Wednesday, November 4, 2015

More great reviews for the KINO Lorber Diary of a Lost Girl starring Louise Brooks

More good reviews for the new KINO Lorber DVD & Blu-ray of Diary of a Lost Girl continue to trickle in. Yesterday, Stephen Schaefer wrote in the Boston Herald:


"Among the silent cinema’s style icons the sole rival to Greta Garbo is America’s Louise Brooks who never attained the stature of the glum Swede but whose remarkable memoir, the 1982 LULU IN HOLLYWOOD, single handedly revived her reputation and insured her position for posterity.  A Kansas born dancer/actress Brooks is known for epitomizing the Roaring Twenties flapper with her distinctive bobbed haircut.  She is revered for the two 1929 films she made in Europe for G. W. Pabst, PANDORA’s BOX about the femme fatale Lulu who destroys every man who comes into sphere until she is murdered by Jack the Ripper and DIARY OFA LOST GIRL (Blu-ray, Kino Classics, unrated).  DIARY has Brooks a lost soul, seduced, disowned, imprisoned in a “home” for wayward women and ending up in a swank brothel.  In this masterful restoration, from archival 35 mm elements, DIARY benefits from an incisive commentary by the director of the Louise Brooks Society Thomas Gladysz.  There is also, strangely and surprisingly and happily enough, an 18-minute sound short Brooks made in 1931, WINDY RILEY GOES HOLLYWOOD.   Brooks was 78 when she died in 1985, three short years after her book was published."


While the day before that, Amy Longsdorf, wrote in the (Cherry Hill, NJ) Courier-Post:

"Diary of a Lost Girl (1929, Kino, unrated, $30) After “Pandora’s Box,” director G.W. Pabst and actress Louise Brooks teamed up for one of the most stunning melodramas of the silent era. Beautifully restored to its original running time, the Berlin-shot film follows a naive pharmacist’s daughter as she is seduced and abandoned by her father’s assistant. Placed in a horrific home for wayward girls, she escapes only to wind up in a brothel. Way ahead of its time, “Diary” tackles provocative themes of sexuality and exploitation while providing  Brooks with a role that helped defined her career."

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Louise Brooks, William Kentridge and the Making of Lulu

There is an old saying. Chance favors the prepared mind. There is another saying about being in the right place at the right time.

I love books. And have long been involved in various aspects of publishing. For two-and-a-half years I worked at Arion Press in San Francisco as its Director of Marketing and Sales. Arion Press, if you're not familiar, is one of the last letterpress publishers in the world. Started more than 40 years ago, Arion makes extraordinary, limited edition, handmade books. Their Moby-Dick, with 100 wood engravings by Barry Moser, and their Ulysses, with 40 etchings by Robert Motherwell, are each legendary and sought after.

One day in 2013 at an Arion Press staff meeting, we were discussing upcoming projects. At the time, the press was looking for a new book to publish; the press was also wanting to work with artist William Kentridge -- a proposed Flaubert project with Kentridge had stalled out. At the time, Kentridge was deep into his production of Alban Berg's opera Lulu, which was based on two plays by the German playwright Frank Wedekind.

I have always been an idea guy, and it was at that meeting that I suggested to Arion publisher Andrew Hoyem that the press pair Kentridge with Wedekind's two Lulu plays, Earth Spirit and Pandora's Box. I made the suggestion not long after having read in the New York Times that Kentridge himself was inspired by Brooks -- actress who played Lulu in the 1929 silent film, Pandora's Box. It seemed like a good fit.

Speaking to the New York Times in 2013, Kentridge explained "that his Lulu was being inspired by German Expressionism, Weimar cinema (including, of course, Pandora’s Box, the G. W. Pabst version of the Lulu story starring Louise Brooks), Max Beckmann drypoints depicting brothels and the like...."

Not long after the staff meeting where I made my suggestion, Hoyem approached Kentridge with the idea of publishing the Lulu plays accompanied by artwork by Kentridge. After some back and forth, the project was a go.

Fast forward to 2015. Arion Press has just released its edition of Wedekind's The Lulu Plays, featuring 67 Kentridge drawings (printed by four-color offset lithography) bound into the book. The images are derived from brush and ink drawings for projections included in the artist's new production of Berg's opera, which opens at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on November 5. It looks to be a terrific production.

