If you watched The Chaperone and want to find out more about Louise Brooks

If you watched The Chaperone and want to find out more about Louise Brooks, here is where to start.

(Left) Louise Brooks as a Denishawn dancer c. 1923                (Right) Louise Brooks as Lulu in Pandora's Box, 1929

The one and only biography of actress and dancer is titled Louise Brooks, and it's author is Barry Paris. It is a great read. It is a book that will fascinate you, it is a book that will immerse you in the rich history of the Jazz Age, and it is a book that will break your heart. It is full of empathy. And it is smartly written. This biography was first published in 1989 (with a different cover), and it is still in print  today. I read a lot of biographies, and 25 years after I first read the Barry Paris biography, I still feel that it is the single best biography I have ever read and will ever read. I love it. And you will too. Get a copy on amazon HERE.

Later in life, Louise Brooks became an accomplished writer. In 1982, a collection of her autobiographical essays was published (with a different cover) under the title Lulu in Hollywood. It became a bestseller, and it too is still in print today. Get a copy on amazon HERE.

  

Today, Louise Brooks is best known for playing Lulu in the classic 1929 silent film, Pandora's Box. It is a masterpiece, and is considered one of the great films of the silent era. Unfortunately, it is not currently available on DVD or Blu-ray in the United States, but may be found on online streaming services or on DVD in Europe. 

Fortunately, Brooks' other best film, Diary of a Lost Girl, is available on DVD / Blu-ray. It's a tragic story that may well break your heart - it tells the story of a teenage girl who is raped and conceives a baby, only to have the child taken away; this young unwed mother is then sent to a reform school, but escapes, only to end up as a prostitute. Like Pandora's Box, it is a German silent film; in fact, the two films were made within a year of each other. I recommend the Kino Lorber discs as the best version available. Get a copy on amazon HERE.

Louise Brooks' other best available film on DVD is an American film. It is titled Beggars of Life (1928), and it tells the story of an orphan girl who murders her abusive stepfather and goes on the run dressed as a boy. It is a terrific film, despite its grim story. I recommend the Kino Lorber discs as the best version available. Get a copy on amazon HERE.

If you enjoyed The Chaperone as a film as much as I did, you may well want to read Laura Moriarty's fine novel - the basis for the film. It too is available on amazon HERE.

As is the film of The Chaperone. It too is available on amazon HERE. 

Of course, there are other books and DVDs available to those willing to go further. This blog was begun in 2002, and needless to say, there are many entries to check out. Also worth checking out is my website, the Louise Brooks Society at www.pandorasbox.com. I started it online in 1995, and it is full of information and images of Louise Brooks, including her days as an aspiring dancer in Kansas and her two seasons with the Denishawn Dance Company.

Louise Brooks and The Chaperone in the news

This post begins with a reminder that the Louise Brooks-inspired film, The Chaperone, debuts on television this Sunday at 9 p.m. The film is set to air on PBS as part of Masterpiece. Check your local listings. The Chaperone will air again on Thanksgiving afternoon, with many stations across the country listing a 2 p.m. start time. Check your local listings for the time and channel in your area of the United States or Canada. (I also noticed at least one or two other PBS stations have scheduled repeat broadcasts of The Chaperone for other times during the week. Again, check your local listings.)

Because it is scheduled for broadcast, The Chaperone and "Louise Brooks" has been popping up on my news feed again and again. One article that caught my attention was John Anderson's November 21st piece in the Wall Street Journal, "The Chaperone Review: Traveling Companions With Baggage." It begins by placing Brooks in a larger context:

The year 1922 was the Big One for Modernism. "Ulysses" was published. So was "The Waste Land." Brecht's "Drums in the Night" had its stage debut and Joan Miró finished "The Farm." Meanwhile getting on a train in Wichita, Kan., to join the modern dance company of Ruth St. Denis was actress-to-be Louise Brooks—"the most seductive, sexual image of Woman ever committed to celluloid," as the British critic Kenneth Tynan described her in 1979. Brooks was a wonder, a sex symbol of disturbing volatility, but what's also evident now in her silent movies—specifically "Diary of a Lost Girl" and "Pandora's Box"—is how she occupied the space between her medium and her audience, creating a unique kind of screen acting, a way of existing on film that still seems new today.

