Forthcoming NEW BOOK: Nothing Sacred: The Cinema Of William Wellman

If you ask film historians who are some of America’s greatest directors, they may suggest Orson Welles, Frank Capra, John Ford, Martin Scorsese, or Steven Spielberg. Other might put forth names such as Robert Altman, Howard Hawks, William Wyler, or Francis Ford Coppola. Others still may campaign for George Cukor, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kramer, Quentin Tarantino, or Cecil B. DeMille.

However, if you ask noted film historians Frank Thompson and John Andrew Gallagher who they think is America’s single greatest director, they’ll claim someone else all together, William Wellman.

To prove their point, the two have nearly completed a book they’ve been working on for almost 35 years. It’s significant, and it’s massive. And, it’s a work that can rightly be described as the most thoroughly researched, detailed, and richly illustrated book ever published on any director.

Their book, Nothing Sacred: The Cinema Of William Wellman (Men With Wings Press), is an oversized, 700 page, 12” x 9” volume that includes a remarkable 300,000+ words of text and features some 1000 images (many rare) including stills, posters, lobby cards, and ads.

Arguably, Wellman was responsible for three of the greatest films ever made, Wings (1927 – the first film to win the Oscar for Best Picture), The Public Enemy (1931 – the genre defining gangster film), and A Star Is Born (1937 – the single finest film about Hollywood: besides directing, Wellman also wrote its story).

Ever versatile, Wellman worked across genres beginning in the silent era on through to the late 1950s. He made dramas, war films, crime films, comedies, Westerns and adventure stories while working for Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia, Paramount, Selznick-International and others. Many of his most memorable films were made during the Pre-Code era at Warner Bros., with detours to RKO and M-G-M.

Wellman also directed Beggars of Life (1928 – starring Louise Brooks, and just out on DVD), Night Nurse (1931 – with a riveting Barbara Stanwyck), Nothing Sacred (1937 – the first screwball comedy filmed in color), Beau Geste (1939), Roxie Hart (1942), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943 – an underrated masterpiece), The Story of G.I. Joe (1945), The High and the Mighty (1954) and others. Some of his other under-appreciated movies include The Legion of the Condemned (1928 – now lost), So Big! (1932), Wild Boys of the Road (1933), Lady of Burlesque (1943), Yellow Sky (1948), and Battleground (1949). Each of these films, along with the many others directed by Wellman as well as those in which he had an uncredited hand, are covered in Nothing Sacred: The Cinema of William Wellman.

The writing and production of the book was such a monumental undertaking that it is being published under unusual circumstances. The sale of Nothing Sacred: The Cinema of William Wellman will last for only three months, through December 5, 2017, with the number of books printed depending on the number ordered. The book, a deluxe limited edition printed in full color, will be sent to the printer after December 5, with this edition being the only edition. Each copy costs $150, and each volume will be numbered and signed by both authors.
Nothing Sacred: The Cinema of William Wellman from Alexander Yew on Vimeo.

Thompson explained that the reason the two authors took on this project themselves is that “no publisher on earth would be lunatic enough to allow us to do it precisely as we wanted. And after working on this for more than half our lives, we felt that compromising would be pointless.”

Thompson said the book is as thorough and deeply researched as the most academic text but written, he and Gallagher hope, “with a sense of entertainment and drama. It’s illustrated like a coffee table book but the data—such as the exhaustive credits—is equal to any reference book.”

The two film historians met after Thompson had completed his earlier, 1983 study of Wellman. It was Thompson’s first book. Since then, he has gone on to author more than 40 works including Robert Wise: A Bio-Bibliography, Lost Films: Important Movies That Disappeared, Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas, and I Was That Masked Man (written with Clayton Moore, the Lone Ranger). Thompson has also written and directed several documentaries, and worked as a writer and producer in television for 20 years.

Thompson, who long lived in Los Angeles and is now a resident of North Carolina, has recently published another notable book, Asheville Movies Volume 1: The Silent Era (Men With Wings Press). It is a work of local film history, and as such, a fascinating slice of American film history—in that what took place in Asheville was also taking place around the country.

John Gallagher is a New York City educator and filmmaker whose credits include The Networker, Blue Moon, The Deli, Sam, The Insurgents, Men Lie, and Street Hunter. He is the also author of Film Directors on Directing, and the forthcoming Hollywood’s Forgotten Master: The Life and Times of Tay Garnett.

As they put the finishing touches on Nothing Sacred: The Cinema of William Wellman, both authors are experiencing something of a sense of relief. Thompson said, “This has hovered over both of us for 35 years. There is a sense of accomplishment. Also a certain amount of nervousness. After all, what are we going to do for the next 35 years?”