The role of Lulu is sung by the German coloratura soprano Marlis Peterson (a dirty blonde who wears her hair shoulder length); she is famed for the role, and in this production sports a dark bob a la Louise Brooks.



Those seeking a sneak peak of the visuals behind the opera should head over to the Marion Goodman Gallery in New York, where "William Kentridge: Drawings for Lulu" is on display through December 19th. The exhibit presents the original 67 drawings by Kentridge used in the opera and the book, as well as a suite of four related linocut prints. The Arion Press edition of The Lulu Plays is also on display at the gallery, as well as at the IFPDA Print Fair in New York from November 4 through November 8.

The Arion Press edition of The Lulu Plays is a fine achievement. It's both handsome and sexy. Four-hundred copies were printed, each signed by the artist and numbered. The book is quarto format, measuring 13-1/2" x 10", and is printed by letterpress on luxurious creamy paper utilizing period type in fittingly black and red inks. The book is hand bound, and comes in a slipcase. Louise Brooks and her role in Pandora's Box is mentioned in the introduction.

To learn more about the new edition of The Lulu Plays, check out this video from the Metropolitan Museum of Art on-stage conversation between Kentridge and Arion Press publisher Hoyem.

The Met's production of William Kentridge's staging of Alban Berg's opera will be streamed live into theater's across the country on Saturday, November 21st. More info HERE.

Monday, November 2, 2015

New Book: Charlie Chaplin Archive - wow wow wow

The other day, I received my copy (#105) of The Charlie Chaplin Archives. My first response was "Wow." I knew this book was big, but I hadn't not realized how BIG! "Wow." The book is nearly 18 inches wide and 3 inches thick. It weighs more than 15 pounds, and comes in its own box with carry handle. "Wow." I'm impressed, and think this is the book of the year for film buffs!


"The most un-put-downable movie book of the season is also the most un-pick-uppable one… It’s an apt tribute to the filmmaker, whose artistry transcends the cinema and spans world-historical dimensions… a revelation of Chaplin’s creative process, even to the furious core of energy, passion, lust, and sheer will that fueled it…" — TheNewYorker.com


According to the publisher, "With unrestricted access to the Chaplin archives, TASCHEN presents the ultimate book on the making of every one of his films. With 900 images, including stills, memos, storyboards and on-set photos, as well as interviews with Chaplin and his closest collaborators, it reveals the process behind the Chaplin genius, from the impromptu invention of early shots to the meticulous retakes and reworking of scenes and gags in his classic movies: The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1925), The Circus (1928), City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936), and the provocative Hitler parody The Great Dictator (1940)."


Oh, and yes, Louise Brooks is mentioned in The Charlie Chaplin Archive. On page 279, editor Paul Duncan notes "The Gold Rush went on to gross over $4 million worldwide. Chaplin remained in New York for two months after the premiere. During this time he had an affair with Louise Brooks, a showgirl who would later have success as a movie actress."


The book includes:
  • The Chaplin life history in words and pictures
  • 900 images including many previously unseen stills, on-set photos, memos, documents, storyboards, posters, and designs, plus scripts and images for unmade films
  • An oral history, told from the point of view of Chaplin himself, drawing upon his extensive writings, many of which have never been reprinted before.
  • Supplementary interviews with some of his closest collaborators.
  • Material from over 150 books of press clippings in Chaplin's archives, which range from his early days in music halls to his death
  • Chaplin's short films, from Making a Living (1914) to The Pilgrim (1923), as well as all of his feature-length movies, from The Kid (1921) to A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)
  • The first print run of 10,000 copies includes a precious 12 frame strip from City Lights (1931), cut from a 35 mm print in Chaplin’s archives.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Kurt Gerron and Diary of a Lost Girl

My audio commentary for the new Kino Lorber DVD / Blu-ray of Diary of a Lost Girl has been getting very positive reviews. It has been described as "insightful" by a well regarded film historian, as "thorough and informative" by an Emmy nominee, and as "well-researched and often-fascinating" by a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who knew Louise Brooks.

The most recent review, a rather thoughtful piece on amazon.com, called it "excellent" - though they did have a few complaints: "The Kino Blu-ray comes with an excellent full-length audio commentary by Thomas Gladysz, the director of the Louise Brooks Society, which is an online info archive devoted to Brooks. Unfortunately, there are many long stretches of silence during the commentary. Gladysz talks about the actors and crew, the film's artistry, the historical background, and the social climate at the time the movie was made. At one point, he recommends that we check out a  documentary on the life of one of the minor actors in the movie, Kurt Gerron (who plays the portly, friendly figure of the brothel), but didn't mention the title of the documentary. That film is the 2002 Oscar-nominated feature documentary "Prisoner of Paradise", about Gerron's life and career that were cut short by the Nazis."


