Reminder: 1926 Louise Brooks film, The Show Off, screens in Chicago area on Jan 10

The little seen Louise Brooks film, The Show Off (1926), will be screened in St. Charles, Illinois one week from today, on January 10, 2023. This screening, presented by the Silent Film Society of Chicago, will include a live theatre organ score performed by Jay Warren. More information about this event can be found below.

The Show-Off is gem. The film is a satiric comedy about an insufferable braggart who disrupts the life of a middle-class family. While remembered today as a Louise Brooks film, The Show-Off is really a vehicle for Ford Sterling, a comedian best remembered for his starring work as a member of the Keystone Kops. As a broad comedian, he is the perfect choice for the role of the titular blowhard Aubrey Piper. Brooks plays a supporting role as the love interest of the boy who lives next door. Based on a popular stage play by an acclaimed playwright, The Show-Off was considered a prestige project — and thus drew a significant amount of critical attention along with inevitable comparison to its Broadway namesake. 

A bit of trivia: 

 — The Show-Off (1924) was authored by Philadelphia-born George Kelly (1887–1974), an American playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. Besides being the uncle of the Oscar winning actress Grace Kelly (the future Princess Grace of Monaco), George Kelly was considered by some (Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, and others) as one of the finest  dramatists of the 1920s — alongside the likes of Sherwood Anderson and Elmer Rice. Besides The Show-Off, Kelly was best known for Craig’s Wife (1925), which won the Pulitzer Prize and was made into a motion picture on three occasions. His first play, The Torch Bearers, was also highly regarded.

— The Show-Off was the hit of the 1924 Broadway season, where it ran 571 performances. Famed critic Heywood Broun called it “the best comedy which has yet been written by an American.” The play’s success drew the attention of the motion picture stuudios, and in October, 1925 Paramount had a synopsis of the play written by F. M. Macconnell and others.

— Widely acclaimed, The Show-Off was in the running to receive the 1924 Pulitzer Prize for drama, but last minute dealings denied Kelly the award. According to various books, the Pulitzer drama committee recommended Kelly’s work for the prize, but the higher ranking Pulitzer Advisory board overruled their selection for reasons which were never made clear. One book, Chronicle of the Pulitzer Prizes for Drama: Discussions, Decisions and Documents, notes “In the following year, 1924, the recommendation of the jurors was brief and concise…  ‘The Committee have decided that the Pulitzer Prize for the best current American play should go to The Show-Off by George Kelly. We think this is an extremely good and original American play.’ But before the Advisory Board could discuss the suggestion of the jury, a docent of Columbia University [the institution which awarded the prize], although neither a member of the jury nor member of the Advisory Board, intervened and spoke out against it’s verdict. He ‘wrote privately to (Columbia University) President Butler … to protest the Drama Jury’s selection of George Kelly’s satirical comedy… Instead… (he) called for a prize for Hell-Bent for Heaven, a hillbilly drama set in the Kentucky mountains, by a fellow member of the Columbia faculty, Hatcher Hughes.” Kelly was vindicated two years later when Craig’s Wife won the award.

— The Show-Off  enjoyed New York revivals in 1932, 1950, 1967, and 1992, with regional theatrical runs in 1930, 1941, 1975 and 1978. The play was the basis for motion pictures of the same name made in 1926, 1934 (with Spencer Tracy), and 1946 (with Red Skelton), as well as the 1930 film Men Are Like That (directed by Frank Tuttle). There was also a radio adaption in 1953.

— As happened in at least a few instances, a theatrical production of The Show-Off was being staged in major cities at the same time as Paramount’s film version was shown. In San Francisco, California a stage production starring Louis John Bartels as Aubrey Piper proved especially popular, with the cast of the play invited to view the film when in opened locally. Bartels (who originated the role on Broadway) later went on to act in films, including The Canary Murder Case (1929).

— C.W. Goodrich, who plays Pop Fisher in the film, originated the role on Broadway when it opened at the Playhouse Theater in February of 1924.

— The Show-Off is one of two films that co-starred the popular Broadway actor Gregory Kelly (no relation), who died shortly after The Show-Off finished production. Gregory Kelly was the first husband of actress Ruth Gordon.

