The latest issue of Golwg

Louise Brooks and Louise Brooks Society are mentioned in the latest issue of Golwg, a Welsh-language magazine, in the story pictured over the soccer player's left shoulder. 

"Agor Bocs Pandora" by Dilwyn Roberts-Young looks at the Welsh National Opera forthcoming presentation of Alban Berg’s opera, Lulu, and a related screening of Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks. More on those events here.

A constellation of stars

A constellation of stars . . . .

. . . . featuring Pola Negri, Florence Vidor, Louise Brooks, Lois Moran, Esther Ralston, Clara Bow and Bebe Daniels.

Downton Abbey - the Louise Brooks connections

Louise Brooks, by Barry Paris

If you are a fan of silent film and Downton Abbey, you may have noticed a scene where one of the downstairs help was spotted reading a vintage issue of Photoplay magazine with Mabel Normand on the cover. The connection the popular series has with the silent film era doesn't end there. The series, set in England in the early years of the 20th century, also has some rather interesting ties to Louise Brooks.

Back in November, a handful of English writers were asked by the Guardian newspaper which books had most impressed them during the course of the year. The piece was titled "Books of the Year 2012." The answer given by actor, novelist, screenwriter, director and Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes caused a bit of a stir, as the book he mentioned was published in 1989. Fellowes' answer reads this way.

"I suspect the book that has haunted me the most this year was the life of that queen of the silent screen, Louise Brooks: A Biography (University of Minnesota £17), by Barry Paris. I have seldom read so lyrical a tale of self-destruction. When she was a girl, my mother used to be mistaken for Louise Brooks and so I have always felt a sort of investment in her, but I was unprepared for this heartbreaking tale of what-might-have-been."

Wow, what an eloquent appreciation of Barry Paris' acclaimed biography. I, for one, couldn't agree more. As I have said before, it is the best biography I have ever read, and it is the best biography I will ever read. It's that good! It is also a book anyone interested in silent film or a life story well told should read.

One wonders if Fellowes knows that Shirley MacLaine, one of the stars of Downton Abbey, is also a BIG fan of Louise Brooks. Over the years, MacLaine has said as much in interviews, all the while expressing her interest in playing Brooks on screen. Additionally, one of the other stars of Downton Abbey, Elizabeth McGovern, has developed a similar interest in Brooks. After serving as the reader for the audio version of Laura Moriarty's 2012 novel, The Chaperone, McGovern snapped up the movie rights to the bestselling book, which tells a story centered around Brooks' time as an aspiring Denishawn dancer.

If, one day, Fellows scripts  a film version of The Chaperone with McGovern as the title character and MacLaine as Louise Brooks' mother (?), just remember you saw it here first. But then who would play the teenage Brooks?

Are you a fan of Louise Brooks and of Downton Abbey? Who do you think could play a teenage Brooks?  Leave a comment in the comments field. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Music by Herb Weidner

A nicely tinted and nicely toned video from YouTube. Music by Herb Weidner.

Louise Brooks in Fairbanks, Alaska - better late than never

I am continuously researching Louise Brooks and her films. And recently, I came across a couple of clipping (one of which is shown here) which merit mentioning. My findings are notable on a few accounts.

In January, 1930 two of Louise Brooks' silent films - The City Gone Wild and Now We're in the Air -  were shown in Fairbanks, Alaska. The "Screen Life" column details the event. These screenings are not the first instances of Brooks' films showing in Alaska, then an American territory. (Alaska did not achieve statehood until 1949.) A Social Celebrity (1926), for example, was shown at the Empress theater in Fairbanks in April, 1927.

What is notable about these particular screenings is that each took place long after the films were released. Both films debuted in the Fall of 1927, and these two screenings took place more than two years later. That is a long time for a film to be in circulation during the silent film era. Notably, they are also the very last screenings I have come across for these two now lost films.

What is also notable is that theaters in Fairbanks were still screening silent films well after the sound era had started. For the record, a 1929 sound film featuring Brooks, The Canary Murder Case, was shown in Fairbanks in April, 1930, about 14 months after it first debuted. And another, It Pays to Advertise, also with Brooks, was shown in Fairbanks only nine months after its release in November, 1931. 

For the record, I have also come across a handful of screenings of various Louise Brooks' films in Honolulu in the territory of Hawaii during the 1920s, decades before it gained statehood. Hawaii seems to have gotten films sooner than Alaska. But, better late than never.

New song inspired by Louise Brooks

Last year, Ross Berkal released an ebook called Benevolent Siren: Remembering Louise Brooks. It tells the story of Berkal, who as a young man in the early 1980s, had the experience of meeting and befriending the then older and reclusive Louise Brooks. The story of that friendship is chronicled in his self-published ebook. (It is also referenced in Barry Paris' 1989 biography of the actress.) Berkal also released Youthful Places, a small collection of poetry which contains "MLB," a poem about and dedicated to the actress. 

Last week, I received the sheet music (piano/vocal arrangements) for another 2012 Berkal release, For A Childhood Friend / No Dreams Are Wasted / MLB (CreateSpace), a 28 page anthology of three melodic, original alternative rock ballads including a reflection on one's youth and relationships, a homage to the visionary Polish author and artist Bruno Schulz, and a recollection of iconic silent film actress and author. Thank you Ross. Here is the YouTube video for MLB.

Ross Berkal was born and raised in Massachusetts. While a young man he had the unique experience of meeting - and later developing a friendship with - iconic silent film actress and author Louise Brooks. The story of that friendship is chronicled in his book Benevolent Siren: Remembering Louise Brooks. During the 1990's he relocated to New York City where he established himself as the founder, songwriter, and bassist of the alternative rock project Dahlia, which performed at many of Manhattan's best known venues including landmark rock club CBGB's. He presently resides in the metro-Boston area. 

Cool pic of the day: Louise Brooks

Cool pic of the day: Louise Brooks against an art deco background. Louise Brooks is an art deco icon.