In celebration of Stuart Oderman (1940-2017)

As I type this blog, I am listening to one of my very favorite film soundtracks - Stuart Oderman's piano accompaniment to Pandora's Box. It was Oderman's exceptional, moving, romantic pastiche of classical piano music that helped me fall in love with Louise Brooks - and helped open up a world of music by the likes of Debussy, Satie, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, and others. Thank you Stuart Oderman. I owe you.

Back in the late 1990's, I was so desperate to re-enter Oderman's moving score that I made a tape cassette recording of the VHS soundtrack by placing my recorder next to the TV set. Despite its limitations, I have played it many times since -- almost to the point of it wearing out. Admittedly, it was a crude recording, and the fidelity was poor. And once, when I enthusiastically played it for a friend, a pianist, I could sense the look on their face was one of bewilderment. They likely only heard musical noise. I heard scenes from the film.

Stuart Oderman, one of the finest silent film accompanists, died on July 28 at the age of 77. The Louise Brooks Society mourns his passing.

Oderman was many things. Besides a pianist, he was also a writer and film historian. Oderman was the author of five books, including ones on Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Lillian Gish, and the Keystone Cops.

He also authored two volumes of memoirs called Talking to the Piano Player. The first volume includes interviews with some of the most important people of a bygone film era: Marlene Dietrich, Frank Capra, Colleen Moore, Jackie Coogan, Madge Bellamy, Aileen Pringle, Allan Dwan, Adela Rogers St. Johns, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Anita Loos, Leatrice Joy, Dorothy Davenport (Mrs. Wallace) Reid, Patsy Ruth Miller, Ann Pennington, Claire Windsor, Betty Bronson, Minta Durfee,  Lois Wilson and Constance Talmadge.The second volume featured interviews with Artie Shaw, Lita Grey, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Harry Richman, Veronica Lake, Marie Windsor, Joan Blondell, Gloria DeHaven, and Tallulah Bankhead

Significantly, for more than 53 years, Oderman accompanied and composed music for silent films at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, as well as at theaters, museums and universities across the United States, Canada, and Greece. His scores appear on VHS / DVD releases of Pandora's Box, the Charlie Chaplin documentary The Eternal Tramp, and the Harry Houdini film, The Master Mystery.

Television audiences may be familiar with his Laurel and Hardy series, and his work for the Comedy Channel.

Oderman came to his calling in a special way. While still in high school, the young movie buff used to cut classes in order to see silent films playing locally. In 1954, he snuck off to the Museum of Modern Art in New York to see the Lillian Gish film Broken Blossoms.

A lady sitting next to him took notice and said, "You belong in school." His response was, "I want to play piano for silent films." The woman turned out to be Gish. She took him by the hand down to the piano, Oderman later recounted, and introduced him to Arthur Kleiner, the celebrated silent film pianist.

Kleiner became his teacher and Gish his point-of-entry to the silent era. "She gave me a life," he says of the actress some consider the finest of the era. "I owe her."

For more on this remarkable person, check out these profiles in the Newark Star-Ledger and the New York Times.

Oderman in 1967 with actress Lillian Gish.
Credit Earl Wilson / The New York Times

Beggars of Life 78 rpm recordings of the film's theme song

In celebration of the forthcoming Kino Lorber release of Beggars of Life (1928), starring Louise Brooks -- as well as the publication of my new book, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, I decided to scan and post images of some of my vintage 78 rpm recordings of that film's theme song, also titled "Beggars of Life." Here they are. Some, like the brown colored disc, are scarce. With so many releases, one might assume it was a somewhat popular song.

