Louise Brooks is not from these parts, by Luca Spagnoletti

I don't know what it's about (except that it is a novel), or if it has much of anything to do with our Miss Brooks, but there is a new book out in Italy called Louise Brooks non è di queste parti (Louise Brooks is not from these parts). It is authored by Luca Spagnoletti, and was issued by ilmiolibro self publishing. The book is 140 pages, and is available as an e-book and on amazon Italy and at the store Feltrinelli.

Here is an image of the front and back covers.

And here is a page from the publisher, with a description of the book very roughly translated into English:

A veteran, after World War II, looking for his ex-girlfriend, Zoe Lennie. But where is Zoe now, and above all who is she really? The rebellious and apathetic that the mother encouraged to conform, in New England in the early forties or the one that, wandering in a country that is changing face, makes existential questions that nobody seems to be able to - and want to - respond? The author tells us, without pretense, of this oscillating traveler and his "strange" friends, between realism and madness. With her sad look, her jaunty haircut, which makes her look so much like a diva of silent cinema, Zoe will accompany us in her resignation, until she sees that there is a present with which to cohabit, beyond the consolation of the memories and time that often betrays. A novel without concessions, ostentatiously out of fashion: that's why it's already a classic. By Luca Spagnoletti my book has published the collections of poems Lulù of the overhangs and Biancaneve at the Excelsior.

Beggars of Life, starring Louise Brooks, screens May 18th at Yorkshire Silent Film Festival (UK)

On May 18, the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival in Scarborough, England will screen the now classic 1928 Louise Brooks' film, Beggars of Life. More information about this event can be found HERE.

The Festival describes the film thus: "In this rarely-seen Hollywood classic, the great Louise Brooks stars as a train-hopping hobo who disguises herself as a boy and goes on the run. With dramatic American landscapes, a lyrical love story, and a daring, desperate final scene atop a speeding train, this is classic silent film entertainment."

Want to learn more about the film? Last Spring saw the release of my new book, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, and this past Summer saw the release of a new DVD / Blu-ray of the film from Kino Lorber. If you haven't secured your own copy of either the book or the DVD / Blu-ray, why not do so today? The book is also available on amazon.com in the UK at this link.

Louise Brooks adorns the cover of new edition of The Photoplay by Hugo Munsterberg

Louise Brooks adorns the cover of a new edition of The Photoplay by Hugo Münsterberg, as published by Duke Classics. First published more than 100 years ago, this early work of film theory is in the public domain and has been reprinted and reissued many times (and sometimes under slightly different titles) over the years. This is one of the latest editions. (Other notable actresses have also appeared on the cover of earlier editions.)

"In 1916, an eminent psychologist recorded his impressions of the fledgling film industry. His penetrating and prescient observations foretold the most modern developments of the cinematic art, and his classic survey, The Photoplay: A Psychological Study, remains a text of enduring relevance to movie historians as well as students of film and psychology.

Ranging from considerations of the viewer's perception of on-screen depth and motion to examinations of the cinema's distinguishing and unique characteristics as an art form, this study arrives at strikingly modern conclusions about movies and their psychological values."

Louise Brooks and Volker Kutscher’s Babylon Berlin (the book and the TV series)

Volker Kutscher’s bestselling work of crime fiction, Babylon Berlin, has just been published in the United States by Picador. The book was an instant hit in Germany. Part of a mutli-book series, it was awarded the Berlin Krimi-Fuchs Crime Writers Prize in 2011, and has sold more than one million copies worldwide.

Its American cover (seen here) is nearly identical to the English edition: both feature an image of the iconic Louise Brooks.

This book is the basis for the popular European TV series Babylon Berlin produced by Sky TV which has just debuted yesterday in the United States on Netflix (with subtitles). Vogue magazine calls it "the most bingeable new drama since The Crown."

National Public Radio ran a good piece on the show, "Germany's 'Babylon Berlin' Crime Series Is Like 'Cabaret' On Cocaine," which concludes "Babylon Berlin captures the dark glamour of a briefly exhilarating time between the wars. And for today's Berliners — faced with the city's steady, sterile gentrification — the show offers a welcome dose of escapism." Listen to the NPR piece below:

According to the publisher, "Babylon Berlin is the first book in the international-bestselling series from Volker Kutscher that centers on Detective Gereon Rath caught up in a web of drugs, sex, political intrigue, and murder in Berlin as Germany teeters on the edge of Nazism."

And according to the sometimes reliable Kirkus Reviews, the books has been "been wildly popular in Germany ... an excellent police procedural that cleverly captures the dark and dangerous period of the Weimar Republic before it slides into the ultimate evil of Nazism." Likewise, Publishers Weekly stated, "James Ellroy fans will welcome Kutscher’s first novel and series launch, a fast-paced blend of murder and corruption sent in 1929 Berlin. Kutscher keeps the surprises coming and doesn't flinch at making his lead morally compromised." The Sunday Times (London) concurred, stating the book “Conjures up the dangerous decadence of the Weimar years, with blood on the Berlin streets and the Nazis lurking menacingly in the wings.”

