Thursday, March 20, 2014

Polish edition of Laura Moriarty's Louise Brooks novel, The Chaperone

The Polish edition of Laura Moriarty's novel, The Chaperone, has been published by Bukowy Las. In Poland, the book is titled Przyzwoitka. Alas, there is no Louise Brooks cover art. Here is the publisher supplied description:

"Inspirowana życiem gwiazdy filmu niemego Louise Brooks opowieść o dwóch diametralnie różnych kobietach oraz o nowojorskim lecie, które je odmieniło W 1922 r., jeszcze zanim stała się sławną aktorką filmową oraz ikoną swojego pokolenia, piętnastoletnia Louise Brooks wyjeżdża latem z Wichita w stanie Kansas do Nowego Jorku, by pobierać naukę w awangardowej szkole tańca Denishawn. Ku jej wielkiemu niezadowoleniu towarzyszy jej trzydziestosześcioletnia przyzwoitka. Cora Carlisle nie jest ani matką, ani przyjaciółką, a po prostu szacowną sąsiadką, którą rodzice Louise wynajmują przez wzgląd na przyzwoitość. Tradycyjna i zacna Cora, która udaje się w tę podróż także z powodów prywatnych, nie zdaje sobie sprawy, na co się zdecydowała. Louise, olśniewająco piękna już w tak młodym wieku i paradująca w słynnej krótkiej fryzurze, znana jest z arogancji, nierespektowania konwenansów oraz z żywej inteligencji. Zanim pociąg zatrzyma się na nowojorskim dworcu Grand Central, Cora nabiera obaw, że pilnowanie Louise będzie co najmniej wyczerpujące, a w najgorszym wypadku wręcz niemożliwe. Ostatecznie jednak te wspólnie spędzone z młodziutką dziewczyną tygodnie okażą się najważniejszym czasem w jej życiu."

Translation: "Inspired by the life of silent film star Louise Brooks, a tale of two radically different women and the New York City summer that changed in 1922, even before she became a famous film actress and icon of his generation, fifteen year old Louise Brooks leaves in summer, from Wichita, Kansas to New York to get enrolled in school by Denishawn dance. To her great disappointment of trzydziestosześcioletnia is accompanied by a chaperone. Cora Carlisle is neither her mother nor her friend, and simply distinguished neighbor, Louise's parents rent for the sake of propriety. The traditional zacna and Cora, who goes on this journey with private reasons, does not realize what you decided. Louise, drop-dead gorgeous already at such a young age and paradująca in the famous short hairstyle, is known for its arrogance, to become sources of conventions and with living intelligence. Before the train stops at New York's Grand Central station, Cora takes on fears that ensure Louise will at least be comprehensive, and at worst impossible. Ultimately, however, these jointly spent with young girl weeks will prove to be the most important time in her life."

And for those keeping track, here is the cover of the 2013 German edition. Laura Moriarty's  novel was translated into German by Britta Evert, and titled Das Schmetterlings mädchen

The publisher's description reads: "New York in den Goldenen Zwanzigern: Eine turbulente Metropole voller Leben, Musik, Abenteuer - ein aufregendes Versprechen. Als die fünfzehnjährige Louise aus dem verschlafenen Kansas dorthin reist, um Tänzerin zu werden, geht für sie ein Traum in Erfüllung. Hals über Kopf stürzt sich das neugierige, unkonventionelle Mädchen in diese berauschende Welt - sehr zum Missfallen ihrer Anstandsdame Cora, einer Frau mit traditionellen Wertvorstellungen. Doch hinter Coras korrekter Fassade verbirgt sich ein trauriges Schicksal, von dem niemand ahnt. Die Reise nach New York ist für sie eine Reise in die Vergangenheit."

Translation: "New York in the Roaring Twenties: A turbulent metropolis full of life, music, adventure - an exciting promise. As a fifteen year old Louise from the sleepy Kansas travels there to be a dancer, she goes for a dream come true. Head over to the curious, unconventional girl falls into this intoxicating world - much to the displeasure of their chaperone Cora, a woman with traditional values​​. But behind Cora's correct facade hides a sad fate from which no one suspects. The trip to New York for them is a journey into the past." 

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Evening Clothes - A Round-up of Reviews

Evening Clothes, Louise Brooks' eighth film, was officially released on this day in 1927. The film is a comedy-drama about a French gentleman farmer who, spurned by his bride, goes to Paris in order to become sophisticated enough to win her back. The film is lost, as are all of Brooks' films from 1927.

Evening Clothes was directed by Luther Reed. Adolphe Menjou played Lucien d'Artois, Virginia Valli was Germaine, Noah Beery played Lazarre, and Louise Brooks was Fox Trot. Notably, this is one of the rare silent films films in which Brooks did not appear in her signature bob. And not surprisingly, many reviewers and critics of the time commented on the actress' different hair style.


