Bits and pieces found on The Street of Forgotten Men

In my forthcoming book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond, I state "Bits and pieces of this book were first tried out on my Louise Brooks Society blog, where anyone interested in The Street of Forgotten Men can find additional material which didn’t make it into the book." This is one such piece.

In the chapter on the film's legacy, I mention Street of Forgotten Women, stating "Little about the 1927 exploitation film, Street of Forgotten Women, can be traced back to The Street of Forgotten Men – except for its indebtedness to the title of the earlier Herbert Brenon film. Street of Forgotten Women is a dreadful B-film about a rich girl who decides on a career on the stage, and fails. She is then reduced to dancing in her underwear in a saloon, before turning to prostitution." In an email exchange with film historian Kevin Brownlow about my forthcoming book, he reminded me of the existence of Street of Forgotten Women. It has a notorious reputation, and I was sure to make mention of it.

For those who may be curious, Street of Forgotten Women is available on DVD along with another early exploitation film, The Road to Ruin. And what's more, both are available as a budget release for a reasonable price of less than $10.00. Check it out HERE.

Here is a little bit more about both films - which bring Brooks' later German film, Diary of a Lost Girl (1929), to mind: 

STREET OF FORGOTTEN WOMEN (1927): Grace Fleming wants to break into show business, but her father, a wealthy slum lord, forbids it. Seduced by a sleazy agent, she gets a job at a low-class cabaret dancing in a skimpy costume. Grace does not realize that she has actually been drafted into a prostitution ring. Soon, the poor girl is selling herself on the same broken-down streets her father owns.

Not much is known about Street of Forgotten Women, other than that it was made to warn young girls about how easy it is to become a prostitute. Press materials of the era state that it is the dramatized true story of star Grace Fleming (though this may have simply been a screen name for an anonymous actress) and was "heartily endorsed by leading citizens, city officials, and the clergy as a motion picture that should be seen by all young women." The police shut down at least one theater for showing the film in Kansas, however.

ROAD TO RUIN (1928): Neglected by her stuffy parents, 16-year-old Sally Canfield starts experimenting with drugs, alcohol, and sex with older men. Her mother and father disown her after she is arrested in her underwear at a strip poker game. Discovering she is pregnant, Sally submits to a back alley abortion that has tragic consequences.

Road to Ruin was popular enough to warrant a sound remake in 1934, also starring Helen Foster. In his book Behind the Mask of Innocence, film historian Kevin Brownlow reports that Foster kept a bottle of bootleg whiskey by her side to keep herself inebriated during the strip poker scene.

Even though Street of Forgotten Women is otherwise unrelated to Louise Brooks' first film, The Street of Forgotten Men (1925), there is overlap with Brooks' career. In the course of my research into the 1927 exploitation film, I found a couple of interesting advertisements which shows how at least one of Brooks' Paramount films existed alongside a lowly B independent film like Street of Forgotten Women.

As far as I can tell, the first showing of Street of Forgotten Women took place at the Ritz theater in Spokane, Washington on April 3, 1927. The film was billed as "The picture that will startle the nation." Notably, the ad notes that "men only" would be admitted Sunday through Wednesday, while "women only" would be admitted starting on Thursday. (That was the case in most every town where the film played.) Also playing in Spokane at the local American Theater was a popular touring stage show, Earl Carroll Vanities. (The Vanities were similar to the Ziegfeld Follies, though a bit more scandalous.) On the entertainment page of the Spokane Chronicle, advertisements for the two events sit side by side. Be sure and check out the Vanities ad, which notes the appearance of one of their star performers, "The Magnetic -- LOUISE BROOKS -- The Perfect Venus." Of course, that is not our Louise Brooks, just another forth-billed showgirl from the time who had the same name. 

Despite its risque subject matter, Street of Forgotten Women proved popular enough to return to Spokane in January, 1928. It played the Ritz once more, but this time it was billed as "The Sensation of Today." Even though the film's promoter's claimed it contained "A poignant lesson to parents and children," only men were admitted. 

Also showing in town, at Grombacher's Egyptian Theater, was the 1927 film, Rolled Stockings. Despite the fact that Louise Brooks was the film's star, the ad only credited "Paramount's Junior Stars". With such a small ad - despite the fact this showing marked its first showing in Spokane, there wasn't room to list Brooks, Richard Arlen, James Hall, Nancy Philips and others.

The 350 seat Egyptian Theater was later renamed the Bandbox theater, and eventually closed. Read more about this historic venue HERE.