Here are a few sample pages from Nothing Sacred: The Cinema of William Wellman.

John McElwee of Greenbriar Picture Shows said this about this new book, "Awesome…a reading opportunity no film enthusiast should let fly by. There is not another [book] coming this or any year that I would recommend higher.”

There is only one month left to order a copy of this landmark work, Order your copy today! I have!!

a variant of this piece by Thomas Gladysz originally appeared in the Huffington Post

A sneak peak at Documentary of a Lost Girl: Finding Louise Brooks

Here is a six minute sneak peak at Documentary of a Lost Girl, the forthcoming film about Louise Brooks by Charlotte Siller. It's impressive.

From the filmmakers: "Documentary of a Lost Girl, due to be completed in May 2018, is a film that seeks to uncover the life of the late Louise Brooks by examining every facet of what's been left behind; the filmmakers have visited the places she's lived, spoken with her old friends and relatives, and have visited archives around the country to discover the woman who gifted us with such a beautiful, adventurous, and rebellious story. As a woman who fought against the sexual advances of Hollywood studio executives and exposed the truth about the slavery of the studio system in her later life in her various essays, making up her bestselling Lulu in Hollywood, her story is now more relevant than ever. She was a woman of the past who was ahead of her time, and she is now a voice most needed for the future. She always referred to herself as lost: 'Somehow I have avoided being found' she said."

For more about this worthwhile project, which needs your help in spreading the word, see http://www.documentaryofalostgirl.com/

 

 

Some RadioLulu Podcast Themes

A couple of days ago, I posted an admittedly longgggggggg blog regarding RadioLulu, the LBS sponsored, Louise Brooks-inspired, silent film-themed, internet only station streaming music of the 1920s, 1930s, and today.

I did so because, lately, I have been working on the station, freshening-up both its playlist and its HOMEPAGE on the Louise Brooks Society website, and wanted to let everyone know. There is a lot of great music to be heard on this unique station.

RadioLulu is located on the web at http://192.99.8.170/start/radiolulu/. There you can see songs the station is currently playing and has recently played. Otherwise, for those who might want to tune-in here and now, click on the widget shown below, listen, and enjoy.



At the bottom of that admittedly longgggggggg post, I mentioned that I had been considering putting together some thematic podcasts, perhaps sometime in 2018.

I figure I would gather together six or ten songs, and talk about them a bit, like a DJ might. Each show might run 30 to 60 minutes. I could explain why these songs play on RadioLulu and how they are related to Louise Brooks. Believe you me, there is always a reason, or some justification of a kind, no matter how obscure. Recently, for example, I was streaming RadioLulu at home using the Tune-In app through Roku when my wife asked why I had included Al Jolson's "Sonny Boy"? The answer may not be obvious to the casual listener, but I knew why. It's played on RadioLulu because it was the flipside on a 78 rpm of one of the handful of "Beggars of Life" recordings I own.

Well, I've given of podcasts a lot of thought, and I came up with about three dozen different themes for different shows. Here are a few of them. Each, I think, should prove interesting and entertaining. Look for them starting in 2018. (First I got to learn how to record and edit-in songs in a podcast.)

Beggars of Life: Variations on a Theme (Song)
-- "Beggars of Life" and other related tracks

Louise Brooks Recommends
-- dance numbers recommended by the actress in "The Fundamentals of Good Ballroom Dancing"

Syd Kay's Fellows
-- recordings by the wedding band seen in "Pandora's Box"

Homage to Lulu
-- contemporary recordings in homage to Louise Brooks

Diary of a Lost Girl: Music of Otto Stenzel & Juan Llosa 
-- recordings by the original film score composer & the small combo seen in the film

Flappers & Vamps
-- Jazz Age recordings of “Flapperette,” "Runnin' Wild," “I’m a Jazz Vampire,” etc...

Screen Co-Stars
-- vintage recordings by Adolphe Menjou, Esther Ralston, Dorothy Mackaill, James Hall, Lawrence Gray, Noah Beery and others

Also on the Bill
-- rare recordings by Emil Coleman, Bruz Fletcher and others who shared the stage with Louise Brooks during her time as a ballroom dancer in the 1930s

God's Gift to Women
-- recordings by the stars of the 1931 film, Frank Fay & Joan Blondell (and maybe a song by Barbara Stanwyck, who was married to Fay at the time)

Denishawn
-- dance numbers by Denishawn composer Louis Horst, and other related classical music

Charlie Chaplin
-- mostly vintage recordings associated with the Little Tramp (songs written by, conducted by, or about CC)

