Some notes on my Louise Brooks presentation at the Rudolph Valentino Memorial

One week ago, on Friday August 23, I delivered the keynote address at the 92nd Rudolph Valentino Memorial Service at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. Despite a technical glitch which delayed my talk by a minute or two, things went well. Returning to my seat, noted author and film historian Jeffrey Vance told me "good job." I was pleased. The memorial was a moving experience and a memorable event. I hope those who couldn't attend the event in person watched it online as it streamed live over Facebook. (I am not sure how many watched it this year, but last year more than 4000 people from around the world tuned-in to the event!)

(Left) At the Hollywood Forever Cemetery  (Right) My wife and I at Valentino's crypt shortly before the service

My talk focused on Rudolph Valentino and Louise Brooks, and their little known "history." I shared some rare material on the two actors - including audio material few if anyone alive has heard. As event organizer and host Tracy Terhune said afterword, it was great to hear a first hand account of Valentino in the voice of someone who was there.

(Left) Preparing for the event (Right) The Memorial program

My power point presentation pointed out what the two silent films stars had in common, and that fact that these two Jazz Age personalities did know one another - if only in passing. We know, for   example, that Brooks encountered Valentino - or at least observed him - from afar at parties and social gatherings. She said as much to author Jan Wahl, a friend and correspondent later in life. As I mentioned, Brooks once told Wahl she had observed a neglected Valentino at a party at Gloria Swanson's house in Englewood, New Jersey. Swanson had thrown the party in Rudy’s honor, and even imported a parquet floor for the night so Valentino could dance the tango. According to Brooks, Valentino had a sallow complexion and sat at the bottom of the stairs, unnoticed. My guess is that party must have taken place shortly before Valentino's death.

Brooks was filming in NYC on the day Valentino died, and as I discovered a number of years ago, she attended Valentino's funeral mass. According to the New York Morning Telegraph, Brooks was among the select mourners at this invitation only event. The newspaper singled her out, stating she had “cried unashamed.”

As I also noted, Brooks continued to remember Rudy as the years passed. We know, for example, that in 1938 Brooks went to a revival screening of The Sheik at the Filmarte theatre on Vine Street in Los Angeles. Valentino was also among the personalities from her younger days who are recounted in the notebooks she began keeping later in life.

In 1962, Brooks was living a quiet life in Rochester, New York. She was considered something of a minor celebrity around town, having once been a “movie star.” A local radio station asked the one-time actress to talk about the personalities she had known in Hollywood. Recordings of those programs were long thought lost, if in fact, they were ever put on tape. Last year, however, I uncovered the audio tapes of Brooks’ unedited commentary, and I concluded my talk with two brief excerpts in which Brooks spoke of Valentino, including the last time she saw Rudy, just a couple of weeks before his death.Here is a transcribed excerpt of my excerpts:

Louise Brooks: I have a sweet story to tell you what happened just two weeks before he died.... he was there in New York for the opening of his greatest picture. It turned out to be the Son of the Sheik. And one night I was sitting in the Lido, the most fashionable night club in New York. He came in all alone in his beautiful black tails and his white tie, and his beautiful back hair and his dark skin. He came over to our table. I was sitting with Ben Ali Haggin and his girl, who was a great friend of Rudy’s – Rudy had many, many women friends. She was a beautiful red head in sea green [dress].... He said “will you dance?” So she got up and they went to the dance floor and the band stopped the fox trot. They started to tango. And something happened that we’ve seen in movies that is always something unbelievable.... So they began to dance a tango and of course they were perfect. It was exquisite. This red head in green, floating drapery. Everyone sat down.... All the celebrities in New York went there. It was café society at the time. They couldn’t help it. They all sat down and watched. And finally the dance ended. And again the right thing happened. No one applauded. No one said a word. Rudy brought Irene back to our table. Said "thank you very much." And bowed. Then he walked back to the stairs that led up under the exit sign and walked through the black velvet curtain and disappeared. And nobody said anything. An absolute stillness. They had seen something beautiful, beautiful. It really was an exit in a way.