Louise Brooks and Gregory Kelly

The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society. (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

Happy New Year from the Louise Brooks Society

Happy New Year from the Louise Brooks Society. What a year it has been. I figure there is no better way to celebrate than to share a couple of 'swonderful pictures of Louise Brooks, and one less 'swonderful picture of me. 

My love and appreciation to all the fans of Louise Brooks who have supported me and this website for its 27 years of existance. Over the years, individuals and newspaper and magazines have said have said some rather nice things about me and the Louise Brooks Society. But none beats what I was told my the estate of Louise Brooks earlier this year; he simply thanked me for all that I have done. That means a lot. 

 

 

 

I had hoped to upload a couple of these celebratory pictures of Louise Brooks to the Louise Brooks Society Instagram account ( @louisebrookssociety ), but due to the pathetic actions of an individual who shall go unnamed, the LBS Instagram account has been suspended. 

The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society. (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

Reminder post: GoFundMe Launched for new Louise Brooks related book

First off, a BIG thank you to the thirteen individuals who have made a donation to my GoFundMe campaign towards the publication of  my forthcoming book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond.The $400.00 goal has been reached, and surpassed by $60.00 !

And a gentle reminder to those who thought about donating but have not had a chance that it's not too late to do so.... I am still working on finishing the book, and any donation, no matter how small, will help. 

Those who donate $20.00 or more will be acknowledged by name in the book, and those who donate $40.00 or more will received an acknowledgement and an autographed, softcover copy of the book (USA only). The GoFundMe page is located HERE.

As many of you may know, I have been working on a new book titled The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. This approximately 350-page book is a deep dive into the history of a single film – its literary source, its making, its exhibition history, its critical reception, and its surprising cultural impact.

I am hoping to raise a few hundred dollars to purchase the rights to a small number of archival images that I hope to include in my forthcoming book, which is due out in early 2023. Any donations over the goal will be used to help defray costs already incurred. A draft of the front and back covers of the book are pictured below. (The price of the book is not yet set.)  

Though little known today, the 1925 silent film, The Street of Forgotten Men, was a popular and critical success at the time of its release. The film is based on a short story by a noted writer (George Kibbe Turner); it was made by a significant director (Herbert Brenon), shot by a great cinematographer (Hal Rosson), and features a fine cast (Percy Marmont, Neil Hamilton, Mary Brian) which includes a screen legend at the very beginning of her career (Louise Brooks). In many ways, The Street of Forgotten Men is exemplary of filmmaking & film culture in the mid-1920s. This new book tells its story in rich, historical detail. Along with dozens of rare images, my book contains all manner of vintage documents, clippings and advertisements as well as a foreword by Robert Byrne. (This noted film preservationist is responsible for the 2022 restoration of The Street of Forgotten Men, which debuted earlier this year at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.) Among the book's many revelations

• A detailed account of the making of the film - what it was like on the set of a silent film.  
• A thorough survey of the film's many reviews, including one by a Weird Tales contributor, and another by Catholic icon Dorothy Day, a candidate for sainthood.  
• Identification of a handful of the film's uncredited, bit players, including a noted journalist, a screenwriter, and a world champion boxer.
• The story of Lassie's role in the film (no, not that Lassie, the first Lassie). 
• The role music played in the making and exhibition of this silent film.  
• How the film's title entered into 
  
• The story of how future film legend Louise Brooks came to appear in the film - her first! 
• And so much more... from censorship records to its mention on the floor of Congress to a French fictionalization to a clipping noting the film's last documented showing, at a Navy Y.M.C.A in Shanghai, China in 1931 !
  

The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond is a book every silent film fan will want to own. It is also a must read for anyone interested in Louise Brooks.

 

The GoFundMe page is located HERE.

 

The Louise Brooks Society blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society. (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

Re: Boxer Harry Lewis, and a Happy Boxing Day from the Louise Brooks Society

Happy Boxing Day from the Louise Brooks Society. For those who may not be familiar with the term, "Boxing Day" is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (today - December 26). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It originated in Great Britain and is celebrated in a number of countries that previously formed part of the British Empire.

