Diary of a Lost Girl starring Louise Brooks Screens in Germany on Jan 26

The sensational 1929 Louise Brooks film, Diary of a Lost Girl, will be shown in Munich, Germany at the Munich Film Museum on Friday, January 26th. That's today! The information below can be found on the Suddeutsche Zeitung website.

Filmtipp des Tages Tagebuch der Unterdrückung

Missbraucht und geschwängert von einem Angestellten des Vaters, abgeschoben in ein Erziehungsheim, geflohen und untergekommen in einem Bordell. Georg Wilhelm Pabst verfilmte mit "Tagebuch einer Verlorenen" einen Roman von Margarete Böhme. Ein Angriff auf bürgerliche Moralheuchelei, der dann auch bis zur Unkenntlichkeit zensiert wurde und erst vor wenigen Jahren rekonstruiert werden konnte. Zum zweiten Mal nach der "Büchse der Pandora" drehte Pabst mit Louise Brooks in der Rolle der Thymian. Deren Schauspielkunst von unverstellter Natürlichkeit nutzt er, um ihr als Kontrast die militärisch rhythmisierten Unterdrückungsmethoden des Erziehungsheims gegenüberzustellen. Die Gewalt, erst ausgehend vom Vergewaltiger des jungen Mädchens, erweist sich schnell als institutionalisiert.

Tagebuch einer Verlorenen, D 1929, Regie: G. W. Pabst, Freitag, 26. Januar, 18.30 Uhr, Live-Musik: Sabrina Zimmermann & Mark Pogolski, Filmmuseum, Sankt-Jakobs-Platz 1

or

Movie Tip of the Day Journal of Oppression

Abused and impregnated by an employee of the father, deported to an education center, fled and found in a brothel. Georg Wilhelm Pabst filmed a novel by Margarete Böhme with "Diary of a Lost". An attack on bourgeois moral hypocrisy, which was then censored beyond recognition and could only be reconstructed a few years ago. For the second time after the "Pandora's Box" Pabst shot with Louise Brooks in the role of thyme. He uses her acting art of undisguised naturalness to juxtapose her with the militarily rhythmic oppression methods of the education center. The violence, first starting from the rapist of the young girl, quickly turns out to be institutionalized.

Diary of a Lost , D 1929 , directed by GW Pabst, Friday, 26 . January, 6.30 pm, live music: Sabrina Zimmermann & Mark Pogolski, Filmmuseum, Sankt-Jakobs-Platz 1

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Want to  learn more? Check out this 2010 Louise Brooks Society publication, the "Louise Brooks edition" of The Diary of a Lost Girl, available wherever fine books are sold.

A new cover on John Kobal's Hollywood Glamor Portraits: 145 Photos of Stars, 1926-1949

John Kobal's classic pictorial, Hollywood Glamor Portraits: 145 Photos of Stars, 1926-1949, was first published in 1976 by Dover Publications, the same publisher that issued Marshall Deutelbaum's Image on the Art and Evolution of the Film: Photographs and Articles from the Magazine of the International Museum of Photography (1979), another important early title in the emergence of Brooks' reputation. (Dover also published Tom Tierney's Movie Star Vamps and Scamps Paper Dolls (2003), a book I recently wrote about.)

Kobal's book was issued while Louise Brooks was still alive; notably, this popular, nearly once ubiquitous work, was one of the earliest books to feature the actress on the cover. I still have my old second-hand copy, purchased sometime, if I recall correctly, in the mid-1990s.

I just noticed that Kobal's book has been reissued with a new, slightly different, cover (The new cover is pictured above. The original cover is pictured left.) The book features 145 full-page black-and-white photos of well known actors and actors dating from from 1926 to 1949 — including Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Hedy Lamarr, Marlene Dietrich, Robert Montgomery, Marlon Brando, Veronica Lake and others — 94 stars in all including Louise Brooks.

John Kobal (born Ivan Kobaly, 1940 – 1991) was an Austrian-born, British based, film and phot historian historian responsible for The Kobal Collection, a commercial photograph library related to the film industry. According to Wikipedia, "Kobal had a short-lived career as an actor in early 1960s London. He was an inveterate collector: magazines, postcards, pictures, any movie memorabilia. It was a chance encounter with Marlene Dietrich in Canada in the 1950s that led Kobal to develop his affection for the Golden Age of Hollywood. He used his contacts from a BBC appointment in New York from 1964 to acquire Hollywood related photographs, eventually numbering about 4,500 images dating from the end of the silent era to about 1960. The material was then considered of little value."

Kobal was also the author of 30 books, and was responsible for organising the first exhibition of Hollywood related photographs at London's Victoria and Albert Museum in 1974. The critic John Russell Taylor has described Kobal's contribution to film studies as "unique"

Kobal and Brooks were friendly. They exchanged letters, and Kobal interviewed Brooks at length. That exceptional interview, which detailed many little known incidents in Brooks' life, appeared in Kobal's People Will Talk (1986). It is essential reading. The actress' name appears on the cover of the original hardback editions, and an image of Brooks appears on the cover of this paperback edition.

Louise Brooks' film Beggars of Life shows on Long Island TOMORROW

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.

