Louise Brooks: Greetings from Poland, part 7 (saving best for last)

A continuation of the six previous posts, the results of my look through online Polish archives in search of any and all Louise Brooks clippings or advertisements. Here is some more of the material I found. I uncovered some wonderful stuff, but have been saving the best for last.

I have seen the above piece before, in an American publication. I have also seen something like the article below, which discusses the amount of fan mail certain American stars received, including Louise Brooks, ranking 10th on the list (which is all Paramount stars). "Listy do gwiazd filmowych" translates as "Letters to movie stars."

One of Brooks' very last roles was an uncredited bit part in When You're in Love (1937), starring Grace Moore, an international singing star, along with British-born up-and-comer Cary Grant. Here to end this 7 part blog trip to Poland are a couple of related clippings for that almost last Brooks' film. The first is from a Yiddish-language publication from Warsaw. The second depicts stars Grace Moore and Cary Grant.

Coincidentally, it was just recently learned that Louise Brooks "visited" Poland in 1929! While filming the beach and resort scenes in Diary of a Lost Girl, the cast and crew spent time on the Baltic in the German resort town of Swinemünde, which is now called Świnoujście in the extreme north-west of Poland. After the second World War, the border shifted, and so did film history.

The Louise Brooks Society hopes you've enjoyed this trip to Poland. Look for other visits to other countries in the coming months.

Louise Brooks: Greetings from Poland, part 6

A continuation of the previous five posts, the results of my look through online Polish archives in search of any and all Louise Brooks clippings or advertisements. Here is some more of the material I found. Enjoy.

This captioned photograph is typical of the kind found on the picture page of some Polish newspapers. The caption below the portrait of Brooks reads "Piekna aktorka filmowa Luiza Brooks", which translates as "Beautiful actress Louise Brooks".

Above is a typical column running news bits from Hollywood. It leads with a bit about a film called Zycie paryskie, which I am confident is God's Gift to Women, which starred Laura LaPlante (and Frank Fay). I don't know that it was ever shown in Poland (at least under that title), as I have yet to find any other reference to it.

Above is a nice assortment of ads, from 1930. All the biggest stars are mentioned, Garbo, Dietrich, Chaney, Valentino, and even Larry Semon. Notice the ad with the double bill of a George Bancroft film and an Esther Ralston film. The latter may be for American Venus (1926), which starred Ralston and featured Louise Brooks in her first credited role. I can't be sure. And have not been able to align that title with any other reference. While searching, however, I did come across this appealing cover for the satirical humor magazine Kabaret.

Louise Brooks: Greetings from Poland, part 5

A continuation of the previous four posts, the results of my look through a online Polish archives in search of any and all Louise Brooks clippings or advertisements. Here is some more of the material I found.

Above is another splendid advertisement from Poland, this one a 1931 variant for The Diary of a Lost Girl, which is hear titled Dusze Bez Steru. Also on the program was an early Mickey Mouse film.

Speaking of variants, here is one for Lulu or Puszka Pandory, or Pandora's Box. It is from 1929. Also on the bill is something called Chaplinada.

And here are a couple for Prix de beauté, which was called either Nie Grzesz Kobieto or Kobieto nie grzesz in Poland. The example above dates from 1931, and appeared on the top front page of Ziemia Lubelska, a Polish newspaper. The example below dates from 1933, and references the English title of this French film, Miss Europe.

Louise Brooks: Greetings from Poland, part 4

A continuation of the three previous posts, the results of my look through a few online Polish archives in search of any and all Louise Brooks clippings or advertisements. Here is some more of the material I found.

The film showing at the Kino Quo-Vadis in this 1929 advertisement is Ludzie Bezdomni, or Beggars of Life (1928). Ludzie Bezdomni was also the title of a popular book on the subject of homeless people, which makes keyword searching for material on the film a bit complicated. (Again, this ad is a splendid example of a mix of different typefaces.) As is this.

This 1929 ad promotes a screening of Piraci Wielkiego Miasta, the 1927 film The City Gone Wild, with Marietta Millner and Louise Brooks. Unlike the ad in a previous post, star Thomas Meighan is not mentioned. The City Gone Wild focusses on gangsters in Chicago. Piraci Wielkiego Miasta translated back into English renders as "Pirates of the big city".

