A cinephilac blog about an actress, silent film, and the Jazz Age, with occasional posts about related books, music, art, and history written by Thomas Gladysz. Visit the Louise Brooks Society™ at www.pandorasbox.com
From Wikipedia:"Asta Nielsen (11 September 1881 – 24 May 1972) was a Danish silent film actress who was one of the most popular leading ladies of the 1910s and one of the first international movie stars. Seventy of Nielsen's 74 films were made in Germany where she was known simply as Die Asta (The Asta).
Noted for her large dark eyes, mask-like face and boyish figure,
Nielsen most often portrayed strong-willed passionate women trapped by
tragic circumstances. Due to the erotic nature of her performances,
Nielsen's films were heavily censored in the United States and her work
remained relatively obscure to American audiences. She is credited with
transforming movie acting from overt theatricality to a more subtle
naturalistic style.Nielsen founded her own film studio in Berlin during the 1920s, but
returned to Denmark in 1937 after the rise of Nazism in Germany. A
private figure in her later years, Nielsen became a collage artist and
an author."
Asta Nielsen was also the first screen Lulu, having played the character created by Frank Wedekind in the film, Earth Spirit (1923). Louise Brooks was well aware of Nielsen and her approach to Lulu, at least later during her life in Rochester, New York. It is not known if Brooks was aware of or made aware of Nielsen prior to her playing Lulu in Pandora's Box (1929).
I recently came across a German language booklet (on the Internet Archive) about Nielsen which contains some sublime images of the actress, including one of her as Lulu. She was certainly striking in her appearance. I would encourage everyone to learn more about this significant and too little known actress. (p.s. Nielsen had a role in the G.W. Pabst film, The Joyless Street, which set Greta Garbo on the path to stardom.)
Did you know that the Louise Brooks Society has its own online radio station? It's called RadioLulu. You can listen to using the Tune-In app, or using Winamp or the Windows Media Player, or, you can even listen via the Tune-In app on ROKU on your TV.
RadioLulu is a Louise Brooks-inspired, silent film-themed internet station streaming music of the 1920s, 1930s, and today. Located on the web at http://192.99.8.170/start/radiolulu/ — RadioLulu features vintage and contemporary music related to Louise Brooks as well as the silent and early sound eras. This is music you're not likely to hear anywhere else.
Launched way back in 2002, this unique station now features vintage music from five of Brooks’ films — the haunting themes from Beggars of Life (1928) and Prix de Beauté (1930), as well as musical passages from The Canary Murder Case (1929), Empty Saddles (1936), and Overland Stage Raiders (1938). On RadioLulu, you’ll also hear the familiar “Sidewalks of New York” (which was played on the set of The Street of Forgotten Men),
as well as John Philip Sousa’s seldom heard “Atlantic City Beauty
Pageant” (which was written for the Miss America contest, as seen in The American Venus).
Vintage recordings by Brooks’ screen co-stars are also featured on
RadioLulu. Among them are Adolphe Menjou, Esther Ralston, Dorothy
Mackaill, James Hall, Lawrence Gray, Noah Beery, Frank Fay, Joan
Blondell, and Buck Jones. There is even a song by Blanche Ring, who
appeared in It’s the Old Army Game and was the aunt of Brooks’ first
husband, Eddie Sutherland. A few of Brooks’ European co-stars are also
represented, among them Siegfried Arno (Pandora’s Box), Kurt Gerron (Diary of a Lost Girl), and Andre Roanne (Prix de Beauté).
Each is a rarity. As well, there are vintage tracks associated with
Brooks’ brief time with the Ziegfeld Follies, including a handful of
recordings by performers who shared the stage with the actress, such as
Ethel Shutta, Leon Erroll, and the great W.C. Fields.
RadioLulu includes a number of songs by Brooks’ friends and
acquaintances, as well as individuals she worked with over the years.
