Thursday, March 31, 2005

New DVD of It's the Old Army Game


I have watched the new Sunrise Silents DVD release of It's the Old Army Game (1926), and think it is splendid. This color-tinted, 90 minute print is crisp and clean and contains a jaunty, syncopated score. I have seen the movie before on video, and never really cared for it all that much. This time round, however, I found that I really liked the film. Louise Brooks and W.C. Fields are both enjoyable to watch. And the story holds up better than I remember. It's the Old Army Game is no masterpiece, but is well worth watching.



IT'S THE OLD ARMY GAME (1926)
Cast: W.C. Fields, Louise Brooks, Blanche Ring, William Gaxton, Mary Foy, Mickey Bennett
Directed by Edward Sutherland.
In this epic of the American druggist, Elmer Prettywillie (Fields) is an apothecary and humanitarian, ever ready to administer to those in distress. He also likes "the old army game" and believes in never giving a sucker an even break. Contains a number of classic Fields routines as he encounters his usual adversaries. It is fun to watch Louise Brooks laughing as she observes Fields doing some of his comedy routines in this film.

Monday, March 28, 2005

Mary Pickford

The next episode of American Experience on PBS will be devoted to Mary Pickford! This next episode is scheduled to air on April 4th - however, individuals should check their local listings for exact times and dates. For more information on this episode, check out the PBS webpage devoted to Pickford and silent film. There is extra material (a timeline, photo gallery, teacher's guide, etc...) scattered about the pages of this mini-site. You can even screen an entire early Mary Pickford film, plus excerpts from two later films.

Sunday, March 27, 2005

David Levine caricature

Back in 1982, the renown artist David Levine drew a caricature of Louise Brooks which ran in the New York Review of Books. That well know caricature is currently for sale through this publisher's website. I bought one of these a number of years ago. They are very nifty!

Saturday, March 26, 2005

SF PALM sale

Just got back from the annual duplicates sale at the San Francisco Performing Arts Museum & Library. I have been to this sale a few times in the past, and have also done some reseach at SF PALM and seen a few exhibits there as well. The sale features books, sheet music, programs, posters, record albums, etc.... There is not very much film-related stuff to be found, but the sale is a lot of fun and most everything there is cheap!

This year I spent $24.00 and came away with some treasures. Among the items I picked up was nice hardback first edition of Donald Spoto's biography of Lotta Lenya, which was signed by Spoto ($1.00). I also picked up The Alice Faye Movie Book, signed by Alice Faye ($3.00)! Most of the books I looked at were not signed, but I guess I just happened to find a few that were. . . . I also score a very nice hardback first edition of Ted Shawn's illustrated autobiography, One Thousand and One Thousand Night Stands, which was signed by Shawn ($8.00). Another Denishawn item I came across was The Story of Louis Horst and the American Dance by Ernestine Stodelle. Horst was the musical accompaniest for Denishawn in the early 1920's, including the years Louise Brooks was with the company. I hadn't known about this interesting booklet. I also found a hardback copy of The Story of Dance, by John Martin ($2.00). Martin was the dance critic of the New York Times, as well as an early champion of both Ruth St. Denis and of dance as a serious art form deserving newspaper coverage. This 1946 pictorial survey includes a chapter on Denishawn which includes a picture of the company which includes Brooks. I hadn't ever seen this particular image before! So, all together, it was a good haul.

Friday, March 25, 2005

German and Austrian Glamour Before World War II

There is an article in today's New York Times about an exhibit which has just opened in New York City. The article begins "Picture a glamorous gala attended by beauties, uglies, writers, thinkers, artists, loners, actors, dancers, politicos, social swans and maybe a dash of royalty, from the eventful years in Austria and Germany between the turn of the last century and the Anschluss that preceded World War II. . . . The feast of guests might include the very people depicted in 'Portraits of an Age: Photography in Germany and Austria, 1900-1938' at the Neue Galerie."

Among those depicted in the show is the silent film star Asta Nielsen - "in the kind of close-cropped haircut that signaled women's emancipation," as well as Francis Lederer - pictured below. Nielsen played Lulu in 1923 an earlier film version of Wedekind's play, while Lederer co-starred with Louise Brooks in G.W. Pabst's 1929 film of Pandora's Box. I am not sure if there is a catalog to the exhibit. But if there is, it might well be worth looking at.

Thursday, March 24, 2005

A new Lulu

A new production of Alban Berg's Lulu will take the stage in England in April and May, 2005. The role of Lulu will be performed by soprano Lisa Saffer. The production is being put on by the English National Opera.

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

I recently came across

I recently came across this sentence from a novel by Salman Rushdie. "To understand just one life, you have to swallow the world." I feel it explains my approach to Louise Brooks.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

John Decker

Back in 1925, the New York Evening World ran a review of the just opened Ziegfield Follies. The review stated " . . . a distinct hit was made last night by Louise Brooks, who is dancing in several numbers." The review also included a caricature of Brooks and her fellow Follies performers Dorothy Knapp and Ray Dooley (see page 91 of the Barry Paris biography).

The caricature was drawn by John Decker, the subject of a just published biography. According to the publisher "With all of his amazing talent - and scandalous exploits - it's surprising that the name of John Decker isn't more familiar today. In Bohemian Rogue: The Life of Hollywood Artist John Decker, author Stephen C. Jordan seeks to resurrect this forgotten figure of 20th century art. Jordan delves into the mystery of a man who overcame a difficult childhood and notorious apprenticeship to become a respected artist (and outrageous party-giver) in Hollywood. Bohemian Rogue chronicles the relatively brief - but eccentric - life of this neglected painter, caricaturist, and sculptor." Along with his caricature of Brooks, Decker also drew many of the stars of the silent film era. Though only a few are shown in this new book, it looks interesting.

Monday, March 21, 2005

Where and Why Miss Brooks Draws the Line

ON THIS DAY IN 1926: Newspapers around the country ran an illustrated article on the draped nudes scandal entitled ''Where and Why Miss Brooks Draws the Line.'' This widely syndicated article ran in the Sunday supplement / Sunday magazine section of various papers including the Philadelphia Inquirer,Washington Post, and Sacramento Union. For a larger scan of the article, see  www.cartoonretro.com/louise/brooksmodestysm.jpg.

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