The Canary Murder Case, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1929

The Canary Murder Case, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1929. The Canary Murder Case is a detective story involving an amateur sleuth, a blackmailing showgirl, and the “swells” that surround her. The film was initially shot as a silent, and shortly thereafter reworked for sound. Louise Brooks, who plays the canary, would not dub her lines for the sound version. Her refusal and perceived “difficulty” harmed her career, effectively ending her stardom in the United States. More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks Society filmography page.

Production of the film took place between September 11 and October 12, 1928 at Paramount’s studio in Hollywood. Sound retakes took place on and around December 19, 1928. Malcolm St. Clair directed The Canary Murder Case, with Frank Tuttle taking over the sound retakes. The film was released as an 80 minute talkie in most markets, and as a shorter silent in theater’s not yet “wired for sound.” A few publications, such as The Film Daily, reviewed both formats.

Based on a bestselling book of the same name, The Canary Murder Case was released to great anticipation. In February, 1929 Motion Picture named the film one of the best for the month, declaring “William Powell is superb. The rest of the players, including Louise Brooks, Jean Arthur, James Hall, Charles Lane, Gustav Von Seyffertitz and many others, win credit.” That opinion, however, was not shared by most. More typical of the reviews the film received was that of the New York World, who declared the film “an example of a good movie plot gone wrong as the result of spoken dialogue.”

Mordaunt Hall, writing in the New York Times, was more generous, “It is on the whole the best talking-mystery production that has been seen, which does not imply that it is without failings. It is quite obvious that Louise Brooks, who impersonates Margaret Odell, alias the Canary, does not speak her lines. Why the producers should have permitted them to be uttered as they are is a mystery far deeper than the story of this picture.” Billboard added “Louise Brooks is mediocre as the Canary, but this does not detract from the production, as she appears in but a few scenes.”

Louella Parsons, writing in the Los Angeles Examiner, stated St. Clair “was handicapped by no less a person than Louise Brooks, who plays the Canary. You are conscious that the words spoken do not actually emanate from the mouth of Miss Brooks and you feel that as much of her part as possible has been cut. She is unbelievably bad in a role that should have been well suited to her. Only long shots are permitted of her and even these are far from convincing when she speaks.” Parson’s comments were echoed by Margaret L. Coyne of the Syracuse Post-Standard, who observed, “The only flaw is the substitution of another voice for that of Louise Brooks — the Canary — making necessary a number of subterfuges to disguise the fact.”

All were not fooled. The Oakland Post-Enquirer and other publications eventually caught on. “It is generally known by this time that Margaret Livingston doubled for Louise Brooks in the dialogue sequences. Hence the not quite perfect synchronization in close-ups and the variety of back views and dimly photographed profiles of the Canary.”

The Cincinnati Enquirer quipped “The role of the murdered girl is played by Louise Brooks, who is much more satisfying optically than auditorily.” Writing in Life magazine, Harry Evans went further, suggesting Brooks’ didn’t speak well. “Louise Brooks, who furnishes the sex-appeal, is evidently a poorer conversationalist than Miss Arthur, because all of her articulation is obviously supplied by a voice double.” It was an assertion that would haunt Brooks for years.

Under its American title, documented screenings of the film took place in Australia (including Tasmania), Bermuda, British Malaysia (Singapore), Canada, China, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), India, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, New Zealand, Trinidad, and the United Kingdom (England, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales).

