Wednesday, January 17, 2018

A new autographed Louise Brooks related treasure

Recently, I added a new treasure to my collection of Louise Brooks related autographed books.

Over the years, I have collected all manner of items -- including vintage autographed copies of books which were turned into Brooks' films to autographed copies of books about the actress to a book which once belonged to Brooks and which is annotated in her hand.

Among the vintage titles I have are Colleen Moore's copy of Beggars of Life, bearing her decorative bookplate and inscribed to the bobbed actress by author Jim Tully. (I also have a copy of Beggars of Life which was owned by Ralph Bierce, the son of writer Ambrose Bierce.) I have an autographed hardback copy of The Show-Off  (the play) signed by Pulitzer Prize winning dramatist George Kelly and inscribed to one of the cast members of the acclaimed stage play. I have as well an autographed copy of J.P. McEvoy's Hollywood Girl, the sequel to Show Girl, which was inspired by Brooks.

I have autographed 1st edition copies of a number of more recent titles, the Barry Paris biography, Rolland Jaccard's Louise Brooks: Portrait of an Anti-Star, Peter Cowie's Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever, Jan Wahl's Dear Stinkpot: Letters from Louise Brooks; Kevin Brownlow's The Parade's Gone By and a handful of other titles.

My most recent acquisition may not be as glamorous as some of the above mentioned books, but I treasure it none the less. The book is Movie Star Vamps and Scamps Paper Dolls by the late Tom Tierney, the noted American paper doll artist. This 2003 Dover book is signed by Tierny.

According to his Wikipedia page, "Tierney ... had a Paper Doll Shop for many years on Main Street in downtown Smithville after leaving New York. His shop was downstairs while Mr. Tierney, known as Tom about town, lived in his upstairs apartment. He autographed all of his many Paper Doll Books which he sold until his death. His relatives kept the store open in memory of him until his supply of Vintage style paper ornaments and books sold out." My copy must have come from his shop, as it is additionally stickered with his defunct web address.

There was a time when if you went into a bookstore you stood a good chance of coming across a selection of Tierney's paper doll books. According to his New York Times obit, "From the mid-1970s until his death, Mr. Tierney reigned as 'the undisputed king' of the international paper-doll world, as The New York Times wrote in 1999 — a milieu that comprises thousands of collectors in the United States alone. Over the years, he created more than 400 paper-dolls books, most issued by Dover Publications. His Dover titles have sold four million copies, according to the company."

As a former bookseller, I had long been aware of Tierney's books, and was likewise disappointed that he had never took on Louise Brooks as a subject. Tierney created Garbo, Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth, Veronica Lake and Lana Turner dolls, but never Brooks! Prior to the publication of Movie Star Vamps and Scamps Paper Dolls, I emailed Tierney suggesting he consider Brooks, and asked that he consider doing an entire book of dolls devoted to the actress.  

Movie Star Vamps and Scamps Paper Dolls was released in 2003. And while it isn't devoted in its entirety to Brooks, she is featured on the cover. (Brooks is one of 12 femmes fatales from the silent era through the 1930s depicted in costumes from their most popular films -- also included is Gloria Swanson, Marlene Dietrich, Jean Harlow, Mae West, Theda Bara, Mae Murray, Nita Naldi, Barbara LaMarr, Pola Negri, Clara Bow, and Myrna Loy.) I purchased a copy back then. And just recently, while perusing eBay, I came across an autographed copy and realized I had to have it. Here is a scan of the Brooks page (which is next to Clara Bow - not shown).



Friday, January 12, 2018

Weimar German culture seems to be trending.....

Weimar Germany seems to be trending..... I just came across a rather good article in Tablet magazine about the avant-garde performer Valeska Gert. "The Forgotten World of the Badass Valeska Gert," by Elyssa Goodman, looks at the influence of the "incomparable ‘dance performance artist’ who inspired entertainers from German Expressionism through to 1980s punk."


I've been fascinated by this strange artist ever since I saw her in the 1929 Louise Brooks film, The Diary of a Lost Girl. Despite Brooks' presence, Gert dominates the few scenes she is in. As Goodman notes,
"Gert began performing all over Europe, at Brecht’s cabaret The Red Revue, in Paris, in London, and elsewhere. She also moved her parody into a new medium, performing in film alongside a very young Greta Garbo in the 1925 film Joyless Street; in G.W. Pabst’s 1929 film Diary of a Lost Girl also starring American cinema sensation Louise Brooks; in the first film version of Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera as Mrs. Peachum in 1931, and many others. Gert knew how to manipulate her face and her body to dominate a stage in her solo performances, and the same happens even when she’s on screen with multiple people, as in this scene from Diary of a Lost Girl: Her face twists, her eyes expand, her mouth bends and even if she’s not saying anything, you simply can’t look away."

I encourage everyone to check out Goodman's article HERE. It is a good read. Back in 2010, I also wrote a piece on Gert which you may also want to check out, "The Remarkable Life of Valeska Gert." It ran on Huffington Post.