One last newspaper advertisement for Street of Forgotten Women. This one is for another early screening of the film, in Billings, Montana in June 1927. What's funny about this particular ad is that this showing was, again, limited to "men only" - yet, the ad also proclaimed it was a film "every mother should see."

THE LEGAL STUFF: 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.

It's the Old Army Game gets another DVD release - films stars W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks

I just learned that It's the Old Army Game, the 1926 Louise Brooks film starring W.C. Fields, was released as a region 0 DVD-R by Alpha Video / Oldies.com in April of 2022. More info can be found HERE.

STOP: Before you investigate further, please note that Alpha Video is a budget label whose releases more often than not compare poorly with those from KINO Classics, Milestone, FlickerAlley and others labels which release silent or classic films. And that's likely the case here. KINO released the film in March 2018. It was mastered in 2k from 35mm film elements preserved by The Library of Congress, features Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, and includes an audio commentary by film historian James L. Neibaur, author of The W.C. Fields Films, as well as an organ score composed and performed by Ben Model. I own a copy of the KINO release, and its looks real good.

Admittedly, I haven't yet seen the Alpha Video release. (I just ordered it.) But, it's webpage contains no information about its source material or musical accompaniment, let alone any sort of bonus material like an audio commentary. Also, the product page contains a disclaimer which reads:

This product is made-on-demand by the manufacturer using DVD-R recordable media. Almost all DVD players can play DVD-Rs (except for some older models made before 2000) - please consult your owner's manual for formats compatible with your player. These DVD-Rs may not play on all computers or DVD player/recorders. To address this, the manufacturer recommends viewing this product on a DVD player that does not have recording capability.

I do own a handful of Alpha Video releases, mostly all obscure B-films otherwise unavailable elsewhere, like The Street of Forgotten Women (1927), an early exploitation film who borrowed its title from The Street of Forgotten Men.

Aside from any reputational shortcomings, the text on the back of the release contains a factual error. The last couple of sentences read, "Director Edward Sutherland and Louise must have hit it off, as the filmmaker has the privilege of being Brooks' one and only husband... though they only stayed married for a little less than two years. Oh, well." In actuality, Brooks was married twice. Her first husband was Eddie Sutherland. Her second husband was Deering Davis. That's sloppy work....

Once I receive it, I will watch, with a comparative eye, this Alpha Video release of It's the Old Army Game. If my expectations are exceeded, I post a revised assessment. In the mean time, I'm sticking with the KINO Classic release, which seems to be on-sale at a great price.

THE LEGAL STUFF: 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.

Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1929

Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1929. Based on two plays by the  German dramatist Frank Wedekind, Die Büchse der Pandora, or Pandora’s Box, tells the story of Lulu, a lovely, amoral, and somewhat petulant showgirl whose behavior leads to tragic consequences. Louise Brooks plays Lulu, the singular femme fatale. As Brooks' biographer Barry Paris put it, her “sinless sexuality hypnotizes and destroys the weak, lustful men around her.” And not just men. . . Lulu’s sexual magnetism had few bounds, and this once controversial film features what may be the screen’s first lesbian character. More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks Society filmography page.

The film went into production at the Nero-Film Studio in Berlin, with production lasting between October 17 and November 23, 1928. The film premiered on February 9, 1929 at the Gloria-Palast in Berlin, Germany.

Under its original German title, Die Büchse der Pandora, documented screenings of the film took place in Austria, Danzig, Slovakia (then part of Czechoslovakia), Latvia, Luxembourg, Ukraine, and the United States.