Elsewhere, The Canary Murder Case was shown under the title Die Stimme aus dem Jenseits (Austria); O drama de uma noite (Brazil); El Crimen de la Canaria (Cuba); Die Stimme aus dem Jenseits and Kanárkový vražedný prípad (Czechoslovakia) and Hlas Ze Záhrobí (Slovakia); Die Stimme Aus Dem Jensits (Danzig); Hvem dræbte Margaret O’Dell? (Denmark); De Kanarie Moordzaak (Dutch East Indies – Indonesia); Hääl teisest maailmast and Hääl teisest ilmast (Estonia); Salaperainen Rikos and Ett hemlighetsfullt brott and Det hemlighetsfulla brottet (Finland); Le meurtre du Canari (France); Die Stimme Aus Dem Jensits (Germany); Kandari Gyilkosság and Gyilkossag a szailoban (Hungary); La canarina assassinata and Il caso della canarina assassinata (Italy); カナリヤ殺人事件 (Japan); 카나리아 머더 케이스 (Korea); De Kanarie Moordzaak (The Netherlands); I Kanarifuglens Garn and I fristerinnens garn (Norway); Kryyk z za Swlatow (Poland); Die stimme aus dem Jenseits (Poland, German language publication); O Drama duma Noite (Portugal); Kdo je morilec? (Slovenia); ¿Quién la mató? (Spain, including The Canary Islands); Midnattsmysteriet (Sweden); and Дело об убийстве канарейки (U.S.S.R.).

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE FILM YOU MAY NOT KNOW: 

 —S. S. van Dine is the pseudonym used by art critic Willard Huntington Wright (1888 – 1939) when he wrote detective novels. Wright was an important figure in avant-garde cultural circles in pre-WWI New York, and under the pseudonym (which he originally used to conceal his identity) he created the once immensely popular fictional detective Philo Vance, a sleuth and aesthete who first appeared in books in the 1920s, then in movies and on the radio in the following decades.

— Wright was one of the best-selling authors in the United States. The Canary Murder Case was the second book in a popular series featuring Vance — though the film made from it was the first in the series to feature the character. William Powell revived his role as Vance in four additional films, including The Greene Murder Case, released later in 1929. Other actors who played Vance include Basil Rathbone and Edmund Lowe.

— S.S. van Dine’s novel was loosely based on the real-life murder of showgirl Dot King, which was never solved. King was among those nicknamed “Broadway Butterflies.”

— Glenn Wilson, a Federal investigator attached to the bureau of criminal investigation for Los Angeles county, reportedly served as an adviser on the film.

— In a 1931 article on the cinema in Singapore, the New York Times notes that “Asiatics love the gangster film, but very few are shown, owing to the censorship regulations which bar gun battles and will not tolerate an actual ‘kill’ on the screen. The first cuts made before they decide to ban all films of this type were very clumsy and made a mystery story a bigger mystery than ever. For instance, in the Canary Murder Case.”

— In a 1974 article about Henri Langlois, the Los Angeles Times reported  the French archivist was looking for the silent version of The Canary Murder Case. [I have recently learned that the silent version may no longer exist, as the silent version held by one notable archive is in fact the sound version stripped of the added sound.]

 — An Italian TV version of the story, directed by Marco Leto and featuring Giorgio Albertazzi as Philo Vance and Virna Lisi as the Canary, was broadcast in 1974.

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 © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

A BIG thank you to Robert Byrne, friend to Louise Brooks and the Louise Brooks Society

I wish to offer a BIG thank you to Robert Byrne, friend to Louise Brooks and the Louise Brooks Society and to all the silent cinema. On a recent visit to San Francisco and the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, I met up with Byrne, a film preservationist extraordinaire, to thank him for writing the foreword to my recent book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. I also thanked him, on behalf of Louise Brooks fans everywhere, for restoring not only The Street of Forgotten Men, but also Now We're in the Air. Pictured just below if a snapshot of Rob and I taken after he gave me a limited edition giphoscope in recognition of my help in the restoration of Now We're in the Air.

Byrne has done a lot for anyone who likes Louise Brooks, as well as for those who are interested in silent film. He has worked behind the scenes and restored a bunch of worthwhile silent films, and, he has done so much else. His website devoted to coming attaction glass slides from the silent era is amazing. Among the films he worked on was The Spanish Dancer, a 1923 Herbert Brenon film starring Pola Negri which I just watched on Blu-ray and just reviewed for Film International. It is a new release from Milestone. Rob Byrne and I also talked about what each of us were currently working on, as well as some future projects.

One other reason we also got together was because Byrne told me he had something for me that he wanted me to have. That something turned out to be really nifty Canary Murder Case poster, which he gifted to me. Wow. I am gobsmacked. Thank you Rob!

