Rare British clipping - It Pays to Advertise

Here is a rare British clipping I found while in London researching Louise Brooks. This write up of the 1931 comedy It Pays to Advertise comes from The Astorian, which, as far as I can tell, was the official magazine of the Paramount Astorias, which as far as I could tell, were four London theatres named Astoria (the others being Brixton, Old Kent Road and Finsbury Park) taken over by Paramount in 1931. This was back when film studios owned theater chains.

According to this page, It Pays to Advertise was playing at the Brixton Astoria theater commencing the week of December 21st, 1931.

Louise Brooks and I in London

A small part of my recent trip to London was devoted to silent film and Louise Brooks. How could I resist?

Memorably, I had the chance to visit with film historian Kevin Brownlow, and we talked about LB for two hours! He shared his memories of the actress, whom he interviewed twice. And, he also showed me some of the images and clippings he had gathered over the years. I told Kevin of my intention to track down Brooks' London residence, he and shared this item with me. The writing is Brooks, and the image of her London apartment building dates from much later, perhaps the 1960s or 1970s.

As most fans will know, Louise Brooks lived in London for a few months in late 1924 and early 1925. I went past Brooks' one time apartment building, which is located at 49A Pall Mall; the address no longer exists. (It has, seemingly, been absorbed into 50 Pall Mall.) Here is an image of the building today, along with one of me at that spot.

About a 15 minute walk  from 49A Pall Mall is the Cafe de Paris at 3 Coventry Street. LB danced there in 1924, and that's where where Picadilly with Anna May Wong was filmed (in part) in 1929. I was fortune enough to enjoy a private tour of the famed Cafe, which I guess looks a good deal like the place Brooks danced in long ago. Here is a picture of me outside the club, along with some interior shots.

Another highlight was visiting the Cinema Museum, which is housed in an old Lambeth workhouse where Charlie Chaplin one lived; the night we visited, Kevin Brownlow was introducing his print of Man, Woman and Sin (1929), starring John Gilbert & Jeanne Eagles. It is an especially good film. If you are ever in London, be sure and visit this fascinating place. Here are a few snapshots from the night we visited.

And, I did some Louise Brooks research at both the British Library and BFI (British Film Institute) library. At the British Library, I searched through microfilm of some issues of London Life from around the time Brooks was dancing at the Cafe de Paris. It was full of articles and images of London's nightlife, including showgirls, gossip and bits on movie stars. Though promising, I didn't turn-up anything on the then newly opened Cafe de Paris nor Brooks' tenure there. I one thing I did find was the issue of Boy's Cinema which features a fictionalization of Now We're in the Air, Brooks' 1927 film with Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton.

I visited the BFI and the BFI library, where I did more research. I was looking for a handful of hard-to-find articles about Brooks published in various British, French and German publications. I managed to unearth a number of pieces which I found in rare issues of publications like The Astorian, The Stoll, Sequences, Film Dope, and Flickers. I wish I had had more time to explore their holdings, as I know I could have found more material.

I also noticed Brooks had something of a presence at the BFI itself. I spotted copies of both the Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl DVDs in the BFI giftshop, and, I noticed Brooks' image was included on some promotional pieces. I also purchased a copy of Mark Kermode's book The Good, The Bad and the Multiplex, which contains a few pages on Beggars of Life.

 

Another Louise Brooks Inspired Graphic Novel - The Baldazzinni Hollywoodland

The following is a Italian announcement (here Google translated) from Sergio Bonelli Editore about a Louise Brooks-related exhibit and publication.

"Hollywoodland" is the title of the graphic novel in which the designer Roberto Baldazzini is currently working, a story, scripted by Michele Masiero, whose tables in the works will be part of an exhibition in Vignola, near Modena.