Anderson's thoughtful reading of the film shines a light on a few of the film's actors and "two astounding performances. One is by Blythe Danner, who is on screen for mere minutes. The other is by Ms. McGovern. I'm not an Elizabeth McGovern completist, but it may be the best thing she's ever done." Haley Lu Richardson, the young actress who plays Brooks, is described as "always wonderful."

Newsday also ran a very brief piece on The Chaperone, as did a number of PBS station websites across the country. One that caught my attention was WKAR in Lansing, Michigan. I used to watch this station during my college days at Michigan State University, and the rush of memories compelled me to write a piece about Louise Brooks into the comments section.

When I attended Michigan State ever so long ago, I watched WKAR.... and when my news feed brought your write-up of The Chaperone to my attention, I immediately recognized your call letters. I now live in California, and am the Director of the Louise Brooks Society, as well as the author of four books on Louise Brooks, the dancer and silent film star. I wish to recommend The Chaperone to everyone in your viewing area. The film is a spirited depiction of the early life of a 20th century icon, and Haley Lu Richardson, as a teenage Brooks, gives an Oscar worthy performance.

Your viewers may be interested to know a little something regarding the film's local connection. As The Chaperone shows, a teenage Brooks left home in the summer of 1922 to go to New York City to study dance at Denishawn, then the leading modern dance company in America. That's where The Chaperone story ends..., but Brooks' story was only just beginning. After little more than a month, the 15-year old dance prodigy was asked to join Denishawn's touring company, whose members included not only legendary founders Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn (each are characters in the film), but also dance greats Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weideman. As a member of Denishawn, Brooks toured the United States for two seasons, playing in hundreds of cities and towns, including a number in Michigan. During Brooks' second season with Denishawn, the company came to Lansing, where on March 19, 1924 they danced at the now demolished Gladmer Theatre (231 N. Washington Avenue). At the time, there was considerable buzz around the event, which was sponsored by the local Zonta club, an organization of business and professional women. In fact, the Lansing State Journal ran a series of seven articles prior to the performance, each of which helped build local interest by naming the dancers and describing the costumes and music locals could expect to see and hear. The long review which appeared the following day suggests the performance was rapturously received; the Denishawn Company was said by the Lansing State Journal to "thrill the audience," and the newspaper noted a crowd remained to applaud the Denishawns until Ruth St. Denis made a curtain speech.

As depicted in The Chaperone, Brooks was an unruly teen. She was dismissed from Denishawn in May 1924. Within a year, however, she found work in the movies. A July 22, 1926 article in the Lansing State Journal titled “Little Louise Brooks Is on Way to Success” pointed the way to her eventual stardom. Within months, she was featured in films shown at the Gladmer as well as the Strand (211 S. Washington Avenue) and Capitol (204 N. Washington Avenue) theaters in Lansing. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Even though I have seen it three times already, I am looking forward to watching The Chaperone again on Sunday night, and in between Thanksgiving day preparations and celebrations, perhaps once again. How long does the turkey take to cook, with homemade stuffing?

BTW: The Chaperone is being released on DVD on Tuesday, November 26th.Click HERE is buy a copy. My brief amazon.com review, "A richly detailed period piece," reads "I like this film, and not just because it centers on a young Louise Brooks -- brilliantly portrayed in an Oscar-nomination worthy performance by vivacious Haley Lu Richardson. I like it because it is a worthy and richly detailed period piece which viewers of today can relate to -- just like Downton Abbey."

This post concludes with a reminder that the classic Louise Brooks' film, Pandora's Box, will be screened on Saturday, November 23 in San Diego, California - with live musical accompaniment. The San Diego Symphony Orchestra will screen the 1929 film at Copley Symphony Hall to mark the 90th anniversary of the San Diego Fox theater, which opened in 1929. The San Diego Symphony Orchestra will not appear as part of this performance, but instead, the film is accompanied by a live soundtrack performance on the Fox Theater Organ by Russ Peck. More information about this event can be found HERE.

Louise Brooks inspired biopic The Chaperone set for TV broadcast premiere and DVD release

This November is set to be a BIG November for fans of Louise Brooks. PBS has announced that the Louise Brooks inspired bio-pic The Chaperone will air on broadcast television in the United States on Sunday, November 24 at 9:00 p.m. That's during the regular PBS Masterpiece time slot. (Check your local listings!) And, just two days later, the film will be released on DVD and digital in the United States.