The poster is for a three day, February showing of The Canary Murder Case at the Empire theater in Helston, England. In case you are not familiar, and I wasn't, Helston is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England in the United Kingdom. This screening likely took place in 1930. Though the film was released in the United States in February of 1929, it usually took a number of months to a year for American films to come into circulation overseas, even in English speaking England. 

I tried my best to pin down the details regarding this particular screening, looking through Helston area newspapers for listings and advertisements, but I couldn't find anything related to The Canary Murder Case. That isn't surprising, as small theaters in small towns (in both the United States and overseas, including England), didn't always advertise their films. These locales were small enough that the locals came or didn't come to the theater based not necessarily on what was showing, but on their desire for entertainment.

Though I couldn't find anything about The Canary Murder Case, I did find a little something about the Empire. It still stands! And, movies are still shown there, although the 1914 theater itself has undergone significant changes and has a reduced number of seats. In case you are wondering, the movie showing there now is Wonka. Here is a snapshot I found online of what the theater looks like.

I will conclude this post by saying thank you to Robert Byrne and by posting a photo of my new poster hung on the wall, next to a department story display piece depicting William Powell (the star of The Canary Murder Case), and a large San Francisco Silent Film festival poster depicting Louise Brooks in Pandora's Box. It too was a gift from Rob Byrne. They make a nice trio. (My apologies for the glare.)

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. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Movies are Murder CMBA Blogathon - The Canary Murder Case (1929) part 2

  

 As the theme of this year's CMBA (Classic Movie Blog Association) blogathon is "Movies are Murder," the Louise Brooks Society join's in with a post devoted to the celebrated 1929 film,
The Canary Murder Case.

Things you may or may not have known about 1929 film, The Canary Murder Case, starring William Powell, Jean Arthur, Louise Brooks, James Hall, Eugene Pallette and Gustav von Seyffertitz. Production on the film took place between September 11 and October 12, 1928 at Paramount’s studio in Hollywood. Sound retakes took place on December 19, 1928.

— The film was initially shot as a silent, and shortly thereafter reworked for sound. The film's credited director is Malcolm St. Clair – although retakes for the sound version were directed by Frank Tuttle. (Both had worked with Louise Brooks in the past.) The sound version was listed at 7 reels (7,171 feet) or 80 minutes – while the silent version was listed at 7 reels (reported as 5,843 feet). Both versions are extant. (The silent version, so far unreleased on home video, is said to be the better film.)

— Look-alike actress Margaret Livingston, who would marry bandleader Paul Whiteman in 1931, was the uncredited, body and voice double for Louise Brooks in sound version.

 — S.S. Van Dine, the author of the novel on which the film was based, is the pseudonym used by art critic Willard Huntington Wright (1888 – 1939) when he wrote detective novels. Wright was an important figure in avant-garde cultural circles in pre-WWI New York, and under the pseudonym (which he originally used to conceal his identity) he created the once immensely popular fictional detective Philo Vance, a sleuth and aesthete who first appeared in books in the 1920s, then in movies and on the radio in the following decades.

— Willard Huntington Wright’s brother was the American avant-garde painter Stanton Macdonald-Wright. Willard’s portrait, painted by his brother in 1914, hangs in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. (link to portrait)

— Wright was one of the best-selling authors in the United States. The Canary Murder Case was the second book in a popular series featuring Vance — though the film made from it was the first in a series to feature the character. William Powell revived his role as Vance in four additional films, including The Greene Murder Case, released later in 1929. Other actors who played Vance include Basil Rathbone and Edmund Lowe.

— S.S. van Dine’s novel was loosely inspired by / based on the real-life murder of showgirl Dot King, which was never solved. King was among those nicknamed “Broadway Butterflies.” (George Kibbe Turner, who wrote the story "The Street of the Forgotten Men," the basis for Brooks' first film, also wrote a series of stories about Broadway Butterflies.)

— Glenn Wilson, a Federal investigator attached to the bureau of criminal investigation for Los Angeles county, reportedly served as an adviser on the film.

