On this day in 1922 in the life history of Louise Brooks

Nineteen twenty-two was a pivotal year in the life of Louise Brooks. It was a whirlwind year. Brooks was a teenager, just 15 at the beginning of the year, and she was following her passion for dance while performing in local theaters and before clubs and civic organizations in her hometown of Wichita, Kansas. By the end of the year, she was a member of the prestigious Denishawn Dance Company, touring the United States and performing alongside such dance greats as Martha Graham, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn. This blog commences a new series of posts documenting significant happenings in Brooks' life on this day one-hundred years ago.

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On this day in 1922 in the life history of Louise Brooks . . . . Brooks, along with other students from the Mills-Fischer School of Dance and Dramatic Arts, attends a performance in nearby Hutchinson, Kansas by dance legend Anna Pavlova and her Ballet Russe. The Mills referenced in the name of the dance school was none other than Alice Mills, who was immortalized as "The Chaperone" in Laura Moriarty's splendid novel of the same name which centers on Brooks and events in her life in 1922.

What a remarkable happenstance -- the coming together of two iconic figures of the 20th century. Its only equivalent was when Ruth St. Denis took Brooks and the other Denishawn dancers to see Isadora Duncan perform.

In case you are not familiar with Pavlova (or Pavlowa), she was one of the great dancers of the 20th century. Her Wikipedia entry begins, "Anna Pavlovna was born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova (12 February 1881 – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev. Pavlova is most recognized for her creation of the role of The Dying Swan and, with her own company, became the first ballerina to tour around the world, including performances in South America, India and Australia." Her likeness and legend are commemorated in artwork all around the world. 

Celebrating Asta Nielsen, an earlier Lulu

Asta Nielsen was an early European film star in whom Louise Brooks had a special interest. (For more about Asta Nielsen and her remarkable career, check out her Wikipedia page HERE, or better yet, check out this excellent article "Asta Nielsen - #Bosslady" by Nanna Frank Rasmussen. The short introductory film about Nielsen at the top of the page is surprising, even a bit shocking.) 

Brooks' interest likely stemmed from the fact that the two actresses had a few things in common. I don't know that they ever met, but they both worked under the same director, G.W. Pabst. Late in her career, Nielsen was featured in Pabst's Joyless Street (1925), which starred Greta Garbo. Brooks, of course, starred in two Pabst films, Pandora's Box (1929) and Diary of a Lost Girl (1929). Another bit of overlap came in the form of a woman named Josephine Müller, who was Brooks' maid in Berlin; according to Brooks, Müller had  once worked for Asta Nielsen, and in her essay "Pabst and Lulu," Brooks notes that her German maid thought Nielsen the best actress in the world. 

And of course, both actresses also wore their hair short throughout their life, with Nielsen at times sporting bangs and a helmet-like bob similar to Brooks. 

However, the most notable thing that the two actress had in common is that they both played the same character, Lulu. Brooks played Lulu in Pandora's Box, while Nielsen played Lulu in Erdgeist, or Earth Spirit (1923), a German film directed by Leopold Jessner. We know from Brooks' notebooks that Brooks viewed Erdgeist on June 15, 1959 at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. Interestingly, when Brooks recorded the fact she had seen the film, she referred to it as Loulou. If you want to see the Nielsen film, hurry on over to the Danish Film Institute where you can stream Erdgeist online for free. These days, this 69 minute film is seldom shown in theaters or at festivals, so, this is a great opportunity to see a significant silent film. BTW, this version has Dutch intertitles with Danish subtitles. But no worries, just watch it for the visuals and you will be able to follow it along. Otherwise, hard-core Lulu devotees might also want to catch this 64 minute version of Erdgeist on YouTube which features Russian intertitles.

Speaking of screenings and festivals, the British Film Institute is mounting a multi-film, two part retrospective in February and March curated by film critic / film historian / author and friend to the LBS Pamela Hutchinson. "‘Die Asta’ was silent cinema’s Danish diva," notes the retrospective webpage, "whose mesmerising performances helped invent modern screen acting." More information HERE.

As Hutchinson notes, "A single tear from Nielsen, a single flicker of her mouth, says more than any superimposed effects of suffering,’ said German director Leopold Jessner. ‘She was and is the great actress, the canvas that makes dignity visible.’ Almost an overnight success when she appeared in 1910’s melodrama The Abyss as a young woman torn between passion and duty, Nielsen soon became Europe’s greatest film star – though her transgressive films would be censored in the US. She was widely celebrated for the emotional depth and sensuality she could convey with her modern, naturalist style and her deft use of gesture, whether in comedy or tragedy. This month we’ll explore her first films, made in Denmark and Germany, which reveal her to be a screen actress of boundless range, with unique sensitivity and unforgettably hypnotic eyes." 

For those interested, here is an LBS blog from 2017 about Nielsen which contains the scans of a vintage German language booklet on the actress noted for her large dark eyes, mask-like face and boyish figure who often portrayed strong-willed passionate women trapped by tragic circumstances. Sound familiar?