The Chaperone is the first ever theatrical release from PBS Masterpiece, and as the DVD proclaims, it is from the creator of Downton Abbey, the hit PBS Masterpiece series and recent worldwide smash hit film. The creator is Julian Fellows, who penned the scripts for Downton Abbey.

The Chaperone was directed by Michael Engler, who directed episodes of the hit TV series, and it was produced and stars Elizabeth McGovern, who also stars in Downton.

One trip can change everything ... "The Chaperone follows Louise Brooks, who would become a 1920s silver screen sensation of the Jazz Age, a few years before her fame. A 15-year-old student in Wichita, Kansas, she has the opportunity to go to New York to study with a leading dance troupe. Her mother (Victoria Hill) insists there be a chaperone, and Norma Carlisle (Elizabeth McGovern), a local society matron who never broke a rule in her life, impulsively volunteers to accompany Louise (Haley Lu Richardson) to New York for the summer." As the descriptive copy states "Its a story full of surprises -- about who these women really are and who they eventually become."

I like this film, and not just because it centers on a young Louise Brooks -- brilliantly portrayed in an Oscar-nomination worthy performance by vivacious Haley Lu Richardson. I like it because it is a worthy and richly detailed period piece which viewers of today can relate to -- just like Downton Abbey.

I have seen the film three times, but plan to watch it again on November 24. I also plan on getting a copy of the DVD, which regrettably doesn't see to have any bonus material. (Come on PBS, you can do better!) I have written a lot on this film. My main piece, "Never the Victim: Louise Brooks and The Chaperone," was published on Film International. Check it out. This blog also contains a number of Chaperone related posts, including a brief interview with Laura Moriarty, who's best selling 2012 novel was the basis of the PBS film.

TV date announced for Louise Brooks inspired film The Chaperone

At last, the date for the television debut of The Chaperone has been announced. According to the venerable Willow and Thatch website, the show will broadcast on PBS on Sunday, November 24th.

Following a too limited theatrical release in April, The Chaperone was made available for streaming in August on PBS Passport, a members only channel. Now comes the announcement of its national broadcast date - something Louise Brooks' fans across the United States have been waiting for!

The Chaperone is based on Laura Moriarty’s 2012 New York Times bestselling novel and reunites several individuals associated with the hit PBS series, Downton Abbey. Among them is Julian Fellowes, who scripted Downton Abbey and adapted The Chaperone, and Elizabeth McGovern, who starred in the TV series and produced and stars in The Chaperone. Michael Engler, who directed episodes of the TV show as well as the just released Downton Abbey film, directed The Chaperone.

McGovern, who played Lady Cora Grantham in Downton Abbey, stars opposite young actress Haley Lu Richardson, who plays Louise Brooks. The Chaperone is a fictionalized account of the summer when the 15 year old Brooks left Wichita, Kansas to travel to New York City to attend the Denishawn School of dance. IMHO, Haley Lu Richardson is terrific in the role of Brooks, a talented though petulant teenager. She is deserving of an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress. The costuming in the film is also quite good.

Despite the many mixed reviews the film has received in newspaper and magazine around the world, it is a film well worth watching -- especially if you are a fan of Louise Brooks OR Downton Abbey. Back in April, I penned a long review about The Chaperone for Film International. You can read my review HERE.

Norwood Public Library hosts The Chaperone reading group on June 19

The Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts will host a reading group on June 19 to discuss The Chaperone. More information can be found HERE.

Turn the Page Book Group - The Chaperone
Wednesday, June 1910:00—11:00 AM Simoni Room Morrill Memorial Library 33 Walpole St., Norwood, MA, 02062

The Morrill Memorial Library’s monthly Turn the Page Book Group will meet on Wednesday, June 19 at 10 am and 7 pm to discuss The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty. The library describes the book as "A novel about the friendship between an adolescent, pre-movie-star Louise Brooks, and the 36-year-old woman who chaperones her to New York City for a summer, in 1922, and how it changes both their lives."

A New York Times bestseller and the USA Today #1 Hot Fiction Pick, The Chaperone is a captivating account of the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in the summer of 1922. It was recently made into a feature film starring Elizabeth McGovern by the creators of Downton Abbey.

Copies of the book in a number of formats will be available to pick up at the Circulation Desk. Light refreshments will be served.

To sign up for either the morning or evening session, led by Patty Bailey and first-time guest host Geri Harrold, please call 781-769-0200, x110, or stop by the library Reference or Information desk. Well more than half of the seats are taken for this highly anticipated event.

