Synopses & Reviews
Louise Brooks has become one of the most spectacular icons of early cinema. Her distinctive "bob" haircut looks as modern as they did when she first appeared in films in 1925. Louise Brooks was born on November 14, 1906 in Cherryvale, Kansas, and by eighteen had established herself as a dancer with the Ziegfeld Follies, and was receiving film offers from both MGM and Paramount. In 1928, she starred in William Wellman's Beggars of Life. Meanwhile she was mingling with the high and mighty of Hollywood, having a passionate affair with Charlie Chaplin, spending weekends at William Randolph Hearst's castle and captivating such men as William S. Paley, the founder of CBS. Her brief, yet spectacular role in Howard Hawks' A Girl in Every Port impressed G.W. Pabst, the German maestro who was seeking an actress for his upcoming production, Pandora's Box. He rejected Marlene Dietrich in favor of Brooks, who went to Berlin and made not only Pandora's Box but also Diary of a Lost Girl, forever ensuring her status as a screen icon.This exquisitely produced album celebrates Lulu with rare film footage stills, private photos, letters, interviews, and text by renowned film critic Peter Cowie, exploring this influential cult figure and abiding symbol of the Jazz Age.
Synopsis
Published to mark the centennial of her birth, a pictorial tribute chronicles the life and work of the provocative Jazz Age icon, from her early establishment with the Ziegfeld Follies and her successes with such films as Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl to her relationships with such figures as Charlie Chaplin and CBS founder William S. Paley.
About the Author
Peter Cowie, a noted film historian and author of more than twenty books on cinema, corresponded with Louise Brooks from 1965 to 1982. Jack Garner is the chief film critic for the Gannett News Service.