Wednesday, November 17, 2004

At the library this morning


Microfilm for three newspapers was waiting for me at the library this morning. Call me nerd, but I do enjoy researching. . . . Three months of the Cleveland Plain Dealer arrived, which enabled me to more-or-less complete my survey of that newspaper in preparation for my visit to the Ohio Historical Society. Tracking down dates for screenings of Brooks' films in the Plain Dealer will enable me get through microfilm of the three or four other Cleveland newspapers much more effeciantly.
Four reels of another Mid-west newspaper, the Milwaukee Herold, also arrived. The Herold was a rather impressive German-language newspaper, and in it, I found brief articles and substantial reviews of the two Denishawn performances in Milwaukee at the Pabst Theater. Though I don't read German, I was able to tell that Brooks was singled out (along with Martha Graham) in one of the reviews.
Two reels of the Asheville Times also arrived. In this North Carolina newspaper, I dug up articles, advertisements and a review of the 1923 Denishawn performance in that town. Brooks was mentioned in one item. The other reel - containing the last couple of months of 1927 - contained material on the local showing Now We're in the Air and The City Gone Wild. Citations for these newly uncovered articles and reviews will be added to the LBS bibliographies.

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

The American Venus on TCM


A two minute trailer for The American Venus (1926) - a lost Louise Brooks film and her first credited film role - will be shown on the cable station, Turner Classic Movies, during the evening of Sunday, November 21st. Consult your local television listings for the time and channel.
This two minute film is part of program of trailers of lost films, and one of four such Paramount trailers which will be shown the evening of the 21st. For further information, see http://www.turnerclassicmovies.com/ThisMonth/Article/0,,84023,00.html

Sunday, November 14, 2004

Louise Brooks was born on this day


Future silent film star Louise Brooks was born on this day in 1906 in Cherryvale, Kansas. The Cherryvale Daily News ran a small item on the front page of newspaper. Happy Birthday, Louise.
If you haven't already seen them, you can still take a look at the remarkable batch of photographs which were recently auctioned off in New York. The photo's were part of the estate of the William Klein, a Rochester, New York film critic and longtime friend of the actress. (Klein can be seen in the 1998 documentary Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu.) There are some singular images here, including Louise Brooks at the age of three in her first public performance.

Saturday, November 13, 2004

In search of the Syracuse Herald


My inter-library loan request for the Syracuse Herald came back "negative." Curiously, no library has microfilm of this newspaper for the period I'm researching - the early and mid-1920's. And apparently, the only institutions which have bound volumes dating from the twenties are the Onondaga Historical Association and Onondaga Library System. Normally, bound volumes of newspaper are not loaned - they are just too big and fragile.
Would anyone who lives in Syracuse, New York or in Onondaga county be willing to track down a few reviews by visiting these Onondaga institutions? Denishawn performed in Syracuse in April, 1924. Having earlier gone through the Syracuse Post-Standard, I also have dates for a handful of screenings of Louise Brooks films.

Thursday, November 11, 2004

Today is Armistice Day


Today is Veteran's Day, a holiday originally known as "Armistice Day." That holiday was originally created to mark the end of World War I - the so-called "war to end all wars." During the silent film era - especially during the 1920's - many films were made based on that tragedy. Perhaps the best of them was The Big Parade (1925), which starred John Gilbert and Renee Adoree.
Recently, I've been reading Dark Star, a highly recommmended biography of Gilbert by his daughter, Leatrice Gilbert Fountain. Yesterday, I came across this remarkable paragraph. "Lois Wilson was working in New York at the time of the premiere there. Jack [ John Gilbert ] travelled East for the opening in the company of her fiance, Richard Dix. They shared a compartment on the train, carrying with them the three steel boxes containing the film. Lois met them at the station and went with them to deliver the film to the Astor Theater, where The Big Parade was to open."
I am sure this was the exception, but isn't it remarkable that an actor was responsible not only for transporting a film across country, but for delivering it to the theater where it was to be shown. "Hi, this is John Gilbert. I have a delivery. . . ." How times have changed.
Another film set during World War I was Now We're in the Air (1927), which starred Wallace Beery, Raymond Hatton, and Louise Brooks (in the role of twins). Yesterday, while doing research at the library, I came across this rather nifty newspaper advertisement for the film.
                           