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On a not unrelated note, author Laura Moriarty was recently on "One on One with Victor Hogstrom," a television show on the local PBS affiliate (KPTS Channel 8) in Wichita, Kansas. In the thirty minute show, Moriarty discusses the mission of her novels. She also talks about The Chaperone, the novel she wrote about a certain Kansas-born film star that has been made into a new movie.

From Louise Brooks to Downton Abbey to The Chaperone to Downton Abbey and back to Louise Brooks

The new trailer for the forthcoming Downton Abbey movie has just been released, and guess what, Lady Mary Crawley (played by charming actress Michelle Dockery) has a keen Louise Brooks hairstyle. It's so smashing, in fact, that yesterday InStyle magazine penned a story titled "Michelle Dockery Has the Most Covetable Baby Bangs in the Downton Abbey Movie."

It has been three years since the acclaimed television series went off the air. And the InStyle story notes a couple of the changes that have taken place since last we saw the show's much beloved characters: "Another prominent shift between the beloved PBS drama and its upcoming theatrical reboot? Michelle Dockery’s hair! Dockery (aka Lady Mary Crawley) has elevated her flapper-esque bob in the years since the series’s finale — she now has that coveted micro-fringe blanketing the top of her forehead. Though a retro style, the daring look has found a modern audience among stars like Emma Roberts and Charlize Theron."

Lady Mary Crawley has worn her hair short in the past, but this new look with bangs is something a little different. As W magazine put it, "it’s 1927, and the Crawleys are more modern than ever. Lady Mary wears a vest! She also sports a very cute Louise Brooks bob."

Though sometimes obscure, there are many connections between Downtown Abbey and Louise Brooks. The show's creator and writer, Julian Fellowes, is enamored with the story of Louise Brooks. In the past, he has noted how much he appreciated Barry Paris' 1989 biography of the actress, and has also noted that his mother wore bobbed hair and was said to resembled the silent film star. Besides penning the TV show, Fellowes also penned the script for The Chaperone, the new film from PBS Masterpiece which tells the story of Louise Brooks 1922 trip to New York City.

The Chaperone came about when Downton Abbey star Elizabeth McGovern was hired to read the audio book version of Laura Moriarty's novel of The Chaperone. (The Louise Brooks Society provided the image of Louise Brooks which adorns the cover of both the book and the audio version.) McGovern liked Moriarty's book so much she bought the film rights and went on to produce The Chaperone film. Besides recruiting Fellowes to write its script, McGovern also brought Downton Abbey series director Micheal Engler on board to direct the film.

The one other Louise Brooks connection to Downton Abbey is actress Shirley MacLaine. Like Fellowes, she is an admitted devotee of Louise Brooks, having once hoped to play the silent film star in old age. In Downton Abbey, she plays the mother of Elizabeth McGovern's character, who is the mother of Michelle Dockery's character.

The Downton Abbey movie opens in theaters on September 20.

The Chaperone opens in Los Angeles and elsewhere on April 5th

The Louise Brooks inspired film The Chaperone opens in Los Angeles and elsewhere starting tomorrow. The film debuted in New York City on March 29th, and today opens in theaters in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Encino, and Irvine, California. For more information and ticket availability, including which other cities in California, New York and New Jersey where the film will be shown, visit thechaperonefilm.com and click on the "Theaters" tab. Unfortunately, this film is in limited release. So, if you want to see it on the big screen, visit the link above.

LA moviegoers can catch an exclusive Q&A with The Chaperone star Elizabeth McGovern on April 5th. Tickets and further information are available HERE.

A number of early reviews of The Chaperone have appeared in East Coast publications, like the New York Times. The film's best review so far comes from Rex Reed, who called The Chaperone "A film of uncommon rapture, albeit one with little of the noisy, fast-moving action contemporary audiences have come to expect." That is true, and to the point. Reed's Observer piece was headlined "The Chaperone Is a Sublime Account of Flapper Icon Louise Brooks’ Early Life."

In September of last year, The Chaperone played at the Los Angeles Film Festival; the film's producer and star, Elizabeth McGovern, was asked about the film. In the video below, she talks about what drew her to this project, and of course, mentions Louise Brooks along the way.