If I Had a Talking Picture of You
-- vintage movie-related songs from long go like “Take Your Girlie to the Movies,” “At the Moving Picture Ball,” “Hooray for Hollywood” and “My brother makes the noises for the talkies”

Asta Nielsen, the first Lulu

From Wikipedia: "Asta Nielsen (11 September 1881 – 24 May 1972) was a Danish silent film actress who was one of the most popular leading ladies of the 1910s and one of the first international movie stars. Seventy of Nielsen's 74 films were made in Germany where she was known simply as Die Asta (The Asta). Noted for her large dark eyes, mask-like face and boyish figure, Nielsen most often portrayed strong-willed passionate women trapped by tragic circumstances. Due to the erotic nature of her performances, Nielsen's films were heavily censored in the United States and her work remained relatively obscure to American audiences. She is credited with transforming movie acting from overt theatricality to a more subtle naturalistic style. Nielsen founded her own film studio in Berlin during the 1920s, but returned to Denmark in 1937 after the rise of Nazism in Germany. A private figure in her later years, Nielsen became a collage artist and an author."

Asta Nielsen was also the first screen Lulu, having played the character created by Frank Wedekind in the film, Earth Spirit (1923). Louise Brooks was well aware of Nielsen and her approach to Lulu, at least later during her life in Rochester, New York. It is not known if Brooks was aware of or made aware of Nielsen prior to her playing Lulu in Pandora's Box (1929).

I recently came across a German language booklet (on the Internet Archive) about Nielsen which contains some sublime images of the actress, including one of her as Lulu. She was certainly striking in her appearance. I would encourage everyone to learn more about this significant and too little known actress. (p.s. Nielsen had a role in the G.W. Pabst film, The Joyless Street, which set Greta Garbo on the path to stardom.)

 

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RadioLulu - the Louise Brooks Society's online streaming music station

Did you know that the Louise Brooks Society has its own online radio station? It's called RadioLulu. You can listen to using the Tune-In app, or using Winamp or the Windows Media Player, or, you can even listen via the Tune-In app on ROKU on your TV.

RadioLulu is a Louise Brooks-inspired, silent film-themed internet station streaming music of the 1920s, 1930s, and today. Located on the web at http://192.99.8.170/start/radiolulu/ — RadioLulu features vintage and contemporary music related to Louise Brooks as well as the silent and early sound eras. This is music you're not likely to hear anywhere else.



Launched way back in 2002, this unique station now features vintage music from five of Brooks’ films — the haunting themes from Beggars of Life (1928) and Prix de Beauté (1930), as well as musical passages from The Canary Murder Case (1929), Empty Saddles (1936), and Overland Stage Raiders (1938). On RadioLulu, you’ll also hear the familiar “Sidewalks of New York” (which was played on the set of The Street of Forgotten Men), as well as John Philip Sousa’s seldom heard “Atlantic City Beauty Pageant” (which was written for the Miss America contest, as seen in The American Venus).

Vintage recordings by Brooks’ screen co-stars are also featured on RadioLulu. Among them are Adolphe Menjou, Esther Ralston, Dorothy Mackaill, James Hall, Lawrence Gray, Noah Beery, Frank Fay, Joan Blondell, and Buck Jones. There is even a song by Blanche Ring, who appeared in It’s the Old Army Game and was the aunt of Brooks’ first husband, Eddie Sutherland. A few of Brooks’ European co-stars are also represented, among them Siegfried Arno (Pandora’s Box), Kurt Gerron (Diary of a Lost Girl), and Andre Roanne (Prix de Beauté). Each is a rarity. As well, there are vintage tracks associated with Brooks’ brief time with the Ziegfeld Follies, including a handful of recordings by performers who shared the stage with the actress, such as Ethel Shutta, Leon Erroll, and the great W.C. Fields.

RadioLulu includes a number of songs by Brooks’ friends and acquaintances, as well as individuals she worked with over the years. Actress Tallulah Bankhead, chanteuse Lucienne Boyer, torch singer Libby Holman, bandleader Emil Coleman, and nightclub owner Bruz Fletcher can all be heard on RadioLulu. Other tracks associated with the actress and featured on RadioLulu include George Gershwin’s “Somebody Loves Me” (Brooks knew Gershwin, and this was her favorite Gershwin song), Xavier Cugat’s “Siboney” (recommended by Brooks in her rare booklet, Fundamentals of Good Ballroom Dancing), and two numbers by Sid Kay’s Fellows (the jazz band seen playing in the wedding reception scene in Pandora’s Box).