Kino Lorber announces release of 1928 Louise Brooks film Beggars of Life

Kino Classics Releases William A. Wellman's Beggars of Life Starring Wallace Beery, Richard Arlen and Louise Brooks Available on Blu-ray and DVD August 22nd Digitally Restored from 35mm Film Elements Preserved by the George Eastman Museum With Special Features including Audio Commentaries by William Wellman Jr. and Thomas Gladysz, Founding Director of the Louise Brooks Society "Exciting and brilliantly parsed action scenes." - Richard Brody, The New Yorker

New York, NY -- July 27, 2017 -- Kino Classics is proud to announce the Blu-ray and DVD release of Beggars of Life, the 1928 American silent film classic directed by William A. Wellman (Wings, A Star is Born, The Ox-Bow Incident) and starring Wallace Beery (The Champ), Richard Arlen (Wings), and silent screen icon Louise Brooks (Pandora's Box).  This exciting drama, following the adventures of a band of hobos riding the rails, was inspired by the adventures of writer Jim Tully, who spent years on the road traveling across the country on boxcars and railways as a real-life hobo, and who wrote about these experiences in his 1924 autobiography, also called Beggars of Life. Beggars of Life will become available on Blu-ray and DVD August 22nd, with a SRP of $29.95 for the Blu-ray and $19.95 for the DVD.  This edition from Kino Classics is digitally restored from 35mm archival film elements preserved by the George Eastman Museum, and features a musical score compiled and performed by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, employing selections from the original 1928 Paramount music cue-sheet. Special features include audio commentaries by actor William Wellman, Jr., and Thomas Gladysz, founding director of the Louise Brooks Society and author of Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, and a booklet essay by film critic Nick Pinkerton. The Blu-ray and DVD also include reversible cover art. An American silent film classic, Beggars of Life (1928) stars Louise Brooks as a train-hopping hobo who dresses like a boy to survive. After escaping her violent stepfather, Nancy (Brooks) befriends kindly drifter Jim (Richard Arlen). They ride the rails together until a fateful encounter with the blustery Oklahoma Red (Wallace Beery) and his rambunctious band of hobos, leading to daring, desperate conflict on top of a moving train. Based on the memoir of real-life hobo Jim Tully, and directed with adventuresome verve by William Wellman (The Ox-Bow Incident), Beggars of Life is an essential American original. Beggars of Life (1928) Director: William A. Wellman Written by Benjamin Glazer and Jim Tully Starring Wallace Beery, Richard Arlen, Louise Brooks Blu-ray and DVD Street Date: August 22, 2017 Blu-ray SRP: $29.95 DVD SRP: $19.95 Special Features: Audio commentary by actor William Wellman, Jr. Audio commentary by Thomas Gladysz, founding director of the Louise Brooks Society Booklet essay by film critic Nick Pinkerton Musical score compiled and performed by The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, employing selections from the original 1928 Paramount cue-sheet Still images courtesy of the Louise Brooks Society

My Louise Brooks KDVS Playlist

Here is my playlist as heard on KDVS (90.3 FM / Davis, CA) on July 21, 2017. I was a guest DJ on "The Jerk Show," and played nearly 90 minutes of Louise Brooks related music. The show (I think) can be streamed HERE.

Here is my playlist:

