Thursday, September 30, 2010

She is everywhere, and she is "fearless"

This collage image featuring the one and only Louise Brooks seems to be showing up everywhere. 

Last week, a friend who lives in Portland, Oregon sent me snapshot of it taken in a local store window. And yesterday, my wife brought me home a postcard with the image which she bought in a store in Petaluma, California. 

Earlier, I also noticed it on a handbag or some such item in a store window not far from where I live in the Noe Valley neighborhood of San Francisco.

The image, which is copyrighted 2010, is the work of a design collective known as Papayaart. And in fact, if you visit their stylish website at www.papayaart.com you will see that they use a variant of this image on their homepage. It's an effective image - and one easily applied to various products. According to their website, their designs and products are distributed all around the world.

I like the image. I also noticed a collaged image of Ruth St. Denis on their website.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Kevin Brownlow: "My Life in Archives"

Back in May, the eminent and now Academy Award winning British film historian Kevin Brownlow gave a talk at the London Television Centre. His talk, part of series called the Jane Mercer Memorial Lecture, was titled "My Life in Archives."

As fans of Louise Brooks are likely aware, Brownlow has been a longtime champion of the actress. He befriended her in the late 1960’s, they corresponded for many years (reportedly some 200 letters), and she was included (a bit prominently) in three of Brownlow’s most significant works - the groundbreaking book The Parade’s Gone By (1968), the seminal 13 part filmed history of the American silent cinema, Hollywood (1979), and the also remarkable 3 part history of European silent film, Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood (TV series, 1996).

The Parade’s Gone By is widely considered the single most import history of silent film. And thus, it’s a bit notable that the book contains a note of thanks by Brownlow which reads, “I owe an especial debt to Louise Brooks for acting as a prime mover in this book’s publication.”


2010 Jane Mercer Lecture part 1 from Gerry Lewis Productions on Vimeo.

During Brownlow’s talk, the British film historian speaks about the actress on two occasions. He claims at one point that his actions led to the destruction of the last remaining print of the James Cruze gangster film, The City Gone Wild (1927), which featured Brooks.


2010 Jane Mercer Lecture part 2 from Gerry Lewis Productions on Vimeo.

And, at a later point, he talks about the time he slept in Brooks’ bed. Watch the clips of this truly fascinating lecture to find out exactly what Brownlow meant by each claim.  


2010 Jane Mercer Lecture part 3 Q&A from Gerry Lewis Productions on Vimeo.

And, if you haven't already done so, go out and get yourself a copy of The Parade's Gone By, which is available either through amazon.com or through independent booksellers. I can't recommend either Hollywood or Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood, as each is out-of-print and sells for hundreds of dollars. (Each also includes brief clips of Louise Brooks.)

A little more on Kevin Brownlow and his many activities as an author, documentary filmmaker, and archivist can be found on his production company website, Photoplay Productions. There is also a Wikipedia page for the film historian which contains links to other online biographies, articles and links. [ A bit more at examiner.com ]

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The World Encyclopedia of the Film

I love old reference books, for they have a tale to tell.. . . .

This past weekend, I went to the BIG book sale sponsored by the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. I go every year, and always make a point of hitting the last day of the sale when every book is $1.00. I always find something - especially on the table of film books. One of the books I found this year was The World Encyclopedia of the Film by Tim Cawkwell and John M. Smith. This over-sized 444 page tome was published in 1972 by the A & W Visual Library. Seeminlgy, this book originated in Great Britian.

I hadn't ever seen this book before, which I guess was why it caught my eye among the numerous celebrity biographies and old works of "film history" published by Barnes, Citadel, Castle, etc.... So, at one dollar, I figured I would take a chance. Text on the back cover claimed it was by far the "most-complete" work of its kind.

What interests me about old reference works is the way in which they reflect the accepted facts and opinions of the time. Take, for example, this brief entry on Louise Brooks. 


Brooks was born in 1906, not 1900. Three of her films from 1927 are not listed, as isn't Empty Saddles from 1936. An emphasis is given to her work as a writer - which is interesting, as the emphasis would shift to her European films within the next decade. And Brooks' German films are listed with their German names, not the more familiar English-language titles. Within the context of this book, Brooks' entry is brief - but at least she is included. Most every film reference work from earlier decades did not include her.