After the event, a small group went to Tracy Terhune's apartment for a Valentino-appropriate lunch of spaghetti and meatballs. Tracy is the organizer of the current memorial service, its Master of Ceremonies, as well as the grandson of actor Max Terhune. Tracy wowed my wife and I with a tour of his apartment and its many Valentino treasures. He also told us of how his grandfather got started in pictures -- thanks to close friend Gene Autrey -- and what he knew about Max Terhune's role as one of the three mesquiteers in Louise Brooks' last film, Overland Stage Raiders (1938), which starred John Wayne. Below is a picture of Tracy and I which shows off just a fraction of his fabulous Valentino collection.

Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood - Quentin Tarantino & Louise Brooks

During a recent trip to Michigan I found myself in Traverse City, where I went past the historic State Theater, which is owned by documentary filmmaker Micheal Moore. The State was showing Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood. Out front, in the sidewalk, are the hand prints of a few celebrities who have visited the theater. I noticed the lovely Geraldine Chaplin (the daughter of Charlie Chaplin and the star of one of my all-time favorite films, Doctor Zhivago).

A week later, I was in Los Angeles, and thanks to dear friends had the opportunity to attend a 35 mm screening of Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood at the historic Beverly Cinema, which is owned by Quentin Tarantino. I enjoyed the film a good deal, and thought I spotted a Louise Brooks-related Easter egg.... shortly after the legendary late 1960s LA nightclub Pandora's Box is depicted in Tarantino's film, a character named Lulu is introduced. Coincidence? Perhaps.

Coincidentally for real, in 1931, the Beverly showed one of the most unusual double bills I've ever come across while researching the career of Louise Brooks. That double bill featured the 1931 Paramount farce It Pays to Advertise (featuring Louise Brooks) and the 1929 German mountain movie White Hell of Pitz Palu (directed by G.W. Pabst during the months between his making Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl). What the patrons of the Beverly thought of this strange double bill one could only guess.

It is worth noting that Quentin Tarantino gave Pabst's White Hell of Pitz Palu a big shout out in his earlier film, Inglorious Bastards, as seen in the image below. Why, I can't say. Perhaps it's because Tarantino, like G.W. Pabst, is an indie director. And perhaps Tarantino feels an affinity for other independents and film history. Q., if you're reading this, drop me a line.

Two Louise Brooks films to screen in Berlin this weekend

Two Louise Brooks films will be shown in Germany this coming weekend at the New Babylon Berlin GmbH (located at Rosa-Luxembourg-Str. 30, 10178 in Berlin, Germany).

Pandora's Box will be shown twice on Friday, with live musical accompaniment. More information can be found HERE.

 D 1929. R: Georg Wilhelm Pabst mit Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, Franz Lederer, 110 Min

Fr, 30.8. 19:15 Live an der Orgel Anna Vavilkina, Eintritt Frei / gratis!
FR 6.09. 17:15 Live an der Orgel Fedor Stroganov, Eintritt gratis!

Das junge, attraktive Showgirl Lulu ist die Geliebte des prominenten Chefredakteurs Schön. Seiner sozialen Stellung entsprechend, möchte er eine Frau aus seinen Kreisen heiraten und sich von Lulu trennen. Durch einen Skandal platzt die Hochzeit. Schön heiratet stattdessen Lulu, stirbt aber schon in der Hochzeitsnacht durch eine Kugel. Lulu wird wegen Mordes angeklagt, entkommt aber aus dem Gerichtssaal und setzt ihre Affäre mit dem Sohn des Verstorbenen fort. Ihre Flucht vor der Polizei führt sie ins Ausland. Damit beginnt Lulus eigentliche Odyssee… Freie Adaption des gleichnamigen Theaterstücks von Frank Wedekind und seines Bühnendramas „Erdgeist“ mit Louise Brooks als Lulu. Einer der ersten Filme, die lesbische Liebe bzw. Bisexualität offen zeigten.

D 1929. R: Georg Wilhelm Pabst with Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, Franz Lederer, 110 min

Fri, 30.8. 19:15 Live at the organ Anna Vavilkina, Admission Free / Free!
FR 6.09. 17:15 Live at the organ Fedor Stroganov, admission free!

The young, attractive showgirl Lulu is the mistress of the prominent editor-in-chief Schön. According to his social position, he wants to marry a woman from his circles and to separate from Lulu. Due to a scandal, the wedding is bursting. Schön marries Lulu instead, but dies on the wedding night by a bullet. Lulu is charged with murder, but escapes from the courtroom and continues her affair with the son of the deceased. Her escape from the police leads her abroad. This is the beginning of Lulus' actual odyssey ... Free adaptation of the eponymous play by Frank Wedekind and his stage drama "Erdgeist" with Louise Brooks as Lulu. One of the first films to show lesbian love or bisexuality.