And that's not all the news from Weimar Germany. The culture of this special period in history is being celebrated in a new book, Night Falls on Berlin in the Roaring Twenties by Boris Pofalla (Author) & Robert Nippoldt (Illustrator). It is due out in May from Taschen. The publisher description reads thus:


"It was the age of drag balls, Metropolis, and Josephine Baker. Of scientific breakthroughs, literary verve, and the political chaos of the Weimar Republic. After the best-selling Hollywood in the 30s and Jazz: New York in the Roaring Twenties, illustrator Robert Nippoldt teams up with author Boris Pofalla to evoke the fast-moving, freewheeling metropolis that was Berlin in the 1920s.

Like a cinematographic city tour through time, Berlin of the Roaring Twenties takes in the urban scale and the intricate details of this transformative decade, from sweeping street panoramas, bejeweled with new electric lights, to the foxtrot and tango steps tapped out on dance floors across the town. With characteristic graphic mastery of light, shadow, and expression, as well as a silver-printing sheen, Nippoldt intersperses portraits with cityscapes, revealing the changing scenery and dynamic hubs of this burgeoning and rapidly industrializing capital, as well as the extraordinary protagonists that made up its hotbed scene of art, science, and ideas.

With an eager eye on the eccentrics and outlaws that made up this heady age as much as the established “greats,” Nippoldt includes rich profiles not only of the likes of Lotte Reiniger, Christopher Isherwood, Albert Einstein, Kurt Weill, Marlene Dietrich, and George Grosz, but also for “the woman with ten brains” Thea Alba, “Einstein of Sex” Magnus Hirschfeld, and the city’s notorious criminal Adolf Leib. So, too, does the book contain special features for some of the most prominent cultural and political phenomena of the time, whether the most iconic film characters or the frenzied chaos of the Weimar cabinet.

Beyond the people and the places, the book captures above all the incomparable and ineffable spirit of time and place, of an epoch suspended between two world wars and a country caught between joie-de-vivre daring and the darkness of encroaching National Socialism. Before the night falls, Nippoldt shows it all to us: the bright lights and the backstage whispers, the looming factories and the theoretical physics, the roar of the sports hall and the hush of the theater, the songs of the Comedian Harmonists, the satire of George Grosz, and the gender-bending icon of Marlene Dietrich, lighting up a cigarette in top hat, tuxedo, and come-to-bed eyes."

Check out this video introduction to the book:


Or, check out this Taschen podcast about the new book:



But wait, there's more.... Just out on DVD from Kino Lorber is Rudiger Suchsland's documentary film From Caligari to Hitler. From Kino: "In the relevatory documentary From Caligari to Hitler filmmaker Rüdiger Suchsland explores the connections between the expressionist silent cinema of Germany and the subsequent rise of Nazism. The film illustrates Siegfried Kracauer's 1947 thesis that Nazism is anticipated in many themes found throughout Weimar cinema of the 1920s, whiles situating Kracauer in the philosophy and histories of the time. Looking at landmark films like Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler, Metropolis, The Golem, and many others, Suchsland brilliantly tracks the concept of the charmismatic villain bewitching the people." (Reminds me of someone today.) From Caligari to Hitler got a ★★★ review on Video Librarian: "In fact, one of the documentary's major virtues is that it not only covers noted filmmakers such as Lang, F.W. Murnau, and Ernst Lubitsch but also serves as an introduction to movies in many different genres by other directors who are virtually forgotten today."


Of course, Louise Brooks made two of her greatest films in the Weimar era, the G.W. Pabst directed Pandora's Box (1929) and The Diary of a Lost Girl (1929). The English film critic Pamela Hutchinson has written a newly released book, Pandora's Box, published by BFI Film Classics. I just got a copy last week, and read it promptly. It is really, really good - displaying graceful prose and lively thinking. If you haven't already done so, check it out.


And lastly, there is a new article about G.W. Pabst which ran in a Brazilian publication, Estadao Cultura. The piece is titled "Georg Wilhelm Pabst: A obra por trás do homem."

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

A few Louise Brooks related announcements

Here are a few Louise Brooks related announcements:

Pandora's Box, the sensational 1929 film starring Louise Brooks, is set to screen in Chicago, Illinois on April 3, 2018. The movie will be accompanied by Jay Warren, Chicago's foremost pipe organ expert, on the classically restored 3/16 Marr Colton / Geneva Arcada organ.

The film will be shown at the Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St. in St. Charles, as part of its continuing  "Silent Film Night" series featuring silent film classics.

More information about the event can be found HERE.


===========================

Recently, I wrote a new page on the Louise Brooks Society website (www.pandorasbox.com) which I invite everyone to read and explore.

The page, under the "Dancer & Show Girl" menu, is sub-menued  "Denishawn" (and titled "Louise Brooks and Denishawn"); it pertains to the period in Brooks' life when she was a member of the Denishawn Dance Company.