The entry on G.W. Pabst is interesting in a similar way. Now-a-days, most every piece on Pabst begins with his work with Louise Brooks in Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl. Here, those two films - which would soon under-go a revival - are only listed. 


What old reference works tell us is the ever developing history of a thing. I also picked up an early 1980's encyclopedia  of rock music. I noticed right off a near full page entry on Rick Springfield, a performer now not as big as he once was. (I did see him in concert while in college!) Lesson learned: times change, and so do reference works.

Monday, September 27, 2010

A Beggars of Life revival redux

Beggars of Life, the 1928 silent film featuring Louise Brooks, is undergoing a revival – and in more ways and more instances than even I had been aware.

On September 19, Beggars of Life was screened at the 30th Cambridge Film Festival in Cambridge, England. The live musical accompaniment for the event was provided by the Dodge Brothers.

In April, as readers of this blog may remember, the British roots music combo had accompanied the film at a screening which was part of the British Silent Film Festival.

AND now, reports the Daily Echo, a UK newspaper, the Dodge Brothers were at it again. “The band was back in action at Brockenhurst College last night when eight bicycles were used to power a projector for a screening of Beggars of Life, a 1928 silent movie starring Wallace Beery, Louise Brooks and Richard Arlen. Music was by The Dodge Brothers and silent film pianist Neil Brand.”

Bicycle powered projectors! Who woulda thunk? (more at examiner.com)

Saturday, September 25, 2010

The Diary of a Lost Girl: A brief history of a banned book

Every September since 1982, the American reading public observes Banned Books Week. This year, as in years past, hundreds of libraries and bookstores draw attention to the problem of censorship by hosting events and by creating displays of challenged works. It about creating awareness. The 2010 Banned Books Week runs September 25th through October 2nd.

Recently, I did my small part by helping bring a once censored work back into print. The book is called The Diary of a Lost Girl. It's by a turn of the last century German writer few today have heard of. Her name is Margarete Böhme. Her book, a once controversial bestseller, had been out of print in the United States for more than 100 years.

What I did was to publish a reprint of the original English-language translation. I also wrote a long introduction detailing the book’s remarkable history. As there is little in English about this book and its author, my introduction breaks ground. More importantly, it gives voice once again to a story which critics had long tried to silence.

Though little known today, The Diary of a Lost Girl was nothing less than a literary phenomenon in the early 20th century. It's considered by scholars of German literature to be one of the best-selling books of its time.

The book tells the story of Thymian, a young woman forced by circumstance into a life of prostitution. Her story goes something like this. Seduced by her Father’s business associate, the teenage Thymian conceives a child which she is forced to give up; she is then cast out of her home, scorned by society, and ends up in a reform school – from which she escapes and by twists of fate hesitantly turns to life as a high-class escort. Prostitution is her only means of survival.

In 1907, the English writer Hall Caine described the book as the "poignant story of a great-hearted girl who kept her soul alive amidst all the mire that surrounded her poor body." Many years later, a contemporary scholar called it “Perhaps the most notorious and certainly the commercially most successful autobiographical narrative of the early twentieth century.”

The author of The Diary of a Lost Girl, Margarete Böhme (1867-1939), was a progressive minded writer who meant to expose the hypocrisy of society and the very un-Christian behavior of some of its leading members. She also meant to show-up the double standards by which women of all ages suffer. Böhme’s frank treatment of sexuality (by the standards of the day) only added fuel to the fire of outrage which greeted the book in some quarters.

The Diary of a Lost Girl is an unlikely work of social protest. It’s also a tragedy – in 1909, a newspaper in New Zealand called it “the saddest of modern books.”

First published in Germany in 1905 as Tagebuch einer Verlorenen, Böhme’s book proved an enduring work – at least for a while and despite attacks by critics and social groups. The book was translated into 14 languages, and was reviewed and discussed across Europe. It inspired a popular sequel brought about by a flood of letters to the author, a controversial stage play banned in some German cities, a parody, lawsuits (Böhme herself was accused of being a prostitute – how else could a woman have written such a book?), two silent films - each of which were in turn censored, and a score of imitators.