Diary of a Lost Girl will be shown twice on Saturday, also with live musical accompaniment. More information can be found HERE.

D 1929. R: Georg Wilhelm Pabst mit Louise Brooks, Fritz Rasp, Valeska Gert, 104 Min

Sa, 31.08. 20:00 Live am Klavier Ekkehard Wölk, Eintritt gratis!
Sa, 07.09. 20:15 An der Orgel Live Fedor Stroganov, Eintritt gratis!

Die junge Apothekerstocher Thymian wird vom Angestellten ihres Vaters verführt und wird nach der Geburt ihres Kindes in ein Heim gesteckt, wo sie unter der Strenge der sadistischen Erzieher zu leiden hat. Sie flüchtet und landet im Bordell einer Großstadt.

D 1929. R: Georg Wilhelm Pabst with Louise Brooks, Fritz Rasp, Valeska Gert, 104 min

Sat, 31.08. 20:00 live on the piano Ekkehard Wölk, admission free!
Sat, 07.09. 20:15 At the organ live Fedor Stroganov, admission free!

The young apothecary Thymian is seduced by the employee of her father and is put after the birth of her child in a home, where she has to suffer from the severity of the sadistic educators. She flees and ends up in the brothel of a big city.

Diary of a Lost Girl screens at Oslo Silent Film Festival on August 24

The sensational 1929 Louise Brooks film, Diary of a Lost Girl, will be screened at the Oslo Silent Film Festival on August 24. More information about this screening can be found HERE.

The Oslo Silent Film Festival, which runs August 22 through August 25, will also be showing Metropolis, A Cottage on Dartmoor and other notable silent films starring the likes of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. More information about the festival can be found HERE.

According to the website for the Norwegian film festival: "Man skal lete lenge i filmhistorien for å finne en skuespiller med like mye kameratekke som Louise Brooks. Likefullt slet hun i Hollywood. I 1927 sa hun opp en gullkantet kontrakt med Paramount for å reise til Berlin hvor hun skulle spille i G.W. Pabst’ Pandoras eske. I denne og deres andre film sammen, Diary of a Lost Girl, finner man denne sjeldne, nesten magiske kjemien som kan oppstå mellom skuespiller og regissør. Brooks spiller Thymian Henning, som i likhet med karakteren Lulu i Pandoras eske er en ung, vakker kvinne med en problematisk moral. Hun havner på en rehabiliteringsanstalt drevet med militær disiplin, og kommer snart i opposisjon til bestyrelsen. Hun rømmer – og ender opp som prostituert i et bordell.

Ikke overraskende fikk verdens sensurmyndigheter en real håndfull da de fikk Diary of a Lost Girl i fanget. Den ble stort sett sønderklippet i alle land den ble tillatt oppsatt, og fikk kritikker deretter. Når den da i tillegg var særdeles uheldig med timingen – den hadde premiere i oktober 1929, en liten måned før den første lydfilmen The Jazz Singer fikk sin første oppsetning i Berlin – ble den raskt en glemt film og blant de som druknet i lydfilmens suksess. Ikke før på 1960-tallet ble den og Pandoras eske gjenoppdaget, da filmene ble restaurert i henhold til Pabst egen, usensurerte versjon, og fikk en verdig oppreisning. Begge filmene regnes i dag blant den sene stumfilmperiodens genuine mesterverk.

For Louise Brooks gikk ikke karrieren like godt. Etter oppholdet i Berlin dro hun til Paris, før hun returnerte til Hollywood i et forsøk på å gjenoppta karrieren. Stemmen hennes ble ikke funnet god nok, og etter å ha spilt i flere samlebånds-westernfilmer fikk hun nok, og la skuespillerkarrieren på hyllen. Hun flyttet til New York, før hun på 1950-tallet igjen gjorde seg bemerket i filmens tjeneste da hun flyttet til Rochester, der det enorme filmarkivet til George Eastman House ligger, og begynte å utgi grundige og velskrevne artikler om den filmindustrien hun hadde vært en del av på 1920-tallet."

 Which roughly translates as...