Evening Clothes proved popular in its day. Here is a round up of newspaper and magazine reviews and articles drawn from the Louise Brooks Society archive.

Parsons, Louella O. "Evening Clothes an Entertaining Story." Los Angeles Examiner, March 5, 1927. --- "When you see the show girl, Louise Brooks, cavorting about with a frizzled top you will see why Famous Players Lasky is grooming her for bigger and better things. She fares much better than either Miss Tashman or Mr. Beery, who only appear at long intervals."

Yorke, Hal. "Evening Clothes Presents Menjou at Metropolitan." Los Angeles Daily Illustrated News, March 5, 1927.
--- "Louise Brooks - yes, the one you dream about - is as alluring and pert as ever."

anonymous. "Menjou Picture Outstanding for Hirsute Effects." Los Angeles Times, March 6, 1927. --- "Louise Brooks, who plays one of the featured roles in the picture, has sacrificed the distinctive bob."

Taylor, Ken. "You'd Hardly Know Menjou with a Beard." Los Angeles Evening Express, March 7, 1927.
--- "Louise Brooks, whose haunting vivacity has necessitated the restringing of more than one male's heartstrings." - review in Los Angeles, California newspaper

Kreisman, Louise. "Evening Clothes At the Metropolitan." Daily Bruin, March 10, 1927.
--- "Louise Brooks, as a curely headed chorus girl . . . The rest of the time she excells in flippancy and heartlessness." - review in UCLA student newspaper

Beaton, Welford. "High School Girls Select Mr. Menjou." and "Some Good and Not So Good Direction." Film Spectator, March 19, 1927.
--- "There are three girls who do very well in Evening Clothes - Virginia Valli, Louise Brooks and Lilyan Tashman. . . . I was glad to see further evidence of Paramount's dawning consciousness that Louise Brooks is not composed solely of legs. They work her from the knees up in this picture and it begins to look as if she were headed for a high place."

anonymous. "Adolphe is Himself Again." New York Telegram, March 21, 1927.
--- "It is a delightful little comedy. . . . Virginia Valli and Louise Brooks (permanently waved) appear both provocative and Parisienne as the leading ladies." 

Hall, Mordaunt. "Bankruptcy and Love." New York Times, March 21, 1927.
--- "Ms. Brooks, with a change in her eyebrows and curly hair, is stunning."

Cannon, Regina. "Menjou's Beard Surprise in Film Evening Clothes." New York American, March 22, 1927.
--- "Louise Brooks is again cast as a 'lady of the evening' and makes her role pert and amusing. You won't recognize Miss Brooks at first, for she is wearing her hair curled over her head. This is too bad, for it makes her look just like a thousand other attractive girls. Louise achieved distinction with her straight-banged bob."

C., O. "The Current Cinema." New Yorker, March 26, 1927.
--- short mention in film column "Louise Brooks makes herself more able than usual by the aid of a trick haircut."

O., H.H. "Stage and Screen." Ann Arbor Times News, April 10, 1927.
--- "Louise Brooks, as Fox Trot, a pert little inhabitute of the Parisian cafes, adds her usual snappy characterizations."

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Seeking a copy of BBC program, Icons: Louise Brooks

Does anyone have a copy of the 15-20 minute BBC program called Icons, specifically the Louise Brooks episode?

It first aired on the BBC in 2001, and was repeated in 2002, 2003, and 2004. It also aired on MSN on May 1, 2001 in the USA. See this link http://tv.msn.com/tv/episode/icons/louise-brooks.1/

The TV listing from English newspapers of the time describe it as "Fans explain the appeal of actress Louise Brooks."

I gotta see it!

Monday, March 17, 2014

Watch a Rare Louise Brooks Documentary II

Here is a rare British television documentary about Louise Brooks from 1986, shown the year after the actress died and three years before the release of the Barry Paris biography. Except for a couple of factual errors (such as Louise Brooks married Eddie Sutherland in 1926, not 1927), it is excellent. Contains a bunch of little seen material. Parts one and two were be posted yesterday.


Sunday, March 16, 2014

Watch a Rare Louise Brooks Documentary I

Here is a rare British television documentary about Louise Brooks from 1986, shown the year after the actress died and three years before the release of the Barry Paris biography. Except for a couple of factual errors (such as Louise Brooks married Eddie Sutherland in 1926, not 1927), it is excellent. Contains a bunch of little seen material. Parts three and four will be posted tomorrow.