The book confronts readers with the story of a likeable young women forced into a life of degradation. The complicity of her family – and by extension society – in her downward turn is provocative. However, Thymian – a truly endearing character and a heroine till the end, refuses to be coarsened by her experiences. She also refuses to let others define her - she defines herself. At the time, Böhme’s book helped open a dialogue on issues around the treatment of women.

In 1907, when the book was translated into English, its British publisher placed an advertisement in newspapers. The ads proclaimed Böhme’s work “The Book that Has Stirred the Hearts of the German People,” but somewhat defensively added “It is outspoken to a degree, but the great moral lesson it conveys is the publishers’ apology for venturing to reproduce this human document.”

In response to a review of the book in the Manchester Guardian, the Rev. J.K. Maconachie of the Manchester Association Against State Regulation of Vice wrote a surprising letter to the editor. He stated, “The appearance in Germany of this remarkable book, together with the stir it has made there and the fact that its author is a woman, betoken the uprising which has taken place in recent years amongst German women against the evils and injustice which the book reveals. . . . It may be hoped that discriminating circulation of The Diary of a Lost One will help many here to realize, in the forceful words of your reviewer, ‘the horror of setting aside one section of human beings for the use of another.’”


Back in Germany, the same sorts of groups which objected to the book also objected to the two films made from it. The first, from 1918, is considered lost, but we know from articles of the time that it was withdrawn from circulation. The second film, which starred Louise Brooks, has only come down in a heavily censored form.

As the second film's 1929 censorship records show, various groups including a German morality association, a national organization for young women, a national organization of Protestant girl’s boarding schools, and even the governor in Lower Silesia all voiced their objections to aspects of the film. As with the book, these groups objected to key scenes. Each found the overall work to be demoralizing.

By the end of the Twenties when G.W. Pabst released his version, The Diary of a Lost Girl was still in print and was still being reissued across Europe. It had by then sold more than 1,200,000 copies – ranking it among the 15 bestselling books of the era. Twenty five years after it was first published, Böhme's “terribly impressive book, full of accusations against society” was still considered a provocation. That’s why, just a very few years later at the beginning of the Nazi era, conservative groups still unsettled by its damning indictment of society deliberately drove it out-of-print.

In 1988, after decades of obscurity, a facsimile of the special 1907 edition (picture above) was published in Germany. It was followed in 1995 by a small paperback which featured Louise Brooks as Thymian on the cover. My illustrated reprint (picture above), also with Brooks on the cover and with some 40 pages of introductory and related material, appeared in late July.

Why did I do it? I was motivated, initially, by the remarkable history of the book. (Not discussed here is the lingering controversy behind its authorship. The book was first published as the actual diary of a real girl – and Böhme claimed only to be its editor.) Also, I feel now more than ever that The Diary of a Lost Girl is a worthwhile work of literature - one with a still relevant message. For me, it’s about creating awareness.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

A Beggars of Life revival

The 1928 Louise Brooks film, Beggars of Life, seems to be undergoing a revival. (More at examiner.com).

On Sunday, September 19, Beggars of Life was screened at the 30th Cambridge Film Festival in Cambridge, England. Live musical accompaniment was provided by the Dodge Brothers, a contemporary skiffle / rockabilly band out of England who play American-style “roots music.” The Cambridge screening was the second time in recent months that the Dodge Brothers have accompanied the film.

In August, Beggars of Life was screened as part of The Hollywood Heritage "Silents Under the Stars" series at the Paramount Ranch near Los Angeles, California. 

It will be screened next in Seattle, Washington as part of the "Trader Joe's Silent Movie Mondays" series at the Paramount Theatre on October 11th at 7:00 pm.

And again, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Saturday, October 23 at 7:30 pm. This screening, a 20th Anniversary Tribute to The Film Foundation, honors the institution which helped fund the George Eastman House restoration which has helped spur the current revival.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Love em and Leave em screening

JUST ADDED: I'll be introducing the 1926 Louise Brooks film, Love Em and Leave Em, at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont, California on Oct. 9th at 7:30 pm. It's a rare 16mm screening of a seldom seen film - one of Brooks' best American silents IMHO. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and have never been to Niles, here is the perfect opportunity to check things out.



Before hand (from about 7:00 pm), I'll be signing copies of my new edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl. And what's more, I am giving away a free Louise Brooks button to everyone who buys a book!
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