Outside Germany, Die Büchse der Pandora was exhibited or written about under the title Loulou (Algeria); La caja de Pandora and Lulu (Argentina); Le boîte de Pandore and Loulou (Belgium); A caixa de Pandora (Brazil); Кутията на Пандора (Bulgaria); La caja de Pandora and Lulu (Chile); Lulu La Pecadora (Cuba); Pandořina skříňka or Pandořina skříňka (Lulu) and Umrít Büchse der Pandoru (Czechoslovakia) and Pandorina skrínka (Slovakia); Pandoras æske (Denmark); De doos van Pandora (Dutch East Indies – Indonesia); Pandora’s Box (England); Pandora laegas (Estonia); Pandoran lipas (Finland); Loulou and Le boîte de Pandore (France); Λούλου and Lulu- το κουτί της Πανδώρας (Greece); Pandóra szelencéje (Hungary); Lulu and Il vaso di Pandora and Jack lo Sventratore (Italy); パンドラの箱 or Pandoranohako and The Box of Pandora (Japan); Korea (Box of Pandora);  Pandoras lade and Pandoras Kaste (Latvia); Pandoros skrynia (Lithuania); Lou lou La Boite de Pandore (Luxembourg); La caja de Pandora (Mexico); De doos van Pandora (The Netherlands*); Pandoras eske (Norway); Lulu and Puszka Pandory (Poland); A Bocéta de Pandora and A caixa de Pandora (Portugal); Cutia Pandorei and Lulu and Pandora szelenceje (Romania); Lulu and Pandorina skrinjica (Slovenia); La caja de Pandora (Spain); Pandoras ask (Sweden); Meş’um Fahişe and Meş’um Fahişe (Lulu) (Turkey); Dzieje Kokoty Lulu (Ukraine); Box of Pandora and Pandora’s Box and Pandora szelencéje (Hungarian-language press) and Ящик Пандоры (Russian-language press) (United States); La caja de Pandora and Lulu and El alma de la herrera (Uruguay, sound version); Lulu and Лулу and Ящик Пандорьі (U.S.S.R.); La caja de Pandora (Venezula).

Since the late 1950s, numerous screenings of the film have been taken place around the world, including first ever showings under the title Pandora’s Box in Australia, Canada, India, Israel, Northern Ireland, and elsewhere. Within the last few years, a showing of the film also took place in Turkey under the titles Pandora’nın Kutusu and Pandora’nýn Kutusuö. The film has also been shown on television across Europe as well as in Australia, Canada, the United States, and elsewhere.

*Despite the film being banned in The Netherlands in 1930, it was shown on October 18, 1935 in Amsterdam at De Uitkijk.

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

 — The jazz combo seen playing in the wedding scene in the film is Sid Kay's Fellows. They were an actual musical group of the time. Founded in 1926 and led by Sigmund Petruschka (“Sid”) and Kurt Kaiser (“Kay”), Sid Kay’s Fellows were a popular ten member dance band based in Berlin. They performed at the Haus Vaterland (a leading Berlin night-spot) between 1930 and 1932. And in 1933, they accompanied the great Sidney Bechet during his recitals in the German capitol. Sid Kay’s Fellows also accompanied various theatrical performances and played in Munich, Dresden, Frankfurt, Vienna, Budapest, Barcelona and elsewhere. The group’s depiction in Pandora’s Box predates their career as recording artists. In 1933, when the Nazis came to power, Sid Kay’s Fellows were forbidden to perform publicly. They disbanded, and transformed themselves into a studio orchestra and made recordings for the Jewish label Lukraphon.

— When Pandora’s Box debuted in Berlin in 1929, an orchestra playing a musical score accompanied the film. The score was reviewed in at least one of the Berlin newspapers. The score, however, does not apparently survive. What is also not known is if the music of Sid Kay’s Fellows, or any sort of jazz, played a part in the music of Pandora’s Box. [Interestingly, director G.W. Pabst included another jazz combo in his next film with Brooks, The Diary of a Lost Girl.]

THE LEGAL STUFF: 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.

Street of Forgotten Men & Transactions of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, part two

In a previous post, I mentioned that in the course of my research into the history of The Street of Forgotten Men (Louise Brooks' first film), I came across a rather interesting article in the January 1926 issue of  Transactions of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, a trade journal. I thought the article interesting because it not only touched on Louise Brooks' life story, but it also illuminates the experience faced by motion picture exhibitors in the silent film era.

The previously mentioned article, “An Exhibitor’s Problems in 1925,” was authored by Eric T. Clarke, the Director of the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, New York (Louise Brooks' future home). The article focused on how an exhibitor went about selecting appropriate films for their venue. Notably, The Street of Forgotten Men was mentioned in Clarke’s article. 

The following year in the same journal, Clarke followed up his article with a similar piece, "An Exhibitor’s Problems in 1926,” and again, The Street of Forgotten Men was mentioned! I think Clarke's January 1927 article is interesting, as it gives a thoughtful, man-in-the-trenches, perspective -- something we don't often see. Double click on the individual pages to call up a larger version of the image.

 

 

THE LEGAL STUFF: 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.

The American Venus, featuring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1926

The American Venus, featuring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1926. The film is a romantic comedy set against the backdrop of a beauty pageant, namely the actual 1925 Miss America contest in Atlantic City. The film is the second in which Louise Brooks appeared, but the first for which she received screen credit. More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks Society filmography page.