Writer Paul French, who I had the pleasure of meeting a few years back when he was touring for Midnight in Peking, has written a piece on LitHub titled, "How a German Detective Series Becomes an International Hit." It sums up the phenomenon that the books and TV series has become in Europe and as it might become in America (a la Philip Kerr, Joseph Kanon and Alan Furst). Give it a read.

So, you may ask, what has all this got to do with Louise Brooks? Very little, I am afraid, except that the story begins in 1929 and the actress - an icon of Weimar German cinema through her roles in two 1929 G.W. Pabst films, Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl - adorns the cover of this bestselling book and no doubt helped propel at least a few sales. Eugene R. Richee's iconic portrait of Brooks also lends a bit of atmosphere.

And, as Paul French explains in his LitHub piece, the American publisher knew they had a good thing keeping the Brooks cover, published in Scotland by Sandstone. "It’s also a tribute to Davidson’s clever marketing that Morrison has opted to stick with the cover Sandstone commissioned from Brighton-based designer Mark Swann. It’s a cover redolent of the period and the contents and has proved to be a great favorite of bookshop window decorators the length and breadth of the British Isles."

Below is a musical video derived from the television series which gives a sense of what this stylish show has to offer.

Media History Digital Library celebrates Pandora's Box

The Media History Digital Library, a 'swonderful site if there ever was one (and one which I have spent hours and hours going through) celebrates the anniversary of the release of Pandora's Box (1929), the classic G.W. Pabst directed film starring Louise Brooks. The film debuted in Berlin. Here is what their Facebook page said said:

"Today marks the anniversary of the release of G.W. Pabst's Pandora's Box (1929). Even though the film starred American actress Louise Brooks, it did not have a mainstream release in the United States, but the British journal Close-Up did a full spread on the film: http://archive.org/stream/closeup04macp#page/n31/mode/2up"

Be sure and flip through the pages linked to for more pictures and articles. Close-Up had a great deal of interest and a good deal of affection for Brooks (though they would never admit the latter).

 I'll be keeping this special day and special film and special actress in my thoughts.....

Spotlighting Louise Brooks: From the Kansas Prairie to the German Silver Screen

Announcing an important event: "Spotlighting Louise Brooks: From the Kansas Prairie to the German Silver Screen"

The German Program in the Department of Modern Languages is proud to present: "Spotlighting Louise Brooks: From the Kansas Prairie to the German Silver Screen" on Saturday, February 24th, from 10a-4p.

This event is free, open to all, and appropriate for all ages. It will take place on the K-State campus in Justin Hall, room 109. Free parking is available in the lot behind the building.

Throughout the day, participants will examine the unique role Louise Brooks, a silent film star and native Kansan, had in shaping ideas about women’s roles in society through her work in silent film, particularly in Weimar Germany in the 1920s and 1930s.

 Please contact Nichole Neuman (nneuman@ksu.edu) with any questions. Principal funding for this program is provided by the Kansas Humanities Council, a nonprofit cultural organization connecting communities with history, traditions, and ideas to strengthen civic life. Additional funding provided by DOW Center for Multicultural and Community Studies at K-State Libraries.

 Event schedule:

    10:00-10:45: Welcome and presentation of silent student films

    11:00-1:30: Diary of a Lost Girl (GW Pabst, 1929) with live accompaniment by Matthew De Gennaro and a reception with light hors d'oeuvres to follow

    1:30-2:15: Moderated panel 2:30-4:00: Talk and Q+A session with Dr. Richard McCormick (University of Minnesota)

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Want to  learn more about Louise Brooks and Diary of a Lost Girl? Check out this 2010 Louise Brooks Society publication, the "Louise Brooks edition" of The Diary of a Lost Girl, available wherever fine books are sold. Not long after this book was published, noted UK scholar Elizabeth Boa (University of Nottingham) said "It was such a pleasure to come upon your well documented and beautifully presented edition. "

Pandora's Box with Louise Brooks screens in Manchester, England today!

A 35mm print of Pandora's Box will be shown at HOME in Manchester, England on January 28. That's today! This special event will feature live music by Stephen Horne and an introduction by Pamela Hutchinson, author of the terrific new book on the film from BFI Film Classics. More information HERE.

Pandora’s Box Live Accompaniment + Intro

Part of: Pandora’s Box

The film will be introduced by Pamela Hutchinson, freelance writer and author of the BFI Film Classics volume on Pandora’s Box and will feature live accompaniment from Stephen Horne, silent film musician and composer.

Film details

One of the masters of early German cinema, G. W. Pabst had an innate talent for discovering actresses (including Greta Garbo). And perhaps none of his female stars shone brighter than Kansas native and onetime Ziegfeld girl Louise Brooks, whose legendary persona was defined by Pabst’s lurid, controversial melodrama Pandora’s Box. Sensationally modern, the film follows the downward spiral of the fiery, brash, yet innocent showgirl Lulu, whose sexual vivacity has a devastating effect on everyone she comes in contact with. Daring and stylish, Pandora’s Box is one of silent cinema’s great masterworks and a testament to Brooks’s dazzling individuality.