All together, RadioLulu features more than 850 tracks! Notably, many of them come from rare 78 rpm discs you’re unlikely to hear anywhere else. Of course, there’s Maurice Chevalier’s much-loved “Louise” as well as more than a dozen tracks with Louise, Lulu, or LouLou in the title. Among them is the Coon-Sanders Nighthawks’ recording of “Louise, You Tease,” as well as a number of different recordings of both “Don’t Bring Lulu” and “Lulu’s Back in Town”.

Many contemporary tributes to the actress can also be heard on RadioLulu. These include songs by Natalie Merchant, Rufus Wainwright, Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark (OMD), John Zorn, and Soul Coughing. Famed cartoonist Robert Crumb is heard on “Chanson pour Louise Brooks”. And there’s Ross Berkal’s tribute, “MLB (for Louise Brooks).” Berkal, who is mentioned in the Barry Paris biography and is a longtime member of the Louise Brooks Society, was acquainted with the actress later in her life.

Beyond songs related to Louise Brooks, RadioLulu also features hundreds of songs from the 1920s and 1930s (along with a smattering from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s). There is music from the movies aplenty, as well as rare recordings by early Hollywood stars and Jazz Age celebrities. There are tracks by the popular crooners and torch singers of the time, as well as little known numbers by regional dance bands and hotel orchestras. There are also early Broadway show tunes, early European jazz, popular vocal numbers, theme songs, and even a few novelty numbers.

Recordings by early Hollywood figures such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Lupe Velez, Clara Bow, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson and Joan Crawford are streamed. So are recordings by later stars Buddy Rogers, Claudette Colbert, Jean Harlow, Paulette Goddard, Barbara Stanwyck, and Dorothy Lamour. A few of the European actors and actresses heard on the station include Brigitte Helm, Camilla Horn, Anny Ondra, Conrad Veidt, Pola Negri, and Marlene Dietrich (notably, her early German-language recordings).

Among others, Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell are heard singing the classic “If I Had A Talking Picture Of You,” one of a number of movie-related songs. There’s also “Take Your Girlie to the Movies,” “At the Moving Picture Ball,” and “Hooray for Hollywood,” as well as rare vintage recordings about Chaplin, Garbo, Keaton, Mickey Mouse and Zasu Pitts. Be sure not to miss H. Robinson Cleaver’s “Grace Moore Medley,” Fred Bird & Luigi Bernauer’s “Hallo Hallo Hier Radio,” and Jack Hylton and His Orchestra’s “My brother makes the noises for the talkies.”

What else can be heard on RadioLulu? How about Constance Bennett singing “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” or Alice White & Blanche Sweet singing “There’s A Tear For Every Smile in Hollywood” (from the soundtrack to Showgirl in Hollywood). The Waldorf-Astoria Dance Orchestra performs “The Vamp,” Nate Shilkret plays “Flapperette,” and Marion Harris sings “I’m a Jazz Vampire.” Regulations explaining proper radio station identification are given by none other than Cary Grant, co-star of the 1937 Brooks’ film, When You’re in Love.

RadioLulu features many of the leading stars of the Jazz Age and Depression era—Rudy Vallee, Russ Colombo, Ben Selvin, Fred Waring, Ted Weems, Paul Whiteman, Annette Hanshaw, Helen Kane, Mildred Bailey, Lee Wiley, Ruth Etting, Kay Thompson, and Frankie Trumbauer. There are recordings by such famous names as Duke Ellington, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and Benny Goodman, alongside rarely heard artists like the Eskimo Pie Orchestra and the Brox Sisters, as well as Scrappy Lambert, Fred Elizalde, and Dorothy Dickson! You never know who or what will turn up on this eclectic, always entertaining station.

And that’s not all…. RadioLulu plays Ragtime, swing, standards, and some real hot jazz, including such popular hits as the “Charleston,” “Black Bottom,” and “Varsity Rag.” There are vintage recordings of popular favorites like “Stardust” and “As Time Goes By,” along with great, but little known works like James P. Johnson’s “You’ve Got to be Modernistic.” By the way, the single longest track is George Jessel’s spoken word history “The Roaring Twenties 1920-1929.”

Among the unusual European numbers on RadioLulu are little heard gems from the 1930s Polish chanteuse Hanka Ordonówna as well as the Gershwin of Czechoslovakia, Jaroslav Jezek; there’s a stirring number by the great British cinema organist Sidney Torch; and even a 1929 recording of the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht singing “Mack the Knife.” Along with lovely favorites by the likes of Josephine Baker, Django Rheinhart, and Mistinguett. Also heard are artist models Suzy Solidor and Kiki of Montparnasse. Both posed for the surrealist photographer Man Ray, an admirer of Louise Brooks.

There is nothing else quite like RadioLulu.

