Monday, January 30, 2006

By the end of the Thirties

                                               

This somewhat common German postcard of Louise Brooks - likely manufactured around 1929 or 1930 - is for sale on eBay. The interesting thing about this particular card is that the Italian seller notes writing on the back of the card is dated 1939. That's kind of a long time for this postcard to have remained in circulation - especially considering Brooks' career had long been in decline by the end of the Thirties.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Back from Sacramento

Back from Sacramento, where I spent 5 hours on Friday at the California State Library looking through microfilm of various California newspapers. My search goes on . . . . My first task was to look through the Los Angeles Evening Herald. I've scoured this paper before - for film reviews, but this time I wanted to check for news items like Louise Brooks' marriage, divorce, bankruptcy, etc . . . . Unfortunately, I didn't turn up anything, though I did track down a long missing review of It's the Old Army Game. Regarding this film, the critic for the paper gushed, "Louise Brooks, who has the feminine lead, is pretty and attractive to an amazing degree and one becomes so interested in watching her pouts and baby smiles that it is difficult to remember afterwards just how good an actress she is. Her scenes with William Claxton - of All for You fame - furnish the few tears of the feature and in one or two situations both reach unexpected dramatic heights."

I also went through a long run of the Santa Monica Evening Outlook, where I turned up articles, reviews, stills and advertisements on twelve of Brooks' films. Curiously, the longer my search went on, the more familar the Santa Monica material seemed. At first, I thought I might be duplicating some earlier efforts. I checked and rechecked my notes. I hadn't looked at the Santa Monica Evening Outlook before - that was for certain. But still, the material I had come upon was like something I had seen before. Finally, it dawned on me that Santa Monica was next door to Venice Beach, and I had gone through the Venice Evening Vanguard. As it turns out, the two cities shared movie theaters. And their coverage of local screenings was somewhat similar. Both papers, for example, noted that election results would be broadcast to patrons who were attending the screening of Beggars of Life on the night of the1928 Presidential election.

Here is a nifty 1927 illustration I came across.



I spent about three hours going through the Santa Monica Evening Outlook, and I feel like I got some good stuff. The same cannot be said for the Vallejo Evening News and the Ventura County Star. I was hard pressed to find any movie coverage in these two small town newspapers, and so gave up looking after scanning a few months. There just wasn't much going on there, then. I also went through a few reels of the Santa Cruz Sentinal and the Daily Humbolt Times. I did find some movie coverage in these two small town papers, but seemingly, each town had only two or three theaters, and none of them seemed to show Paramount films. Back in the 1920's, local theaters were tied to the national studios. Some theaters would only show MGM or Fox films, and thus wouldn't show films from other competing studios. And, since the majority of Brooks' silent films were made for Paramount, her movies just weren't screened in some small towns and cities. That seems to be the case with Santa Cruz and Humbolt, California.

I am drawing to a close of my California newspaper survey, though I may return to the California State Library in a few months to tie up some loose ends - bibliographically speaking. I need to finish looking through the Bakersfield Californian for film reviews, and perhaps pick through the available Los Angeles newspapers for news items or bits in the local film, gossip and society columns. I like to be thorough . . . . and heck, you never know what you may find.

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Speaking of vintage comics

Speaking of vintage comics and silent film . . . . I recently ordered two comics books from Fantagraphics. Each contained 1920's comic strips featuring silent film stars. The two I purchased were Fatty Arbuckle and Mabel Normand and Her Funny Friends. Though their covers feature contemporary artwork, inside these 30+ page comic books is vintage material compiled from early issues of The Kinema Comic, a British publication. Each comic also includes a bonus paper toys drawn by Larry Semon - the silent film actor who started out as a cartoonist. Each comic book retails for $4.95, and can also be purchased directly from the editor.



As a bunch of these strips were published in England in the early 1920's, these two collections are the first in what may be a long series of reissues. Soon after receiving them, I emailed the editor, and she told me that a comic book featuring Ford Sterling (Louise Brooks fellow actor in a couples of films) is due out later this year. Hooray!