— Louise Brooks was especially popular in Japan in the late 1920s. And those films in which she played a modan gāru, or modern girl, proved to be a success. Not suprisingly, The Canary Murder Case was a HUGE hit in Japan, where it opened in April 1929 at the Hogaku-Za Paramount Theatre in Toyko as part of a double bill with the UFA film, Metropolis. (Imagine that!)

— In a 1931 article on the cinema in Singapore, the New York Times notes that “Asiatics love the gangster film, but very few are shown, owing to the censorship regulations which bar gun battles and will not tolerate an actual ‘kill’ on the screen. The first cuts made before they decide to ban all films of this type were very clumsy and made a mystery story a bigger mystery than ever. For instance, in the Canary Murder Case.”

— Under its American title, documented screenings of the film took place in Australia (including Tasmania), Bermuda, British Malaysia (Singapore), Canada, China, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), India, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, New Zealand, Trinidad, and the United Kingdom (England, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales).

— Elsewhere, The Canary Murder Case was shown under the title Die Stimme aus dem Jenseits (Austria); O drama de uma noite (Brazil); El Crimen de la Canaria (Cuba); Die Stimme aus dem Jenseits and Kanárkový vražedný prípad (Czechoslovakia) and Hlas Ze Záhrobí (Slovakia); Die Stimme Aus Dem Jensits (Danzig); Hvem dræbte Margaret O’Dell? (Denmark); De Kanarie Moordzaak (Dutch East Indies – Indonesia); Hääl teisest maailmast and Hääl teisest ilmast (Estonia); Salaperainen Rikos and Ett hemlighetsfullt brott and Det hemlighetsfulla brottet (Finland); Le meurtre du Canari (France); Die Stimme Aus Dem Jensits (Germany); Kandari Gyilkosság and Gyilkossag a szailoban (Hungary); La canarina assassinata and Il caso della canarina assassinata (Italy); カナリヤ殺人事件 (Japan); 카나리아 머더 케이스 (Korea); De Kanarie Moordzaak (The Netherlands); I Kanarifuglens Garn and I fristerinnens garn (Norway); Kryyk z za Swlatow (Poland); Die stimme aus dem Jenseits (Poland, German language publication); O Drama duma Noite (Portugal); Kdo je morilec? (Slovenia); ¿Quién la mató? (Spain, including The Canary Islands); Midnattsmysteriet (Sweden); and Дело об убийстве канарейки (U.S.S.R.).

A previous post, Movies are Murder CMBA Blogathon - The Canary Murder Case (1929) part 1, had appeared on November 7 at  9:29 am.

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.

Movies are Murder CMBA Blogathon - The Canary Murder Case (1929) part 1

As the theme of this year's CMBA (Classic Movie Blog Association) blogathon is "Movies are Murder," the Louise Brooks Society join's in with a post devoted to the celebrated 1929 film,

The Canary Murder Case.

The Canary Murder Case is a detective story involving an amateur sleuth, a blackmailing showgirl, and the “swells” that surround her. The film was initially shot as a silent, and shortly thereafter reworked for sound. Louise Brooks, who plays the canary, would not dub her lines for the sound version. Her refusal and perceived “difficulty” harmed her career, effectively ending her stardom in the United States.

Based on a bestselling book of the same name, The Canary Murder Case was released to great anticipation. In February, 1929 Motion Picture named the film one of the best for the month, declaring “William Powell is superb. The rest of the players, including Louise Brooks, Jean Arthur, James Hall, Charles Lane, Gustav Von Seyffertitz and many others, win credit.” That opinion, however, was not shared by most. More typical of the reviews the film received was that of the New York World, who declared the film “an example of a good movie plot gone wrong as the result of spoken dialogue.”

Mordaunt Hall, writing in the New York Times, was more generous, “It is on the whole the best talking-mystery production that has been seen, which does not imply that it is without failings. It is quite obvious that Louise Brooks, who impersonates Margaret Odell, alias the Canary, does not speak her lines. Why the producers should have permitted them to be uttered as they are is a mystery far deeper than the story of this picture.” Billboard added “Louise Brooks is mediocre as the Canary, but this does not detract from the production, as she appears in but a few scenes.”