Actress Tallulah Bankhead, chanteuse Lucienne Boyer, torch singer Libby
Holman, bandleader Emil Coleman, and nightclub owner Bruz Fletcher can
all be heard on RadioLulu. Other tracks associated with the actress and
featured on RadioLulu include George Gershwin’s “Somebody Loves Me”
(Brooks knew Gershwin, and this was her favorite Gershwin song), Xavier
Cugat’s “Siboney” (recommended by Brooks in her rare booklet, Fundamentals of Good Ballroom Dancing), and two numbers by Sid Kay’s Fellows (the jazz band seen playing in the wedding reception scene in Pandora’s Box).
All together, RadioLulu features more than 850 tracks! Notably, many
of them come from rare 78 rpm discs you’re unlikely to hear anywhere
else. Of course, there’s Maurice Chevalier’s much-loved “Louise” as well
as more than a dozen tracks with Louise, Lulu, or LouLou in the title.
Among them is the Coon-Sanders Nighthawks’ recording of “Louise, You
Tease,” as well as a number of different recordings of both “Don’t Bring
Lulu” and “Lulu’s Back in Town”.
Many contemporary tributes to the actress can also be heard on
RadioLulu. These include songs by Natalie Merchant, Rufus Wainwright,
Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark (OMD), John Zorn, and Soul Coughing.
Famed cartoonist Robert Crumb is heard on “Chanson pour Louise Brooks”.
And there’s Ross Berkal’s tribute, “MLB (for Louise Brooks).” Berkal,
who is mentioned in the Barry Paris biography and is a longtime member
of the Louise Brooks Society, was acquainted with the actress later in
her life.
Beyond songs related to Louise Brooks, RadioLulu also features
hundreds of songs from the 1920s and 1930s (along with a smattering from
the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s). There is music from the movies aplenty,
as well as rare recordings by early Hollywood stars and Jazz Age
celebrities. There are tracks by the popular crooners and torch singers
of the time, as well as little known numbers by regional dance bands and
hotel orchestras. There are also early Broadway show tunes, early
European jazz, popular vocal numbers, theme songs, and even a few
novelty numbers.
Recordings by early Hollywood figures such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster
Keaton, Lupe Velez, Clara Bow, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson and
Joan Crawford are streamed. So are recordings by later stars Buddy
Rogers, Claudette Colbert, Jean Harlow, Paulette Goddard, Barbara
Stanwyck, and Dorothy Lamour. A few of the European actors and actresses
heard on the station include Brigitte Helm, Camilla Horn, Anny Ondra,
Conrad Veidt, Pola Negri, and Marlene Dietrich (notably, her early
German-language recordings).
Among others, Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell are heard singing the
classic “If I Had A Talking Picture Of You,” one of a number of
movie-related songs. There’s also “Take Your Girlie to the Movies,” “At
the Moving Picture Ball,” and “Hooray for Hollywood,” as well as rare
vintage recordings about Chaplin, Garbo, Keaton, Mickey Mouse and Zasu
Pitts. Be sure not to miss H. Robinson Cleaver’s “Grace Moore Medley,”
Fred Bird & Luigi Bernauer’s “Hallo Hallo Hier Radio,” and Jack
Hylton and His Orchestra’s “My brother makes the noises for the
talkies.”
What else can be heard on RadioLulu? How about Constance Bennett
singing “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” or Alice White & Blanche Sweet
singing “There’s A Tear For Every Smile in Hollywood” (from the
soundtrack to Showgirl in Hollywood). The Waldorf-Astoria Dance
Orchestra performs “The Vamp,” Nate Shilkret plays “Flapperette,” and
Marion Harris sings “I’m a Jazz Vampire.” Regulations explaining proper
radio station identification are given by none other than Cary Grant,
co-star of the 1937 Brooks’ film, When You’re in Love.
RadioLulu features many of the leading stars of the Jazz Age and
Depression era—Rudy Vallee, Russ Colombo, Ben Selvin, Fred Waring, Ted
Weems, Paul Whiteman, Annette Hanshaw, Helen Kane, Mildred Bailey, Lee
Wiley, Ruth Etting, Kay Thompson, and Frankie Trumbauer. There are
recordings by such famous names as Duke Ellington, Fred Astaire, Bing
Crosby and Benny Goodman, alongside rarely heard artists like the Eskimo
Pie Orchestra and the Brox Sisters, as well as Scrappy Lambert, Fred
Elizalde, and Dorothy Dickson! You never know who or what will turn up
on this eclectic, always entertaining station.
