Saturday, February 27, 2010

Remembering Chile

The earthquake which struck Chile earlier today is a terrible thing. Hundreds have died, and there is much damage in this thin strip of a country which hugs the western coast of South America. In our minds, and in our imaginations, Chile may seem far away. But it is not.

Even Louise Brooks' films played there. Here is a newspaper advertisement for the 1928 film, Beggars of Life. It showed at the Imperio theater in Santiago, Chile in December 1929 as Mendigos de la vida.

Remember Chile in your thoughts and prayers. And please donate to earthquake relief. Chile is our neighbor in the world.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Hotel Jacumba

Yesterday, I received a copy of Cinema Cinemas, a four DVD boxed set which I recently ordered from France. It collects episodes of a French TV series which constitutes "a sort of monument to hardcore cinephilia," as one American reviewer put it. The series lasted approximately a decade (from 1982 to 1991) and is made up of various documentary and essayistic segments.

There is all kinds of interesting and rare material included in the set. 

For example, there's the 45-second sound test Alfred Hitchcock made with actress Anny Ondra for Blackmail (1929), his first talkie. (There is other Hitchcock material as well.) And there's Jean Seberg’s 1957 screen test for Otto Preminger, an interview with James Dean made for a road safety commercial, Orson Welles speaking at a lunch with members of the French press, Federico Fellini shooting a scene from Satyricon, and filmed interviews with everyone from Frank Capra and Martin Scorsese to Robert Mitchum, Fay Dunaway, Aldo Ray, and Jane Russell. There are also features about the novelists John Fante and F. Scott Fitzgerald , the death of Rita Hayworth, and a piece on William Faulkner’s affair with Howard Hawks' script girl during the 1930's.

I ordered the set because it contains a rare sixteen minute short about Louise Brooks and the making of the 1928 William Wellman film, Beggars of Life. Its called Jacumba Hotel, and this short was made in 1985.

Alternately, in Jacumba Hotel, a woman reads aloud (in English) from Brooks’s essay “On Location With Billy Wellman” while a male voice (in French) gives a short account which helps set the scene. All the while film clips from Beggars of Life alternate with contemporary footage of the Jacumba Hotel (where cast stayed during the making of the film) with what remains of the rugged location where some scenes were shot. 

Fascinating stuff. All of it. [I got my copy of Cinema Cinemas from Amazon France.]

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

San Francisco origins of Lulu

On Monday, I wrote a piece for examiner.com about researching local history online. My local library, the San Francisco Public Library, recently announced on one of its blogs that a number of city directories and other old books and records had been uploaded to the wonderful Internet Archive.

To see a list of these newly available documents and other content scanned from the San Francisco Public Library, follow the link http://www.archive.org/details/sfpl.

These newly available documents join a number of other works of interest at the Internet Archive. As one can guess, these directories are a great source of historical and genealogical information. Looking around as I love to do, I came across some interesting and obscure informations regarding the origins of "Lulu."

Did you know that the German playwright Frank Wedekind has San Francisco roots? Wedekind, of course, is the author of both Spring Awakening (the basis for the popular Broadway rock musical) and Pandora’s Box (the basis for both the 1929 Louise Brooks silent film, as well as Alban Berg’s 1937 opera).

During the early years of his life, Wedekind's father served as physician. A progressive democrat, he also participated in the 1848 Revolution, and next year escaped to America, where he made a fortune in land speculation. In San Francisco he married Emilie Kammerer, a singer and actress twenty-three years his junior. (Some scholars have speculated that this relationship might have served as a kind of model for the relationship between Lulu and Dr. Schon in Pandora’s Box.)

A search of the newly available city directories for 1858, 1860, and 1862 reveals that the future playwright’s Father, Friedrich Wilhelm Wedekind, had a medical practice at 136 and later 524 Montgomery Street in San Francisco. Doctor Wedekind was also a prominent member of the local German General Benevolent Society as well as President of the local German Club.

Friedrich Wilhelm Wedekind and Emilie Kammerer’s second child – the future writer, was conceived in San Francisco - though born in Hanover, Germany. Early in the pregnancy, the patriotic couple decided to return to their native land. And that’s where Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (named for the free-thinking American revolutionary - and later known simply as Frank) was born in 1864.

I was able to find additional information about the Wedekind's San Francisco sojourn utilizing these newly available online documents. Thank you SFPL. Thank you Internet Archive.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

For the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon

Its sad but true, the majority of silent films are lost. And not just lesser films by little known producers, films one might not notice not being on the archive shelf. If you can think of a major star or notable director, chances are one or more of their films have disappeared.

That's especially true for Louise Brooks. The actress had a brief career, and appeared in only 13 silent films between 1925 and 1928. Half of her films from 1926, and ALL of her films from 1927, are GONE. One of her films, A Social Celebrity, was lost in a fire as recently as the 1950's.

This somber reminder of our disappearing heritage only brings to mind the need for film preservation.

Today is the final day of the "For the Love of Film: Film Preservation Blogathon." It's a effort by film bloggers from all around the world to call attention to the need for continuing film preservation - as well as to raise funds to benefit the National Film Preservation Foundation. For more information, visit Ferdy on Films and Self-Styled Siren, the hosts of the blogathon. There is also a page on Facebook with even more details. If you would like to make a donation, follow this link.


One blogger,"Thoughts of Stream," posted a blog (as part of the blogathon) reflecting on the 1929 Louise Brooks film, Pandora's Box. It makes for interesting reading. Check it out here.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Lulu, by Frank Wedekind (as comix)

Just today, I came across a new version of Frank Wedekind's Lulu as told in comix form. 


This retelling is by John Linton Roberson, an artist based in Seattle, Washington. As Roberson readily admits, his Lulu is not quite drawn from the character played by Louise Brooks in the 1929 film, Pandora's Box. Though she did inspire him. Lulu, both the play and the character, remain an endlessly adaptable archetype. Check out this new Lulu here.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Lulu en Hollywood

As a kind of follow-up to an earlier post regarding Louise Brooks' image  having been included in European store windows  . . . . My attention was recently called to this online visual tour of small town bookstores in Spain. A familiar title, a familiar face can be found in the tenth image, which I've also included below in a smaller version.


I would love to hear from anyone around the world who knows of any similar images.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Louise Brooks, indeed

Louise Brooks, as pictured on a somewhat uncommon British postcard currently for sale on eBay. The card is said to be from 1988. Nice image.

Powered By Blogger