Beggars of Life, the 1928 silent film featuring Louise Brooks, is undergoing a revival – and in more ways than anyone was aware.
The once little known William Wellman directed melodrama has been screened more often in the last few years than in the four or five decades following its initial release. And now, it seems, new screenings are popping up almost every week.
Based on the 1925 bestseller by Jim Tully, Beggars of Life tells the story of a girl (Brooks) who murders her abusive step father and ends up on the run dressed as a boy while she and a young hobo attempt escape. The film is a gritty look at the underside of American life.
On September 19, Beggars of Life was screened at the 30th Cambridge Film Festival in Cambridge, England. Its live musical accompaniment was provided by the Dodge Brothers. In April, the British roots music combo had accompanied the film at a screening which was part of the British Silent Film Festival.
On September 24, reports the Daily Echo, a UK newspaper, the Dodge Brothers were at it again. “The band was back in action at Brockenhurst College last night when eight bicycles were used to power a projector for a screening of Beggars of Life, a 1928 silent movie starring Wallace Beery, Louise Brooks and Richard Arlen. Music was by The Dodge Brothers and silent film pianist Neil Brand.” This latest British screening was part of the New Forest Festival.
In August in the United States, Beggars of Life was screened as part of The Hollywood Heritage "Silents Under the Stars" series at the Paramount Ranch near Los Angeles, California. It will next be screened in Seattle, Washington as part of the "Trader Joe's Silent Movie Mondays" series at the Paramount Theatre on October 11th at 7:00 pm.
The film will also be shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Saturday, October 23 at 7:30 pm. This latter screening, a 20th Anniversary Tribute to The Film Foundation, honors the institution which helped fund the George Eastman House restoration which has helped spur the current revival.
More info: A little more on Beggars of Life can be found on IMDb at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018684/
Thomas Gladysz is a longtime fan of Louise Brooks, so much so that in 1995 he founded the Louise Brooks Society, an internet-based archive and fan club devoted to the silent film star. Gladysz has contributed to books on the actress, organized exhibits, appeared on television, and introduced her films around the country. Recently, he edited and wrote the introduction to the “Louise Brooks edition” of Margarete Bohme’s The Diary of a Lost Girl.
Comments