000 John Matthew Jones – “Louise Brooks” -- from What Will Survive EP (2013) 1:40
001 Sarah Azzara – “Like Louise Brooks” -- from Revenge of Danger Girl (2000) 3:25
002 Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark – “Pandora’s Box” -- from Sugar Tax (1991) 4:04
003 Soul Coughing - “St. Louise is Listening” -- from el oso (1998) 4:29
004 Ron Hawkins – “Lulu” -- from The Secret of My Excess (1995) 1:49
005 Rhum for Pauline – “Louise Brooks' Lover” – from Miami (2010) 2:43
006 Natalie  Merchant – “Lulu” -- from her self-titled album (2014) 4:15
007 Jen Anderson – “Lulu: The Story” -- from Pandora’s Box: The Soundtrack (1993) 3:56
008 The Prize – “Silence” -- from Silence (2002) 7:00
009 Nouvelle Culture – Actress Louise Brooks Theme – from Fading Pictures (2005) 4:41
010 Olivia Louvel – “Lulu a Hollywood” -- from Lulu in Suspension (2007) 4:09
011 Gosta Berling – “Berlin” -- from Everybody’s Sweetheart (2008) 8:07
012 Javolenus – “Waiting For You (Like Louise Brooks)” – from ccmixter website (2013) 3:12
013 Paul Hayes – “Louise Brooks” -- from Vol. 1 Love Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (2003) 2:13
014 The GrrrL – “Black is the Color (Louise Brooks’ Hair)” -- from Run You Luscious Lesbian (2010) 1:57
015 Tombstone Teeth – “Louise Brooks On The Subway” from Bells of Orchids (2011) 1:30
016 unreal dm – “Bob Your Head Like Louise Brooks” -- from LastFM website (200?)  3:50
017 Lady Godiva – “Louise Brooks” -- from Louise Brooks Avenue (1999) 4:47
018 Les Primitifs du Futur – “Chanson pour Louise Brooks” -- from World Musette (1999) 3:50
019 Maurice Chevalier – “Louise” -- from a 78 rpm (1929) 3:12

That's me, wearing a vintage Clubfoot Orchestra "Pandora's Box" t-shirt

And here are my introductory remarks:

I’ll be playing music from all over the map – electronica, new wave, alt rock, folk rock, prog rock, pop and even a little vintage jazz. But all of it is tied together by some kind of association with the silent film star Louise Brooks. Some of these songs are tributes or homage. Some only name-check the actress. But still, its pretty remarkable that so many contemporary musicians have composed songs about an actress who was working nearly a century ago.

For those who might not be familiar with the actress, Louise Brooks was a silent film star popular in the 1920s. She is thought of as a flapper, and was famous for her bobbed hair. It was a style worn and copied by many women in the Jazz Age, and today you still see is worn by models and actresses and perhaps even a few students around Davis. Among Brooks’ contemporaries were familiar names like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Rudolph Valentino and Clara Bow – the IT girl. They were all people she knew.

Brooks mostly played in comedies and light dramas and the occasional crime film. Some think of Brooks as a femme fatale. She made a number of films in Hollywood, as well as one movie in Berkeley, a college romance called Rolled Stockings; however, that film, like so many other silent films, is lost.

Had your grandparents been in Davis in the 1920s, they would have seen Brooks films play at the old Varsity Theater. The old Varsity (located at 706 2nd Street) operated from 1921 to around 1949. That building was demolished and replaced by store buildings. A new Varsity Theater, built at 616 2nd Street, still operates today.

Though Brooks was an American actress, she did make three films in Europe. Those include the 1929 German made Pandora’s Box, in which she played Lulu. It is easily her best known role and film. She also made another German film, Diary of a Lost Girl, which is really terrific, as well as an early French sound film, Prix de beaute, or Beauty Prize. Each is a tragedy, and without giving anything away, I’ll say that Brooks’ character comes to a bad end in each. Jack the Ripper is involved in one.

I have about 20 tracks line up, which should fill this time slot. Most of them are pretty obscure. I have other LB related tracks, but these are my favorites and these are the ones I thought listeners would enjoy.


If you want to find out more, look Louise Brooks up online. Chances are you come to my Louise Brooks Society website at www.pandorasbox.com , which is full of information about the actress. There is also a terrific biography by Barry Paris which is available at the UC Davis library. The Shields library also has a copy of Brooks' book Lulu in Hollywood. There is also a documentary.

A handful of her surviving films, including Pandora’s Box and Diary of a Lost Girl, are available on DVD. Also, her best American film, Beggars of Life, is coming out on DVD next month. [Beggars of Life tells the story of an orphan girl who kills her abusive stepfather and flees the law. While on the run, she dresses as a boy, hops trains, and hangs out with hobos. It’s transgressive in so many ways....]  BTW, that new release includes an audio commentary by yours truly. I’ve also just published a new book on the film called Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film. It’s available on amazon.

