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Louise Brooks
[1906-1985]
![common studio portrait of Louise Brooks [1906-85], hair as 'black helmet'](images/Louise+Brooks+Black+Helmet.jpg "common studio portrait of Louise Brooks [1906-85], hair as 'black helmet'") | short profile |
“I never gave away anything without wishing [that] I had kept it;
nor kept it without wishing [that] I had given it away.”
“The great art of films does not consist of descriptive movement of face and body
but in the movements of thought and soul transmitted in a kind of intense isolation.”
“There is no other occupation in the world that so closely resembled enslavement
as the career of a film star.”
“I learned how to act by watching Martha Graham dance and I learned
how to dance by watching [Charlie Chaplin] act.”
— Louise Brooks
"There is no Garbo, there is no Dietrich, there is only Louise Brooks!”
— Henri Langlois, of the Cinémathèque Française
B I O
h e r e
Louise Brooks entry at Wikipedia
Louise Brooks credits [1925-38] at Internet Movie Database
browse Louise Brooks on DVD at Amazon
Movies of Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks credits [1925-38] at Internet Movie Database
browse Louise Brooks on DVD at Amazon
 | "The Actors: Rare Films of Louise Brooks" [2009]
Volume 1: Classic Video Streams b&w silent DVD [12/2009] for $16.99 "Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em" [1926] and "It’s The Old Army Game" [1926] with W.C. Fields Volume 2: Classic Video Streams b&w silent DVD [12/2009] for $16.99 "A Girl In Every Port" [1928] directed by Howard Hawks, and "The Canary Murder Case" [1929] starring William Powell Volume 3: Classic Video Streams b&w/color DVD [12/2009] for $16.99 "Beggars of Life' [1928 silent feature] directed by William A. Wellman, and a 3-minute interview excerpt from Kevin Brownlow’s TV series "Hollywood" [1976] Volume 4: Classic Video Streams b&w/color DVD [12/2009] for $16.99 "Empty Saddles" [1936] starring Buck Jones, and "Overland Stage Raiders" [1938] co-starring John Wayne, Ray Corrigan & Max Terhune {as The Three Mesquiteers} |
· ·
Early Career in U.S.A.
"The Street of Forgotten Men" [Paramount/Lasky July 1925] /tt0016403/
Directed by Herbert Brenon; starring Percy Marmont, Neil Hamilton, Mary Brian,
John Harrington & Louise Brooks {bit part} { incomplete: missing reel 7 }
"The American Venus" [Paramount/Lasky Jan 1926] /tt0016603/
Filmed in two-strip Technicolor; directed by Frank Tuttle; starring Esther Ralston, Lawrence Gray,
Ford Sterling, Fay Lanphier, Louise Brooks & Edna May Oliver { considered to be a lost film }
"A Social Celebrity" [Paramount/Lasky March 1926] /tt0017411/
Directed by Malcolm St. Clair; starring Adolphe Menjou & Louise Brooks
{ considered to be a lost film }
"Love 'Em and Leave 'Em" [Paramount/Lasky March 1926] /tt0017082/
Directed by Frank Tuttle; adapted by Townsend Martin from a stageplay by George Abbott & John
V.A. Weaver; starring Evelyn Brent, Lawrence Gray & Louise Brooks
"It's The Old Army Game" [Paramount/Lasky July 1926] /tt0017004/
Directed by A. Edward Sutherland; based on the stageplay "The Comic Supplement" by J.P. McEvoy
& W.C. Fields; starring W.C. Fields, Louise Brooks, Blanche Ring & William Gaxton
"The Show Off" [Paramount/Lasky Aug 1926] /tt0017382/
Co-produced & directed by Malcolm St. Clair; starring Ford Sterling, Lois Wilson & Louise Brooks
"Just Another Blonde" [First National Pictures Dec 1926] /tt0017013/
Directed by Alfred Santell; starring Dorothy Mackaill, Jack Mulhall, William Collier Jr. & Louise Brooks
{ partial print exists at UCLA Archive }