Here are ten vintage RadioLulu tracks you won’t want to miss: “Makin’ Whoopee” by B.A. Rolfe & His Lucky Strike Orchestra, “Runnin’ Wild” by Isabella Patricola, “The Sheik of Araby” by Fats Waller, “My Man” by Fanny Brice, and “Puttin on the Ritz” by Harry Richman, as well as “You Oughta be In Pictures” by Little Jack Little & His Orchestra, “College Rhythm” by Jimmy Grier, “Singin’ In The Rain” by Cliff Edwards (Ukulele Ike), “Slumming On Park Avenue” by Alice Faye, and “Ramona” by Dolores Del Rio.

And here are ten contemporary RadioLulu tracks you won’t want to miss: “Lulu” by Twiggy (the 1960’s supermodel), “Valentino” by Connie Francis, “Louise” by Eric Clapton, “Weight Lifting Lulu” by The Residents, “Interior Lulu” by Marillion, as well as “Marlene Dietrich’s Favourite Poem” by Peter Murphy, “I’m In Love With A German Film Star” by The Passions, “Just Like Fred Astaire” by James, “Lulu Land” by Camper van Beethoven, and “Brandenburg Gate” by Lou Reed & Metallica (from their Lulu album).

Over the years, this unique, long running station has gained many fans and listeners. Famed film critic Leonard Maltin once rated it a “Wow.” Likewise, Louise Brooks devotee and celebrated Dr. Who actor Paul McGann called it “incredible.” The Pulitzer-Prize winning graphic novelist Art Spiegelman (author of Maus) has tuned-in on occasion, and told us so. As has the award-winning science fiction writer Richard Kadrey. And would you believe that a retro Spanish pop/swing/rock group named Radio Lulu named themselves after the station?

Music has played a significant role in the life and films of Louise Brooks. That’s why RadioLulu was started, as a means of sharing some of the many rare and related recordings collected by the Louise Brooks Society. Listen today for free by clicking on the widget at the top of the page. Let us know what you like or don’t like, and what you might want to hear. Got something to contribute. We would like to hear about that too.

Louise Brooks listens to RadioLulu. How about you?

Thank you for your interest in Louise Brooks, RadioLulu, and the Louise Brooks Society. Be sure to follow RadioLulu on TWITTER or FACEBOOK. And, for even more fun, visit the LBS account on SOUNDCLOUD for more related audio rarities. In 2018, the LBS hopes to put together some thematic podcasts featuring material from RadioLulu, as well as material (like classical music) not featured on the streaming station. For example, there is music related to the time Louise Brooks was in Denishawn....

Louise Brooks, William Wellman, and Beggars of Life in the news

Beggars of Life, the 1928 William Wellman directed film starring Louise Brooks, continues to make the news.

The new Kino Lorber release of the film was written up by Leonard Maltin, who stated:

Beggars of Life (1928) is another important silent film that isn’t as well-known as it ought to be, because only a few 16mm prints survived–one in the collection of the late William K. Everson, another acquired by George Eastman House’s curator James Card back in 1950. In recent years his successors decided to try making a 35mm blowup and it turned out surprisingly well. (It, too, was shown at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.) Louise Brooks, Wallace Beery, and Richard Arlen star in this starkly compelling story of hobo life based on the best-selling novel by famed hobo-author Jim Tully. (For more about Tully, see my 2012 column printed below.) This fascinating slice-of-life features period music performed by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra and it’s well worth seeing—and owning.

Beggars of Life was also the subject of a recent long piece in Bright Lights Film Journal. This piece, by Gordon Thomas and titled "Boxcars, Beery, and a Dutch Bob: William Wellman’s Beggars of Life (1928) on Blu-ray," started by saying what we've known all along, "It’s easy to get excited over Kino Lorber’s recent blu-ray release of William Wellman’s 1928 silent, Beggars of Life. For devotees of Louise Brooks, the film holds legendary status as her best American film." I think it is an interesting piece, and I especially appreciated some of the familiar images.

The film had also just been shown in Cambridge, Massachusetts as part of an on-going William Wellman retrospective. Ty Burr's coverage of the films in the Boston Globe, "He made talkies worth talking about," focuses mostly on Wellman's work in the sound era - as does the series itself. Nevertheless, Burr noted "Beggars of Life (1928), the rarely screened silent that opens the series on Oct. 27, casts Louise Brooks and Richard Arlen as hoboes who hit the rails after Brooks’s character murders her abusive stepfather; it showcases the director’s eye for broad landscapes and the people in danger of getting lost in them." [Wellman is easily my favorite pre-code / 1930's director. If you haven't seen Wild Boys of the Road (1933), Public Enemy (1931), Night Nurse (1933), etc.... you are missing out. Wellman's work in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s is simply outstanding - that why I am so excited about the forthcoming publication of Frank Thompson and John Gallagher's book, Nothing Sacred: The Cinema Of William Wellman.]