Malcolm St. Clair directed The Canary Murder Case, with Frank Tuttle taking over the sound retakes. The film was released as an 80 minute talkie in most markets, and as a shorter silent in theater’s not yet “wired for sound.” A few publications, such as The Film Daily, reviewed both formats.

Louella Parsons, writing in the Los Angeles Examiner, stated St. Clair “was handicapped by no less a person than Louise Brooks, who plays the Canary. You are conscious that the words spoken do not actually emanate from the mouth of Miss Brooks and you feel that as much of her part as possible has been cut. She is unbelievably bad in a role that should have been well suited to her. Only long shots are permitted of her and even these are far from convincing when she speaks.” Parson’s comments were echoed by Margaret L. Coyne of the Syracuse Post-Standard, who observed, “The only flaw is the substitution of another voice for that of Louise Brooks — the Canary — making necessary a number of subterfuges to disguise the fact.”

The Cincinnati Enquirer quipped “The role of the murdered girl is played by Louise Brooks, who is much more satisfying optically than auditorily.” Writing in Life magazine, Harry Evans went further, suggesting Brooks’ didn’t speak well. “Louise Brooks, who furnishes the sex-appeal, is evidently a poorer conversationalist than Miss Arthur, because all of her articulation is obviously supplied by a voice double.” 

The Oakland Post-Enquirer and other publications began to catch on. “It is generally known by this time that Margaret Livingston doubled for Louise Brooks in the dialogue sequences. Hence the not quite perfect synchronization in close-ups and the variety of back views and dimly photographed profiles of the Canary.”

However, the assertion that Brooks didn't speak well would haunt the actress for years, and effectively end her career.

 What the critics said about Louise Brooks and The Canary Murder Case:

“Louise Brooks plays the brief role of the Canary, the musical-comedy star whose personality is such that she is given deafening applause for merely swinging over an audience’s head on a trapeze.” — Ken Taylor, Los Angeles Evening Express

“Louise Brooks is brilliant as the murdered girl.” — Star-News Critic, Pasadena Star-News

“Louise Brooks is the hard-boiled ‘Canary,’ and Louise can be excessively evil when she tries – on the screen. She disappears early from the scene because of the little matter of murdering her, but while she is there she shows quite a considerable advance in finesse, and she uses her voice nicely.” — George C. Warren, San Francisco Chronicle

“Louise Brooks plays the harsh-souled but physically magnetic dancer who counts her wealthy dupes by the score and stops at nothing to win a husband whose name will give her the entree to New York’s most fashionable circles.” — Everhardt Armstrong, Seattle Post Intelligencer

“Louise Brooks, an ‘It’ gal with intelligence aplenty, plays the canary. She’s a bird in a gilded cage, to be sure, but wotta bird and wotta cage!” — Regina Cannon, New York American

“Louise Brooks’ magnificent legs ornament the screen for half the picture before she [is] murdered. But Louise is such a wicked little blackmailer, even the legs don’t get your sympathy.” — Bland Johaneson, New York Daily Mirror

“Louise Brooks, who plays the Canary, is very bad and it appears from the dialogue that she is not actually doing the talking. Apparently a substitution was made here.” — Boyd Martin, Louisville Courier-Journal

“Mechanically, too, The Canary Murder Case has been well handled. The voices are well modulated and free of static. It is evident that Miss Brooks’ voice test was a flop for a double is used in sequences requiring speech from her.” — Harold Heffernan, Detroit News

“Louise Brooks as the fascinating light-o-love who comes to a mysterious and not undeserved end is at once alluring and crystal-hard in her evil determination of collecting blackmail from her many wealthy admirers.” — Ella H. McCormick, Detroit Free Press

“The Canary is Louise Brooks, cast as a gay Broadway Circe, something after the pattern of ‘Dot’ King – and quite as lucky.” — Nelson B. Bell, Washington Post

“Louise Brooks, ‘The Canary,’ acts the part of this hardboiled wench in pretty good style.” — J. W. B., Washington Times

“As an all-talk murder mystery melodrama, The Canary Murder Case will occupy the front rank, for its plot has been constructed so intelligently that it is logical almost in every one of the situations.” — Bige, Variety

Another post, Movies are Murder CMBA Blogathon - The Canary Murder Case (1929) part 2, will appear on November 9 at  9:29 am.