I stand corrected. And I am truly glad that attention has been called to this outstanding actor and personality. Here is that documentary, which includes a clip from Diary of a Lost Girl.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Diary of a Lost Girl screens in NYC on Jan 31

The new restoration of Diary of a Lost Girl (as seen on the new KINO DVD & Blu-ray) will be shown in New York City at the Schimmel Center at Pace University (home to "Inside the Actor's Studio") on January 31, 2016. Ben Model will provide musical accompaniment. More information about this special event can be found HERE.


Here is what film series description of the film. "After playing supporting roles in a string of light comedies at Paramount, Louise Brooks went to Germany and made two iconic and darkly dramatic films directed by G.W. Pabst. Her bobbed hair, charm and smoldering screen presence in the midst of the dark stories of PANDORA'S BOX and DIARY OF A LOST GIRL have made Brooks an icon of '20s culture. Her character in DIARY goes from one situation to another attempting to better her life, finding adversity, love, and tragedy."

------

BTW: the Neue Gallery in NYC just purchased a couple dozen copies of the "Louise Brooks edition" of The Diary of a Lost Girl by Margarete Bohme (edited by Thomas Gladysz) for their museum giftshop. If you are looking to check out the book that was the basis for the film, copies can be found there. Their current exhibit, "Berlin Metropolis: 1918-1933" features a work by Rudolph Schlichter, the husband of Speedy Schlichter, who appears in The Diary of a Lost Girl.

Friday, October 30, 2015

Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays, including Halloween

There is a swell new book out from Schiffer, Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays: 1920-1970, by Karie Bible and Mary Mallory. Fans of silent film, of early Hollywood, and the studio era will all want to get a copy. At nearly 200 pages, this pictorial is chock-full of images you'll delight in looking at again and again. That's not a cliche, it's just the plain and simple truth.

The book description: "Marvelously illustrated with more than 200 rare images from the silent era through the 1970s, this joyous treasure trove features film and television’s most famous actors and actresses celebrating the holidays, big and small, in lavishly produced photographs. Join the stars for festive fun in celebrating a variety of holidays, from New Year’s to Saint Patrick’s Day to Christmas and everything in between. Legends such as Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, and Audrey Hepburn spread holiday cheer throughout the calendar year in iconic, ironic, and illustrious style. These images, taken by legendary stills photographers, hearken back to the Golden Age of Hollywood, when motion picture studios devised elaborate publicity campaigns to promote their stars and to keep their names and faces in front of the movie-going public all year round."

Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays: 1920-1970 includes Louise Brooks in a Christmas themed pic. The book also includes many of Brooks' contemporaries and co-stars, including Esther Ralston and Clara Bow, shown below on pages featuring Halloween themed pics. The LBS recommends this new book.






































About the Authors: Film historian and photo archivist Mary Mallory is the author of Hollywoodland and the eBook Hollywoodland: Tales Lost and Found. She writes on Los Angeles and film history for the blog The Daily Mirror and serves on the board of Hollywood Heritage. Karie Bible is the official tour guide at Hollywood Forever Cemetery and co-author of Location Filming in Los Angeles. She has lectured at numerous venues, including the RMS Queen Mary and the Homestead Museum, and has appeared on Turner Classic Movies.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Its the Old Army Game screens in NYC on November 29

One month from today, Its the Old Army Game (1926), starring W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks, screens in NYC at the Museum of Moving Image on Sunday, November 29th. The screening is part of the W.C. Fields in Astoria series. More information about this special event can be found HERE.



With live music by Donald Sosin Directed by A. Edward Sutherland. 1926. 70 min., 35mm print from the Library of Congress. With W.C. Fields, Louise Brooks. Fields plays a misanthropic, small-town pharmacist whose lovely shop assistant (Louise Brooks) gets him involved in a phony real estate scheme. The film is regarded as a high point of Fields’s silent filmography. The story was later revised and revamped in the talkies The Pharmacist (1933) and It’s a Gift (1934).