Saturday, March 15, 2014

Nominate Louise Brooks films for the National Film Registry

The United States Congress first established the National Film Registry in the 1988. Along with mandating continuing implementation of a plan to save the American film heritage, this law authorizes the Librarian of Congress (after reviewing public suggestions and consulting extensively with film experts and the 44 members and alternates of the National Film Preservation Board) to select up to 25 films each year for inclusion in the Registry. The 625 films chosen to date illustrate the vibrant diversity of American film-making.

The Library of Congress is currently seeking nominations. Public nominations play a key role when the Librarian of Congress and Film Board are considering their selections. To be eligible for the Registry, a film must be at least 10 years old and be “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Recommendations are due in September. And new selections are usually announced at the end of December.

The  Louise Brooks Society suggests you recommend these Louise Brooks films (and other silent films):

Beggars of Life (1928)

The Street of Forgotten Men (1925)

The Show Off (1926)

A Girl in Every Port (1928)

Love Em and Leave Em (1926)



Please forward your recommendations (limit 50 titles per year) via email to: dross@loc.gov


Looking for other films to nominate? Check here for hundreds of titles not yet selected to the National Film Registry. Please include the date of the film nominated, and number your recommendations. And if you would, tell how you learned of the Registry.Email is preferred; to submit via regular mail, send your nominations to:

National Film Registry
Library of Congress
Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation
19053 Mt. Pony Road
Culpeper, VA 22701
Attn: Donna Ross

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Beggars of Life screens in Scotland at Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema

The 1928 Louise Brooks film, Beggars of Life, will be shown today at the 4th annual Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema, which takes place in Scotland's oldest purpose-built cinema – the Hippodrome in Falkirk. This special event has already sold out.

The Dodge Brothers, a skiffle and rockabilly band led by film critic Mark Kermode, will accompany the 1928 Brooks' film. The Dodge Brothers will be joined by Neil Brand.

The event description reads thus: "Country blues, rockabilly and skiffle four-piece The Dodge Brothers are joined by one of the world's leading silent film piano accompanists, Neil Brand, to perform their live score for this glorious railroad romance starring icon of the silent era: Louise Brooks, looking more beautiful than ever in men’s clothing. Taking their inspiration from the music of the American Delta blues and country musicians of Depression-era USA, the Dodges have created the perfect accompaniment for this adventure of a couple of vagabonds jumping freight trains to escape the law."

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

A few more images of Asta Nielsen

Here are a few more images of the divine Asta Nielsen.... To learn more, check out her Wikipedia or IMdB pages.



Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Asta Nielsen as Lulu

Asta Nielsen and Charlie Chaplin
as Adam and Eve
Lately, I have been reading about the great Danish actress Asta Nielsen (1881-1972). Though she worked mostly in Germany, her fame transcended that nation's film industry and Nielsen is and was widely considered one of the first international movie stars.

About her, the great French poet Guillaume Apollinaire once exclaimed, "She is everything! She is the drunkard's vision and the lonely man's dream."

Notably, Nielsen played Lulu in Leopold Jessner's 1923 film  of Frank Wedekind's play Erdgeist. However, she may best be known to film buffs for her role as an aging prostitute in the 1925 German film Die freudlose Gasse (The Joyless Street), which was directed by G. W. Pabst and starred then newcomer Greta Garbo.

Years later, Pabst stated "One has long spoken of Greta Garbo as 'the divine' – for me Asta Nielsen has always been and will always remain 'the human being' par excellence." Wow.

I don't know that Louise Brooks and Asta Nielsen ever met. And I don't know that Brooks was even much aware of actress, an actress who in so many ways set the stage for Brooks' own performance as Lulu in Pabst's Pandora's Box (1929). Nevertheless, the two actresses had much in common. At various times in the 1920's, including for her role as Lulu, Nielsen sported a severe Dutch bob not unlike Brooks.

Asta Nielsen, 1930
And like Brooks, Nielsen was known for her erotically charged style of acting as well as for her occasional androgynous appearance. (One of her best regarded film roles was as Hamlet, from 1921.) Not surprisingly, some of Nielsen's German films were censored when shown in the United States, where she failed to become well known.


 Below is an image of Asta Nielsen, as Lulu in Erdgeist. It is a striking, and very stylized image.


And here below is another image of Asta Nielsen as Lulu in Erdgeist. It is less stylized, though still striking. The studio who took this image is Binder. They also photographed Brooks.


And finally, here is a seven minute excerpt from Erdgeist. It features a new score by Luke Styles  commissioned by and premiered at the Stummfilmtage 2009 in Karlsruhe, Germany, by ensemble Amorpha under the direction of Luke Styles.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Lulu7 a new take on Frank Wedekind's Lulu

Lulu7, a new work for the stage, is described as a sharp and witty take on Frank Wedekind's Lulu written by Abi Zakarian. In a series of interlinked monologues seven women play Lulu, charting her passage from rags to riches to prostitution to her final fatal encounter with Jack the Ripper.

