax, a longtime admirer of Louise Brooks. The exhibit detailed the influence the actress had on the creation and development of Crepax's best known creation, Valentina, a popular character who appeared in numerous comic strips, graphic novels, books, and spin-off films. Whether or not you read Italian, the dedicated fan will want to own this illustrated book. (Fandango Libri)





Louise Brooks' film career came to an end in 1938 with a supporting role in Overland Stage Raiders, a B-western starring a young John Wayne. This new release marks the film's first official release on DVD and Blu-Ray. (It had been released on VHS some years ago, and is now hard to find.) Said to be only for the John Wayne or Louise Brooks completist, Overland Stage Raiders (presented here in a 1950's revival print) is worth watching at least once. Brooks, 32 years old and sporting a new look, is still alluring and holds her own in what is essentially a guy's film. (Olive Films)





While a young man in the early 1980s, Berkal had the almost unique experience of meeting and befriending  the then older and reclusive Louise Brooks. The story of that friendship is chronicled in this self-published, ebook-only release. (It is also referenced in Barry Paris' 1989 biography.) Benevolent Siren is a brief recounting, which in the end leaves you wanting more. (Smashwords) Also keep in mind Youthful Places, a small collection of poetry also by Berkal. It contains "MLB," a poem about and dedicated to the actress. (Amazon Digital Services)




DVD/BluRay: La Canarina Assassinita (Canary Murder Case), directed by Malcolm St. Clair. 

The Canary Murder Case (1929), with Brooks in the title role of the "Canary," has not yet been released on DVD in the United States. But it has been, at least twice, in Italy. This new release is the latest out of Europe. Not seen at time of review. (Ermitage Cinema) Also keep in mind Mystery Movies Series of 1930's Hollywood, by Ron Backer. This recommended book opens with The Canary Murder Case and details the many subsequent Philo Vance films which followed. (McFarland)






This collection of academic essays on popular German literature of the late nineteenth century includes "Taking Sex to Market: Tagebuch einer Verlorenen: Von einerToten and Josefine Mutzenbacher, Die Lebensgeschichte einer wienerischen Dirne, von ihr selbst erzählt," by the English academic Elizabeth Boa. The essay, by a noted German scholar whose fields of interest include Frank Wedekind, looks at the book which was the basis for the 1929 Louise Brooks' film, The Diary of a Lost Girl.  That book was Margarete Bohme's Tagebuch einer Verlorenen, a controversial bestseller which sold more than 1.2 million copies. In its review of this new book, the Times Literary Supplement said, "The essays are often fascinating and always informative. The best of them make their arguments against the forgetting of their once-bestselling authors exciting. They share a passion for getting to the bottom of why, in or outside Germany, we know so little about books that were, in the main, not just flashes in the pan, as they often endured for up to a century." That's true for Boa's take on Bohme's still valuable and provocative work. (Camden House)

ALSO KEEP IN MIND....


Colleen Moore was the cute-as-a-button silent era actress who first achieved stardom in Flaming Youth (1923). It was in that film, in which Moore plays a flapper, that the actress first sported bobbed-hair. That was also a couple years before Louise Brooks entered films and made her own mark. Both actresses were known for their signature look, a straight bob with bangs, and that fact has led some to wonder who first wore the iconic hair style. Codori discusses that question and more in this appealing biography. (McFarland)




Mae Murray, popularly known as "the girl with the bee-stung lips," was a fiery presence in silent-era Hollywood. Renowned for her sultry beauty, Murray rocketed to stardom as a dancer with the Ziegfeld Follies before entering films. She appeared in The Delicious Little Devil (1919), Jazzmania (1923), and most famously, The Merry Widow (1925). With the coming of sound, her career went into decline, and eventually Murray found herself nearly destitute. The parallels with Louise Brooks' career are striking. This highly recommended biography, featuring much original research, includes never before published observations about Murray drawn from Brooks' letters to Kevin Brownlow.  (University Press of Kentucky)

Thursday, December 13, 2012

God's Gift to Women now on DVD

Warner Archive has given the 1931 Louise Brooks film, God's Gift to Women, its first ever commercial release. This Michael Curtiz directed film (Robin Hood, Casablanca) is a 72-minute  pre-code farce starring Frank Fay, Laura LaPlante and Joan Blondell. Brooks has only a supporting role, but makes an impression. It was one of three films the actress made in 1931, and is probably the best of the her American sound films. That's the good news.

Now here is the not so good news. Like the other films released by Warner Archive, his item is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. This title has been manufactured from the best-quality video master currently available and has not been remastered or restored for this DVD/Digital Download release. It is expected to play back in DVD Video "play only" devices, and may not play in other DVD devices, including recorders and PC drives.

The Warner Archive descriptive text reads: "One kiss could kill him! Frank Fay, Joan Blondell and Louise Brooks sparkle in a pre-Code bedroom farce about a debonair heart patient who dares not pucker up for the girl he loves."

“If you want to live, you must follow the tranquil existence of an oyster,” the eminent cardiologist warns his terrified patient. “No excitement and no women. One kiss and you die!” Mon Dieu! No kissing? That’s the kiss of death for ladies’ man Toto Duryea. And especially now, when he’s found the woman who has won his heart forever. Too bad that heart is one sick ticker. Vaudeville and stage star Frank Fay portrays Toto in this jaunty pre-Code bedroom farce set in Paris and directed by the legendary Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, Life With Father). Vivacious kewpie doll Joan Blondell and flapper femme fatale Louise Brooks are among former lovers who rush to Toto’s bedside eager to provide comfort. But he rejects them all for a hard-to-get American beauty (Laura LaPlante) whose lips have touched his only once. And oh how he longs to repeat the experience. Will Toto give his life for one more heavenly smooch?  

God's Gift to Women can be purchased through Warner Archive or Amazon.com The Warner Archive webpage also has a three minute clip from the film (not the trailer) which has the character (played by Charles Winninger) mention he is from Rochester (NY? - Brooks' future home) while his French friend lets slip the phrase "a sweetheart in every port."

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Louise Brooks Society wish list

Wondering what to get the Louise Brooks Society this Holiday Season? Here are a few items from the LBS wish list. (Follow this link to see the complete list.) And while you're checking it out, why not get something for yourself.

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Available from these sellers.
4 Used & New from $48.65
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Minos Matsas (Audio CD)
Available from these sellers.
2 Used & New from $45.00
 
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Available from these sellers.
1 Used & New from $28.86
    
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by Jacqeline Strecker (Hardcover)
In Stock. Offered by Amazon.com
32 Used & New from $41.65
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by Teresa A. Carbone (Hardcover)
In Stock. Offered by Amazon.com
59 Used & New from $33.69
 
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Metallica (Audio CD)
In Stock.Offered by Amazon.com
3 Used & New from $29.16


 
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Available from these sellers.
5 Used & New from $23.87

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by William Boyd (Paperback)
Available from these sellers.
33 Used & New from $8.74
 
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In Stock. Offered by Amazon.com
25 Used & New from $10.45
 
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In Stock. Offered by Amazon.com
25 Used & New from $18.24
  
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In Stock. Offered by Amazon.com
31 Used & New from $0.33
 
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by Shelley Stamp (Paperback)
In Stock. Offered by Amazon.com
40 Used & New from $18.58
        
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by Irmgard Keun (Paperback)
In Stock. Offered by Amazon.com
69 Used & New from $4.35
   

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/.
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