Articles Attributed to Louise Brooks

“Remarkable Remarks” was published in Billboard magazine on September 12, 1925. It features brief quotes from celebrated Broadway personalities of the time. Included among them in this selection is relative newcomer Louise Brooks, at the beginning of her career as a film actress. (Brooks had recently left the Ziegfeld Follies and was now entering films; she had already completed work on The Street of Forgotten Men — in an uncredited bit part, and was now starting work on The American Venus — her first role with a on-screen credit.) Louise Brooks is quoted as saying, “True art instincts lead one up the right alley.”

To me, alley, with its lesser, humble connotation, is a fascinating word choice. Had Brooks used the word boulevard, for example, that would suggest “true art instincts”  leads to something grand or beautiful, or that righteous intentions would lead to unqualified success, since boulevards connote greatness or grandeur. But, Brooks said “alley,” which suggests a somewhat humble destination — a diminished outlook, as in no matter how good or true you are, you will likely end up in a mere alley. Brooks’ quote reminds me of something Oscar Wilde once said, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”

For a bit more on this rare clipping, check out this LBS blog from 10-26-2022.

“Funny Screen Experiences” was a series of humorous anecdotes syndicated to various newspapers around the country by United Press, a wire service. This instance of this piece was found in the Berkeley Daily Gazette, where it was published on July 16, 1926. It is doubtful that Louise Brooks actually wrote it, despite the fact it has her by-line. Rather, the author of this piece was likely a Paramount publicist assigned to The Show-Off whose job it was to generate copy for newspapers which would, in turn, draw attention to Paramount’s new and forthcoming releases.

The most than can be said about its authenticity is that it may have been based on an actual incident, in which the set of The Show-Off was dressed with the wrong books.

A variant, second instance of this same piece appeared in the Utica Observer Dispatch on July 18, 1926. (see right)

“How I Broke Into the Movies” was part of a long running series of short anecdotal pieces supposedly written by the stars themselves. (Other of these pieces, but not this one, were later collected into a book printed as a promotional item by various newspapers. This instance of this piece was found in the Sacramento Bee, where it was published on June 18, 1927. Despite the fact it has her by-line, it is unlikely, though not impossible, that Louise Brooks wrote this short article. It has a bit of “voice” to it, and all of the facts it recounts are true.