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Even Digital Data Can Fade


There was a thought provoking article in today's New York Times by Katie Hafner, "Even Digital Memories Can Fade." The article begins . . . .
The nation's 115 million home computers are brimming over with personal treasures - millions of photographs, music of every genre, college papers, the great American novel and, of course, mountains of e-mail messages.
My computer is one of those 115 million, and I read Hafner's article in light of my research on Louise Brooks. Keep in mind that at least half of the "data" I have acquired on the actress (everything from rare portraits to bibliographical references, correspondence, webpages, and scans of newspaper and magazine articles) is in a digital format.
I do have a four drawer filing cabinet stuffed full of photocopies of vintage reviews, advertisements of Brooks' films, articles, films scripts, censorship files, and miscellaneous clippings from newspapers and magazines from around the world. I also have three or four boxes full of additional material - vintage magazines, programs, stills and other oversized items. Some of it is incredibly rare. I also have hundreds - if not a thousand - similar items in digital format - word docs, pdf files, html files, txt files, gifs and jpgs. I wonder how long all of this stuff will last. The article went on to state:
So dire and complex is the challenge of digital preservation in general that the Library of Congress has spent the last several years forming committees and issuing reports on the state of the nation's preparedness for digital preservation.
Hafner's article led me to the conclusion that I need to organize and back up everything I've collected and saved, not only in secondary digital files and formats - but to paper, when possible. I used to save things on a zip drive (a once popular storage medium) - until some of the zip discs wore out and I was unable to retrieve data. Now, everything resides on my Windows XP desktop computer.
Today's formats are likely to become obsolete and future software "probably will not recognize some aspects of that format," Mr. Thibodeau said. "It may still be a picture, but there might be things in it where, for instance, the colors are different."
The experts at the National Archives, like those at the Library of Congress, are working to develop uniformity among digital computer files to eliminate dependence on specific hardware or software.
How long will the material I've collected on Louise Brooks last? I don't know. How long will the Louise Brooks Society website - and all of its resulting information - last? I don't know. How long will this LiveJournal blog last? I don't know. Katie Hafner's article offers food for thought.

Tuesday, November 9, 2004

Notes on yesterday's trip to the library


Yesterday's trip to the library yielded some interesting results. I was able to dig up a few more reviews, articles and advertisements dating from Louise Brooks' time with the Denishawn dance company. This material - some of which mentioned Brooks - came from the Indianapolis Times and Sioux Falls Daily Press (from South Dakota). I also scavenged a few film reviews and advertisements (see earlier LiveJournal entry) from the New Orleans Item and the Manitoba Free Press (which comes from Winnipeg, Canada).

Three months of the Louisville Courier Journal also arrived. I was hoping to find something on Brooks' appearance as a night club dancer in Kentucky. In his biography of Brooks, Barry Paris mentions that she worked in that state in early 1935. I figured it must be in Louisville. I didn't find anything in the Courier Journal. So, I will next check the Lexington newspapers.

I also recieved a couple of months of the Miami Herald, where I was again looking for material on Brooks' appearances as a night club dancer. This time I hit the jackpot. There were numerous small articles, a few pictures, and lots of advertisements promoting "Louise Brooks and Dario." The featured performer at the Embassy Club where Brooks' was dancing was Marion Chase, a singer from New York City. I wasn't able to find out anything about her by searching Google. Is anyone familar with her?

One of the more interesting items was an advertisement for the Embassy Club which noted that boxer Max Baer, the world champion, would also be appearing on a particular evening. I wonder if Louise Brooks and Max Baer met?
                                                     
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