From May 15 to 25 , in the spaces of Salotto di Vignola Muratori (Via Selmi 2), in the province of Modena, you can visit " Hollywoodland ", exhibition dedicated to the project on which Roberto Baldazzini is engaged in this period. The artist is working for our publishing house, displaying a graphic novel set in the Hollywood of the 20s, written by Michele Masiero . Of the story, you can admire inked plates, pencils, studies and pages of script, a tantalizing preview of what will soon be on sale ( click here to visit the Facebook album of the author, devoted to the work in progress of the volume).

The exhibition opening will take place in the presence of the same Baldazzini, Saturday, May 14 , at 17:30 . Later, you can visit the exhibition on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 12:30 and from 15:30 to 19:00. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday opening will be from 16:30 to 19:00. For information: www.baldazzini.it/hollywoodland/

Sunday, May 22 , in addition, Roberto Baldazzini will be playing the central role " Draw comics ", conducted by Stefano Ascari, which will be held at 21:00 , at the Teatro di Vignola Cantelli (Via Cantelli), an opportunity to meet the ' author and explore its long and diverse career in the drawn image world.

Louise Brooks - Hopeless

This is the fifth in a series of odd, unusual, and entertaining Louise Brooks related videos from Vimeo. Here is "Hopeless," the song is by Evangelista and the video is by Stuart Pound. I like it!

According to its page, "The starting point for "Hopeless" is a song of the same title, recorded by the group "Evangelista". The song is about an impossible love for Louise Brooks, impossible because she died in 1984. I liked its energy and humour. I downloaded a section from G.W.Pabst's film Pandora's Box (1929), together with a number of publicity shots of the star, and re-worked them to accompany the song."

Hopeless from Stuart Pound on Vimeo.

New Graphic Novel on Silent Film Star Louise Brooks!

On May 18th, a new graphic novel about Louise Brooks will be published in France. I haven't yet received a copy, but expect to soon. Nevertheless, from what I've seen, it looks great!

The book, titled Louise, le venin du scorpion, features a scénario by Chantal Van den Heuvel and art by Joël Alessandra. Copies are available for purchase through the publisher's webpage, on amazon.fr, and elsewhere.

I found out about the book by coming across this just published interview with the author and artist, "Joël Alessandra avec Chantal Van Den Heuvel sur les traces de la mythique Louise Brooks," on the Ligne Flaire website. Be sure and check it out, and use your Chrome browser to translate if you don't read French.

More about the artist, Joël Alessandra, can be found on his website. More about the author, Chantal Van den Heuvel, can be found on her website, as well as on this Europe Comics webpage (in English).

The book is described as a "biography of an icon of the Roaring Twenties." This bit of poignant prose serves as a preface:

 Louise,

Tu étais la beauté, l'esprit, la grâce incarnés. Et ton jeu était sublime.
Pourtant, un seul film, Loulou, aura marqué ta carrière.
Hollywood, « l'inhumaine usine à films », t'a très vite blacklistée.
Parce que tu en refusais les règles ? Sans doutes...
Mais aussi, tu disais de toi-même : « Je suis le poignard de ma propre plaie ».

Pourquoi, Louise ? 

And here, courtesy of the the publisher's webpage, are a few pages from this new work. I encourage everyone to order a copy today!

 

Check this blog in two days for another BIG Louise Brooks graphic novel announcement!

Louise Brooks - Nitrate Dreams

This is the fourth in a series of odd, unusual, and entertaining Louise Brooks related videos from Vimeo. Here is "Nitrate Dreams," from Colette Saint Yves.

Nitrate Dreams from Colette Saint Yves on Vimeo.

Images of Louise Brooks - Sonchai Körner

This is the third in a series of odd, unusual, and entertaining Louise Brooks related videos from Vimeo. Here is "Images of Louise Brooks - Sonchai Körner." According to the Vimeo page, "Sonchai Körner explores the demons of her past which serve as a source of inspiration for her work with Sven Mundt, telling of the self-doubt which comes from feeling that her talents are not recognized and the self-hate triggered by her inability to believe herself good enough."

IMAGES OF LOUISE BROOKS - SONCHAI KÖRNER from Sven Mundt on Vimeo.