Lulu7 will be staged at the Drayton Theater in London, England on March 11-15 and again March 18-22. More information on ticket availability here.

Lulu7 is directed by veteran actress Sarah Berger, whose production of Dwina Gibb's Last Confessions of a Scallywag will be produced at the Mill at Sonning this August. Lulu7 was written by Abi Zakarian, who has just been commissioned by the RSC as part of their season of new writing.

Lulu7 is the third production produced by the so and so arts club, a global internet based group of artists from across disciplines.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Sale on Louise Brooks edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl

Between now and March 10everything on Lulu.com is 20% off - use code SUPER20. That  includes the Louise Brooks edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl, and essential title for every fan of silent film. The sale doesn’t last long. Grab some great reads before this sale is gone!


Friday, March 7, 2014

RadioLulu is streaming Louise Brooks music of the 1920s, 1930s and today

A reminder to be sure and check out RadioLulu - Louise Brooks inspired, silent film themed radio featuring music of the Twenties, Thirties and today - includes Brooks' related film music, early jazz, dance bands, songs sung by silent film stars, and contemporary pop music about the silent film star.

This week, in order to help spread the word, the Louise Brooks Society has established a Twitter feed for RadioLulu @Radio_Lulu as well as a Facebook page. Please check 'em out.


RadioLulu features music from six of the Brooks' films - including the haunting themes from Beggars of Life (1928) and Prix de Beaute (1930), as well as musical snippets from The Canary Murder Case (1929) and Empty Saddles (1936). Other vintage tracks associated with the actress on RadioLulu include Maurice Chevalier's much-loved 1929 recording of "Louise," and rare recordings by co-stars Adolphe Menjou, Noah Beery, Blanche Ring, Grace Moore, and Cary Grant.

Rare recording by Brooks' Hollywood contemporaries are also featured. Among the film world personalities heard on the station are Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Charlie Chaplin, Joan Crawford, Pola Negri, Ramon Novarro, Dolores Del Rio, Lupe Velez, Bebe Daniels, Marlene Dietrich, Buddy Rogers, Jean Harlow, and Tallulah Bankhead.

Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell can be heard singing the charming "If I Had A Talking Picture Of You."

On RadioLulu, you'll hear Jazz Age crooners, torch singers, dance bands, hotel orchestras, show tunes, standards, and some real sweet jazz! There are vintage recordings from England, France, Germany, and even Czechoslovakia. There are tracks featuring the celebrated 1930's Polish chanteuse Hanka Ordonówna, the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht (singing "Mack the Knife" in 1929!), and the contemporary cartoonist Robert Crumb (playing on "Chanson por Louise Brooks").

 And what's more, you'd be hard-pressed to find a station that plays more tracks with "Lulu" in the title than the always eclectic and always entertaining RadioLulu!

RadioLulu also plays contemporary musical tributes to the actress by the likes of Twiggy, Rufus Wainwright, Soul Coughing, OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark), Marillion, The Green Pajamas, Ron Hawkins, Sarah Azzara, Paul Hayes, and Clan of Xymox, among others.

Who else can be heard on RadioLulu? How about the Coon-Sanders Nighthawks, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Abe Lyman, Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians, Gertrude Lawrence, Annette Hanshaw, Rudy Vallee, Helen Kane, Paul Whiteman, Ted Weems, George Gershwin, Russ Colombo, Harry Richman, Libby Holman and Xavier Cugart - as well as Camilla Horn, Lillian Harvey, Anny Ondra, Josephine Baker, Lucienne Boyer, Mistinguett, and even Kiki of Montparnase.

RadioLulu plays great music, including numerous rare recordings of movie stars from the silent film and early sound era. Check it out !


Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Cool pic of the Day: Louise Brooks, a flower


Tuesday, March 4, 2014

On this day in 1927, Evening Clothes had its world premiere

On this day in 1927, Louise Brooks' eighth film, Evening Clothes, had its world premiere at the Metropolitan theater in Los Angeles, California. Adolphe Menjou was in attendance at that special event, as was the noted poet and then current French ambassador to the United States, Paul Claudel. Brooks was not reported to have been there.

Evening Clothes was officially released on March 19, 1927. The film is a comedy-drama about a French gentleman farmer who, spurned by his bride, goes to Paris in order to become sophisticated enough to win her back. The film is lost.

Adolphe Menjou played Lucien d'Artois, Virginia Valli was Germaine, Noah Beery played Lazarre, and Louise Brooks was Fox Trot. The film was directed by Luther Reed, and notably, the film's cinematographer was Hal Rosson. The great cameraman was once married to actress Jean Harlow (from 1933 to 1934), and is best known for his work on the 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz. Ah, to be able to watch Evening Clothes today!