For more information about the film, check out the Louise Brooks Society filmography page. The film, especially interiors, were shot at Paramount’s Astoria Studios on Long Island (located at 3412 36th Street in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens) and in Manhattan. Location shooting, including exteriors, was done in Ocala and Palm Beach, Florida in February, 1926. The outdoor scenes in Palm Beach were shot at El Mirasol, the estate of multi-millionaire investment banker Edward T. Stotesbury. In 1912, after having been a widower for thirty-some years, Stotesbury remarried and became the stepfather of three children including Henrietta Louise Cromwell Brooks (known simply as Louise Brooks), an American socialite and the first wife of General Douglas MacArthur. In her heyday, she was “considered one of Washington’s most beautiful and attractive young women”. Because of their names, the two women were sometimes confused in the press. (Read more about the Palm Beach location on silentlocations.com.)

Tickets: $12 ($9 for senior citizens and students / free for members at the Film Lover level and above). Order tickets online. (Members may contact members@movingimage.us with any questions regarding online reservations.)
 
All tickets include same-day admission to the Museum (see gallery hours). View the Museum’s ticketing policy here.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

You Must Remember This podcast - check it out

Recently, I have been checking out the "You Must Remember This" podcast hosted by Karina Longworth, a Los Angeles based film critic. It was recommended to me by longtime Louise Brooks Society member Amanda Howard. It's excellent and entertaining, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in classic and contemporary Hollywood, or at least "The secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood's first century" as the show bills itself.



What caught Amanda's ear were the couple of references to Louise Brooks in the episode on John Gilbert and Greta Garbo, which was part of a seven part podcast on MGM. Give a listen here.



I recommend checking out the entire MGM series, which contains episodes on Jean Harlow, William Haines, Buster Keaton, Marion Davies and others. Earlier podcasts include episodes on John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich, Charlie Chaplin, Carole Lombard, Orson Welles, Kay Francis, Audrey Hepburn, Theda Bara, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and other stars of interest to those interested in Louise Brooks and early Hollywood. There are also episodes on Howard Hughes, Frank Sinatra and even a multi-part program on "Charles Manson's Hollywood."

Karina Longworth is the creator / host of You Must Remember This, a podcast about the secret / forgotten history of Hollywood's first century. She is the author of books about George Lucas, Al Pacino and Meryl Streep, and has contributed to LA Weekly, the Guardian, NPR, Vulture, and other publications. Her most recent book is Hollywood Frame by Frame: The Unseen Silver Screen in Contact Sheets, 1951-1997.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Koko’s Queen (1926) echoes the mid-1920's beauty contest craze

Six American silent-era films that were recently protected at EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam and preserved through a collaborative project organized by the San Francisco–based National Film Preservation Foundation can now be viewed online.

Among the newly viewable films are the Fleischer Brothers cartoon Koko’s Queen (1926), a delightful work which echoes the mid-1920's craze for feminine beauty and beauty contests. To watch Koko’s Queen (1926), visit this LINK.


Koko’s Queen was released in October of 1926, some nine months after the release of The American Venus, starring Esther Ralston, Lawrence Gray, Ford Sterling, and Fay Lanphier, the actual 1925 Miss America. The American Venus 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, and the first for which she received screen credit. Learn more about this lost film by visiting the Louise Brooks Society filmography page.

According to the National Film Preservation Foundation website: "The ending of Koko’s Queen is decayed in the Dutch copy—the only 35mm print thought to exist—but the story shines through. Koko and his dog Fitz emerge from the pen. When the pair learn that Fleischer’s girlfriend is a beauty contest competitor, they demand female companions too. The animator draws one for each but these fall short of expectations. Koko tries with beauty contraptions to remake his girl until—giving up—turns her head around backwards and substitutes a mask for her face. Fitz follows suit with similar results but, with shocking dream logic, grinds his mate into sausages. Losing patience, Koko draws his ideal—a beauty so perfect that she becomes human—and accosts her. The animator drinks “Shrinko” to save the damsel, battling the clown mano a mano. Only returning Koko to the bottle can clean the mess up."

What's interesting is that much of the promotional material around The American Venus reflected the era's obsession with determining and quantifying and even manufacturing beauty -- a conceit carried through to Koko's Queen.


Speaking of Fay Lanphier, the Louise Brooks Society archive recently acquired this uncommon vintage Italian postcard depicting Miss America and her role in the Paramount film, Trionfo di Venere (The American Venus).



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