And more on the Jim Tully documentary

This second video, "How Jim Tully's Beggars Abroad Came to Be," is a four minute outtake from the new Jim Tully documentary From Road Kid to Writer. Here author Paul Bauer tells an entertaining story about how one of Tully's best books came to be. Attention fans of James Joyce and George Bernard Shaw!

From Road Kid to Writer is from StoryWorks.TV. This documentary is based on Jim Tully, the first biography of the vagabond, boxer and hard-boiled writer who rocked Hollywood during the Roaring Twenties. He also authored Beggars of Life, the 1928 William Wellman directed film starring Wallace Beery and Louise Brooks. To learn more, check out this article in the local press. Or, follow the documentary on its Facebook page.

More on the Jim Tully documentary

From Road Kid to Writer, a new documentary about Jim Tully, recently premiered in the author's hometown of St. Marys, Ohio. To learn more, check out this article in the local press. Or, follow the documentary on its Facebook page.

From Road Kid to Writer is from StoryWorks.TV. This documentary is based on Jim Tully, the first biography of the vagabond, boxer and hard-boiled writer who rocked Hollywood during the Roaring Twenties. As has been noted, Tully is the most famous writer you've never heard of. He also authored Beggars of Life, the 1928 William Wellman directed film starring Wallace Beery and Louise Brooks.

Here is a related video. It is a musical short by Eric Taylor. It is called "Tully's Titles." Taylor is an American singer-songwriter from Texas. He is known for his anecdotal songs which often take the form of short stories. In addition to Taylor's seven solo releases, his songs have been recorded by Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett and others. "Tully's Titles" contains a Louise Brooks sighting! [I will post another video excerpt tomorrow.]

Jim Tully documentary premiered July 22

Jim Tully should be well known to fans of Louise Brooks as the author of Beggars of Life, the book on which Brooks' 1928 film is based. A new Jim Tully documentary, From Road Kid to Writer, premiered in Tully’s hometown of St. Marys, Ohio, on Monday, July 22, 2013. Read an article in the local press here. Or, follow the documentary on Facebook.I will try and post more throughout the week as this story develops.

Not for Nothin' (1996) [excerpt] by Cathy Lee Crane

This sensualist's dream follows Louise Brooks look-alike Rodney O'Neal Austin on his search for the Beloved. From the cabaret to opium dens and dancing graces this homage to early sound film explores a world teeming with the mysteries of longing and death. Winner of Best Black-and-White Cinematography in a Short Film (Cork International Film Festival 1996). Here is a brief excerpt. If it doesn't show, follow the link below to watch on Vimeo.

Not for Nothin' (1996) [excerpt] from CATHY LEE CRANE on Vimeo.

New song: Bob Your Head (Like Louise Brooks) by Javolenus

I recently came across a terrific remix of a new song called "Bob Your Head (Like Louise Brooks)." Check it out on the ccMixter website: "Bob Your Head (Like Louise Brooks)" remixed by unreal_dm, 2013 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)

The song was composed by an artist who goes under the handle of Javolenus. His original stripped down version from April of this year can be found at http://ccmixter.org/files/Javolenus/41997 or on Soundcloud. Their player widget is embedded below. The ccMixter version linked to above was remixed by unreal_dm and posted only a few days ago.

Javolenus, who's real name is Christopher Summerville, is a singer / songwriter based in England. According to his profile, he is interested in song-writing, guitar impro, film/video music, and promoting Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque music. 

Also on ccMixter is a song called "April Is In My Mistress' Face." It is an adaption, as the artist explained. "Thought I’d update this Renaissance madgrigal by Thomas Morley (c. 1600) by adding some of my own lyrics and giving it a punky/fuzztone treatment." Those added lyrics once again reference Louise Brooks! Give it a listen.

Prix de Beauté at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival

The house was packed at yesterday's historic screening of Prix de Beauté at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. The Festival screened the rarely shown silent version of the 1930 Louise Brooks film, which was restored in 2012 by the Cineteca di Bologna in Italy. My guess is that at least 1200 people were in the attendance. Acclaimed British musician Stephen Horne accompanied the film on piano (mostly), as well as flute, accordion, and guitar.

The film was very well received. During the beauty pageant in San Sebastian, the audience in the Castro starting clapping along with the audience in the film (to ensure Brooks' victory). Another memoriable moment occurred at the end of the film, when Stephen Horne's live accompaniment gave way to the the recorded song heard in the sound version of Prix de Beauté, before Horne resumed playing the close the film.

Here are a few snapshots from inside the theater during the pre-film slideshow.

 

After the screening, I had the honor of being part of a three-person signing along with fellow Louise Brooks fans Hugh Munro Neely, the Emmy nominated filmmaker whose documentary Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu is widely acclaimed, and comix artist amd early film enthuisiast Kim Deitch. As a teenager in 1957, Deitch said, he was in the audience along with his father, Gene Deitch, of a screening of Diary of a Lost Girl at the Eastman House in Rochester, New York. Also in the audience was Louise Brooks! Kim never met her, though his father did. Gene Deitch also had his picture taken with her. Below is a snapshot of myself (right) and Kim Deitch (left).