And that’s not all…. RadioLulu plays Ragtime, swing, standards, and
some real hot jazz, including such popular hits as the “Charleston,”
“Black Bottom,” and “Varsity Rag.” There are vintage recordings of
popular favorites like “Stardust” and “As Time Goes By,” along with
great, but little known works like James P. Johnson’s “You’ve Got to be
Modernistic.” By the way, the single longest track is George Jessel’s
spoken word history “The Roaring Twenties 1920-1929.”
Among the unusual European numbers on RadioLulu are little heard gems
from the 1930s Polish chanteuse Hanka Ordonówna as well as the Gershwin
of Czechoslovakia, Jaroslav Jezek; there’s a stirring number by the
great British cinema organist Sidney Torch; and even a 1929 recording of
the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht singing “Mack the Knife.” Along
with lovely favorites by the likes of Josephine Baker, Django Rheinhart,
and Mistinguett. Also heard are artist models Suzy Solidor and Kiki of
Montparnasse. Both posed for the surrealist photographer Man Ray, an
admirer of Louise Brooks.
There is nothing else quite like RadioLulu.
Here are ten vintage RadioLulu tracks you won’t want to miss: “Makin’
Whoopee” by B.A. Rolfe & His Lucky Strike Orchestra, “Runnin’ Wild”
by Isabella Patricola, “The Sheik of Araby” by Fats Waller, “My Man” by
Fanny Brice, and “Puttin on the Ritz” by Harry Richman, as well as “You
Oughta be In Pictures” by Little Jack Little & His Orchestra,
“College Rhythm” by Jimmy Grier, “Singin’ In The Rain” by Cliff Edwards (Ukulele Ike), “Slumming On Park Avenue” by Alice Faye, and “Ramona” by Dolores Del Rio.
And here are ten contemporary RadioLulu tracks you won’t want to
miss: “Lulu” by Twiggy (the 1960’s supermodel), “Valentino” by Connie
Francis, “Louise” by Eric Clapton, “Weight Lifting Lulu” by The
Residents, “Interior Lulu” by Marillion, as well as “Marlene Dietrich’s
Favourite Poem” by Peter Murphy, “I’m In Love With A German Film Star”
by The Passions, “Just Like Fred Astaire” by James, “Lulu Land” by
Camper van Beethoven, and “Brandenburg Gate” by Lou Reed & Metallica
(from their Lulu album).
Over the years, this unique, long running station has gained many
fans and listeners. Famed film critic Leonard Maltin once rated it a
“Wow.” Likewise, Louise Brooks devotee and celebrated Dr. Who actor Paul McGann called it “incredible.” The Pulitzer-Prize winning graphic novelist Art Spiegelman (author of Maus)
has tuned-in on occasion, and told us so. As has the award-winning
science fiction writer Richard Kadrey. And would you believe that a
retro Spanish pop/swing/rock group named Radio Lulu named themselves
after the station?
Music has played a significant role in the life and films of Louise
Brooks. That’s why RadioLulu was started, as a means of sharing some of
the many rare and related recordings collected by the Louise Brooks
Society. Listen today for free by clicking on the widget at the top of
the page. Let us know what you like or don’t like, and what you might
want to hear. Got something to contribute. We would like to hear about
that too.
Louise Brooks listens to RadioLulu. How about you?
Thank you for your interest in Louise Brooks, RadioLulu, and the Louise Brooks Society. Be sure to follow RadioLulu on TWITTER or FACEBOOK. And, for even more fun, visit the LBS account on SOUNDCLOUD for more related audio rarities. In 2018, the LBS hopes to put together some thematic podcasts featuring material from RadioLulu, as well as material (like classical music) not featured on the streaming station. For example, there is music related to the time Louise Brooks was in Denishawn....
Beggars of Life, the 1928 William Wellman directed film starring Louise Brooks, continues to make the news.
