Louise Brooks Society blog

Louise Brooks lived through some 78 July 4th celebrations of Independence Day, including the 150th anniversary in 1926 and the 200th in 1976. This rambling post looks at the July 4th holiday in the life of the actress.In 1926, Brooks was back in New York City, after having completed work on It's the Old Army Game in Florida, where she met the film's director, Eddie Sutherland. The two became involved, and would marry a few weeks later on July 21. How exactly Brooks spent this particular July 4th we don't know, but I would guess it was with Eddie. And here is newspaper bit for It's the Old […]

Pandora's Box, Louise Brooks' great screen triumph, will be shown at Wilton's Music Hall in London one month from today, on July 30th. This special screening will feature a live piano score by Christopher Eldred. More information about this event, including ticket availability, can be found HERE. Otherwise, here is what the venue says about the event: "Louise Brooks stars as the effortlessly seductive Lulu, a high class courtesan and dancer who brings destruction to the Berlin bourgeoisie with her turbulent love affairs, both male and female.   Heavily censored in its day, G.W. […]

For the last number of months I've been rebuilding the Louise Brooks Society's social media presence. (Regular readers of this blog know why.) And so, here is a refresher of where else to find the LBS.Besides its widely praised website at www.pandorasbox.com, the LBS also has this longstanding blog and a YouTube account as well as a more recently established Substack. Each are rich in content. All of the LBS's 20+ social media accounts are listed on the LBS website's Social Media page. The LBS has accounts on Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.... As of today, the two primary social media […]

For more than a few years now, I've been keeping lists of book that Louise Brooks either owned, read, or is know to have owned and / or read. Brooks never kept a list herself, so what I have compiled is gathered from a number of sources -- such as the archive at the George Eastman Museum (to whom Brooks gifted her film books) and the archive at Wichita State University (who have her personal books). Other books are referenced in both vintage and contemporary newspaper and magazine articles, in Brook's letters, in the Barry Paris biography, etc....I have handled a few books over time, and […]

The Louise Brooks Society page devoted to coming attraction slides has been updated. I've added a bit of new information, re-arranged a couple of slides, and added a link to a must view video, which I have also embedded below. What are coming attraction slides? The answer, simply put, is that they were the equivalent of today's previews or trailers. During the silent and early sound era era, glass slides were projected in theaters as a means of alerting the audience to a venue’s future offerings, or coming attraction. The Louise Brooks Society page devoted to coming attraction slides […]

It's the first day of summer! To help everyone enjoy the new season and warm temperatures, here are some images of Louise Brooks at the beach.As a member of Denishawn, in 1923. Louise Brooks is second from right. Martha Graham is center. This picture was likely taken in New England near the Atlantic coastline. As a Paramount actress, in 1927. Louise Brooks is center, with Sally Blane (left)and Nancy Phillips (right). Picture taken in So. California on the Pacific Coast.Another in Southern California in 1927, with Sally Blaine.A candid at the historic Cavalier Beach Club, Virginia Beach, […]

Rolled Stockings, starring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1927. The film is a drama set among students at the fictional Colfax College. It was one of a number of similarly-themed films aimed toward the youth market of the 1920s. Besides Louise Brooks, who was then 20 years old, its cast included a few of Paramount's "junior stars" -- then up-and-comers Richard Arlen, James Hall, Nancy Phillips, and El Brendel. Brooks plays the love interest of two brothers, one a fop, the other an athlete. More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks Society website filmography […]

The more often you watch a particular film, the more things you notice which you might not have taken note of previously... the way light might come into a window, the way a character walks, the way a room is dressed. Over the years, I have likely watched Pandora's Box (1929) some twenty times, or more. I don't really know how many times I have viewed the film, but I always try to watch it with fresh eyes. It wasn't until my twelfth viewing, some years ago, that I really noticed the jazz combo performing during the wedding reception scene. That got me to wondering who they were, until I […]

Diary of a Lost Girl, the sensational 1929 film starring Louise Brooks, will be screened at Miss Laura’s Brothel Museum in Fort Smith, Arkansas on June 5. This special event is being held in conjunction with the Fort Smith Public Library. More information about the event can be found HERE.The venue states, "Diary of a Lost Girl (1929), directed by G. W. Pabst and starring Louise Brooks, follows Thymiane, a young woman cast out after becoming pregnant and deemed “immoral” by her family and society. Sent through reformatories and exploitation, her story exposes the cruelty, […]