"Evening Clothes" [Paramount/Lasky March 1927] /tt0017856/
Directed by Luther Reed; starring Adolphe Menjou, Virginia Valli, Noah Beery & Louise Brooks
{ considered to be a lost film }
"Rolled Stockings" [Paramount/Lasky June 1927] /tt0018335/
Directed by Richard Rosson; starring James Hall, Louise Brooks & Richard Arlen
{ considered to be a lost film }
"Now We're In The Air" [Paramount/Lasky Oct 1927] /tt0018211/
Directed by Frank R. Strayer; starring Wallace Beery, Raymond Hatton, Russell Simpson & Louise Brooks
{ considered to be a lost film }
"The City Gone Wild" [Paramount Nov 1927] /tt0017755/
Produced & directed by James Cruze; starring Thomas Meighan, Marietta Millner & Louise Brooks
{ considered to be a lost film }
"A Girl In Every Port" [Fox Feb 1928] /tt0018937/
Co-written & directed by Howard Hawks; starring Victor McLaglen, Robert Armstrong,
Louise Brooks & Natalie Joyce
"Beggars of Life" [Paramount/Lasky Sept 1928] /tt0018684/
Directed by William A. Wellman; starring Wallace Beery, Louise Brooks & Richard Arlen
· ·
Mixed Europe & U.S.A. Career
"Die Büchse der Pandora (Pandora's Box)"
[Germany Jan 1929 silent]
 |
The tragic story of beautiful Lulu began as two plays (1895 & 1904) by Frank Wedekind [1864-1916], then were made into the classic silent film by German director G.W. Pabst, which made a star of American actress Louise Brooks. Alban Berg wrote a nearly-finished opera before his death in 1935, which has since been completed & performed; the print of the silent film was restored for DVD in 2006; and underground graphic artist John Linton Roberson is currently adapting the plays as serial comics. full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
more details (synopsis, stageplays, graphic works, opera, posters) on
Magic Lantern's "Pandora's Box" 1929 Movie Page
"The Canary Murder Case" [Paramount Feb 1929]
Completed in 1928 as a silent; the studio decided to rework the film by adding sound, but Louise refused
to travel to Hollywood for the redubbing, which ruined her chances for a Hollywood movie career;
based on the novel by S.S. Van Dine; starring William Powell {as Philo Vance}, Jean Arthur, Louise
Brooks {as Canary}, Margaret Livingston {voice} /tt0019745/
"Diary of A Lost Girl" [Germany Sept 1929 silent]
 | A girl is raped by the druggist clerk downatairs, then rejected by her family and sent to a strict boarding school. She escapes with a friend and they are sold into a brothel. Often censored by chopping the prints, the full 104-minute film was restored in 1984. Produced & directed by G.W. Pabst; adapted by Rudolf Leonhardt from the novel by Margarete Böhme; starring Louise Brooks, André Roanne, Josef Rovenský, Fritz Rasp, Vera Pawlowa, Franziska Kinz, Arnold Korff, Andrews Engelmann, Valeska Gert & Edith Meinhard Kino Video b&w silent DVD [11/2001] for $26.99 Kino Video b&w silent VHS [11/2001] for $24.99 full credits at IMDb novelization by Rene Wild - not found on Amazon |
 | "Tagebuch einer Verlorenen / Diary of A Lost Girl" [1905 bestseller novel] by Margarete Böhme, Introduction & photo selection by Thomas Gladysz PandorasBox Press Louise Brooks Edition 9x6 pb [8/00] for $24.95 book entry at Wikipedia • author Margarete Böhme [1867-1939] entry at Wikipedia sequel "Dida Ibsens Geschichte (The History of Dida Ibsen)" [F. Fontane & Co. 1907] by Margarete Böhme - not found on Amazon |
"Prix de Beauté" aka "Beauty Prize" and "Miss Europe" [France Aug 1930]
sound feature directed by Augusto Genina; co-written by René Clair & G.W. Pabst;
starring Louise Brooks /tt0021273/
· ·
Late Career in U.S.A.
