Louise Brooks, a notable silent-era actress, began her career as a dancer with the Denishawn Dance Company, a well-known dance ensemble. After a while, she was fired from the company because her growing fame jeopardized the co-career. founder’s After being signed by Paramount Pictures, she made her film debut in ‘The Street of Forgotten Men,’ which was a blessing in disguise. She was a representative of the flappers, a group of brazen young ladies who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, and defied social conventions. She turned bobbed hair into a fashion statement. Her attitude was reflected in her film choices. Pabst, a German director, hired her in two films, “Pandora’s Box” and “Diary of a Lost Girl.” Both of these pictures were critically panned when they were released, but they are now considered classics and two of the most influential films of the era. She ended her relationship with Paramount Pictures and turned down a main role in ‘The Public Enemy.’ Her sinking career could have been rejuvenated by the film. She was relegated to minor roles and eventually left the industry. She struggled to support herself as a spendthrift and alcoholic.
Childhood and Adolescence
Louise Brooks was born on November 14, 1906, to lawyer Leonard Porter Brooks and musician Myra Rude, who instilled a love of art in Louise and her siblings.
After being sexually molested at the age of nine, she acquired a profound aversion to gentle and nice males. When she told her mother, she was told that it was most likely her fault.
Louise Brooks’s Career
Brooks began his show career in 1922 as a dancer with the Los Angeles-based Denishawn Dance Company. St. Denis, who envied her growing reputation, fired her from the company in 1924. She became a chorus girl in George White’s successful series of Broadway revues, ‘Scandals.’
Walter Wanger of Paramount Pictures observed her dancing in Broadway’s “Ziegfeld Follies” in 1925. She signed a five-year deal with Paramount and made her cinematic debut in “The Street of Forgotten Men.”
She co-starred with W.C. Fields in ‘It’s the Old Army Game’ in 1926 and played a flapper in ‘A Social Celebrity’ with Adolf Menjou and Chester Conklin.
Her appearance as a vamp named Marie in Howard Hawks’ silent comedy picture ‘A Girl in Every Port’ in 1928 made her famous throughout Europe.
She played Nancy, a child trying to escape maltreatment, opposite Wallace Beery in ‘Beggars of Life’ in 1928. The picture is notable for being Paramount’s first sound production.
She departed Paramount after its CEO, B.P. Schulberg failed to follow through on his promise to grant her a raise. In 1928, she accepted director G.W. Pabst’s invitation and moved to Germany to work.
In 1929, she refused to participate in the sound version of her own film, ‘The Canary Murder Case.’ To dub for Brooks, Paramount had to hire actress, Margaret Livingston.
In 1930, she starred in Augusto Genina’s French film ‘Prix de Beauté’ (Beauty Prize). Although her language and singing were dubbed, it was the actress’s first sound film.
In 1931, she moved to Hollywood. She appeared in two films, ‘God’s Gift to Women’ and ‘It Pays to Advertise,’ but critics largely disregarded and rejected her work.
Her career was nearly cut short when she turned down the main role in William Wellman’s film ‘The Public Enemy.’ The film launched the careers of James Cagney and Jean Harlow.
‘Windy Riley Goes Hollywood,’ ‘Empty Saddles,’ ‘King of Gamblers,’ and ‘When You’re in Love’ were among her minor roles. ‘Overland Stage Raiders,’ starring John Wayne, was her final picture.
She moved to Kansas in 1940 and founded a dance business in Wichita, as well as wrote a pamphlet called “The Fundamentals of Good Ballroom Dancing.” She afterward moved to Manhattan to work in radio.
She worked a number of professions to support herself, including publicity and sales. She began writing cinema essays in 1955, with the encouragement of film curator James Card, including one titled ‘Mr. Pabst.’
Her Major Projects
Brooks portrayed Lulu, a sexually liberated lady, in German director Pabst’s film “Pandora’s Box” in 1929. The picture, which is today regarded as a classic and her best, featured the first depiction of lesbianism.
In the silent film Diary of a Lost Girl,’ directed by Georg Pabst, she played Thymian, an innocent girl. The film, which is based on a controversial best-seller, is regarded as a classic.
Personal History and Legacy
Due to her association with entrepreneur George Preston Marshall, Louise Brooke’s first marriage to Edward Sutherland, a movie director, ended in divorce. After five months, she divorced her second husband, Deering Davis.
She considered herself sexually liberated and had numerous male and female lovers. She attempted to project a lesbian image for herself by mingling with lesbian and bisexual people such as Greta Garbo.
She was the inspiration for two comics: John H. Striebel’s ‘the Dixie Dugan’ newspaper strip, which ran from 1929 until 1966, and Guido Crepax’s sexual comic book ‘Valentina.’
The popular tune “Pandora’s Box,” by the British new wave band Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, was an homage to Brooks in 1991. In the video, they used clips from the actress’s films to introduce her.
The main female character Allyson is referred to as “Lulu” in Gayle Forman’s novels “Just One Day” and “Just One Year” because of her bobbed hair, which is identical to that of the actress.
‘Lulu in Hollywood,’ a collection of her writings, was released in 1982. They chronicle her relationship with Charles Chaplin, W. C. Fields, Humphrey Bogart, William Paley, and Pabst.
Estimated Net worth
Louise is one of the wealthiest movie actresses and one of the most well-known. Louise Brooks’s net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.
Trivia
This actress, who was a member of the “flappers,” a group of rebellious young ladies, burned her first autobiography, “Naked on My Goat.”
The Lux Toilet Soap was promoted by this woman, who was ranked No. 44 on the list of the 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History.