For more information on “The Legends of William Wellman” series, go to http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/films/2017sepnov/wellman.html.

And, if you haven't done so already, get ahold of a copy of the new Kino Lorber DVD or Blu-ray of Beggars of Life - as well as my new book, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film. Each has received good reviews on amazon.com, where each are available. The Kino Lorber discs looks great, and it features audio commentaries by myself and William Wellman, Jr. And what's more, my new book contains lots of new information about the film, more than 50 little seen images, and a foreword by William Wellman, Jr. 

TODAY: Beggars of Life starring Louise Brooks screens at Harvard

The Harvard Film Archive in Cambridge, Massachusetts has announced it will be hosting a major retrospective of the films of director William Wellman. The retrospective, "The Legends of William Wellman," runs October 27th through November 26th. The series will include all of the acclaimed director's greatest films, from Wings (1927) to The Public Enemy (1931), A Star is Born (1937), and The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), as well as lesser known gems like Night Nurse (1931) and Wild Boys of the Road (1933). More information about the series, including a complete line-up of films, can be found HERE.

The first film to be shown in the series is Beggars of Life (1928), starring Louise Brooks. The silent classic will be shown on Friday October 27 at 7pm, with live musical accompaniment. The Harvard Film Archive description follows.

Beggars of Life

Directed by William Wellman. With Wallace Beery, Louise Brooks, Richard Arlen
US 1928, 35mm, b/w, silent, 91 min

"A gruesome discovery followed by a sordid tale of sexual abuse—recounted through an ingenious double-exposed montage sequence—introduces Richard Arlen’s hungry tramp to Louise Brooks’ fugitive disguised as a boy. From that dramatic opener, the couple steals off into a blue-tinted night and reluctantly joins a band of vagabonds. Immediately, the presence of a woman in the midst of a group of desperate men adds an unsettling disturbance to the film and to their tenuous coalition. Wellman steadily maintains this air of horror and humor as the motley, volatile crew travels from land to train with the lord of the hoboes, Wallace Beery’s unpredictable Oklahoma Red, who revels in intimidation as a means of entertainment—even holding an absurdly elaborate “kangaroo court” to decide the fate of the interlopers. In this hardscrabble atmosphere, the appearance of love is so unusual that it acts as a kind of deus ex machina, stunning the plot and sending it off and away down Wellman’s mysterious, dark tracks."

Prix de beaute (Miss Europa) with Louise Brooks screens in Helsinki, Finland on October 27 and 29

The National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI) in Helsinki, Finland will screen Prix de beaute (Miss Europa) on October 27 and 29, 2017 as part of their ongoing Louise Brooks series.

Brooks is the focus of the four film series at the country’s National Audiovisual Institute, which is set to show Beggars of Life on October 12 and 15, Diary of a Lost Girl (Kadotetun päiväkirja) on October 19 and 21, Prix de beaute (Miss Europa) on October 27 and 29, and Pandora’s Box (Pandoran lipas) on November 27 and December 1.

Here is some further information from the KAVI site. Times and ticket availability for each film may be found HERE.

Louise Brooks, kimaltava tähdenlento

12.10.2017 - 01.12.2017

Louise Brooksin elokuvauraa voi luonnehtia tähdenlennoksi, sillä hänen aktiivinen elokuvauransa kesti vain vuosikymmenen. Parhaimmat elokuvansa hän teki Euroopassa G. W. Pabstin kanssa. Hollywoodin Brooks jätti sopimusrikkojana, eikä paluu unelmatehtaaseen enää onnistunut.

The following is from the KAVI website:

Ohjaaja: Augusto Genina

Henkilöt: Louise Brooks, Georges Charlia

Lisähenkilöt: käsikirjoitus René Clair

Maa: Ranska

Tekstitykset: suom. tekstit (e)

Ikäraja: K16

Kesto: 108 min

Teemat: LOUISE BROOKS

Kopiotieto: restauroitu laitos (Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna)

Lisätieto: mykkä versio • versione italiana • piano Joonas Raninen

Augusto Geninan Miss Europa (Prix de beauté, 1930) valmistui siirtymävaiheessa mykästä äänielokuvaan. Sen kerronta on kuitenkin ilmeistä mykkäelokuvaa. Louise Brooksin esittämä Lucienne valitaan missikisoihin, ja hänelle avautuu uusia mahdollisuuksia. Mustasukkainen poikaystävä pyrkii rajoittamaan naisen elämää ja valintoja.