Happy Birthday Pola Negri

Happy Birthday Pola Negri, the Polish-born actress who achieved worldwide fame during the silent and early sound eras. By most accounts, Pola (born Apolonia Chalupec) came into the world on this day in 1897. She began her career in Europe, making early films in Germany before moving to the United States and signing with Paramount. She was a near contemporary of Louise Brooks, and worked with some of the same actors and directors. Pola was also considered a great beauty, and reportedly had affairs with both Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino. Her last screen credit was in Walt Disney's The Moon-Spinners (1964). Read her Wikipedia page HERE.

At times, Pola Negri resembled Louise Brooks just a bit. At other times, she look like a dark haired Garbo. Most of the time, however, she looked like Pola!

Want to learn more? Here are some worthwhile books. I recommend each.

 

Which is your favorite portrait of Louise Brooks?

Over the years, I have been asked the same question different ways. "Which is your favorite portrait of Louise Brooks?" I suppose I have answered that question differently depending on when I was asked. Let me try again. Here are five of my favorite portraits of Louise Brooks.

Answer #1: For me, this early image may well be the "perfect" portrait of the actress. This photograph captures, or rather details, the glory of Brooks' youth and beauty.

Answer #2: I came across this portrait of Brooks early on, and developed something of a crush on the actress because of it. For years, a framed copy of this print hung on the wall. I was mystified by Brooks' slight smile, demure glance, and the way her bangs broke just a bit.

Answer #3: I also came across this portrait of Brooks early on, and it helped fuel my crush on the actress. Like the previous portrait, I love Brooks' slight smile, direct gaze, and the way her hair falls forward on one side.

Answer #4: There is something almost sculptural, almost monolithic, about this otherwise formal image... the direct gaze, the perfect lighting - the balanced shine on Brooks' glossy hair. Like the famous Eugene Richee portrait of Brooks' holding pearls, this is image as icon.

Answer #5: I think of this atypical image of Brooks as the "perfect" informal portrait... the slight smile, the tousled hair, the demure look.

Not included in this short list of favorites is Eugene Richee's famous portrait of Brooks holding a strand of pearls. Certainly, it is the best known and most artistic of the many images of the actress. But, it is also the most formal, least human. It is a gorgeous image, which explains its ubiquitous appeal. 

If someone were to ask you "Which is your favorite portrait of Louise Brooks?" How would you reply?

Happy New Year from the Louise Brooks Society

Happy New Year from the Louise Brooks Society. Lets hope 2022 will be a good year for all. If you are wondering who the exhausted woman is to the left of baby 1927, it is one of the of the women from the various ports-of-call who appeared in the 1928 film, A Girl in Every Port. It is 1930s film star Myrna Loy!

Myrna Loy was just one of the many emerging stars who appeared in A Girl in Every Port. Here is a still from that film featuring Loy and Victor McLaglen.

And finally, to end the year right / or to begin the new year also right, here is a lovely portrait of Louise Brooks from A Girl in Every Port. It is a somewhat different look for the actress. Don't you think?

Around the World with Louise Brooks

I have good news and not so good news.... First the not so good news. Despite the fact that I have steadily applied myself to working on my two volume book, Around the World with Louise Brooks, I will not be able to complete it this year as I had hoped. I estimate that I am 80% done with this rather large project, which currently stands at more than 900 pages. I admit to a bit of project creep -- I am always coming across new and interesting things -- but also, life and this crazy world and another couple of projects have diverted my attention. 

I will, of course, keep everyone updated on my progress and the books' publication date, which should be in 2022. I am anxious to finish it, as it has consumed me for too long and I am anxious to get going on other things.

The covers for the two volumes of Around the World with Louise Brooks

And now the good news.... Consequently, I need to set Around the World with Louise Brooks aside for a couple / three months in order to work on a new book project, a tie-in to one of Brooks' films which is currently being newly restored and which will likely debut next year (provided the world doesn't end). I have assisted in a small way with the film's restoration, but can't say which film it is, as this project is under wraps until its debut in 2022.

This new project, a slim book under 150 pages, will be similar to two of my earlier publications, Beggars of Life: a Companion to the 1928 Film, and Now We're in the Air: A Companion to the Once Lost Film. I intend to get this new book project done in time to the restoration debut in 2022. Stay tuned to this blog and the Louise Brooks Society website for details.

While conducting research for Around the World with Louise Brooks, I spent hundreds of hours going through various online newspaper and magazine archives. I bookmarked these sites in order to return to them again, but also because some proved difficult to find, in that some were come across only by chance, or were found while looking for something else. 

Recently, I completed an overhaul of the Resources / Links page of this blog which include a handful of link lists which bookmark film magazines dating from the silent and early sound era. At the time these lists were compiled, each link was freely accessible on the web, without need of subscription, institutional affiliation, or local access. Generally speaking, I have included magazines published from the time before Brooks' began her film career, but not those published after her career ended, around 1940. Not all publications listed contain material related to Louise Brooks, though many do. Happy hunting / happy researching.

On the Resources / Links page, you will find links to film magazines from silent and early sound era from all around the world. There are publications from not only the United States and Germany and France, but also Poland, Spain, Cuba, Brazil, Australia and elsewhere. This page is a work in progress. I should add more links to obscure publications in the coming weeks. Are these lists missing a worthwhile site? Send a suggestions to LouiseBrooksSocietyATgMAILdotCOM