Monday, March 3, 2014

Alain Resnais, Acclaimed French Filmmaker, Dead at 91

French film director Alain Resnais has died at age 91. The New York Times obit for Resnais mentioned Louise Brooks.



Resnais' famous 1961 film, Last Year at Marienbad  was based on/inspired by Adolfo Bioy Casares' 1941 novella, The Invention of Morel, whose key character, Faustine, was in-turn inspired by Brooks. Perhaps that is why the New York Times wrote, "The film achieves its hypnotic force through repeated lines and situations, a time scheme that folds back on itself, and ominous, black-and-white wide-screen images that evoke both surrealist paintings (human figures cast long shadows, but not the decorative shrubbery that frames them) and the society dramas of silent film. (Ms. Seyrig is costumed to resemble the enigmatic silent star Louise Brooks.)"



For more on this little known, but fascinating connection see Thomas Beltzer's "Last Year at Marienbad: An Intertextual Meditation."

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Beggars of Life starring Louise Brooks screens in Scotland on March 13

The 4th annual Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema takes place in Scotland's oldest purpose-built cinema – the Hippodrome in Falkirk – this March.

This year, the festival offers up screenings of several rare and cult classic films from the silent era and beyond. Highlights include a 1933 Japanese gangster movie Dragnet Girl (Hijôsen No Onna), which gets an all-new soundtrack and Oscar-winner Kevin Brownlow's documentary about the legendary 'man of a thousand faces', Lon Chaney. Also, the Dodge Brothers, a skiffle and rockabilly band led by film critic Mark Kermode, will accompany the 1928 Louise Brooks film Beggars of Life on Thursday, March 13th. The Dodge Brothers will be accompanied by Neil Brand.



As well as gala screenings with unique live soundtracks, the festival offers workshops, including New Found Sound, which sees local schools collaborating on an improvised score with composer Thomas Butler. In "Home Front Picture Houses: Cinema And The Great Warc," Prof. John Caughie  and María Vélez (both University of Glasgow) and Dr. Mike Hammond (University of Southampton, and lead guitar for the Dodge Brothers) examine the legacy of picture houses like the Hippodrome and the role they played in the Great War.

Other films by greats of the silent era being screened this year including work by Buster Keaton and a F.W. Murnau, along with a Laurel and Hardy triple bill. The festival runs March 12 through the 16th – visit the festival site to find out times, prices, and full listings.

Yasujirô Ozu's Dragnet Girl

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Event for The Vanity at Orinda Books

Great turn out today (some 50 people) for Robert Murillo's event for The Vanity at Orinda Books in Orinda, California. I introduced Louise Brooks and participated in the Q & A, and even autographed a copy of my book for a curious attendee. It was lovely seeing and meeting new & old friends, including Beth Ann Gallagher. Robert Murillo signed some extra copies of his novel, which may be ordered through the store.
 
 

Friday, February 28, 2014

Louise Brooks to shine in Orinda, California (home of Fay Lanphier)

On March 1st at 1 pm, author Robert Murillo will read from his new Louise Brooks inspired novel, The Vanity, at Orinda Books in Orinda, California. Robert and his novel will be introduced by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society. If you can't make this event and would like a signed copy of Robert's new book (and / or the Louise Brooks edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl, edited by Thomas Gladysz), please contact the store by phone or email to place an order. The event has been getting a good deal of media attention, including this article in the nearby Contra Costa Times.

March 1, 2014 - 1 pm
Orinda Books
276 Village Square
Orinda, Ca 94563
925-254-7606

Believe it or not, but the Northern California community of Orinda has an unusual connection with one of Brooks' films. Orinda was home of Fay Lanphier, who starred in The American Venus (1926), Brooks' second film and the first film for which she received a film credit. (One of the other actors in The American Venus, Lawrence Gray, was born and raised in San Francisco.)

Lanphier was Miss America in 1925, the first Californian to win the honor. (She was also the 1925 Rose Bowl Queen.) As a renowned beauty, she was offered a film contract, and was starred in a major Paramount release, The American Venus, the storyline of which centers on a beauty contest.

According to an Oakland Tribune obituary, Lanphier "won the Miss California crown twice before being judged the most beautiful girl in the nation in Atlantic City, N.J. She was a 19-year-old secretary here when she was judged Miss America. The blond, hazel-eyed girl started her career as Miss Alameda, although she made her home in Oakland. She first won the Miss California title in 1924 and placed third in the national contest at Atlantic City that year. The next year she was chosen Miss California again and won the national contest in a walk-away."