Playing on the word "boxing" - namely the combative sport in which two people throw punches at one another, I discovered that a once famous boxer appeared alongside Louise Brooks in her first film, The Street of Forgotten Men (1925). Like Louise Brooks, Harry Lewis (1886-1956) also played an uncredited bit part in the film; he as a saloon patron and witness to the fight between the characters Easy Money Charlie and Bridgeport White-Eye. Brooks unnamed character was a moll to Bridgeport White-Eye. 

Harry Lewis was once a pretty famous boxer, having been the Welterweight Champion of the World from 1908 to 1911. Lewis, who also boxed in the lightweight and featherweight divisions, fought around the world, including a losing match to French boxing great Georges Carpentier in Paris in 1911. Today, Lewis is rated the sixth-greatest welterweight of all time; he was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008.

Like other sports celebrities of the time, including Carpentier, Lewis took a stab at acting. A bit in Exhibitors Herald reads, “Harry Lewis, former middleweight boxer, who acted as a comedy taxicab driver in Richard Dix’s Manhandled and in Herbert Brenon’s Street of Forgotten Men, is again behind the meter in W.C. Field’s latest starring picture, The Potters, just being completed at the Paramount Long Island studio under the direction of Fred Newmeyer.” (Exhibitors Herald, 12-25-1926)

(Left above) Boxer Harry Lewis, pictured early in his career. Courtesy of Wikipedia (Right above) Actor Harry Lewis, pictured far right wearing a cap, and two other background players during the fight scene near the end of The Street of Forgotten Men. Courtesy of San Francisco Silent Film Festival

(Left below) Harry Lewis, as a denizen of the Bowery (aka the street of forgotten men), observes an injured Bridgeport White-Eye (played by John Harrington), who is seen staggering along the bar of the Dead House as other forgotten men look on. Courtesy of San Francisco Silent Film Festival

The fight scene and its fallout (spoiler alert, Bridgeport White-Eye goes blind!) is also observed by various down and out Bowery locals, including saloon keep Diamond Mike, played by Riley Hatch, and Bridgeport White-Eye's sporty-looking moll, played by Louise Brooks – who is seen wearing a cloche hat with a question mark pin. (Below) Louise Brooks, Riley Hatch, and others observe the fight. Courtesy of San Francisco Silent Film Festival

 

All this information, newly revealed, comes from my forthcoming new book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. I have launched a GoFundMe page for this project which is located HERE. Please consider donating making a donation, no matter how small. 

Notably, Harry Lewis is not the only boxer to have appeared in a Louise Brooks film. Another noted box turned actor, Edward "Gunboat" Smith, appeared in a minor role in the second film in which Louise brooks appeared as a gangster's moll, The City Gone Wild (1927). Edward "Gunboat" Smith (1887 – 1974) was an Irish American boxer, film actor and later a boxing referee. During his career, Smith faced twelve different Boxing Hall of Famers a combined total of 23 times. Among the all-time greats he faced were Jack Dempsey, Harry Greb, Sam Langford, and Georges Carpentier. 

Another boxer turned actor who appeared in a film featuring Louise Brooks was Victor McLaglen, the star of A Girl in Every Port (1928). Victor McLaglen (1886 – 1959) was a British boxer-turned-Hollywood actor. He was known as a character actor, particularly in Westerns, and made seven films with John Ford and John Wayne. McLaglen won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1935 for his role in The Informer. Before he got into acting, McLaglen earned a living as a wrestler and heavyweight boxer in Canada and elsewhere. According to Wikipedia, one of his most famous fights was against heavyweight champion Jack Johnson in a six-round exhibition bout at the Vancouver Athletic Club on 10 March 1909. This was Johnson's first bout since winning the heavyweight title from Tommy Burns. Between bouts, McLaglen toured with a circus, which offered $25 to anyone who could go three rounds with him. After World War I, he continued boxing, including a defeat at the hands of British champion Frank Goddard. His final fight was a loss by knockout to Arthur Townley in October 1920. McLaglen finished his professional career with a record of 16 wins, eight losses, and a draw. 

