Though never considered a major star, Louise Brooks graced the covers of a number of magazines in her day both in the United States and around the world. This page, one of a handful which document Brooks’ magazine cover appearances, feature covers published in Asia, namely China and Japan. Covers are presented in chronological order.
Louise Brooks was very popular in Japan in the late-1920s. She was considered a modan gāru (modern girl), and her popularity was nearly on par with that of superstar Clara Bow. (A chapter in my forthcoming book, Around the World with Louise Brooks, is devoted to the actress’ standing in Japan.) As shown below, Brooks appeared on the cover of Kinema Junpō — also known as The Movie Times, on four occasions. Notably, the October 1927 issue includes an advertisement for Yasujirō Ozu’s first film, while the January 1929 issue contains a piece on the famed director. Ozu’s interest in American youth culture and Hollywood movies is apparent in his earliest surviving film, Days of Youth (1929), which depicts a student’s room adorned with American college pennants, movie magazines, a movie poster, and pictures of movie stars, one of which is certainly Colleen Moore, while another is possibly Louise Brooks.
If you have additional covers or further information on any of these titles, or if you have a better scan of any of these covers, please CONTACT the Louise Brooks Society. Thank you for your interest. A directory of other pages on the LBS website which feature cover appearances can be found on Louise Brooks – “Cover Girl”.
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| China Film Pictorial,June 1, 1928 * (China) |
The Movie Times, October 1, 1927 (Japan) |
The Movie Times, September 1, 1928 (Japan) |
The Movie Times, January 11, 1929 (Japan) |
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| The Movie Times, June 21, 1929 (Japan) |
Stage and Screen, February 1929 (Japan) |
unknown title, circa 1929 ** (Japan) |
S.P., May 1933 *** (Japan) |
* A rare Chinese cover appearance, the only one yet found, generously sent to me by Paul Fonoroff, author of Chinese Film Magazines: From Charlie Chaplin to Chairman Mao, 1921-1951 (University of California Press, 2018): courtesy of the author and the Paul Kendel Fonoroff Collection for Chinese Film Studies, C. V. Starr East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley. To see a selection of other early Chinese film magazines, visit THIS PAGE on the website of The Paul Kendel Fonoroff Collection for Chinese Film Studies. Not to get too academic, but it is very cool and worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of Marion Davies, Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, or Lillian Gish (and even Sally Phipps, whose name is misspelled on the cover).
** I am not sure if this is a magazine cover, or the cover of a program. Can anyone translate the Japanese cover text?
** This cover was sent to me by Andi Brooks, a resident of Japan and a Brooks collector. It is something of a mystery. Though it looks rather contemporary, I was told it was from 1933. Does anyone know anything more about this cover or this publication?