The new Kino Lorber release of the film was written up by Leonard Maltin, who stated:
Beggars of Life (1928)
is another important silent film that isn’t as well-known as it ought
to be, because only a few 16mm prints survived–one in the collection of
the late William K. Everson, another acquired by George Eastman House’s
curator James Card back in 1950. In recent years his successors decided
to try making a 35mm blowup and it turned out surprisingly well. (It,
too, was shown at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.) Louise
Brooks, Wallace Beery, and Richard Arlen star in this starkly compelling
story of hobo life based on the best-selling novel by famed hobo-author
Jim Tully. (For more about Tully, see my 2012 column printed below.)
This fascinating slice-of-life features period music performed by the
Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra and it’s well worth seeing—and
owning.
Beggars of Life was also the subject of a recent long piece in Bright Lights Film Journal. This piece, by Gordon Thomas and titled "Boxcars, Beery, and a Dutch Bob: William Wellman’s Beggars of Life (1928) on Blu-ray," started by saying what we've known all along, "It’s easy to get excited over Kino Lorber’s recent blu-ray release of William Wellman’s 1928 silent, Beggars of Life. For devotees of Louise Brooks, the film holds legendary status as her best American film." I think it is an interesting piece, and I especially appreciated some of the familiar images.
The film had also just been shown in Cambridge, Massachusetts as part of an on-going William Wellman retrospective. Ty Burr's coverage of the films in the Boston Globe, "He made talkies worth talking about," focuses mostly on Wellman's work in the sound era - as does the series itself. Nevertheless, Burr noted "Beggars of Life
(1928), the rarely screened silent that opens the series on Oct. 27,
casts Louise Brooks and Richard Arlen as hoboes who hit the rails after
Brooks’s character murders her abusive stepfather; it showcases the
director’s eye for broad landscapes and the people in danger of getting
lost in them." [Wellman is easily my favorite pre-code / 1930's director. If you haven't seen Wild Boys of the Road (1933), Public Enemy (1931), Night Nurse (1933), etc.... you are missing out. Wellman's work in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s is simply outstanding - that why I am so excited about the forthcoming publication of Frank Thompson and John Gallagher's book, Nothing Sacred: The Cinema Of William Wellman.]
And, if you haven't done so already, get ahold of a copy of the new Kino Lorber DVD or Blu-ray of Beggars of Life - as well as my new book, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film. Each has received good reviews on amazon.com, where each are available. The Kino Lorber discs looks great, and it features audio commentaries by myself and William Wellman, Jr. And what's more, my new book contains lots of new information about the film, more than 50 little seen images, and a foreword by William Wellman, Jr.
The Harvard Film Archive in Cambridge, Massachusetts has announced it will be hosting a major retrospective of the films of director William Wellman. The retrospective, "The Legends of William Wellman," runs October 27th through November 26th. The series will include all of the acclaimed director's greatest films, from Wings (1927) to The Public Enemy (1931), A Star is Born (1937), and The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), as well as lesser known gems like Night Nurse (1931) and Wild Boys of the Road (1933). More information about the series, including a complete line-up of films, can be found HERE.
The first film to be shown in the series is Beggars of Life (1928), starring Louise Brooks. The silent classic will be shown on Friday October 27 at 7pm, with live musical accompaniment. The Harvard Film Archive description follows.
Beggars of Life Directed by William Wellman. With Wallace Beery, Louise Brooks, Richard Arlen US 1928, 35mm, b/w, silent, 91 min
"A gruesome discovery followed by a sordid tale of sexual abuse—recounted through an ingenious double-exposed montage sequence—introduces Richard Arlen’s hungry tramp to Louise Brooks’ fugitive disguised as a boy. From that dramatic opener, the couple steals off into a blue-tinted night and reluctantly joins a band of vagabonds. Immediately, the presence of a woman in the midst of a group of desperate men adds an unsettling disturbance to the film and to their tenuous coalition. Wellman steadily maintains this air of horror and humor as the motley, volatile crew travels from land to train with the lord of the hoboes, Wallace Beery’s unpredictable Oklahoma Red, who revels in intimidation as a means of entertainment—even holding an absurdly elaborate “kangaroo court” to decide the fate of the interlopers. In this hardscrabble atmosphere, the appearance of love is so unusual that it acts as a kind of deus ex machina, stunning the plot and sending it off and away down Wellman’s mysterious, dark tracks."