"One has to look long in the history of film to find an actor with as much coverage as Louise Brooks. No matter how much she struggled in Hollywood. In 1927, she terminated a gold-lined contract with Paramount to travel to Berlin where she would play in G.W. Pabst's Pandora's Box. In this and their other film together, Diary of a Lost Girl, one finds this rare, almost magical chemistry that can arise between actor and director. Brooks plays Thymian Henning, who, like the character Lulu in Pandora's Box, is a young, beautiful woman with a problematic morality. She ends up in a rehabilitation facility powered by military discipline, and will soon be in opposition to the board. She escapes - and ends up as a prostitute in a brothel.

Not surprisingly, the censors of the world got a real handful when they got Diary of a Lost Girl in their lap. It was largely cut in all the countries it was allowed to set up, and received criticism thereafter. In addition, when it was particularly unlucky with the timing - it premiered in October 1929, a month before the first sound movie The Jazz Singer got its first set in Berlin - it quickly became a forgotten movie and among those who drowned in the success of the sound film. It was not until the 1960s that it and Pandora's Box were rediscovered, when the films were restored according to Pabst's own, uncensored version, and received a worthy restoration. Both films are today considered among the late silent period genuine masterpieces.

For Louise Brooks, her career did not go so well. After her stay in Berlin, she left for Paris, before returning to Hollywood in an attempt to resume her career. Her voice wasn't found well enough, and after starring in several comic book western movies, she had enough, leaving her acting career on the shelf. She moved to New York before reappearing in the film in the 1950s when she moved to Rochester, where George Eastman House's huge movie archive began, and began publishing thorough and well-written articles about the film industry she had been a part of the 1920s."

Louise Brooks presentation at the 92nd Rudolph Valentino Memorial service

On Friday August 23, I will be speaking about Louise Brooks and Rudolph Valentino at the 92nd Rudolph Valentino Memorial service at the historic Hollywood Forever Cemetery (6000 Santa Monica Blvd) in Hollywood, California. I hope those who live in Southern California can make it to this special event. If you can't make it, or live outside the greater Los Angeles area, please note that this event will be broadcast live over Facebook.

During my brief, ten minute presentation, I plan to share some extremely rare material on the subject of Brooks and Valentino - including audio material few if anyone alive has heard. If you are a fan of either Brooks or Valentino (or Gloria Swanson), you won't want to miss it!

At this annual event, fans from all corners of the globe come together to mark the passing of a true talent and film legend. The Valentino Memorial, held each year on August 23rd (beginning at 12:10 p.m., the time of Valentino's death in 1926), is the longest running annual event in Hollywood, pre-dating the Academy Awards. The event is free and open to the public. Arrive early as seats go quickly. For more on this historic event, check out these articles by Allen Ellenberger. And here is a LINK to a Facebook page previewing the memorial from two years ago.

I wish to thank the event's current organizer and master of ceremonies, Tracy Terhune, for inviting me to speak at the event. Not only is Tracy an authority on the life and films of Valentino, but he is also the author of a book on the remarkable history of the memorial, Valentino Forever: The History of the Valentino Memorial Services. It is a fascinating read. I should also add that Tracy is the grandson of Max Terhune, one of the stars of the Three Mesquiteers series of Westerns which included Overland Stage Raiders (1938), Louise Brooks' final film!

Louise Brooks inspired THE CHAPERONE debuts on PBS Masterpiece Prime August 10

While there is still no word on when The Chaperone will show on PBS, word comes that PBS Distribution will begin streaming the Louise Brooks inspired bio-pic on the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel starting August 10.

Based on Laura Moriarty’s bestselling novel of the same name (which we recommend you read), the film reunites the writer (Julian Fellowes), director (Michael Engler) and star (Elizabeth McGovern) of Downton Abbey for an immersive and emotional period piece.

The movie tells the story of the teenage Louise Brooks (Haley Lu Richardson plays the future silent film star), who as a 15-year-old student in Wichita, Kansas earns an opportunity to study with the Denishawn dance troupe in New York; Brooks is accompanied by a local society matron (McGovern) who has her hands full dealing with the precocious teen.

The movie also stars Campbell Scott, Géza Röhrig, Miranda Otto, Robert Fairchild and Blythe Danner. In our humble opinion, Haley Lu Richardson is absolutely terrific in the role of Brooks and deserves an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress.

The subscription rate for PBS Masterpiece is $5.99 per month with an Amazon Prime or Prime Video subscription. The Chaperone will also be streaming in PBS Passport, a digital member benefit available through local stations.