After her controversial win as Miss America, Lanphier became an overnight celebrity, traveling to New York in President Coolidge's special railway car. Motorcycle officers escorted her through Manhattan. She was also toasted at a round of parties by such celebrities as Rudolph Valentino, Mae Murray, and Will Rogers. Lanphier estimated she earned $50,000 on a 16-week personal appearance tour during the year she wore the crown of Miss America. Despite her charms, Lanphier's film career never really took off. She appeared in only one other film, a Laurel and Hardy short called Flying Elephants (1928). She died at the age of 53 in 1959.

Lanphier was married to Sidney M. Spiegel, son of a wealthy Chicago store owner. That marriage ended in divorce after six months. In 1930, she married her former high school sweetheart Winfield J. Daniels, a Berkeley and San Jose book store operator, and settled down to life as a housewife in Orinda.

Both Lanphier and Brooks can be seen in the film clip below.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

When You're in Love - a round-up of reviews

When You're in Love was released on February 27th, 1937. The Robert Riskin directed and written film stars Grace Moore, Cary Grant, and Thomas Mitchell. Louise Brooks has an uncredited bit part as a dancer. (I've seen the film a few times, and have never been able to spot the actress.) Grace Moore, then a well-known opera singer, is delightful. She plays opposite Cary Grant, who was then just coming into his own as an actor and star. When You're in Love is a charming and entertaining film deserving of greater recognition.


The film was quite popular in its day. Here is a round up of reviews and articles drawn from the Louise Brooks Society archive.

Soanes, Wood. "Curtain Calls." Oakland Tribune, December 31, 1936.
--- "Louise Brooks is certainly starting her come-back from the lowest rung of the ladder. She is one of a hundred dancers in the ballet chorus of Grace Moore's When You're in Love emerging from Columbia. In 1929 she was featured in The Canary Murder Case."

anonymous. "Moore's You're in Love Swell; Star at Her Best." Hollywood Reporter, February 13, 1937.
--- "With a more substantial story than the last two Grace Moore vehicles, When You’re in Love is a signal triumph for the foremost diva of the screen, for Cary Grant who should soar to stardom as result of his performance in this, and for Robert Riskin, here notably handling his first directorial assignment."

Maloney, Russell. New York World-Telegram, February 19, 1937.
--- "A glib and amusing discussion of things romantic and musical, it is one of the best films Miss Moore has had - a literate, tonic, diverting entertainment that may be attended by all in search of witty comedy and lilting melody."

Cinemaid. "Grace Moore Humor, Songs Enliven New Musical." San Francisco Call-Bulletin, February 26, 1937.
--- "Robert Riskin has equipped Miss Moore and Mr. Grant with a very amusing screen play and he has directed it to make the most of the humorous aspects of a marriage of convenience."

anonymous. "Torch-Song Diva." Literary Digest, February 27, 1937.
--- "Riskin, recalling shrewdly that scenarios were at their level best when minor characters were shuffled around in such a way as to sharpen the importance of majors in the cast, brings the same formula into his direction, and with like triumphant results for the cinema."

Schallert, Edwin. "Grace Moore Film Clever Offering." Los Angeles Times, March 4, 1937.
--- "However, the qualities of the film are quite Riskinish. There's no mistaking that."

Harris, Mary. "A Grace Moore Hit is on View at the Earle." Washington Post, March 6, 1937.
--- "Grace Moore gallantly sets out to prove she can suit every musical taste in her latest picture."

Wagner, Rob. Rob Wagner's Script, March 6, 1937.
--- "Here is the perfect combination - the director who writes his own script and delivers perfectly. . . Yes, I’m raving, not only because I’m 'a little boy who likes motion pictures,' as Fulton Oursler says, but because I’m a priest of beauty; and this picture thrilled me."

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Today's three articles on Robert Murillo's The Vanity

On March 1st at 1 pm, author Robert Murillo will read from his new Louise Brooks inspired novel, The Vanity, at Orinda Books in Orinda, California. The event has received a good deal of  local publicity, including these three articles today.

The first, "An Orinda Author's Obsession: New novel melds fact and fiction, shines light on silent film star," appeared in the Lamorinda Weekly.

The second, "Louise Brooks to shine in Orinda," appeared on examiner.com.

And the third, "Orinda author turns fascination into novel," appeared in the San Jose Mercury News.

There was also an earlier article, "Orinda Resident Swaps Suits and Ties for Literary World," in the Orinda News in January.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Louise Brooks Encyclopedia: Fritz Kortner

Welcome to a new feature of the Louise Brooks Society blog - a monthly entry from Louise Brooks Encyclopedia. This second entry is devoted to actor Fritz Kortner.  The Austrian-born stage and film actor and later theater director played Dr. Ludwig Schön in G.W. Pabst's Pandora's Box (1929).

