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Post by Jess on Sept 9, 2006 23:26:20 GMT -5
Wow! really Jess? Thats really amazing. If you dont mind me asking.. Is he still living? I don't mind at all. He died in 1992, because of emphysema (sp?) His brother/my great uncle is still alive, and they escaped together with a third brother who is no longer living. The one who is still living wrote a (unpublished) memoir about it, but it's in Yiddish, so I wouldn't be able to read it, unless I learned ♥
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Post by klaatu on Sept 10, 2006 14:56:15 GMT -5
I've got a favorite book on the silent era. It's called The Parade's Gone By . . . by Kevin Brownlow. There's a story behind the title. Paramount was shooting THE BUSTER KEATON STORY in 1957, starring Donald O'Connor. Keaton was very much alive. They brought in a guy named Monte Brice, who'd been a director and writer in the silents. Brice was stunned. They had gotten nearly every detail wrong! he tried to tell the production team that that just wasn't how things were done in the twenties. A young assistant director said, "Look, why don't you go away. Times have changed. You're an old man. The parade's gone by . . ."
Nearly fifty years have passed since that encounter. The films of the silent era still reach out and touch my heart. However, films made in 1957, unless it's got a really kickin' monster in it, for the most part leave me cold.
Brownlow published the book in 1968. It's still in print today. He got interviews with a lot of silent gods and godeses in their final days. Unfortunately he doesn't have much on Clara Bow or her films, but if you want a much better understanding of Clara Bow's world, this is the book to read.
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kathrine
Clara Collegiate
Clara Bow I salute you!
Posts: 145
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Post by kathrine on Sept 11, 2006 4:10:52 GMT -5
Wow! really Jess? Thats really amazing. If you dont mind me asking.. Is he still living? I don't mind at all. He died in 1992, because of emphysema (sp?) His brother/my great uncle is still alive, and they escaped together with a third brother who is no longer living. The one who is still living wrote a (unpublished) memoir about it, but it's in Yiddish, so I wouldn't be able to read it, unless I learned ♥ That is very interesting. I wish my great grandmother were still alive, so she could tell me about the holocaust. She lived in Greece when the war was on. My mother said that the German's and Italians took over the villages or something. It must have been scary to be alive during the war.
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kathrine
Clara Collegiate
Clara Bow I salute you!
Posts: 145
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Post by kathrine on Sept 11, 2006 4:13:35 GMT -5
klaatu that sounds like a good book!
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Post by klaatu on Sept 11, 2006 10:07:49 GMT -5
I have a confession about Brownlow's book. He dedicated the book to the French filmmaker, Abel Gance. When I read it I'd never heard of Gance. His final chapter was an interview with Gance, focusing on his 1927 work, Napoleon. Brownlow gushed so exuberantly over the film and fawned so much over Gance that I remember rolling my eyes repeatedly and whining, "Aw c'mon. No film or fillmmaker is worth this level of adoration."
A couple of years later I saw the film, lovingly restored by Brownlow. I hung my head in shame. If anything Brownlow may not have praised Gance enough. I could make a pretty good argument that Abel Gance's 1927 film is one of the greatest, or (gulp) perhaps THE greatest film of all time.
The quotes that follow are headlines from present-day viewers reviews that were posted on the IMDB. "Perhaps the greatest film ever made . . . Gance needed a figure as powerful as "Napoleon" to fulfill his dream of super cinema . . . A hundred years ahead of its time . . . an emotional extravaganza that reaches across time . . . Vive Napoleon! Vive Abel Gance! . . . Excellent Portrayal of an Era, Not Just a Man . . . A Stunning Masterpiece! . . . Abel Gance was a Visionist . . . Masterpiece of the Silent Era . . . Timeless masterpiece . . . Stupendous silent!. . . An enthralling experience - stays with you for years . . . WOW! . . . One of my two favorite films . . . A Masterwork far ahead of its time . . . One of the best films ever! . . . Masterpiece! . . . absolutely brilliant . . . A masterpiece . . . An excellent film . . . Boggles the mind!"
I guess the only it could have been improved would have been to cast Clara Bow in it (although that's true of so many films).
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Post by Jess on Sept 11, 2006 13:24:58 GMT -5
I love the book The Parade's Gone By. I think it's really the definitive silent movie book. I did rather dislike that Clara Bow wasn't mentioned in it, and even Louise Brooks (who idolized Clara) was upset with Kevin Brownlow for some time, for having neglected her in the book. I still think it's a fabulous guide to film history. Kathrine, I feel the same way you do, because I wish I could have heard more about their experiences. It's strange, my grandpa never wanted to talk about any of it (which of course, I can understand), but his brother/my great uncle who is still alive, is always willing to tell us about it and answer our questions. The third of the brothers, I haven't spoken to very much, so I'm not sure how he was about it. My grandpa was the youngest, so I'm sure that had a lot to do with it; he was only 13 or 14 when the Nazis invaded Poland (where he was originally from). Klaatu, I'm rather ashamed, but I've never seen Gance's Napoleon. I know my parents went to a screening of it on one of their first dates, and my mother hated it! She hates silents, so I'm not surprised that she wouldn't like it I need to see it for myself some time!
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Post by klaatu on Sept 11, 2006 14:50:10 GMT -5
Jess,
It's wonderful that you haven't see Gance's Napoleon yet! Think of the intense pleasure that awaits you. I wish I could see it again for the first time. Maybe if I wait long enough and my memory gets bad enough, I can.
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Post by Jess on Sept 11, 2006 21:54:39 GMT -5
That's true! It's one of those epics that should be seen. I remember before I saw The Big Parade, the length of it seemed rather daunting, but I guess that's nothing compared to Napoleon! Maybe on a weekend, I can sit and watch it all the way through!
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kathrine
Clara Collegiate
Clara Bow I salute you!
Posts: 145
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Post by kathrine on Sept 12, 2006 2:32:37 GMT -5
Jess, Yes that is understandable. It must have been tough. I might ask the lady down the road (shes 91) about the Holocaust. I love visiting her and talking about classics. She used to go and watch Clara Bow at the cinema when she was young! Pretty cool eh?
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Post by Jess on Sept 12, 2006 12:32:30 GMT -5
That is cool! We have a family friend who is about 97 or so (!) and last I heard, she was still doing well. I ought to ask her more about her favorite things back then. I remember she said she liked Greta Garbo (another favorite of mine), I ought to ask her about Clara too
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Post by klaatu on Sept 25, 2006 19:10:06 GMT -5
I just finished the Stenn Runnin' Wild book last week. Nice book. Sad life.
I didn't realize what a heel B. P. Schulberg was. Had Clara been handled by someone like Irving Thalberg she'd have probably had a longer career and certainly one that produced more films at the level of IT and WINGS. Schulberg's actions cheated Clara out of the money she deserved and the films she deserved and cheated generations of her fans from enjoying her in quality productions instead of ones where she had to carry one weak picture after another.
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kathrine
Clara Collegiate
Clara Bow I salute you!
Posts: 145
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Post by kathrine on Sept 26, 2006 7:49:44 GMT -5
That is cool! We have a family friend who is about 97 or so (!) and last I heard, she was still doing well. I ought to ask her more about her favorite things back then. I remember she said she liked Greta Garbo (another favorite of mine), I ought to ask her about Clara too Really?! Oh haha that's really cool Elderly people are so fun They know alot about old stars it's great
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