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Miss Europa kuuluu Alfred Hitchcockin Blackmailin tavoin niihin elokuviin, jotka valmistettiin juuri sillä hetkellä, kun mykästä elokuvasta siirryttiin äänielokuvaan. Tähän asti olemme tunteneet elokuvan vain ääniversiona jälkiäänitettyine musiikkeineen, tehosteineen ja dialogeineen, vaikka elokuvaa katsottaessa oli selvää että se oli alun perin tarkoitettu mykäksi. Onneksi Milanon Cineteca Italianasta löydetty kopio teki mahdolliseksi mykkäversion rekonstruktion. Se valmistettiin samasta negatiivista kuin ääniversiokin; ainoat erot ovat kolmessa kohtauksessa jotka kuvattiin uudelleen synkronisoitua dialogia varten; nämä kohtaukset nähdään mykkäversiossa alkuperäisessä muodossaan. Loppukohtaus on kuitenkin säilynyt vain ääniversiona. Mykkäversio pyrkii pelastamaan elokuvan alkuperäisen rytmin, palauttaa kuvien alkuperäisen sommittelun (ennen kuin ruutua leikattiin ääniraidan mahduttamiseksi) ja paljastaa alkuperäisnegatiivin loistavan kuvallisen laadun.

Vuoden 1929 lopulla mykkänä kuvattu ja neljällä kielellä (ranskaksi, englanniksi, saksaksi ja italiaksi) kokonaan jälkisynkronisoitu Miss Europa on uraauurtava esimerkki aikansa poikkeuksellisesta dubbauskäytännöstä. Mykän ja äänielokuvan siirtymävuosien normina oli synkronisoida ääniraidalle musiikki ja äänitehosteet, seurauksena melko summittainen synkronisuus. Oli erittäin epätavallista, että tuotantoyhtiö näki näin paljon vaivaa dubatakseen vuoropuheluakin teknisistä ja aatteellisista syistä.

Augusto Geninan ohjaus ja Louise Brooksin näyttelijäntyö kohoavat kuitenkin paradoksaalisesti huomattavasti vahvemmiksi mykkäversiossa. Vailla ääniraitaansa Miss Europa paljastaa todellisen luontonsa myöhäisen mykkäelokuvan saavutuksena.

Meitä hämmästyttää osittain dokumentaarinen tai yhteiskunnallinen lähestymistapa jolla kamera tarkkailee kauneuskilpailun yleisöä ja osanottajia tai huomiota jota kiinnitetään esineisiin tai päähenkilön reaktioihin (lapsenomainen ihastus jolla Lucienne ottaa haltuunsa mukavan junahytin, yhtä lapsenomainen ylpeys jolla hän esittelee sulhaselleen uutta puvustoaan ja ylellistä asuntoaan, keskiluokkaisen elämäntilanteen ankeus jota ilmentävät pariskunnan vaatimattoman asunnon yksinkertaiset varusteet) ja jälleen armoton katse jolla Geninan kamera paljastaa 24-vuotiaan tähden vartalon heikkoudet ja alkavan repsahtamisen [perätön väite! – AA]. Louise Brooks oli nopeasti lähestymässä uransa ennenaikaista loppua, ja hän oli elämässään tuuliajolla, jos meidän on uskominen ohjaajan muistikuvia: ”Hän joi shamppanjaa ja konjakkia. Hän oli juovuksissa neljästä aamulla varhaisiltaan, mutta sitten hän jatkoi taas juomistaan neljään asti, jolloin hänelle tuotiin uusi shamppanjapullo. Hän nukkui aina. Aamulla hänet oli kannettava studiolle, koska hän nukkui. Studiolla hänet laitettiin nojatuoliin meikattavaksi, ja hän nukkui yhä. Hän heräsi vain otoksia varten; sitten hän jatkoi juomista ja nukkumista. Hän rakasti baarimikkoa!”

– Alberto Boschin mukaan (”Prix de beauté”, Cinegrafie, n:o 12, 1998) AA 5.10.2000

Help needed to identify actors, airplanes and landscapes from the 1927 Louise Brooks film, Now We're in the Air

I am nearing completion of a project on the once "considered lost" 1927 Louise Brooks film, Now We're in the Air, and need help identifying a few of the actors, the model of airplanes, and perhaps even the locale of some of the exterior shots. As many of you may know, a 23 minute fragment of the film was found in the Czech Republic in 2016 by Robert Byrne, and was shown at the 2017 San Francisco Silent Film Festival and most recently at Pordenone in Italy. IF YOU ARE ABLE TO HELP IDENTIFY ANY OF THE ACTORS OR AIRPLANES OR LOCALES IN THE FOLLOWING IMAGES, PLEASE POST IN THE COMMENTS, OR EMAIL THE LOUISE BROOKS SOCIETY AT silentfilmbuff [AT] gmailDOTcom.   THANK YOU!