There are other boxers associated with the films of Louise Brooks, like Jim Tully, the author of Beggars of Life (1928), who once worked as a semi-pro boxer and later wrote a novel on the subject, called The Bruiser. But that may be a story for another day.

The Louise Brooks Society blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society. (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

Happy Holidays from the Louise Brooks Society

 

Happy Holidays from the Louise Brooks Society. Here follows a snapshot of the Louise Brooks bulb which hangs on my Christmas tree. It is handmade, and crafted by a fan; I believe I purchased it on eBay a number of years ago -- perhaps as long ago as ten or fifteen or more years ago (that is, way before anyone trademarked her name). Does anyone else have hand made Louise Brooks ornaments? I would love to see them. 

Here is a screen grab from Pandora's Box of Louise Brooks holding some mistletoe. She has such a warm, lovely smile. 

And lastly, a posed portrait of Louise Brooks standing near a small Christmas tree. Happy holidays, merry Christmas and happy new years to all good fans of Louise Brooks. Thank you for reading this blog.

A BIG thank you to everyone who has contributed to my GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to help me complete my forthcoming book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. The GoFundMe page is located HERE.

The Louise Brooks Society blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society. (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further unauthorized use prohibited.

GoFundMe Launched for new Louise Brooks related book

Greetings fans of Louise Brooks and the silent film era. I have launched a modest GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to help me complete my forthcoming book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. The GoFundMe page is located HERE.

I am hoping to raise $400.00 to purchase the rights to a small number of archival images that I hope to include in my forthcoming book, which is due out in early 2023. Any donations over the goal will be used to help defray costs already incurred. A draft of the front and back covers of the book are pictured below. (The price of the book is not yet set.) Here's how you can help:

• Any donation, however small, will be very much appreciated.
• Donate $20.00 and receive an acknowledgment in the completed book.
• Donate $40.00 and receive an autographed, softcover copy of the completed book, as well as an acknowledgment (USA only).
• Donate $100.00 and receive an autographed, softcover copy of the completed book, an acknowledgment, and an autographed copy of my earlier book, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film (USA only).

As many of you may know, I have been working on a new book titled The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. This approximately 350-page book is a deep dive into the history of a single film – its literary source, its making, its exhibition history, its critical reception, and its surprising cultural impact.

Though little known today, the 1925 silent film, The Street of Forgotten Men, was a popular and critical success at the time of its release. The film is based on a short story by a noted writer (George Kibbe Turner); it was made by a significant director (Herbert Brenon), shot by a great cinematographer (Hal Rosson), and features a fine cast (Percy Marmont, Neil Hamilton, Mary Brian) which includes a screen legend at the very beginning of her career (Louise Brooks). In many ways, The Street of Forgotten Men is exemplary of filmmaking & film culture in the mid-1920s. This new book tells its story in rich, historical detail. Along with dozens of rare images, my book contains all manner of vintage documents, clippings and advertisements as well as a foreword by Robert Byrne. (This noted film preservationist is responsible for the 2022 restoration of The Street of Forgotten Men, which debuted earlier this year at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.) Among the book's many revelations

• A detailed account of the making of the film - what it was like on the set of a silent film.  
• A thorough survey of the film's many reviews, including one by a Weird Tales contributor, and another by Catholic icon Dorothy Day, a candidate for sainthood.  
• Identification of a handful of the film's uncredited, bit players, including a noted journalist, a screenwriter, and a world champion boxer.
• The story of Lassie's role in the film (no, not that Lassie, the first Lassie). 
• The role music played in the making and exhibition of this silent film.  
• How the film's title entered into 
  
• The story of how future film legend Louise Brooks came to appear in the film - her first! 
• And so much more... from censorship records to its mention on the floor of Congress to a French fictionalization to a clipping noting the film's last documented showing, at a Navy Y.M.C.A in Shanghai, China in 1931 !
  

The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond is a book every silent film fan will want to own. It is also a must read for anyone interested in director Herbert Brenon, actress Louise Brooks, etc.... The GoFundMe page is located HERE.

 

The Louise Brooks Society blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society. (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2022. Further unauthorized use prohibited.