"It Pays To Advertise" [Paramount Feb 1931] /tt0022006/
remade by Paramount as "Criez-le sur Les Toits" [France Aug 1932, USA June 1935] /tt0132067/
aka "Shout It From The House Tops / Rooftops"
"God's Gift To Women" [Warner Bros. April 1931] /tt0021917/
Directed by Michael Curtiz
"Windy Riley Goes Hollywood" [Educational Film Exchanges May 1931]
short directed by Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle /tt0022565/
"Empty Saddles" [Universal Pictures Dec 1936]
starring Buck Jones & Louise Brooks /tt0027571/
"When You're In Love" [Columbia Pictures Feb 1937] /tt0029761/
"King of Gamblers" [Paramount April 1937] scenes deleted /tt0029083/
"Overland Stage Raiders" [Republic Pictures Sept 1938] /tt0030545/
starring John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune & Louise Brooks
Other Works of Louise Brooks
® ®
Louise Brooks's Broadway credits [1924-32] at Internet Broadway Database
(1924) Stage: Appeared in "George White's Scandals" musical revue on Broadway
(1925) Stage: Appeared in "Louie The 14th" musical comedy on Broadway
(1925) Stage: Appeared in "Ziegfeld Follies of 1925" on Broadway
(1927) Stage: Appeared (as "Ensemble") in "Half A Widow" on Broadway
(1928-29) Stage: Appeared in "Earl Carroll's Vanities" on Broadway
(1929) Stage: Appeared (as "Lucetta" / "Ensemble") in "Fioretta", produced on Broadway
(1931-32) Stage: Appeared in "Louder, Please" comedy on Broadway
 | "Lulu In Hollywood" [1982] by Louise Brooks
critical & autobiographical essays; Preface by New Yorker editor William Shawn (Expanded Edition includes Introduction by Kenneth Tynan) Univ MN Press Expanded Edition 8¾x7¾ pb [7/2000] for $14.96 Knopf 9x7½ pb [5/83] out of print/used Knopf 9¼x7½ hardcover [1982] out of print/many, many used |
Louise Brooks was the inspiration for the S&M comic strip "Valentina" begun in 1965 by Italian
cartoonist Guido Crepax [1933-2003]; Louise & Guido corresponded and became friends.
There are 27 Italian books of "Valentina" comics, published 1968-2003
Guido Crepax entry at Wikipedia
'Valentina' comics entry at Wikipedia
 | "Baba Yaga" aka "Devil Witch" aka "Kiss Me Kill Me" [Italy Sept 1973] Photographer Valentina {Isabelle De Funès} falls under the spell of a beautiful witch {Carroll Baker}; adapted & directed by Corrado Farina; co-starring George Eastman Blue Underground widescreen color DVD [5/2003] for $13.49 St. Clair Vision color DVD [2/2004] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb |
thirteen half-hour color episodes starring Demetra Hampton • series credits at IMDb
Works About Louise Brooks
watch YouTube shorts about Louise Brooks
"A Tribute In Color" [2:53] slideshow with piano music
Basil Nelson's "Movie Legend Moments" [3:34] with Phil Everly song "Louise"
Basil Nelson's "Movie Legend Moments (Reprise)" [6:40] with orchestral music
Basil Nelson's "Movie Legend Moments (Finale)" [6:11] with cello & piano music
 | "Ladies In Distress" [1971] by Kalton C. Lahue
A.S. Barnes 10x6½ hardcover [1971] out of print/used The Silent Era actresses profiled are: Mary Astor, Theda Bara, Beverly Bayne, Clara Bow, Louise Brooks, Grace Cunard, Marion Davies, Priscilla Dean, Dolores Del Rio, Geraldine Farra, Pauline Frederick, Greta Garbo, Lillian Gish, Elaine Hammerstein, Juanita Hansen, Leatrice Joy, Alice Joyce, Barbara Lamarr, Lila Lee, Bessie Love, Mae Marsh, Mary Miles Minter, Mae Murray, Nita Naldi, Jane Novak, Olga Petrova, Mary Pickford, Arline Pretty, Aileen Pringle, Allene Ray, Marin Saris, Norma Shearer, Gloria Swanson, Norma Talmadge, Alice Terry, Florence Vidor, Fannie Ward, Kathlyn Williams, and Clara Kimball Young |
 | "Louise Brooks: Portrait d'une Anti-Star" [1976] by Roland Jaccard Ramsay French-language 9¾x7½ pb [1/99] out of print/used Editions Phebus French-language hardcover [1976] out of print/used |
article "Louise Brooks: The Girl In The Black Helmet"
by Kenneth Tynan, in New Yorker Magazine, 1979
 | "Louise Brooks: A Biography" [1989] by Barry Paris
Mandarin Publng U.K. 7½x5 pb [2/91] out of print/used Knopf 9¼x6½ hardcover [10/89] out of print/many used |
 | "Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever" [2006] by Peter Cowie, Foreword by Jack Garner Rizzoli 12½x8¾ hardcover [11/2006] out of print/used |