There is some new information there, as well as some pictures which I think will please.


===========================

And here is some news we've been waiting for.....


Kino Lorber is bringing A. Edward Sutherland's It's the Old Army Game starring W.C. Fields, Louise Brooks, Blanche Ring, William Gaxton, and Mary Foy to Blu-ray on March 13. The disc will feature a new 2k master Supplements will include:


- Audio commentary by film historian James L. Neibaur, author of The W.C. Fields Films
- New score by Ben Model

Plot Synopsis: Elmer Prettywillie, the village druggist, is awakened by a woman who needs a 2-cent stamp in the middle of the night. Seeking again a state of somnolence, Prettywillie must contend with the clamorous collectors of garbage, and with those of his own castle who have caught forty winks and then some. The letter-carrying lady, in trying to post her missive, manages to summon the city's fire department to the pharmacy where, unable to find a fire, they sit and sip sodas while Prettywillie panders to their every want. When they leave, a bit of a blaze does erupt, but Prettywillie is forced to his own resources. Meanwhile, George Parker is smitten with Elmer's buxom assistant and uses the storefront to promote a bogus land deal. The Prettywillie fortune is thus inflated, enabling the purchase of a flivver, but Elmer ends up wrecking a Florida estate and finally the flivver, foiling the schemers and delighting the denizens of the town, whose jubilation Elmer takes for an acute case of distemper. He jails himself for safekeeping. Also starring Louise Brooks, Blanche Ring, William Gaxton, and Mary Foy.


Likewise, the label will also release Gregory La Cava's Running Wild starring W.C. Fields, Marie Shotwell, Mary Brian, Claude Buchanan, and Frederick Burton on March 13 as well. The disc will feature a new 2k master Supplements will include:

- Audio commentary by film historian James L. Neibaur, author of The W.C. Fields Films
- New score by Donald Sosin

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Louise Brooks' film Beggars of Life begins three day run in Austin, Texas

The Austin Film Society in Austin, Texas is screening the "newly restored" 1928 Louise Brooks film, Beggars of Life on Friday January 5th, Saturday, January 6th, and Monday, January 8th. Here is the bit from the society website. More information can be found HERE.

Newly Restored
BEGGARS OF LIFE


Directed by William Wellman
USA, 1928, 1h 40min, DCP, Silent with musical score

In this silent film from director William Wellman, Louise Brooks plays a girl on the run who disguises herself as a boy, teams up with a young man (Richard Arlen) and tries to stay one step ahead of trouble.  — Tickets: austinfilm.org/screening/beggars-of-life/

Last year was a great year for Beggars of Life. This past Spring saw the release of my new book, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, and this past Summer saw the release of a new DVD / Blu-ray of the film from Kino Lorber. Each received great reviews! If you haven't secured your own copy of either the book or the DVD / Blu-ray, why not do so today?



Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Louise Brooks' film Beggars of Life shows on Long Island on January 24th

The riveting 1928 silent film, Beggars of Life, starring Louise Brooks, will be shown at the Cinema Arts Centre on Wednesday, January 24th at 7:30 pm. Part of the "Anything But Silent" series, this Long Island screening will feature live musical accompaniment by the one-and-only Ben Model. More information about this event can be found HERE.




--- Organized by Cinema Arts Centre, a 501(c)3 organization and Long Island's only not-for-profit independent movie theater, offering the most compelling American and international films today, as well as many unique programs.
 
Louise Brooks’ best American film was made shortly before she left for Germany and found everlasting fame in Pandora’s Box. Brooks plays a young woman who flees her cruel stepfather and, dressed in boy’s clothing, rides the rails with hobos. Based on the memoirs of rough-and-tumble writer Jim Tully, which describes his hardscrabble existence on the rails during the recession years of the 1890s and 1900s, this long-thought-lost silent classic features an unforgettable turn by Wallace Beery as the hobo Oklahoma Red and dazzling location photography set aboard speeding trains. Director William Wellman was in top form for the movie, basking in praise for his work on the Oscar-winning Wings (1927), although Louise Brooks felt he pushed her to take unnecessary risks–especially during a stunt in which she was nearly sucked under a train’s wheels. Nonetheless, Brooks lauded the director for “how hard he studied his script and prepared for his day’s work, how he always did his best, [and] how sure and fast he worked.” The new restoration of Beggars of Life is a triumphant resurrection for a classic of the silent era. (USA, 1928, 100 min., NR, English| Dir. William A. Wellman)
 
Want to learn more about the film? Last Spring saw the release of my new book, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, and this past Summer saw the release of a new DVD / Blu-ray of the film from Kino Lorber. If you haven't secured your own copy of either the book or the DVD / Blu-ray, why not do so today?

Monday, January 1, 2018

Happy New Year from the Louise Brooks Society

Happy New Year from the Louise Brooks Society.

visit the LBS online at www.pandorasbox.com


Happy New Year from the Louise Brooks Society.

visit the LBS online at www.pandorasbox.com
Powered By Blogger