Fritz Kortner with Louise Brooks in Pandora's Box (1929).

Born into a Jewish family in Vienna, Kortner studied at the city's Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Kortner took part in Vienna's rich cultural life, and around this time met the critic and satirist Karl Kraus, who helped shape the hopeful actor's thinking on the theater as well as his Jewish identity. (Earlier, in 1904, Kraus was instrumental in helping Wedekind stage his Lulu plays in Vienna.) After graduation, Kortner moved to Berlin to make his name. He joined Max Reinhardt's theater company in 1911, performing in King Oedipus, Faust, and Frank Wedekind's Erdgeist, where he likely met Tilly Wedekind. After five years with Reinhardt, Kortner joined Leopold Jessner's company. Kortner's breakthrough came in 1919 with his performance in Ernst Toller's Transfiguration; soon afterward, Kortner became one of Germany's best-known actors and the nation's foremost performer of Expressionist works. He went on to appear in many classical and modernist plays, including works by Arthur Schnitzler and Bertolt Brecht. 

Fritz Kortner (far right) as Schigolch in a 1919 production of Wedekind's Die Büchse der Pandora.Mirjam Horwitz (middle) played Lulu.

Kortner played Schigolch in a 1919 production of Die Büchse der Pandora at the Hamburger Kammerspiele. And in a 1926, in production at the Schauspielhaus Berlin, he was both Dr. Schön and Jack the Ripper. (The role of Lulu in the latter production was played by Gerda Müller, an actress with whom he had performed in Macbeth. Her circle included Brecht and the noted conductor Hermann Scherchen, to whom she was briefly married.)

Fritz Kortner (far right) as Jack the Ripper in a 1926 production of Wedekind's Die Büchse der Pandora.
Gerda Müller
(left) played Lulu, and Lucie Hoflich played the Countess Geschwitz (middle).
On stage, Kortner was known for his powerful voice and explosive energy; in the 1920's, however, his work began to incorporate greater realism as he developed a more controlled delivery and greater use of gesture. His considerable fame during the years of the Weimar Republic was linked to his playing Shakespeare's most problematic characters, Othello, Richard III, Hamlet, and especially Shylock. His presentation of the latter made him a target of the right, with Nazi pundits depicting the actor as a lecherous Jew. In March of 1929, not long after the debut of Pandora's Box, Kortner was falsely accused of raping a gentile woman.

Kortner appeared in over ninety films. His specialty was complex, sinister characters. His films include starring roles in Warning Shadows (1923, with Fritz Rasp),  The Hands of Orlac (1924), Beethoven (1927), The Woman One Longs For (1929), The Ship of Lost Men (1929, with Marlene Dietrich), Atlantic (1929, with Francis Lederer), Dreyfus (1930, with Fritz Rasp), and Chu Chin Chow (1934, with Anna May Wong), as well as later supporting roles in The Razor's Edge (1946) and Berlin Express (1948). In Pabst's Pandora's Box, Kortner reprised the role of Dr. Schön, a respected, middle-aged newspaper publisher entangled in a love affair with Lulu.

Like Pabst, Kortner was artistically and politically aligned against the Nazis. With Hitler's rise to power, the Jewish actor left Germany, emigrating in 1933 to Vienna, then to London, and then New York–where he renewed his friendship and was an advisor to the influential American journalist and broadcaster Dorothy Thompson. Eventually, Kortner ended up in Hollywood, where he found work as a character actor and theater director. His stay in Los Angeles brought him into contact with new acquaintances like Charlie Chaplin, and old friends and fellow exiles like Brecht, Salka Viertal, and Heinrich Mann. Following the war, Kortner along with Brecht and others committed themselves to rebuilding the German stage. The actor returned to his shattered homeland in 1949. In the decades that followed, he was noted for his innovative and sometimes controversial staging of classics by Molière, Schiller, and Shakespeare; in the latter's Richard  III (1964), the King crawls over piles of corpses at the play's end. Kortner penned his memoirs and died in Munich in 1970, at the age of 78.

Below are some scenes from Warning Shadows featuring Kortner.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Event for Robert Murillo's Louise Brooks-inspired novel "The Vanity"

On Saturday March 1st at 1 pm, author Robert Murillo will read from his new Louise Brooks inspired novel, The Vanity, at Orinda Books in Orinda, California. Robert and his novel will be introduced by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society. Here is the description from the Orinda Books' Facebook event page:

"Local author Robert Murillo makes his first appearance at our bookstore! He debuts his new time-travel mystery starring jazz age screen icon Louise Brooks. Thomas Gladysz, the founding Director of the Louise Brooks Society, opens the event. He discusses the silent film actress who has fascinated many with her beauty and naturalistic performances. Courtesy of Robert, we have memorabilia on hand featuring Brooks and her signature bob. A signing and refreshments follow."


