Making a tribute to Mary Louise Brooks, an iconic lady, dancer, actress and writer.
In her early childhood her mother started to cut her hair quite short, straight fringe, cheek-razing length bob style of which she kept for most of her adult life. Her mother saw a possible talent, at the age of six years old she began dancing lessons and Louise wholehearted embraced her new world.
*** Photograph: Louise Brooks with her
Pet named "Tiki", at entrance of Central
Park, New York in 1931. Apparently, the
cute pekingese had a also nick name of
"Scrubbie" because it liked to clean,
lick everything from the floor.
At fourteen years old, started professional dancing in local Opera Houses. Continued her dancing career and in one particular performance while dancing in the Follies, Mr Walter Wanger a producer of Paramount Pictures was mesmerised with Brooks, she later signed a film contract and started to appear in several supporting roles like “The Street of Forgotten Men” 1925 directed by Herbert Brenon. It was in 1928, the film “Beggars of Life” directed by William A. Wellman, that Louise became a major success, a natural unique beauty, exciting and unpredictable.
Louise’s intelligence, analytical manner, feminine, independent, natural rebel, like being ahead of her time. Her natural beauty of fair skin, perfectly shaped eyebrows, dark lips, straight dark shiny hair with her unique short bob hairstyle was perfect for the black and white silent movies. The combination as a whole highly attracted the film Directors however was a real challenge to try to control and or manipulate. Apparently, she read a great deal in search for truth in life, believed herself as dancer, not an actress, she only expressed her natural feelings of the scripts without realising that that was clearly projected through the films and made her even more natural, unlike other actresses where their actions looked over exaggerated.
Apparently as Louise was becoming more famous, her particular hair style increased an enormous trend, other ladies wanted and some arranged to cut their hair short, bob style in order to have her looks. Consequently, Louise requested a raise in her salary, it was refused thus she decided to leave Hollywood for Europe. In Germany, she met film Director George Wilhelm Pabst where she agreed the contract of acting as Lulu in the film “Pandora’s Box” 1929, a controversial decision to have an American actress for this particular role, a rather complex drama, psychological movie that it became an iconic, historical silent film. Louis eventually, returned to Hollywood where she was cast for another silent film “The Canary Murder Case” 1929 directed by Malcom St. Clair , it was quickly decided to change it to a Talking Movie therefore recording her voice was essential. It is believed, Louise was not happy and was difficult of making the recordings, another voice was quickly chosen, the recordings did not go well as the sound and her lip movements sometimes did not coordinate correctly, the film was released, her beloved fans loved seeing her in the big screen unfortunately Louise was highly criticized from the Directors stating that her voice tone, her strong Kansas accent was not good enough for the talking movies industry …
" 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 ...
I never gave away anything without wishing I had kept it or kept it without wishing I had given it away " ... Louise Brooks
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*** Below, rare interview of Louise Brooks regarding her films ...
*** Further below, a short dance scene from Film "Pandora's Box" ...
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