The Chaperone is the first theatrical release from PBS Masterpiece. They have updated their webpage, and had this to say: "Louise Brooks, the 1920s silver screen sensation who never met a rule she didn’t break, epitomized the restless, reckless spirit of the Jazz Age. But, just a few years earlier, she was a 15 year-old student in Wichita, Kansas for whom fame and fortune were only dreams. When the opportunity arises for her to go to New York to study with a leading dance troupe, her mother (Victoria Hill) insists there be a chaperone. Norma Carlisle (Elizabeth McGovern, Downton Abbey), a local society matron who never broke a rule in her life, impulsively volunteers to accompany Louise (Haley Lu Richardson) to New York for the summer.

Why does this utterly conventional woman do this? What happens to her when she lands in Manhattan with an unusually rebellious teenager as her ward?  And, which of the two women is stronger, the uptight wife-and-mother or the irrepressible free spirit?  It’s a story full of surprises—about who these women really are, and who they eventually become.

Based on Laura Moriarty’s beloved New York Times best-selling novel, MASTERPIECE FILMS’ first theatrical release The Chaperone reunites the writer (Academy Award®-winner Julian Fellowes), director (Michael Engler) and star (Academy Award® nominee Elizabeth McGovern) of Downton Abbey for an immersive and richly emotional period piece. The film also stars Campbell Scott, Géza Röhrig, Miranda Otto, Robert Fairchild, and Blythe Danner."

Courtesy of PBS Distribution

I've seen The Chaperone, and I like it. In fact, I've seen it three times and could imagine watching it again in the future when I want a dose of Haley Lu Richardson's perfect charm. Richardson is the young actress who plays a young Louise Brooks, and in a way, she steals the show. I think fans of Louise Brooks will also like this film. Except for a few historical gaffs (all of which are subtle, and only one of which is a bit egregious), it is faithful to what we know about Brooks and her times. And therefore, recommended!

Courtesy of PBS Distribution

The Chaperone opens in New York City today, with special guest appearances

The Louise Brooks inspired film The Chaperone opens around New York City later today today. For more information and ticket availability, including which New York theaters the film is playing, visit thechaperonefilm.com and click on the "Theaters" tab.

And what's more, fans can catch Q & As with star Elizabeth McGovern and director Michael Engler at select NYC screenings of #TheChaperone today and tomorrow! If you can't make these screening, console yourself and be sure and check out this radio piece on WBUR, "From 'Downton Abbey' To 'The Chaperone': A Conversation With Julian Fellowes And Elizabeth McGovern."

A few days earlier, The Chaperone premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York - which is ironic since the former curator of film at NY MOMA once told Brooks in the 1940s that Pandora's Box had little value, and wouldn't add it to the Museum's film collection. More on The Chaperone's star studded premiere can be found on the Daily Mail website HERE and HERE.

The Chaperone is based on Laura Moriarty's best-selling novel of the same name. It was adapted for the screen by Downton Abbey creator and writer Julian Fellowes and directed by Michael Engler, who also directed the new Downton Abbey movie.

The film tells the story of the teenage dancer and future film star Louise Brooks, played by Haley Lu Richardson, who moves from Wichita, Kansas to study dance in New York City at the famed Denishawn school under the tutelage of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. Brooks is accompanied by a respectable society lady from her hometown, played by Elizabeth McGovern, who finds her life transformed by the experience. Both on a quest.

If you like all the red carpet fashion shots in the Daily Mail stories, then you will certainly want to check out  this story from Beyond Fashion Magazine, "Candice Donnelly Talks Designing Costumes for the PBS Masterpiece Premiere Feature Film The Chaperone."

Photo by Barry Wetcher  Courtesy of PBS Distribution

Photo by Barry Wetcher  Courtesy of PBS Distribution

Photo by Barry Wetcher  Courtesy of PBS Distribution

And for good measure one more time (in case you haven't seen it), here is the official PBS trailer to the film, which gives a good sense of the film's attention to historical detail, both in terms of clothing and fashion and interior settings. 

A few thoughts on the Louise Brooks-inspired PBS Masterpiece film, The Chaperone

I've seen The Chaperone, and I like it. It's a good film, and its heart is in the right place. I could well imagine watching it again in the future when I want a dose of Haley Lu Richardson's charm: she is the young actress who plays a young Louise Brooks. I think fans of Louise Brooks will also like it. Except for a few historical gaffs (all of which are subtle, and only one of which is a bit egregious), it is faithful to what we know about Brooks and her times. I won't say anymore about the film while I compose my thoughts for a proper review.