The National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI) in Helsinki, Finland will screen Prix de beaute (Miss Europa) on October 27 and 29, 2017 as part of their ongoing Louise Brooks series.
Here is some further information from the KAVI site. Times and ticket availability for each film may be found HERE.
Louise Brooks, kimaltava tähdenlento
12.10.2017 - 01.12.2017
Louise
Brooksin elokuvauraa voi luonnehtia tähdenlennoksi, sillä hänen
aktiivinen elokuvauransa kesti vain vuosikymmenen. Parhaimmat elokuvansa
hän teki Euroopassa G. W. Pabstin kanssa. Hollywoodin Brooks jätti
sopimusrikkojana, eikä paluu unelmatehtaaseen enää onnistunut.
The following is from the KAVI website:
Ohjaaja: Augusto Genina
Henkilöt: Louise Brooks, Georges Charlia
Lisähenkilöt: käsikirjoitus René Clair
Maa: Ranska
Tekstitykset: suom. tekstit (e)
Ikäraja: K16
Kesto: 108 min
Teemat: LOUISE BROOKS
Kopiotieto: restauroitu laitos (Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna)
Lisätieto: mykkä versio • versione italiana • piano Joonas Raninen
Augusto
Geninan Miss Europa (Prix de beauté, 1930) valmistui siirtymävaiheessa
mykästä äänielokuvaan. Sen kerronta on kuitenkin ilmeistä mykkäelokuvaa.
Louise Brooksin esittämä Lucienne valitaan missikisoihin, ja hänelle
avautuu uusia mahdollisuuksia. Mustasukkainen poikaystävä pyrkii
rajoittamaan naisen elämää ja valintoja.
-----
Miss Europa kuuluu Alfred Hitchcockin Blackmailin
tavoin niihin elokuviin, jotka valmistettiin juuri sillä hetkellä, kun
mykästä elokuvasta siirryttiin äänielokuvaan. Tähän asti olemme
tunteneet elokuvan vain ääniversiona jälkiäänitettyine musiikkeineen,
tehosteineen ja dialogeineen, vaikka elokuvaa katsottaessa oli selvää
että se oli alun perin tarkoitettu mykäksi. Onneksi Milanon Cineteca
Italianasta löydetty kopio teki mahdolliseksi mykkäversion
rekonstruktion. Se valmistettiin samasta negatiivista kuin
ääniversiokin; ainoat erot ovat kolmessa kohtauksessa jotka kuvattiin
uudelleen synkronisoitua dialogia varten; nämä kohtaukset nähdään
mykkäversiossa alkuperäisessä muodossaan. Loppukohtaus on kuitenkin
säilynyt vain ääniversiona. Mykkäversio pyrkii pelastamaan elokuvan
alkuperäisen rytmin, palauttaa kuvien alkuperäisen sommittelun (ennen
kuin ruutua leikattiin ääniraidan mahduttamiseksi) ja paljastaa
alkuperäisnegatiivin loistavan kuvallisen laadun.
Vuoden 1929 lopulla mykkänä kuvattu ja neljällä kielellä
(ranskaksi, englanniksi, saksaksi ja italiaksi) kokonaan
jälkisynkronisoitu Miss Europa on uraauurtava esimerkki aikansa
poikkeuksellisesta dubbauskäytännöstä. Mykän ja äänielokuvan
siirtymävuosien normina oli synkronisoida ääniraidalle musiikki ja
äänitehosteet, seurauksena melko summittainen synkronisuus. Oli erittäin
epätavallista, että tuotantoyhtiö näki näin paljon vaivaa dubatakseen
vuoropuheluakin teknisistä ja aatteellisista syistä.