March 1, 2014 - 1 pm
Orinda Books
276 Village Square
Orinda, Ca 94563
925-254-7606

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Cool pic of the day: Louise Brooks

Wow, what a lovely image of Louise Brooks

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Another Recently published novel features Louise Brooks

Just recently, I came across another new novel which features Louise brooks as a character. The actress and silent film star appears in Take Her For a Ride, which was published by Crucson Publishing earlier this month in February, 2013. Its author is Steven M. Painter.

I plan on reading this novel sometime soon. Here is the description of the book from the publisher. "It's 1930. The stock market crashed. The Great Depression is beginning. Hollywood is starting to rot underneath its glamour and lights. Nobody knows this better than producer Paul Russell. He has to save a movie studio from financial ruin. All he has at his disposal are a stack of horror scripts, some old sets, and unknown actors. The Hollywood pecking order applies to people as much as studios. Actress Lillian Nelson learned this lesson shortly after arriving in Los Angeles. Although she is dating Paul, she refuses to let him give her parts at his studio. She wants to make it on her own. Her attempt to overcome obstacles in order to insert herself into the public's heart is the stuff dreams and nightmares are made of in Hollywood. James Cagney, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Louise Brooks, and Jack Warner act as your guides while Take Her for a Ride peels back the skin of Hollywood's most glamorous age to reveal a core of talented businessmen, competent directors, and radiant stars."

About the author: "Steven M. Painter holds a master's degree in film studies from the University of Arizona. The majority of his research focuses on the films and culture of the 1930s. His master's thesis examined shifting gender roles in early-sound comedies. He has presented papers at conferences on topics ranging from Alfred Hitchcock to The Best Years of Our Lives. He majored in journalism at the University of New Mexico. Prior to studying film, he worked as a reporter for the Woodward News in Woodward, Oklahoma. When he isn't watching movies or writing, Painter enjoys sports, especially basketball.​"

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Recently published novel features Louise Brooks

Just recently, I came across a new novel which features Louise brooks as a character. The actress and silent film star also appears on the cover of Virtually Forever, which was published by Eames Media in November of last year. Its author is Anthony Eames.

I haven't yet read the book, and do not know much about it. Here is the description of the book from the publisher.

"Virtually Forever is a love story with an unusual twist. Michael Stanton has an obsessive interest in the long-dead, hauntingly beautiful silent screen actor, Louise Brooks. Involved in an military program to replicate world leaders in a virtual reality domain, he clandestinely uses this technology to recreate the Jazz Age world of Louise Brooks. Entering it, he appears as a wealthy and mysterious stranger and, soon after meeting Louise, a love affair follows against the backdrop of Hollywood parties and studio politics. Back in the real world, Michael’s colleagues have discovered that there is an unknown intruder in their top-secret computer system. The plot weaves between Michael's tempestuous love affair with Louise and his desperate struggle to safeguard her and her world from annihilation — at any cost."

About the author: "A former newspaper journalist and television producer-scriptwriter, Anthony Eames’ varied career also includes roles as a book publishing editor, advertising copywriter and creative director and public relations consultant. A graduate of the BBC Television & Film School, he worked on documentaries, current affairs and magazine programs for several broadcasting organizations in the UK. In Australia, he jointly operated a successful TV production company for many years and has seven international film and video awards to his credit. An Anglo-Irishman living in Sydney, Australia, he is currently trying to reduce the demands of his communications consultancy so he can invest more time in writing projects. His interests include Roman history, philosophy, science and foreign languages. He relishes good food, stimulating company and unrestrained laughter. Anthony has traveled widely and worked in several countries. He is particularly interested in Asian cultures. Anthony is married to a Japanese molecular biologist"

Monday, February 17, 2014

Hilton Als at San Francisco Public Library

Tomorrow, on Tuesday, February 18th, writer, critic, and White Girls (McSweeney's) author Hilton Als will be speaking at the San Francisco Public Library. I hope to attend.

The event description reads "Hilton Als, The New Yorker’s boldest cultural critic, deftly weaves together his brilliant analyses of literature, art, and music with fearless insights on race, gender, and history. The result is an extraordinary, complex portrait of “white girls,” as Als dubs them—an expansive but precise category that encompasses figures as diverse as Truman Capote and Louise Brooks, Malcolm X and Flannery O’Connor. Hear Hilton discuss his book at the San Francisco Main Library."

The event runs from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m in the Koret Auditorium, Main Library, at 100 Larkin St. in San Francisco.  More info at http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=1016187601
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