Few newspapers ads pictured a film star. This one from 1929 did. It's for a Kochanek mial sto!, the 1928 film A Girl in Every Port, starring Victor McLaglen. Brooks, center, stands out with her sleek bobbed hair.

Louise Brooks: Greetings from Poland, part 3

A continuation of the two previous posts, the results of my look through a few online Polish archives in search of any and all Louise Brooks clippings or advertisements. Here is some of the material I found.

On the right is a photograph of Louise Brooks and her brother Ted, as pictured in Robotnik, the newspaper of the Polish Socialist Party. Go figure. Brooks is identified as an actress for Paramount. A handful of her early American silent films were shown in Warsaw and elsewhere around the country.

This 1930 piece promoting Gdy mlodosc szumi (or Gole Kolanka) at the Kino Apollo is for the lost 1927 film Rolled Stockings, with Richard Arlen. It notes that the film is about American college students. Maybe there is a copy still somewhere in Poland?

 

This 1929 advertisement, also for the Kino Apollo, promotes Piraci wielkiego miasta, the lost 1927 Brooks film known as The City Gone Wild, which stars Thomas Meighan. Maybe there is a copy still somewhere in Poland?

Louise Brooks: Greetings from Poland, part 2

A continuation of an earlier post, the results of my look through a few online Polish archives in search of any and all Louise Brooks clippings or advertisements. Here is some of the material I found.

The 1931 ad for Pamiętnik upadłej promotes the "big" premiere of Diary of a Lost Girl, as it was called in Poland. The Margarete Böhme book on which the 1929 film was based was somewhat popular, so much so, there was even a pirated edition printed at one time. Also showing at Warsaw's Kino-Teatr Palace is a Bebe Daniels film.

The above magazine clipping above includes an image of Louise Brooks, and identifies her as appearing in Puszka Pandory, which is just one of the Polish titles for Pandora's Box. It ran in May, 1929 - right around the time the film opened in Poland.

And here is an advertisement for that opening, at the Casino in Warsaw in 1929, just a few months after is opened in Berlin. The film is advertised as Lulu, not Puszka Pandory. Also, notice that Brooks is noted as being an American actress, and that the name of Frank Wedekind is also given. Polish viewers would have likely known his the German author's name. (I love the typography in this piece, which is somewhat art nouveau, and not unlike other type found in other Polish publications of the time.)

Louise Brooks Double Bill in Dublin Tomorrow

The Irish Film Institute in Dublin has scheduled a Louise Brooks double bill on June 28. The special program will feature Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl. Both films were directed by G.W. Pabst and released in 1929. More information about this special event can be found HERE.

From the Irish Film Institute website: "June’s Hangover Lounge invites you to spend an indulgent Sunday afternoon at the IFI getting a tasty brunch from the IFI Café Bar whilst enjoying a double bill featuring one of the silent cinema era’s most luminous and iconic stars, Louise Brooks, in her collaborations with German director G.W. Pabst. Brooks’ portrayal of the seductive, uninhibited Lulu in Pandora’s Box (14.00), bringing ruin upon those who love her, and ultimately herself, made Brooks a star, and is arguably the role for which she is best remembered, but she is equally impressive in Diary of a Lost Girl (16.00) playing the innocent, mistreated Thymian."

TICKETS:
Hair of the Dog: Brunch + Double Bill - €21
Pick-me-up: Brunch + single film - €16
Just the tonic: Double Bill - €13
Quick refresher: Single Film (normal IFI prices)

*Terms, conditions and supplements apply. Brunch is served from 12pm to 4pm.
Simply book your tickets at the IFI in person or by contacting the IFI Box Office on 01 679 3477. You can also book your table for brunch by calling 01 679 8712.

Pandora’s Box: 110 minutes, Germany, 1928, Silent, Black and White, 35mm
Diary of a Lost Girl: 113 minutes, Germany, 1929, Silent, Black and White, Blu-Ray

The "Louise Brooks:Greetings from Poland" series continues tomorrow.