Boards of Canada Hi Scores Louise Brooks

Happy New Year from the Louise Brooks Society, since 1995 the leading online source for all things Lulu. Visit the LBS at www.pandorasbox.com

For your visual and musical entertainment, here is a scene from Diary of a Lost Girl, starring Louise Brooks. The music is by Boards of Canada.

S.S. van Dines's The Canary Murder Case Cocktail

I recently came across an unusual book from 1935, So Red the Nose, or -- Breath in the Afternoon, a collection of cocktail recipes by 30 leading authors.

Among the drinks included in this illustrated book are Ernest Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon Cocktail ("After six of these cocktails The Sun Also Rises"); Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan Cocktail; Erskine Caldwell's Tobacco Road Cocktail; and Rockwell Kent's Salamina Cocktail. Other authors included in the book are Alexander Woolcott, Theodore Dreiser, Christopher Morley, Irving Stone, E. Phillips Oppenheim, MacKinley Kantor, Harriet Monroe, Hervey Allen and others.

What caught my attention was S. S. Van Dine's The Canary Murder Case Cocktail. Van Dine, of course, authored the mystery novel that was the basis for the 1929 detective film co-starring William Powell and Louise Brooks. Each was quite popular in their day.

Van Dine, something of a bon vivant and man about town, offered this recipe for his mystery cocktail: 1/2 jigger dry gin, 1/2 jigger cognac, 1/2 jigger yellow vermouth, 1 jigger orange juice, 1 dash orange bitters, shake well. Enjoy. And Happy new year.

Here is a picture taken on the set of The Canary Murder Case depicting author S. S. van Dine and actor William Powell.

The Book Cover in the Weimar Republic

For Christmas, I got a remarkable new 452 page book, The Book Cover in the Weimar Republic,

by Jürgen Holstein. Published by Taschen earlier this year, it's an eye popping treat for both book lovers and those interested in 20th century German history.

The publisher description reads this way: "The years between the First and Second World Wars in Germany are famed for their cultural boom. With Berlin as its epicenter, the Weimar Republic was replete with ground-breaking literature, philosophy, and art. At the heart of this intellectual and creative hub were some of the most outstanding and forward-thinking book designs in history.

The Book Cover in the Weimar Republic assembles 1,000 of the most striking examples from this golden age of publishing activity and innovation. Based on the remarkable collection of Jürgen Holstein and his rare collectible Blickfang, it combines an unparalleled catalog of dust jackets and bindings with Holstein’s introduction to the leading figures and particular energy of the Weimar publishing age. Expert essays discuss the aesthetic and cultural context of these precious fourteen years, in which a freewheeling spirit would flourish, only to be trampled, burned, or driven out of the country with the rise of National Socialism.

From children’s books to novels in translation, bold designs for political literature to minimalist artist monographs, this is a dazzling line-up of typography, illustration, and graphic design at its most energetic and daring. Part reference compendium, part vintage visual feast for the eyes, this very particular cultural history is at once a testament to an irretrievable period of promise and a celebration of the ambition, inventiveness, and beauty of the book."

The Book Cover in the Weimar Republic is not only a visual feast for those who love books and literature, but also for those interested in early German film. Here are snapshots of some representative pages which speak for its many visual treasures. 

"Just browsing through the pages can easily transport you into a huge bookstore in early 20th Century Berlin, well-stocked with just about every genre of fiction and non-fiction you can imagine… To enjoy the pleasures and glories of the golden age of the region’s visual — and literary — arts, you can blissfully immerse yourself for hours in The Book Cover in the Weimar Republic." — PRINT Magazine

"This book is, in the parlance of my profession, total eye candy. The work is stunning, and there’s a whole lot of it: over a thousand distinct (and distinctly interesting) book covers, jackets and bindings for books in a variety of genres. It turns out that Weimar, that creative caldron of philosophy, literature, painting and music, also cooked up a renaissance in the book arts, a golden age of book cover design. Who knew? The release of a monograph such as this one is a big deal for designers like us, important not only because the work that The Book Cover in the Weimar Republic comprises is so inspiring aesthetically, but also because these designs present a new historical context for our own contemporary covers." — New York Times Book Review

For more on this stunning book, be sure and check out this heavily illustrated write-up on the Paris Review website.

EPIC event: Pandora's Box starring Louise Brooks screens at LACMA on Jan 17

In what promises to be an epic event . . . . on Sunday, January 17th, acclaimed musical accompanist Michael Mortilla will perform improvised live scores for five silent films, including Pandora's Box (1929) starring Louise Brooks, in the galleries of New Objectivity: Modern German Art In The Weimar Republic, 1919–1933 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The special event will last for the duration of the museum’s opening hours on Sunday, January 17. Films will be screened with 5–10 minute breaks in between.

More information HERE.

"Mirroring the central themes of New Objectivity, the films depict the social realities of the Weimar Republic, ranging from the misery of the lower class—as portrayed in Slums of Berlin (1925)—to new forms of mass consumer culture and a fascination with new technologies, architecture, and machinery, as brilliantly assembled and edited in Walter Ruttmann’s masterpiece Berlin, Symphony of a Great City (1927). The renewed interest in the everyday is beautifully depicted in Robert Siodmak’s People on Sunday (1930), while Georg Wilhelm Pabst’s Pandora’s Box (1929)—based on Frank Wedekind’s play—expressed the destabilization of traditional identities and gender roles, with American actress Lousie Brooks as the personification of the New Woman.