 | "Louise Brooks: Her Men, Affairs, Scandals, and Persona" [2011] by Maximillien de Lafayette lulu.com 9x6 pb [5/2011] for $22.49 author's website |
 | "The Chaperone: A Novel" New York Times bestseller [2012] by Laura Moriarty Fifteen-year-old Mary Louise Brooks of Wichita, Kansas was allowed to attend classes at the Denishawn School of Dancing in New York City in Summer 1922. The historical fact that already-beautiful Louise was accompanied by a 36-year-old chaperone named Cora Carlisle is the premise upon which hangs this fictional look at the changing culture and mores of America in that pre-Roaring Twenties year. Kindle Edition from Penguin Publng [6/2012] for $12.99 Riverhead 9x6 hardcover [6/2012] for $16.71 Announced 2/2013: Julian Fellowes ("Downton Abbey") will adapt for Fox Searchlight and Elizabeth McGovern will star as Cora • see movie details below |
 | "The Love Goddesses: A History of Sex In The Cinema" [Paramount March 1965] Co-produced, co-written & directed by Saul J. Turell; co-produced & co-written by Graeme Ferguson; narrated by Carl King; featuring Theda Bara, Brigitte Bardot, Ingrid Bergman, Clara Bow, Louise Brooks, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Ava Gardner, Jean Harlow, Rita Hayworth, Audrey Hepburn, Deborah Kerr, Hedy Lamarr, Dorothy Lamour, Gina Lollobrigida, Carole Lombard, Sophia Loren, Myrna Loy, Jeanette MacDonald, Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe, Nita Naldi, Pola Negri, Simone Signoret, Barbara Stanwyck, Gloria Swanson, Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley Temple, Gene Tierney, Lana Turner, and Mae West Image Ent. widescreen color/b&w DVD [7/99] out of prodn/used Embassy/Nelson color/b&w VHS [undated] for $24.50 full credits at IMDb |
"Memories of Berlin: The Twilight of Weimar Culture" [CBC-TV 1976]
documentary produced & directed by Gary Conklin; interviewees include Elisabeth Bergner, Louise Brooks,
Christopher Isherwood, Arthur Koestler & Francis Lederer • DVD/Blu-ray not available • credits at IMDb
 | "Hollywood: A Celebration of The American Silent Film" [Thames Television/H.B.O. 1980] episode 12 "Star Treatment" [aired March 1980]: A look at the failed careers of John Gilbert [1897-1936] and Clara Bow [1905-1965], with interview of Louise Brooks series written & directed by David Gill & historian Kevin Brownlow, narration by James Mason H.B.O. Home Video color VHS [6/98] out of prodn/used episode credits at IMDb |
 | "Lulu In Berlin: The Story of Louise Brooks" documentary [N.D.R./Germany 1984] Leacock interviews Louise Brooks, circa 1974, with excerpts from her films Produced & directed by Richard Leacock & Susan Woll available on DVD as part of "Pandora's Box" from Criterion Kino Intl. Signature Series color/b&w VHS [2002] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb watch on YouTube: part 1 [9:53] • part 2 [9:53] • part 3 [9:53] • part 4 [8:40] |
 | "Louise Brooks" episode [BBC-TV 1986] of the "BBC Arena" TV series
55-minute color/b&w documentary directed by Charles Chabot & Richard Leacock; book readings by actress Linda Hunt; featuring archive footage and kitchen-table interviews of Louise Brooks VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • bare episode credits at IMDb watch full movie [10/2014 upload; 55:46] online at YouTube |
 | "Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood" [Photoplay 1995 mini-series] Produced by Kevin Brownlow & David Gill; narrated by Kenneth Branagh & Jean-Louis Trintignant series credits from IMDb • series entry at Wikipedia Image Ent. b&w/color DVD [5/2000] out of prodn/used Cinema Guild VHS [3/98] 3 tapes - out of prodn/used Episode 2: "The Unchained Camera (Germany)" [aired Oct 1995] features "The Battleship Potemkin" [1925] by Sergei M. Eisenstein, "Metropolis" [1927] by Fritz Lang, "The Joyless Street" [1925] starring Greta Garbo, "The White Hell of Pitz Palu" [1929] with Leni Riefenstahl, and Louise Brooks becoming a star in "Pandora's Box" [1929] directed by G.W. Pabst |
