A few days ago, IndieWire ran a must-read interview piece on Kevin Brownlow, the renowned film historian and Oscar honoree. The piece is titled "Kevin Brownlow Thinks a Treasure Trove of ‘Lost’ Silent Films Is Collecting Dust in Cuba." Before you read any further, and if you haven't already done so, go back and read that article, which can be found HERE.
The piece notes, "Brownlow isn’t content to just be honored for his own past work — he wants the work to continue, freely offering up advice about how future milestones in film preservation might be achieved. And where 'lost' silent masterpieces might yet be found. . . . 'I remember a Cuban refugee meeting me in London and saying all the films you’re looking for are in the Cuban archive,' Brownlow said, referring to Havana’s Cinemateca de Cuba, which is in possession of some 80,000 reels of historic films, including early American silent films."
American silent films were especially popular in Cuba — as much as any Latin American country, and more than most all Caribbean countries. That popularity may be explained by Cuba's proximity to the United States, as well as a shared culture and history. Louise Brooks herself visited Cuba in 1928.
My forthcoming book, Around the World with Louise Brooks, contains a number of Cuban advertisements and articles related to Louise Brooks. Here are just a few which evidence Brooks' popularity on the Spanish-speaking island nation.
The piece notes, "Brownlow isn’t content to just be honored for his own past work — he wants the work to continue, freely offering up advice about how future milestones in film preservation might be achieved. And where 'lost' silent masterpieces might yet be found. . . . 'I remember a Cuban refugee meeting me in London and saying all the films you’re looking for are in the Cuban archive,' Brownlow said, referring to Havana’s Cinemateca de Cuba, which is in possession of some 80,000 reels of historic films, including early American silent films."
American silent films were especially popular in Cuba — as much as any Latin American country, and more than most all Caribbean countries. That popularity may be explained by Cuba's proximity to the United States, as well as a shared culture and history. Louise Brooks herself visited Cuba in 1928.
My forthcoming book, Around the World with Louise Brooks, contains a number of Cuban advertisements and articles related to Louise Brooks. Here are just a few which evidence Brooks' popularity on the Spanish-speaking island nation.
“The Princess of the Cinema: Luisa Brooks” appeared in the November, 1928 issue of Carteles, a general interest magazine from Havana, Cuba. This marked one of a number of appearances by Brooks in this and other Cuban magazines.
Take a look at this page from a 1927 Cuban newspaper. Along with a big piece on La Venus Americana (the lost 1926 Brooks' film, The American Venus), there are also pieces on a Betty Compson film and King Vidor's The Big Parade. American films were a big draw in Cuba. And so were European films like Pandora's Box.
In the IndieWire piece, Kevin Brownlow makes the point that films made in one country were often given different titles when shown in other countries, especially those nations where a different language was used. This rare advertisement for the "sensational" German film Die Büchse der Pandora (Pandora’s Box) shows that it was given an alternative title, Lulu la Pecadora, which translates as Lulu the Sinner!
Hopefully, if Trump doesn't further handicap our relations with Cuba (he's already hit a foul ball over baseball), American film scholars might be able to visit Havana’s Cinemateca de Cuba and perhaps find one of Brooks' lost American silents. I, for one, would be happy to see La Venus Americana (The American Venus), Un Figaro de Sociedad (A Social Celebrity), or Medias Enrolladas (Rolled Stockings).