Wednesday January 24, 2018 --- 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?

Sleeping with Louise / Lulu / Valentina

As devotees of Louise Brooks may know, the Italian cartoonist / illustrator / graphic novelist Guido Crepax (1933 - 2003) had a thing for Louise Brooks. In fact, his most famous creation, Valentina, was inspired by the actress, with whom Crepax corresponded. Valentina first appeared in 1968, and there followed a long running series of comic strips and books.

Flash forward to the present. From the Crepax estate comes these new Valentina products, presented here for your consideration and amusement. The bed set comes in many variations, a few of which are shown here.

Louise Brooks' film Beggars of Life screens in Tromsø, Norway TODAY!

Beggars of Life will be shown in Tromsø, Norway later today. This event, sponsored by the Tromsø International Film Festival, is part of the festival's "Special Screenings" series. More information about this event with LIVE music by the Dodge Brothers & Neil Brand can be found HERE.

Nancy (Louise Brooks) kills her abusive stepfather and tries to flee from the law and leave the country. Dressed as a man and accompanied by a vagabond named Jim (Richard Arlen), Nancy heads for Canada. Together they face the harsh reality and struggles of hobo life. Things get dangerous when they encounter a group of ragged and violent drifters led by Oklahoma Red (Wallace Beery). In a high-speed runaway drama cutting through the American continent in freight trains and stolen cars, with romantic as well as threatening undertones, three of the great stars of the silent film era give some of their best performances.

BEGGARS OF LIFE is an intense and entertaining story about oppressed and desperate people on a dangerous journey through the dark underworld of pre-depression America. All aspects of his rollercoaster of a story are enhanced by the live soundtrack, composed and performed by skiffle/bluegrass combo The Dodge Brothers, together with silent film pianist Neil Brand.

THE DODGE BROTHERS W/NEIL BRAND
The Dodge Brothers are renowned for playing the hell out of classic Americana with their exuberant hybrid of country blues, rockabilly, jugband and skiffle. Firmly rooted in these traditions, The Dodge Brothers bring to them a freshness that has feet stomping and hands clapping wherever they go, now also Tromsø.

Neither brothers nor from Dodge City, the band consists of Mike Hammond (lead guitar, lead vocals, banjo), Mark Kermode (bass, harmonica, vocals), Aly Hirji (rhythm guitar, mandolin, vocals) and Alex Hammond (washboard, snare drum, percussion). Cinematic landscapes come to life when this potent musical brew joins forces with virtuous silent film pianist Neil Brand, AKA The Fifth Dodge Brother, a previous guest at Silent Film Days in Tromsø. These musicians and this film can only be described as a match made in heaven. More at Dodgebrothers.co.uk


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 (which mentions the Dodge Brothers), 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?

Now We're in the Air, starring Louise Brooks, to screen at NY Museum of Modern Art

Now We're in the Air, the once lost comedy starring Louise Brooks, is set to screen at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on January 19 as part of "To Save and Project: The 15th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation."

Now We're in the Air (1927) will be shown along with The World and the Woman (1916), starring Jeanne Eagels. The two films will be introduced by screenwriter and film historian David Stenn, and will feature live musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin. More information can be found HERE.

The MoMA page reads:


Now We’re in the Air (excerpt). 1927. USA. Directed by Frank R. Strayer. Screenplay by Thomas J. Geraghty. With Wallace Beery, Raymond Hatton, Louise Brooks. 35mm. 23 min.
Louise Brooks makes a brief but memorable appearance as a carnival performer in this newly discovered fragment of a World War I aviation comedy. Restored by The Library of Congress in collaboration with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.


The World and the Woman. 1916. USA. Directed by Eugene Moore. Screenplay by Philip Longeran, William C. de Mille. With Jeanne Eagels, Boyd Marshall, Thomas A. Curran. 35mm. 74 min.
Broadway legend Jeanne Eagels stars as a prostitute who discovers she has faith-healing gifts in a rare silent feature from the New York–based Thanhouser Film Corp. Restored by the George Eastman Museum.

A write-up of the series in Film Journal International stated "David Stenn introduces a fragment of Now We're in the Air (Jan. 19), a 1927 service comedy starring future superstar Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton as two sad sacks who end up in an aerial unit during World War I. Some 20 minutes of footage were recovered from a deteriorated nitrate print found in a Czech archive. It's mostly excruciatingly broad comedy of the Dumb and Dumber school, but it does offer a few minutes of young circus performer Louise Brooks in a black tutu."

Those who attend this special screening will be interested to know that I have just recently authored a book on the Brooks' film. I also helped with the preservation of this once-lost work, and wrote this illustrated book detailing the history of the movie and its discovery in Prague by film preservationist Robert Byrne; also considered in the book is the surprising impact this otherwise little known film has had on Brooks’ life and career.


And amazon.com review said this about the book: “The absolute final word on the film from the world’s foremost expert on Louise Brooks. Thoroughly researched and expertly written, oh, and did I mention lavishly illustrated? If you love silent film and if you love Louise Brooks (and who doesn’t) you really should pick up a copy for your library.” 

The book is available at  amazon.com // Barnes & Noble // Indiebound // Powells