Beggars of Life screens in Toronto, Canada on July 23

Louise Brooks stars in the new digital restoration of Beggars of Life, screening at 1:30 pm on Sunday, July 23 in Toronto, Canada under the auspices of the Toronto International Film Festival. It is an event not to be missed. Beggars of Life is a riveting late silent directed by future multiple Oscar winner William A. Wellman. Besides Brooks, the film also stars future Oscar winner Wallace Beery and late 1920s and early 1930s leading man Richard Arlen. More on this event can be found HERE.

According to the TIFF website: "Recently rediscovered, this almost-lost silent classic directed by the great William Wellman was a remarkably prescient precursor to the rail-riding reality that would face many during the Great Depression. Loosely adapted from the autobiographical 1924 novel by Jim Tully, which described the author's hardscrabble life during the recession years of the 1890s and 1900s, Beggars of Life stars Wellman's Wings leading man Richard Arlen as Jim, a handsome young hobo who hooks up with abused young orphan Nancy (Louise Brooks) after she perforates her incestuously inclined stepfather. Disguising Nancy as a boy, Jim takes her on the road with him; but when Nancy's identity is eventually revealed when the pair stops at a hobo camp, the local kingpin Oklahoma Red (Wallace Beery) claims the girl as his royal right."

"[Wellman] stages exciting and brilliantly parsed action scenes aboard moving freight trains … Though the sentimental spark of love may conquer all, [he] leaves a sour air of disgust on the dusty trail" (Richard Brody, The New Yorker)."

This special screening of Beggars of Life will feature piano accompaniment by William O'Meara. More on this event can be found HERE.


William O'Meara has accompanied films for the Toronto International Film Festival, the Ottawa International Silent Film Festival, the National Gallery of Canada, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Goethe Institute, the Picolo Spoleto Festival (Charleston, South Carolina), Toronto Film Society, Cobourg Vintage Film Festival, Pacific Cinematheque (Vancouver), the Elora Festival, the Toronto Theatre Organ Society, and for the world's largest festival of silent films: Le Giornate del Cinema Muto (Pordenone, Italy). He was also the piano accompanist for Cinematheque Ontario screenings at Jackman Hall. William is also accompanist for many choirs in Toronto including Toronto Choral Society, Victoria Scholars and the choirs of St. Michael's Choir School.


If you enjoy the film and want to learn more, be sure an check out a new book, Beggars of Life: A  Companion to the 1928 Film, by Thomas Gladysz and with a forward by William Wellman, Jr. This just published work features more 50 rare images.

Louise Brooks on the air this Friday afternoon

Should all go according to plan THIS TIME, I will be guest DJ-ing on KDVS this Friday afternoon. KDVS is a free-form college radio station (out of Davis, California), and I will be spinning Louise Brooks and silent film related rock & pop and jazz from 1 - 2:30 pm PST. 

(I will be playing tunes heard on RadioLulu.) I suspect more than a few tunes I play will make their West Coast radio debut! 

Listen over the air in the Davis / Sacramento area at 90.3 FM, or stream online at https://kdvs.org/ (I'm not sure if the show is archived for later listening.)
 

 

Louise Brooks programing on the radio

UPDATE: My gig has been postponed. I will let everyone know when I have been rescheduled.

Should all go according to plan, I will be guest DJing on radio station KDVS this Saturday afternoon. KDVS is a free-form college radio station (located in Davis, California at the University of California, Davis). I will be appearing on the "Groove Theory" show, and will be spinning Louise Brooks and silent film related rock, pop and jazz starting at 2 pm PST.

Most of what I plan on playing are contemporary recordings, from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000's. And perhaps, I might play a vintage track as well. I suspect a few tunes will make their West Coast radio debut! 

Listen over the air in the Davis / Sacramento, California area at 90.3 FM, or stream online at https://kdvs.org/