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.

Italian television adaption of The Canary Murder Case

Here is La Canarina Assassinata, a Italian television adaption of The Canary Murder Case. The 1929 film version featured Louise Brooks as the Canary. This more recent adaption, from the 1970s, has a "Jazz Age" feel about it.

La Canarina Assassinata was shown in September 1974 on the Public Radio and Television Company (RAI1), together with two other Philo Vance films, La fine dei Green (The Greene Murder Case) and La morte del signor Benson (The Benson Murder Case). The films starred Giorgio Albertazzi, a famous Italian actor; both he and the Canary, blonde Virna Lisi, are still active today. Here is the Italian Wikipedia page for the series, and here is a page featuring the DVD release. Thanks to Gianluca for a heads up on this film.

The Canary Murder Case - a round-up of reviews

The Canary Murder Case was officially released on February 16th, 1929. Based on the bestselling and once critically acclaimed detective novel by S.S Van Dine, the Malcolm St. Clair-directed film stars William Powell as detective Philo Vance and Louise Brooks as Margaret O'Dell ('The Canary"); also in the cast are Jean Arthur, James Hall , Eugene Pallette, Gustav von Seyffertitz, and Louis John Bartels.

The film, which opened around the country before its official release date, was generally well received and also widely written about. Today, however, it is considered one of the weakest of Brooks' American films of the 1920s. Shot as a silent, the film was not so successfully adapted as a talkie. At the time, critics were confused by the use of a voice double for Brooks. What follows is a round-up of reviews drawn from the Louise Brooks Society archive.

anonymous. "The Canary Murder Case." Motion Picture, February, 1929.
--- picked as one of the best of the month

Parsons, Louella O. " 'Canary Murder Case' Pulsating Mystery Picture." Los Angeles Examiner, February 8, 1929.
--- "He [the director] was handicapped by no less a person than Louise Brooks, who plays the Canary. You are conscious that the words spoken do not actually emanate from the mouth of Miss Brooks and you feel that as much of her part as possible has been cut. She is unbelievably bad in a role that should have been well suited to her. Only long shots are permitted of her and even these are far from convincing when she speaks."

Taylor, Ken. "Now Put Philo Vance on Cock Robin Mystery." Los Angeles Evening Express, February 8, 1929.
--- "Louise Brooks plays the brief role of the Canary, the musical-comedy star whose personality is such that she is given deafening applause for merely swinging over an audience's head on a trapeze."

Warren, George C. "Talkie Tone Mastered By St. Clair." San Francisco Chronicle, February 9, 1929.
--- "Louise Brooks is the hard-boiled 'Canary,' and Louise can be excessively evil when she tries - on the screen. She disappears early from the scene because of the little matter of murdering her, but while she is there she shows quite a considerable advance in finesse, and she uses her voice nicely."

W., D. "Mystery Tale Well Staged As Oakland All-Talkie." Oakland Post-Enquirer, March 2, 1929.
--- "It is generally known by this time that Margaret Livingston doubled for Louise Brooks in the dialogue sequences. Hence the not quite perfect synchronization in close-ups and the variety of back views and dimly photographed profiles of the Canary.

H., P. L. "The New Shows Reviewed." Knoxville Journal, March 5, 1929.
--- "In fact all of them do passably well, except Miss Brooks. Not once is she shown actually speaking. This defect is the most glaring in the picture."

Cannon, Regina. "Canary Murder Case Thriller." New York American, March 11, 1929.
--- "Louise Brooks, an 'It' gal with intelligence aplenty, plays the Canary. She's a bird in a gilded cage, to be sure, but wotta bird and wotta cage!"

