Lulu's back in town!

Eastman House celebrates centennial of Louise Brooks Exhibition opens Nov. 11 in city and at museum where silent-film star spent her final years

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — George Eastman House is celebrating the centennial of famed silent-film star Louise Brooks (1906-1985) — the magnetic and mysterious performer who lived out the last act of her life in Rochester. The anniversary is being highlighted with a film series as well as a photography exhibition, Hollywood Lost: The Power of Louise Brooks, on view Nov. 11, 2006 through Feb. 18, 2007.

The exhibition of more than 40 vintage images will span Brooks's childhood to the end of her life, featuring personal portraits, publicity stills, photographs from the star's private collection, and personal mementoes. The exhibition also will feature a media presentation and audio installation including personal interviews with Brooks.

Brooks had a close relationship with George Eastman House, coming to Rochester in the 1950s at the invitation of Eastman House's famed film curator James Card to be near the Museum and its collections, spending her final days as a painter and author. At Eastman House she spent many hours conducting research for her own articles on cinema and her biography. In 1982, she was granted the prestigious George Eastman Award for her work in motion pictures.

Brooks, who was born and raised in Kansas, started her career as a dancer with the Denishawn Dance Company in 1922, performed with the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway in 1925 and went on to act in 24 films in Hollywood and Europe. She signed with Paramount Pictures in 1925, appearing at first in bit parts and eventually moving up to supporting roles in box-office hits. Due to her distaste for Hollywood filmmaking, she terminated her contract with Paramount and accepted an offer from legendary German director G. W. Pabst to make films in Germany. There Brooks emerged as a screen icon who outraged censors with her frank behavior.

Her rediscovery and reevaluation began in 1955 with the Cinémathèque Francaise's retrospective film series covering 60 years of cinema. The Cinémathèque's founding director Henri Langois — vaulted Brooks into the realm of the iconic with the declaration: "There is no Garbo! There is no Dietrich! There is only Louise Brooks!"

"Brooks' films were a revelation to many — critics were unanimous in their praise for her no-holds-barred performances, and audiences were enraptured with her talent, style, and beauty," said Caroline Yeager, co-curator of the Eastman House exhibition and the Museum's assistant curator of motion pictures. "Sporting her signature straight-cut bangs and bobbed hair, Brooks hardly seems to be acting; her performances are more about 'being' than anything else, as if she were effortlessly living the parts she played. Her work combines a natural ease before the camera with a raw, exuberant energy that is both startling and exhilarating."

Hollywood Lost: The Power of Louise Brooks is organized by George Eastman House under the direction of Caroline Yeager, Assistant Curator of Motion Pictures; Anthony L"Abbate, Film Stills Archivist; and Rick Hock, Director of Exhibitions.

Louise Brooks Film Series
The Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House will screen Louise Brooks films every Tuesday in November, marking the day of her 100th birthday with a lecture, booksigning, and screening of her most famous film on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7
A GIRL IN EVERY PORT (Howard Hawks, US 1928, 62 min.) Two sailor buddies (Victor McLaglen and King Kong's Robert Armstrong) travel around the world getting into several barroom brawls and falling in love with a number of exotic beauties. The tantalizing Louise Brooks appears in a revealing leotard as a tantalizing high-diving circus artist who seduces each of the men and starts a feud between them. The code of men further explored by director Hawks in films such as Only Angels Have Wings and Rio Bravo, has its origins in this terrific fast-paced comedy. Live piano by Philip C. Carli.

6:00 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14
Peter Cowie and Jack Garner present "The Art of Louise Brooks" On the occasion of her 100th birthday, George Eastman House will pay special tribute to the legendary Louise Brooks. Noted author and film critic Peter Cowie will discuss the alluring mystery and fascinating career of the great movie star who spent the last third of her life here in Rochester. The presentation will conclude with a question-and-answer session with Cowie and Gannett Syndicated Film Critic Jack Garner. After the event, Cowie will sign copies of his new book, Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever, which features a foreword by Garner. Tickets are $10 general admission and $8 members and students. Advance tickets are available at the Dryden Box Office, the Museum's admissions desk or by credit card online at www.eastmanhouse.org or by calling (585) 271-3361 ext. 218. (Ticket includes admission to screening of Pandora's Box.)

8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14
PANDORA'S BOX (DIE BÜCHSE DER PANDORA, G.W. Pabst, Germany 1929, 133 min.) Louise Brooks plays Lulu, heroine of Frank Wedekind's beloved German plays. An innocently immoral sexual predator, Lulu discards and destroys men as she tries to get ahead - until she meets Jack the Ripper. Live piano by Philip C. Carli.

8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21
IT'S THE OLD ARMY GAME(Edward Sutherland, US 1926, 70 min.) The hilarious W.C. Fields, in his first starring vehicle, plays put upon pharmacist Elmer Prettywillie. Endlessly suffering the abuse of overbearing relatives and petty drugstore customers, Elmer finds a number of comically inventive ways to cope. Without the use of his trademark voice, Fields shows us what an excellent pantomimist he was, and he brings to the screen several of his famous stage sketches. Brooks costars as Elmer's pretty and kind assistant. Live piano by Philip C. Carli.

8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28
BEGGARS OF LIFE (William A. Wellman, US 1928, 100 min.) A year after picking up Hollywood's first Oscar for Wings, legendary director Wellman turned to this rollicking saga of hobos on the lam. In what was probably her finest Hollywood feature, the magnificent Louise Brooks hops freight trains with the great Wallace Beery and finds romance with Richard Arlen. One of Brooks's personal favorites, the only place in the world to see Beggars of Life is at George Eastman House, so don't miss this rare opportunity! Live piano by Philip C. Carli.

For more information about the exhibition, lecture, or films, please visit www.eastmanhouse.org or call (585) 271-3361. Admission to George Eastman House is $8 for adults; $6 for senior citizens (60 and older); $5 for students; $3 for children (5 to 12); and free for children 4 and under and museum members. Admission to the Dryden Theatre is $6 general admission; $5 students; $4 members (please note special pricing for Nov. 14 lecture).

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