The Chaperone -- the first theatrical release from PBS Masterpiece -- will have only a limited theatrical release. That's unfortunate, because I think this film has the potential to help swell the ranks of Brooks' many fans. It should also draw new readers to Laura Moriarty's novel of the same name, on which the film is based.

The Chaperone opens March 29th in New York City. It opens on April 5th in Los Angeles, and then in other select cities throughout April and May. Those cities include Washington D.C., Atlanta, San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon. It also opens in April in Philadelphia, a city mentioned in the film. One city also mentioned in the film where no opening date has yet been set (at least according to the film's website as of today) is Wichita, Kansas -- Brooks' hometown and the setting for some of the early and late scenes in the film. The cities and theaters where the film is set to open can be found at www.thechaperonefilm.com I encourage everyone to check whether The Chaperone is showing in a theater near them.

Much has been made about the connections between The Chaperone and Downton Abbey, the wildly popular PBS series. It's been something I've been talking about (see this 2012 Film International interview) and blogging about (see this 2013 Louise Brooks Society blog) for more than a few years. The film's website www.thechaperonefilm.com reveals even more.

The Chaperone audiobook,
read by Elizabeth McGovern

Downton Abbey star Elizabeth McGovern is also the star of The Chaperone; she plays the title character and also produced the film. According to www.thechaperonefilm.com, "McGovern came to produce and star in an adaptation of Laura Moriarty’s acclaimed eponymous novel in an unlikely fashion—she was hired to read it aloud as an audio book." McGovern recalled, "It was the first time in my life I’ve ever had that moment where I read a book and thought to myself, ‘this would be a fantastic film.’ I’ve always had in the back of my mind that I should be on the lookout in books for great parts, but that never connected for me until I was sitting at a microphone recording an audiobook."


Eventually, McGovern approached Downton Abbey screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who had his own connection to Louise Brooks through his mother. According to www.thechaperonefilm.com, Fellowes recalled, “When my mother was a girl, she used to be mistaken for Louise Brooks, because, in those days, with silent pictures, nobody knew what their voices were like. So, the fact that my mother was English didn’t put fans of the real Louise Brooks off. After a bit, she started signing autographs as if she were Brooks." [See the previous blog for other candidates for the Louise Brooks look-alike hall of fame.]

Fellowes added, "I am very interested by Louise Brooks, who is the central character in both the book and the film. She was a silent film star and rather unusual .... She wasn’t just a kind of Hollywood cutie. She was rather more than that. So, I became very intrigued by this idea of tracing her origins."

Fellowes' efforts in tracing Brooks' origins are affecting. The Chaperone should be of interest to fans of Downton Abbey. Besides its website, there is also a Facebook page and Twitter account and Instagram account to follow the latest on this new film release.

Official Trailer for Louise Brooks inspired film The Chaperone

A release date has been set and a trailer released for the new Louise Brooks inspired film The Chaperone. According to it's Facebook page and IMDb page and other sources, the film opens in theaters in New York on March 29, and in L.A. on April 5. Following its theatrical release, the film will air on PBS television.

Produced by PBS Masterpiece and based on the 2012 New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by Laura Moriarty, The Chaperone reunites the writer (Oscar-winner Julian Fellowes), director (Michael Engler), and star (Elizabeth McGovern) of Downton Abbey for "an immersive and richly emotional period piece." The film stars Haley Lu Richardson as a teenage Louise Brooks, as well as Campbell Scott, Victoria Hill, Geza Rohrig, Blythe Danner, and Miranda Otto (as dance great Ruth St. Dennis) and Robert Fairchild (as dance great Ted Shawn). A website for the much anticipated film has also been established at www.thechaperonefilm.com/ (There is also an old PBS webpage.)

The Louise Brooks Society and the Louise Brooks community has long anticipated the release of The Chaperone. (We're fans of the novel, and in fact, the Louise Brooks Society provided the cover image for the hardcover and softcover editions of the book in the United States, as well as other editions released around the world.)

The Chaperone takes place against the backdrop of the tumultuous early 1920’s. A Kansas woman (Elizabeth McGovern in the title role) is forever changed when she chaperones a beautiful and talented 15-year-old dancer named Louise Brooks (played by Haley Lu Richardson) to New York for the summer. One is eager to fulfill aspiration of dance stardom; the other is on a mission to unearth the mysteries of her past.