Augusto Geninan ohjaus ja Louise Brooksin näyttelijäntyö
kohoavat kuitenkin paradoksaalisesti huomattavasti vahvemmiksi
mykkäversiossa. Vailla ääniraitaansa Miss Europa paljastaa todellisen luontonsa myöhäisen mykkäelokuvan saavutuksena.
Meitä hämmästyttää osittain dokumentaarinen tai
yhteiskunnallinen lähestymistapa jolla kamera tarkkailee
kauneuskilpailun yleisöä ja osanottajia tai huomiota jota kiinnitetään
esineisiin tai päähenkilön reaktioihin (lapsenomainen ihastus jolla
Lucienne ottaa haltuunsa mukavan junahytin, yhtä lapsenomainen ylpeys
jolla hän esittelee sulhaselleen uutta puvustoaan ja ylellistä
asuntoaan, keskiluokkaisen elämäntilanteen ankeus jota ilmentävät
pariskunnan vaatimattoman asunnon yksinkertaiset varusteet) ja jälleen
armoton katse jolla Geninan kamera paljastaa 24-vuotiaan tähden vartalon
heikkoudet ja alkavan repsahtamisen [perätön väite! – AA]. Louise
Brooks oli nopeasti lähestymässä uransa ennenaikaista loppua, ja hän oli
elämässään tuuliajolla, jos meidän on uskominen ohjaajan muistikuvia:
”Hän joi shamppanjaa ja konjakkia. Hän oli juovuksissa neljästä aamulla
varhaisiltaan, mutta sitten hän jatkoi taas juomistaan neljään asti,
jolloin hänelle tuotiin uusi shamppanjapullo. Hän nukkui aina. Aamulla
hänet oli kannettava studiolle, koska hän nukkui. Studiolla hänet
laitettiin nojatuoliin meikattavaksi, ja hän nukkui yhä. Hän heräsi vain
otoksia varten; sitten hän jatkoi juomista ja nukkumista. Hän rakasti
baarimikkoa!”
– Alberto Boschin mukaan (”Prix de beauté”, Cinegrafie, n:o 12, 1998) AA 5.10.2000
I am nearing completion of a project on the once "considered lost" 1927 Louise Brooks film, Now We're in the Air, and need help identifying a few of the actors, the model of airplanes, and perhaps even the locale of some of the exterior shots. As many of you may know, a 23 minute fragment of the film was found in the Czech Republic in 2016 by Robert Byrne, and was shown at the 2017 San Francisco Silent Film Festival and most recently at Pordenone in Italy. IF YOU ARE ABLE TO HELP IDENTIFY ANY OF THE ACTORS OR AIRPLANES OR
LOCALES IN THE FOLLOWING IMAGES, PLEASE POST IN THE COMMENTS, OR EMAIL
THE LOUISE BROOKS SOCIETY AT silentfilmbuff [AT] gmailDOTcom. THANK
YOU!
Now We’re in the Air was made by Paramount and shot between August 1 and September 8, 1927 at the Paramount studio near Hollywood and on location in nearby Southern California. What else is known is that the following actors appeared in the film:
Wallace Beery as Wally
Raymond Hatton as Ray
Russell Simpsonas Lord Abercrombie McTavish
Louise Brooks as the twins Griselle & Grisette Chelaine
Emile Chautard as Monsieur Chelaine, father of the twins
Malcolm Waite as Professor Saenger
Duke Martin as Top Sargeant
Mattie Witting as Madame Chelaine, mother of the twins (uncredited)
Fred Kohler (uncredited)
The preserved 23-minute fragment of Now We're in the Air show that the film utilized at least a couple dozen additional actors, mostly in crowd shots and/or in the background. A handful of these actors appear again and again (such as the military officers), or are given a fair amount of screen time (such as the carnival workers). I am wondering if anyone can identify any of these uncredited actors?
#1 Group shot of American military officers
#2 Close-up shot of Allied military officers
#3 Close-up shot of German military officers UPDATE: R Michael Pyle identified the shorter officer in the middle left as Theodore von Eltz. Steve Massa identified the the taller officer in the middle as Richard Alexander.
