Louise Brooks Society blog

The Street of Forgotten Men, with Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1925. The film underworld romance set among fake beggars and their “cripple factory” in the slums of the Bowery in New York City. The film is based on an O. Henryesque short story by George Kibbe Turner which appeared in Liberty magazine on February 14, 1925, just two months before the film went into production. The film is notable as the first in which Louise Brooks had a role, that of a moll (companion to a gangster). More about the film can be found on the Louise Brooks Society website filmography […]

I recently came across a rather remarkable article about Louise Brooks. It's remarkable in that it is a virtual "love letter" to the actress from a time when she was pretty much forgotten... 1943. (That's four years after Brooks' last film was released.) What's also remarkable about this article is that it appeared in a Romanian newspaper in the midst of the second World War. At the time, Romania was allied with Nazi Germany, whose cultural ministry had previously banned the film at the center of this article, Pandora's Box. But first some context as to how this article was found: I […]

Prix de beauté, with Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1930. In her last starring role and last European film, Louise Brooks plays a typist stuck in a dull job who wins a beauty contest. Like Pandora’s Box and Diary of a Lost Girl, Prix de beauté is a tragedy in which misfortune befalls the character played by Brooks. In a sense, the film can be seen as the third in a European trilogy starring the actress. The film is notable for being the first sound film to feature Brooks, although her dialogue and singing were dubbed, as well as one of the earliest French sound […]

The Show Off, featuring Louise Brooks, was released on this day in 1926. The film a satiric comedy about an insufferable braggart who disrupts the life of a middle-class family. While remembered today as a Louise Brooks film, The Show-Off is really a vehicle for Ford Sterling, a comedian best remembered for his starring work as a member of the Keystone Kops. As a broad comedian, he is the perfect choice for the role of the titular blowhard Aubrey Piper. Brooks plays a supporting role as the love interest of the boy who lives next door. The Show Off is in my opinion one of Brooks' […]

Don't forget . . . . Submit Louise Brooks' films for the 2026 National Film Registry. The Louise Brooks Society suggests these American films.Beggars of Life (1928) -- Americana a la hobo mode & William Wellman's favorite of his silent filmsThe Show-Off (1926) -- based on the classic George Kelly play, remade multiple times as a film Love Em and Leave Em (1926) -- a 'swonderful flapper rom-com set during the Roaring 20sThe Street of Forgotten Men (1925) --  one of the first "gangs of New York"The deadline is August 15thBegin the simple submission form HERE […]

The Louise Brooks Society remembers Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985), dancer, actress, writer, and inspiration to many. She is a 20th century icon, and a 21st century muse. Yes, she is gone, but she is not forgotten. Here is a link to her "Find a Grave" page. Why not visit the page and leave some virtual flowers. The Louise Brooks Society, which this year marks 31 years online, was founded in part to celebrate Brooks' legacy. Please visit the Louise Brooks Society website at www.pandorasbox.com and share in that celebration.  THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks […]

A speculation about what might have been . . . . It's well known that G. W. Pabst wanted to work with Louise Brooks once more after having starred her in two films released in 1929, Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl. Today, both are considered silent masterpieces.According to Brooks, Pabst hoped to cast the actress in A Modern Hero (1934), a Warner Bros. release about an ambitious circus worker with an Oedipus complex (played by Richard Barthelmess) who climbs to the top by exploiting his friends, business partners and most significantly, the women in his life. Brooks' role in the film […]

Of late, I have been going through a few different archives and uncovering some rather remarkable material. There are things I didn't know (which ain't saying much), things not mentioned in the Barry Paris biography (which is saying a lot), and things I don't think anyone knows about (wowza). Here is one example, a handwritten note by Louise Brooks likely dating from the 1960s or 1970s. It reads "1934 - When Pabst was under contract to Warners - he got them a print of Lulu, hoping to get me for A Modern Hero -1943 - this was the print Iris Barry at MOMA saw and decided not to buy Lulu […]

Submit Louise Brooks' films (and others) for the 2026 National Film Registry. The Louise Brooks Society suggests these American films.Beggars of Life (1928) -- Americana a la hobo mode & William Wellman's favorite of his silent filmsThe Show-Off (1926) -- based on the classic George Kelly play, remade multiple times as a film Love Em and Leave Em (1926) -- a 'swonderful flapper rom-com set during the Roaring 20sThe Street of Forgotten Men (1925) --  one of the first "gangs of New York"The deadline is August 15thBegin the simple submission form HERE […]