PBS Distribution puts it this way: "Louise Brooks the 1920s silver screen sensation who never met a rule she didn’t break, epitomized the restless, reckless spirit of the Jazz Age. But, just a few years earlier, she was a 15 year-old student in Wichita, Kansas for whom fame and fortune were only dreams. When the opportunity arises for her to go to New York to study with a leading dance troupe, her mother insists there be a chaperone. Norma Carlisle (Elizabeth McGovern), a local society matron who never broke a rule in her life, impulsively volunteers to accompany Louise (Haley Lu Richardson) to New York for the summer. Why does this utterly conventional woman do this? What happens to her when she lands in Manhattan with an unusually rebellious teenager as her ward? And, which of the two women is stronger, the uptight wife-and-mother or the irrepressible free spirit? It’s a story full of surprises—about who these women really are, and who they eventually become."

Besides a Facebook page, there are also Twitter account and Instagram account to follow the latest on this new film release.

Want to find out more? Check out this 2012 interview with Chaperone author Laura Moriarty by Louise Brooks Society director Thomas Gladysz on the San Francisco Chronicle website. There is also a related LBS blog posted at the time we had the privilege of introducing Laura Moriarty at one of her author events around the time of the book's release. Stay tuned to this blog and the Louise Brooks Society website and Twitter account for the latest news on this exciting new release.

What's a Louise Brooks Society blog post without a gorgeous picture of Louise Brooks? Here is a portrait of the 16 year old dancer (and future film star) taken during her first season (spoiler alert) with Denishawn dancing alongside legend Martha Graham (who is not a character in the new film, though was likely present during some of the NYC scenes depicted in the film). I think Haley Lu Richardson looks the part.

Of all her fellow dancers, Brooks looked up to Martha Graham the most. In later years, she told Kenneth Tynan, “Graham['s] genius I absorbed to the bone during the years we danced together on tour.”

Brooks, apparently, also made an impression on Graham. In her autobiography, Blood Memory, Graham wrote, “Louise Brooks was a member of the Denishawn Company and breathtakingly beautiful. She wore her hair always in that pageboy. Everything that she did was beautiful. I was utterly absorbed by her beauty and what she did. Even before she was introduced to me, I remember watching her across the room as she stood up with a group of girls from Denishawn, all dressed alike. Louise, though, was the absolute standout, the one. She possessed a quality of strength, an inner power that one felt immediately in her presence. She was very much a loner and terribly self-destructive. Of course, it didn’t help that everyone gave her such a difficult time. I suppose I identified with her as an outsider. I befriended her, and she always seemed to be watching me perform, watching me in the dressing room. She later said, ‘I learned how to act by watching Martha Graham dance.”

Downton Abbey and Louise Brooks

With Downton Abbey about to begin its fourth season, it is worth noting some of the surprising connections between the popular PBS television show and Louise Brooks. The popular star, known for her distinctive bob hair style, was just beginning her career as a dancer and actress in the silent film era.

Fans of the period drama, which is set in the first decades of the 20th century, may have noticed a scene where one of the downstairs help can be seen reading a vintage issue of Photoplay, the leading movie magazine of the time. Mabel Normand, one of the silent era's leading female stars, is on the cover.

The show's connection with the silent film era doesn't end there. The series also has some rather interesting ties to Louise Brooks.

In 2011, a handful of English writers were asked by the Guardian newspaper which books had most impressed them during the course of the year. The answer given by actor, novelist, screenwriter, director, Oscar winner and Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes caused a bit of a stir, as the book he mentioned was first published in 1989. Fellowes' answer read:

"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."

Fellowes' eloquent appreciation of Paris' acclaimed biography echoes the many superb reviews the book received when it was first published. UK novelist Angela Carter praised it, as did the Times Literary Supplement. The latter noted, "Louise Brooks seems to have had such a rare intelligence and humor that this is not a tale of tragedy but a study in fierce originality."

Might Fellowes be aware 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 interest in someday playing Brooks on screen.

Additionally, one of the other stars of Downton Abbey, Elizabeth McGovern, has a similar interest in the bobbed 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 dancer with the Denishawn Dance company.

The Chaperone is in development with Fox Searchlight, with Fellowes set to pen the script, McGovern set to play the title character, and McGovern's husband, Simon Curtis, set to direct. Shirley MacLaine would be a great choice to play Louise Brooks' mother, a key character in the early pages of The Chaperone.

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.