 | "Louise Brooks: Looking For Lulu" documentary [Playboy/T.M.C. 1998] 60-minute docufilm directed by Hugh Munro Neely; written by biographer Barry Paris; hosted by Shirley MacLaine available on DVD as part of "Pandora's Box" from Criterion Image Ent. color/b&w DVD [6/99] for $17.99 Criterion Collection color/b&w VHS [6/99] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb |
 | "Why Be Good? Sexuality & Censorship In Early Cinema" [Playboy/American Cinemateque May 2007] 70-minute documentary about the uncensored days before the Hays Code was established in 1935; featuring archive & interview footage of Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Clara Bow, Louise Brooks, Cecil B. DeMille, Marlene Dietrich, Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffith, Jean Harlow, Will H. Hays, Wm. Randolph Hearst, Pola Negri, Mary Pickford, Barbra Stanwyck, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, and Mae West • Co-written & directed by Elaina Archer; co-written by cinema historian Scott Eyman; narrated by Diane Lane; modern interviewees include Cari Beauchamp, Budd Schulberg, Kevin Thomas & Marc Wanamaker Image Ent. color/b&w DVD [11/2008] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • watch full movie [4/2013 upload; 1:09:56] online at YouTube |
 | "The Chaperone" [P.B.S. Distribution March 2019]  Fifteen-year-old Mary Louise Brooks of Wichita, Kansas was allowed to attend classes at the Denishawn School of Dancing in New York City in Summer 1922. The historical fact that already-beautiful Louise was accompanied by a 36-year-old chaperone named Cora Carlisle is the premise upon which hangs this fictional look at the chang-ing culture and mores of America in that pre-Roaring Twenties year. • Co-produced by & starring Elizabeth McGovern; directed by Michael Engler; adapted by Julian Fellowes, based on the novel by Laura Moriarty; also starring Haley Lu Richardson {as Louise Brooks}, Miranda Otto, Blythe Danner, Campbell Scott, Victoria Hill, Matt McGrath, McLean Peterson, Géza Röhrig, Robert/Robbie Fairchild, Nancy Ellen Shore, Jonathan Walker, Kate Grimes, Ellen Toland, Stan Demidoff, Bill Hoag, Meg Heus, Craig Geraghty, Tyler Weaks, Andrew Burnap, Kate Abbruzzese, George Hampe, Daisy Pugh-Weiss, Steve Garfanti, Daphne Gaines, Cilda Shaur, Sean Hudock, Susan J. Jacks, Collin Jeffery, Ruben Navarro, Noelle Cappuzzo, Vinson German, Marko Caka DVD/Blu-ray not yet available • full credits at IMDb • official movie site • movie entry at Wikipedia watch 2/2019 official trailer [1:45] online at YouTube |
Family & Friends & Lovers
Mary Louise Brooks was born in Kansas in 1906; her stage & movie career lasted from 1922 to 1935; she died in New York in 1985 at age 78.
father Leonard Brooks [] Wichita, Kansas lawyer
mother Myra .. Brooks
brother Theodore Brooks [] Wichita, Kansas newspaper reporter
brother Martin Brooks []
sister June Brooks []
lover Charlie Chaplin [1889-1977], Summer of 1925
first husband Albert Edward 'Eddie' Sutherland [1895-1973]
married July 1926, divorced June 1928
lover George Preston Marshall [1896-1969], 1927-36
lover William S. Paley [1901-90], the founder of C.B.S.; 1928-?
second husband Chicago millionaire Deering Davis []
married October 1933, split March 1934, divorced 1938
partner Dario Borzani [], as the dance team of Dario & Louise, March 1934-Aug 1935
marine engineer James Dunn of Ireland, engaged Sept 1953
friend James Card, film curator at George Eastman House in Rochester, NY, 1956+
friend historian Kevin Brownlow, 1965+
L i n k s
Louise Brooks entry at Wikipedia
browse Louise Brooks on DVD at Amazon
Louise Brooks credits [1925-38] at Internet Movie Database
Louise Brooks's Broadway credits [1924-32] at Internet Broadway Database
Louise Brooks Society fansite
WH's "Tribute to Louise Brooks" fansite
DM's "Every Little Breeze" Louise Brooks fansite
chronology page at Louise Brooks Society website
Louise Brooks retrospective at the Cinémathèque Française in 1958
"A Centenary Tribute to Louise Brooks" at L.A.C.M.A. October 2006
here on the actress Louise Brooks [1906-85] Page at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
top of page • short profile • movies of Louise Brooks • other works of Louise Brooks • works about Louise Brooks • family & friends & lovers • links
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