Hall, Mordaunt. "Who Strangled the Dancer?" New York Times, March 11, 1929.
--- "The speech in this picture is well reproduced, but judging by the manner in which Louise Brooks is posed it is reasonable to assume that the voice one hears from the screen is not hers. It is not an especially pleasing voice and the lines given to this Margaret Odell, the Canary in the case, are hardly what one would imagine to be the manner of talking of a stage performer who had coaxed jewels from such men as are presented in this film."

Johaneson, Bland. "Thrills in Plenty on Broadway's Screens." Daily Mirror, March 11, 1929.
--- "Louise Brooks' magnificent legs ornament the screen for half the picture before she [is] murdered. But Louise is such a wicked little blackmailer, even the legs don't get your sympathy."

Polly. "At Loew's." Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 12, 1929.
--- "Louise Brooks is a lovely victim and as hard-boiled as she is lovely."

anonymous. "Photoplay Reviews." Cinncinnati Enquirer, March 25, 1929.
--- "The role of the murdered girl is played by Louise Brooks, who is much more satisfying optically than auditorilly."

P., J. E. "The Canary Murder Case." Billboard, March 16, 1929.
--- "Louise Brooks is mediocre as the Canary, but this does not detract from the production, as she appears in but a few scenes."

Coyne, Margaret L. "New Picture Plays." Syracuse Post-Standard, April 1, 1929.
--- "The only flaw is the substitution of another voice for that of Louise Brooks - the Canary - making necessary a number of subterfuges to disguise the fact."

Somers, Lee. "Van Dine Story Metropolitan's Film Offering." Washington Herald, April 15, 1929.
--- "Powell is good but not distinctive as the detective, but Louise Brooks is the hardest-boiled baby the screen has yet produced, in the role of the Canary."

Lusk, Norbert. "The Screen in Review: Who Killed The Canary?" Picture-Play, June, 1929.
-- "Louise Brooks, as the hardboiled Margaret Odell, is first seen smiling down to her lovers as she swings out over the audience from an elaborate stage setting. Later, when she frightens the gentlemen with a phone call, Margaret Livingston does some businesslike dialogue for her."

Cool pic of the day: Louise Brooks with feathered hair

Cool pic of the day

Louise Brooks with feathered hair (and sparkling crystals),
a publicity portrait from The Canary Murder Case (1929).

Mention in NY Times, new message board, new stuff

On August 29, the New York Times ran an article in which the LBS was mentioned! An article by Pamela Licalzi O'Connell stated "The Louise Brooks Society is an excellent homage to the art of the silent film as well as one of its most luminous stars."

A new message board has been installed. The free service which provided the old board has shut down - so a new message board has been set up. It works pretty much the same as the old board. The new message board can be found at www.voy.com/104307/. Also, as a result of the change in boards, the site architecture (namely the headers and footers found on every page) had to be reworked. Hopefully, everything is functioning as it should. Also, please be sure and scroll to the bottom of this webpage where you can vote for the Louise Brooks Society.

The entire contents of the "Illustrierter Film-Kurier issue devoted to The Canary Murder Case have been posted to the website. Check it out. Also, a few pages were added to the filmography section. The remaining basic textual parts of the filmography will be put in place this Fall. Afterwords, images (scene stills, film art, lobby cards, advertisements, etc...) will be added. That is a big project which will take some time.

Additional citations were added to various bibliographies; these entries were gathered from a handful of California newspapers including the San Diego Union, Santa Barbara Morning Press and Stockton Daily Record - as well as from a few European publications including Cinemagazine (France), Berliner Tageblatt (Germany), El Sol (Spain) and Kino i Zhizn (U.S.S.R.). All of these citations resulted from recent weekly all-day trips to the UC-Berkeley library and their outstanding microfilm collection.

I think I have found pretty much all that was possible to find in the UC-Berkeley collection. Some trips I have planned in the next six to eight months include visits to Palo Alto, California (Stanford University library) in the Fall; Detroit, Michigan (a visit home with a side trip to the Detroit Public Library) in December; San Jose, California (San Jose State University library) early next year; and Los Angeles, California (the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles Public library, and possibly elsewhere) in May, 2003. There is still much to find!