Friday, January 27, 2006

Some more interesting citations

I went to the library today (as I seem to do every week) to collect my inter-library loans and to continue my (seemingly never ending) search for new material on Louise Brooks. I came up with some interesting citations.

In search of material on the November, 1922 appearance by the Denishawn dance company in Ripon, I borrowed microfilm of the Ripon College Days - whose masthead claims it to be "the oldest college newspaper in Wisconsin." Though only a weekly from a small college, the paper ran an article in advance of the Denishawn appearance, as well as a thoughtful, front-page review afterward. "Storms of Applause Praise Work of Denishawn Dancers," by an anonymous student, is one of more considered and detailed reviews I have come across. It even quotes remarks Ruth St. Denis gave in a talk before a small group who gathered after the performance!

I requested Ripon College Days because it was the only newspaper I could find for this small Wisconsin town dating from the 1920's. I am not sure if there was a city paper. Nevertheless, this review is only the second (or third?) college newspaper review I have so far come across, the other being from the University of Michigan student newspaper. The Denishawn tour took them to a handful of college campuses. I will try to track down other college newspaper reviews, should they exist.

I also looked at the Hamilton Spectator, from Ontario, Canada. I found a number of articles and reviews relating to the March, 1922 and April, 1924 Denishawn performances. In 1924, Louise Brooks and the Denishawn company performed on two consecutive nights in Hamilton. And interestingly, the local paper reviewed each performance. "Denishawn Dancers A Delight to the Eye: They Gave One of the Most Charming Performances Ever Seen on a Local Stage at Grand Last Night" was followed by "Second Evening a Rare Delight: Denishawn Dancers Again Enraptured Audience at Grand Last Night." Together, these clippings make for one of the very few instances I know of when a local paper reviewed each performance of an engagement.

I also borrowed microfilm of the Hamilton Spectator dating from early 1926. And luckily, I uncovered a few clippings regarding the screening of The American Venus at the local Pantages theater. And so, slowly, I am building up the number of film-related clippings from Canada. . . .  Tomorrow, I have the opportunity to head to Sacramento and once again visit the California State Library, where I shall continue my survey of California newspapers. A report will follow.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Retrolook

Swiss Louise Brooks admirer and LBS friend Chantal Kury has launched her revamped website at www.retrolook.ch. This stylish site is called "Retrolook," and it highlights Chantal's accomplished work as a stylist, as well as some of the early film stars (namely Dietrich and Brooks) who have inspired her efforts. Chantal, herself, sports an appealing bob. She is pictured here.

            

Included on the site is a page on applying make-up to effect a Louise Brooks look. There is also a pdf of an earlier article featuring Chantal, from the January 2005 issue of Beauty Forum, titled "The Helmet is Back." Chantal's email said there is more in the works for her site, including an English-language version. Check it out.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Movie-land Puzzle

A vintage puzzle box with Louise Brooks and others has shown up on eBay. A very nifty (though over-priced) item. Brooks is only pictured on the cover - she is not depicted on the puzzles themselves. (Brooks is in the fourth row down and fourth over from the left.) Check it out.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever

Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever, a new pictorial, is set to be published by Rizzoli on October 10, 2006. This new, 240 page book is by Peter Cowie, and features a forward by Daniel Brooks.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

A very Louise Brooks-looking comic strip character

Here is something I noticed for sale on eBay, which includes a very Louise Brooks-looking comic strip character. This syndicated comic strip was called "Frank Merriwel." It ran from 1930-1934, and featured a college kid named Frank that got in all sorts of adventures. The artist is Jack Wilhelm. In this particular 1931 strip, Frank is wooing a female character that looks very much like Louise Brooks. Anyone know much about this strip?

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Beggars of Life

For a long time now, Beggars of Life (1928) has seldom been seen on the big screen because no 35mm print was available, and some movie theaters could not or would not screen anything less than a 35mm print. Well, rumour has it that a 35mm print is in the works! It will be a "blow-up" of a rather nice 16mm print. Look for a probable 2007 debut.
Powered By Blogger