It’s that time of the year when journalists issue their Top Ten lists - the year’s best new releases in books, music, and film.
Not surprisingly, 2010 has seen a handful of new releases related to Louise Brooks. Interest in the actress continues to grow – and new works which include her or are inspired by the silent film star continue to be released. Here’s our pick of the best of the year:
BOOK: Dear Stinkpot: Letters from Louise Brooks, by Jan Wahl
“Dear Stinkpot” was a term of endearment Brooks had for Jan Wahl, a now celebrated author of books for children and young adults. They met in 1957, when Wahl was a poor graduate student and Brooks a forgotten actress. Their friendship and correspondence lasted decades. Dear Stinkpot: Letters from Louise Brooks includes the actress’ sometimes frank letters and notes to the aspiring author – as well as Wahl's worthwhile commentary, which is interspersed throughout. [Published by Bearmanor Media, available at amazon.com or Indiebound]
BOOK: The Diary of a Lost Girl, by Margarete Bohme
The 1929 Brooks’ film, Diary of a Lost Girl, is based on a controversial and bestselling book first published in Germany in 1905. Though little known today, the book was a sensation at the beginning of the 20th century. By the end of the Twenties, it had sold a remarkable 1,200,000 copies. My new edition of the original English language translation brings this notable work back into print after more than 100 years. This special "Louise Brooks Edition" includes three dozen illustrations and a 20 page introduction. [Published by PandorasBox Press, available at Lulu.com, amazon.com or Indiebound]
DVD: Rare films of Louise Brooks
Classic Video Streams has issued a set of four DVDs of hard-to-find films. Volume one features Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em (1926) and It’s the Old Army Game (1926). Volume two features A Girl in Every Port (1928) and The Canary Murder Case (1929). Volume three features Beggars of Life (1928), as well as a three minute interview excerpt from Kevin Brownlow’s television series, Hollywood (1976). Volume four features the westerns Empty Saddles (1936) and Overland Stage Raiders (1938). The quality of each video transfer leaves something to be desired – but this may be as good as it gets. [Issued by Classic Video Streams, available at amazon.com]
BOOK: Starstruck: Vintage Movie Posters from Classic Hollywood, by Ira M. Resnick
For four decades, Ira Resnick has been amassing a superb collection of 2,000 vintage movie posters and 1,500 stills, many of which have never before been published. Starstruck: Vintage Movie Posters from Classic Hollywood features the best of Resnick's collection, with vivid reproductions of 250 posters and forty stills from a golden age of film art (1912 to 1962). Happily, posters, lobby cards and stills featuring Brooks turn up again and again in this beautifully printed coffee table book. [Published by Abbeville, available at amazon.com or Indiebound]
CD: All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu, by Rufus Wainwright
The title of this latest CD from Wainwright references both Shakespeare's Sonnet 43 as well as the acclaimed singer-songwriter’s own idea of “Lulu,” which Wainwright describes as the "dark, brooding, dangerous woman that lives within all of us." Wainwright, an acknowledged fan of Brooks, has created a haunting, oblique homage to the actress and Frank Wedekind’s immortal character. [Issued by Decca, available at amazon.com]
BOOK:Wedekind in an Hour,by Carl R. Mueller
In 1904, Wedekind nearly landed himself in jail. His play, Pandora’s Box–the basis for the 1929 Brooks film, was confiscated by authorities because certain passages were thought to undermine the social moral order. In that work and others (like Spring Awakening), the German playwright articulated his views on the nature of human sexuality, views that continue to resonate with audiences. This new book by a noted Wedekind translator is a handy 112-page introduction to the work of the great German author. [Published by Smith & Kraus, available amazon.com or Indiebound]
BOOK: Beggars of Life, by Jim Tully
Tully’s Beggars of Life was a bestseller in 1924, as well as the basis for the acclaimed 1928 Brooks film directed by William Wellman. Written with honesty and insight, Beggars of Life is a novelistic memoir which follows Tully from his first adventures as a teenage hobo - learning the ropes, riding the rails, and living one meal to the next. Long unavailable, Tully’s best known book has been reissued in softcover with a new introduction. [Published by Kent State University Press, available at amazon.com or Indiebound]
BOOK: Bruz Fletcher: Camped, Tramped & a Riotous Vamp, by Tyler Alpern
Brooks figures slightly in this heavily illustrated look at the life of one of the actress’ little known friends from the 1930’s. Bruz Fletcher was a multitalented song composer, recording artist, nightclub performer, and novelist. He was also gay – and part of the “pansy craze” of the pre-WWII years. Brooks and Fletcher performed at the same Miami nightclub in the mid-1930’s – and later in Los Angeles, Brooks frequented Fletcher’s act at the Club Bali. [Available at blurb.com]
FILM: Loving Louise Brooks, by Sebastian Pesle
Loving Louise Brooks is a student film made by a French high school student with the help of, and starring, a small group of other French students. Pesle plays a young cineaste obsessed with Brooks, much to the dismay of his girlfriend, played by Malvina Desmarest. Sure, it’s a student film, but it is also one of the most charming short works you’ll see this year.
Thomas Gladysz is an arts journalist and author. Recently, he wrote the introduction to the new “Louise Brooks edition” of Margarete Böhme's classic book, The Diary of a Lost Girl (PandorasBox Press). He will speak about his new book at the Village Voice Bookshop in Paris on January 13, 2011. This author talk will be followed by a screening of the film at the nearby Action Cinema.
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