#4 Emile Chautard, the noted French director and actor who plays Brooks' father in the film, is far left. I wonder who the two carnival performers might be?
#5 Close-up of the knife thrower UPDATE: Rob Byrne identified the knife thrower as Charles Stevens
#6 Close-up of the knife thrower's assistant, looking at Wallace Beery
#7 My understanding is that fifteen airplanes, including some actual WWI aircraft, were used in
the making of the film, including a 76-foot Martin Bomber which was deliberately wrecked
in one of the film’s “big thrill scenes.” Can anyone identify these planes? UPDATE: fredhedges stated the large aircraft is a Martin MB-1. The scout plane nearest
the camera looks like a Fokker D-VII judging by the tail and
struts. The other scout I can't make out from the photos provided.
#8 A close-up of the larger plane, the Martin bomber? UPDATE: T0m M stated that the bomber in photo #8 appears to be the same one as in photo #7. In
this case we can see four widely and equally spaced wheels, indicative
of a Martin MB-1.
#9 Another close-up of the larger aircraft. Notice the four-wheel configuration. And notice the round landmark in the distance on the left. (This scene was, no doubt, shot in front of a filmed backdrop.) UPDATE: T0m M stated "Photo #9 is clearly not the same aircraft in photos #7 and #8.
Everything is slightly scaled down and simplified. The radiator tops are
not as rounded and the skull and crossbones are notably different. The
eye sockets are larger and more oval, the nose socket is longer and the
bones cross at much closer to a right angle. I believe this is a mock-up
to facilitate simulated (i.e. in-studio) aerial shots"
#10 The three aircraft. UPDATE: T0m M stated "Photo #10 appears to be from Wings. The scouts are the same Curtis P-1
Hawks used in Wings. They are identifiable by wings which are tapered on
both leading and trailing edges. As in Wings, the left scout is dark
coloured, while the right scout is light coloured. If this is from
Wings, the bomber is a Martin MB-2. The bombers in both films are Martins but different versions. This films uses an MB-1, while Wings employs an MB-2."
UPDATE: Vanwall emailed that he came across a link which notes "a low-budget production of Paramount includes a SPAD VII
with the same decorations as that of Wings."
#11 Now We're in the Air was shot in Southern California, near Los Angeles. Can anyone identify this landscape? Notice the round landmark in the upper right, and the winding road. UPDATE: missdupont wrote "The shot of the winding road from the balloon looks like it could be the Topanga Canyon area."
UPDATE: Henry Bisharatthought that the landscape resembled "Mulholland Drive over the Hollywood Hills due
to the S shape of the road. Best to find maps of the area from 1920s.
Mulholland Drive opened in 1924."
#12 Another landscape view. The round landmark is in the upper left.
#13 A view of the carnival and the village. Might anyone recognize this mountain formation? UPDATE: missdupont wrote "The carnival sequences are at the Lasky Ranch in what is now Forest Lawn
Hollywood. The hill visible behind is now called Mt. Lee, and the
Hollywood Sign is on the other side."
#14 I couldn't leave it at thirteen images. That would be unlucky. So, here is a crowd shot with
Louise Brooks and some of the extras. Who might the portly fellow to the right of Brooks be?
Here are a couple of fascinating video clips of Pulitzer Prize winning comic artist Art Spiegelman (author of Maus) talking about silent film. Spiegelman has a well known love of early popular music. And some years ago, when I met him, he told me he sometimes listened to RadioLulu (the LBS radio station streaming Louise Brooks and silent film themed music).
In the first video, Spiegelman explains why he attended the recent Pordenone Silent Film Festival in Italy, where they recently screened the once lost Brooks' film, Now We're in the Air.
In the second video, he explains his interest in silent film. (video starts after 13 seconds)
If you look through YouTube and Vimeo, you'll find a bunch of book face clips. It's where an individual will place a book (featuring a portrait or face on its cover) over their own face in order to create a new collage image.
Here is a screen capture of one such book face. It features a French edition of the F. Scott Fitzgerald story, "Berenice Bobs Her Hair," with Louise Brooks' bangs and eyes on its cover. This screen capture comes from a video on a French news website.