Production took place in the fall of 1925, beginning around August 24 and ending around November 10. (The exact dates are not known.) The film was shot in part in early September at the Miss America beauty pageant in Atlantic City, and later at Paramount’s Astoria Studios on Long Island (located at 3412 36th Street in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens), as well as on the Coney Island boardwalk, in Greenwich, Connecticut (in the vicinity of Round Hill and Banksville), and “near a swimming hole” in Ocala, Florida (the future shooting location of It's the Old Army Game).

In the United States, the film was also presented under the title La Venus Americana (Spanish-language press) and A Venus Americana (Portuguese-language press). Under its American title, documented screenings of the film took place in Australia (including Tasmania), Bermuda, British Malaysia (Singapore), Canada (banned in the province of Quebec due to “nudities”), China, Dutch Guiana (Surinam), India (Bengali censorship records from 1927 called for the elimination of close-ups of women in the film’s tableaux, noting “The figures are too naked for public exhibition”), Ireland, Jamaica, Korea, New Zealand, Panama, South Africa, and the United Kingdom (England, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales).

Elsewhere, The American Venus was shown under the title Vénus moderne (Algeria); Die Amerikanische Venus (Austria); A Venus Americana and La Venus Americana (Brazil); La Venus Americana (Chile); La Venus Americana (Cuba); Americká Venuše (Czechoslovakia) and Die amerikanische Venus (Czechoslovakia, German language); Den amerikanske venus (Denmark); La Venus Americana (Dominican Republic); De Moderne Venus (Dutch East Indies - Indonesia); Vénus moderne (Egypt); The Modern Venus (England); Miehen ihanne (Finland); Vénus moderne and Vénus américaine (France); Die Schönste Frau der Staaten (Germany); Az amerikai Vénusz (Hungary); Il trionfo di Venere and Trionfo di Venere (Italy); 美女競艶 or Bijo dai Kei tsuya (Japan); Venus Moderne – Die Modern Venus (Luxembourg); La Venus americana (Mexico); Moderne Venus and De Amerikaansche Venus (The Netherlands); Amerykan’ska Wenus and Venus Pokutujaca (Poland); A Vénus American (Portugal); Miss Amerika (Slovenia); Американская Венера (Soviet Union); La Venus americana and La Venus Moderna (Spain); Mannens ideal and Mannens ideal–Venus på amerikanska (Sweden); and La Venus moderne (Switzerland).

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

Miss Bayport, the role played by Louise Brooks, was originally assigned to Olive Ann Alcorn, a stage and film actress who had bit parts in Sunnyside (1919) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925).

Townsend Martin, whose story served as the basis for the film, was a college friend of F. Scott Fitzgerald. According to the New Yorker and other publications, famed humorist Robert Benchley wrote the film’s titles.

The film was privately screened at the Atlantic City Ambassador Hotel as a benefit under the auspices of the Atlantic City Shrine Club on December 26, 1925. A benefit screening of the film also took place at midnight on December 31, 1925 in Oakland, California -- the hometown of star Fay Lanphier.

The American Venus officially premiered at the Stanley Theater in Atlantic City on January 11, 1926. It then opened at the Rivoli Theater in New York City on January 24, 1926.

The film was a hit. Such was it's "buzz" that according to the 1999 book, Russian Writings on Hollywood, author Ayn Rand reported seeing The American Venus in Chicago, Illinois not long after she left the Soviet Union.

THE LEGAL STUFF: 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.
 

Street of Forgotten Men & Transactions of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, part one

In the course of my research into the history of The Street of Forgotten Men (Louise Brooks' first film), I came across a rather interesting article in Transactions of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, a trade journal. I think the article interesting because it not only touches on Louise Brooks' life story, but it also illuminates the experience faced by motion picture exhibitors in the mid-1920s, the silent film era.

The article, “An Exhibitor’s Problems in 1925,” was authored by Eric T. Clarke, the Director of the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, New York. (Louise Brooks future residence.) The article focused on how an exhibitor might select appropriate films which might draw an audience. Clarke’s 16-page piece was, in fact, the text of an earlier talk given before the S.M.P.E. (Society of Motion Picture Engineers), to which was added the transcript of the discussion which followed Clarke’s address. 

Notably, The Street of Forgotten Men, and its merits as a film, were mentioned in Clarke’s article, as were some of the other films in circulation in 1925. Double click on the individual pages to call up a larger version of the image.

THE LEGAL STUFF: 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.