Now We’re in the Air was made by Paramount and shot between August 1 and September 8, 1927 at the Paramount studio near Hollywood and on location in nearby Southern California. What else is known is that the following actors appeared in the film:

Wallace Beery as Wally

Raymond Hatton as Ray

Russell Simpsonas Lord Abercrombie McTavish

Louise Brooks as the twins Griselle & Grisette Chelaine

Emile Chautard as Monsieur Chelaine, father of the twins

Malcolm Waite as Professor Saenger

Duke Martin as Top Sargeant

Mattie Witting as Madame Chelaine, mother of the twins (uncredited)

Fred Kohler (uncredited)

The preserved 23-minute fragment of Now We're in the Air show that the film utilized at least a couple dozen additional actors, mostly in crowd shots and/or in the background. A handful of these actors appear again and again (such as the military officers), or are given a fair amount of screen time (such as the carnival workers). I am wondering if anyone can identify any of these uncredited actors?

#1 Group shot of American military officers

 #2 Close-up shot of Allied military officers

 #3 Close-up shot of German military officers
UPDATE: R Michael Pyle identified the shorter officer in the middle left as Theodore von Eltz. Steve Massa identified the the taller officer in the middle as Richard Alexander. 

 

#4 Emile Chautard, the noted French director and actor who plays Brooks' father in the film, is far left. I wonder who the two carnival performers might be?

 #5 Close-up of the knife thrower
UPDATE: Rob Byrne identified the knife thrower as Charles Stevens

 #6 Close-up of the knife thrower's assistant, looking at Wallace Beery

 #7 My understanding is that fifteen airplanes, including some actual WWI aircraft, were used in
the making of the film, including a 76-foot Martin Bomber which was deliberately wrecked
in one of the film’s “big thrill scenes.” Can anyone identify these planes?
UPDATE: fredhedges stated the large aircraft is a Martin MB-1. The scout plane nearest the camera  looks like a Fokker D-VII judging by the tail and struts. The other scout I can't make out from the photos provided.

 #8 A close-up of the larger plane, the Martin bomber?
UPDATE: T0m M stated that the bomber in photo #8 appears to be the same one as in photo #7. In this case we can see four widely and equally spaced wheels, indicative of a Martin MB-1.

 #9 Another close-up of the larger aircraft. Notice the four-wheel configuration. And notice the round landmark in the distance on the left. (This scene was, no doubt, shot in front of a filmed backdrop.)
UPDATE: T0m M stated "Photo #9 is clearly not the same aircraft in photos #7 and #8. Everything is slightly scaled down and simplified. The radiator tops are not as rounded and the skull and crossbones are notably different. The eye sockets are larger and more oval, the nose socket is longer and the bones cross at much closer to a right angle. I believe this is a mock-up to facilitate simulated (i.e. in-studio) aerial shots"

 

 #10 The three aircraft.
UPDATE: T0m M stated "Photo #10 appears to be from Wings. The scouts are the same Curtis P-1 Hawks used in Wings. They are identifiable by wings which are tapered on both leading and trailing edges. As in Wings, the left scout is dark coloured, while the right scout is light coloured. If this is from Wings, the bomber is a Martin MB-2. The bombers in both films are Martins but different versions. This films uses an MB-1, while Wings employs an MB-2."

UPDATE: Vanwall emailed that he came across a link which notes "a low-budget production of Paramount includes a SPAD VII with the same decorations as that of Wings." 

 #11 Now We're in the Air was shot in Southern California, near Los Angeles. Can anyone identify this landscape? Notice the round landmark in the upper right, and the winding road.
UPDATE: missdupont wrote "The shot of the winding road from the balloon looks like it could be the Topanga Canyon area."

UPDATE: Henry Bisharat thought that the landscape resembled "Mulholland Drive over the Hollywood Hills due to the S shape of the road. Best to find maps of the area from 1920s. Mulholland Drive opened in 1924."

 #12 Another landscape view. The round landmark is in the upper left.

 #13 A view of the carnival and the village. Might anyone recognize this mountain formation?
UPDATE: missdupont wrote "The carnival sequences are at the Lasky Ranch in what is now Forest Lawn Hollywood. The hill visible behind is now called Mt. Lee, and the Hollywood Sign is on the other side."

 #14 I couldn't leave it at thirteen images. That would be unlucky. So, here is a crowd shot with
Louise Brooks and some of the extras. Who might the portly fellow to the right of Brooks be?