Michael Mortilla is an award-winning pianist, composer, and sound designer. He has produced over 1,000 works for film, TV, radio, theater, dance, and the concert stage. Throughout his career, Mortilla has performed accompaniment for countless iconic American and German silent films and has been commissioned to compose numerous scores for restored silent films by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Among other organizations that have commissioned works by Mortilla are: the National Film Preservation Foundation, the Library of Congress, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive. He has performed at the White House, the Library of Congress, the Motion Picture Association of America, and many other prestigious museums and performance and broadcast venues."

Of note: in the 1980's, Mortilla was associated with Martha Graham and the Martha Graham Dance company as their touring company pianist and Miss Graham’s musician of choice for most events and projects over a period of six years. Some sixty years earlier, Graham was associated with Louise Brooks, as both were touring members of the Denishawn Dance Company during the 1922-1923 season.

Film Schedule:

10:30–11:38 am Berlin, Symphony of a Great City, 1927, 65 min, directed by Walter Ruttmann
11:45 am–1:40 pm Slums of Berlin, 1925, 113 min, directed by Gerhard Lamprecht
1:50–3 pm People on Sunday, 1930, 73 min, directed by Robert Siodmak
3:15–5:30 pm Pandora's Box, 1929, 109 min, directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst
5:40–6:50 pm Berlin, Symphony of a Great City, 1927, 65 min, directed by Walter Ruttmann

LACMA, BCAM Level 2
Free, with general admission

Roarin' 20s: Girl of My Dreams (I Love You)

from YouTube, the video features a bit of Louise Brooks

"Blue STEELE & His Orchestra, with Vocal refrain – Girl of My Dreams [I Love You], HMV 1927 (American recording; UK pressing)

NOTE: Blue STEELE (b. Eugene Staples in 1893 in Arkansas, USA – d. 1971) American trombone player and band leader, whose greatest activity was in late 1920s thru 1930s. Serving in Europe during the Great War he got injured in his head - the accident which was responsible for recurring outbursts of his rough behavior and had a negative impact on his whole career. Blue Steele’s first engagement was in early '20s with a hot dance band known as Watson's Bell Hops, then came the Blue Steele’s Orchestra, which was formed in the late 1920s in Atlanta. Their arrangements were a very danceable blend of jazz and sweet music, therefore the band quickly achieved popularity, playing mostly in holiday resorts in Florida. Until 1930, Blue Steele’s Orchestra cut about 30 well-selling records for Victor, yet maintaining the success for a prolonged period was too a difficult task for Steele’s violatile temperament. Only a few musicians stayed with him for longer, including trombonist Sunny Clapp – who was a composer of this lovely waltz, and who finally left Blue Steele to form his own and very successful Band O’Sunshine. In 1940s-1950s Blue Steele’s career almost completely waned, he occasionally conducted various orchestras, including the symphony orchestra in Mexico City.

The Sunny Clapp’s waltz “Girl of My Dreams” belongs to one of the most beautiful American songs composed in the 1920s. Being myself not any particular waltz-lover, I however enjoy listening to this tune a lot. Several years ago I came across an unusual recording of that song, made in 1928 by a little known American singer Jack Pepper – ever since “Girl Of My Dreams” in his phenomenal rendition belongs to my absolute favs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YerJ...
 
However, the Blue Steele band’s version is lovely too. Some time ago, when I was still active in my another musical channel in Dailymotion, I happened to upload this hereby version, which was issued under Victor’s label and was in much worse condition – while now, it's a British HMV pressing in an excellent shape. (I got it in a junk store for equivalent of 5 euro). I think it's worthwhile listening to again."

Merry X-Mas from the Louise Brooks Society

Happy Christmas from the Louise Brooks Society.

Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays, including Christmas

There is a swell new book out from Schiffer, Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays: 1920-1970, by Karie Bible and Mary Mallory. Fans of silent film, of early Hollywood, and the studio era will all want to get a copy. At nearly 200 pages, this pictorial is chock-full of images you'll delight in looking at again and again. That's not a cliche, it's just the plain and simple truth.

The book description: "Marvelously illustrated with more than 200 rare images from the silent era through the 1970s, this joyous treasure trove features film and television’s most famous actors and actresses celebrating the holidays, big and small, in lavishly produced photographs. Join the stars for festive fun in celebrating a variety of holidays, from New Year’s to Saint Patrick’s Day to Christmas and everything in between. Legends such as Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, and Audrey Hepburn spread holiday cheer throughout the calendar year in iconic, ironic, and illustrious style. These images, taken by legendary stills photographers, hearken back to the Golden Age of Hollywood, when motion picture studios devised elaborate publicity campaigns to promote their stars and to keep their names and faces in front of the movie-going public all year round."

Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays: 1920-1970 includes Louise Brooks in a Christmas themed pic. The book also includes many of Brooks' contemporaries and co-stars on various pages, including these Christmas themed pics. The LBS recommends this new book.

About the Authors: Film historian and photo archivist Mary Mallory is the author of Hollywoodland and the eBook Hollywoodland: Tales Lost and Found. She writes on Los Angeles and film history for the blog The Daily Mirror and serves on the board of Hollywood Heritage. Karie Bible is the official tour guide at Hollywood Forever Cemetery and co-author of Location Filming in Los Angeles. She has lectured at numerous venues, including the RMS Queen Mary and the Homestead Museum, and has appeared on Turner Classic Movies.