New Book on a 1925 Silent Film

Hi, my name is Thomas Gladysz. I am the founder of the Louise Brooks Society and the author of numerous articles on early film as well as the author of four books related to Louise Brooks. I am working to complete a new book titled The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. This approximately 350-page book is a deep dive into the history of a single film – its literary source, its making, its exhibition history, its critical reception, and its surprising cultural impact. I formed this GoFundMe to raise funds to purchase the rights to a small number of archival images that I hope to include in my forthcoming book. Any donations over the goal will be used to help defray costs already incurred. A draft of the front and back covers (slightly cropped) is pictured below.

Though little known today, the 1925 silent film, The Street of Forgotten Men, was a popular and critical success at the time of its release. The film is based on a short story by a noted writer (George Kibbe Turner); it was made by a significant director (Herbert Brenon), shot by a great cinematographer (Hal Rosson), and features a fine cast (Percy Marmont, Neil Hamilton, Mary Brian) which includes a screen legend at the very beginning of her career (Louise Brooks). In many ways, The Street of Forgotten Men is exemplary of filmmaking & film culture in the mid-1920s. This new book tells its story in rich, historical detail. Along with dozens of rare images, my book contains all manner of vintage documents, clippings and advertisements as well as a foreword by noted film preservationist Robert Byrne. Among the book's many revelations

- A detailed account of the making of the film - what it was like on the set of a silent film.

- A thorough survey of the film's many reviews, including one by a Weird Tales contributor, and another by Catholic icon Dorothy Day, a candidate for sainthood.

- Identification of a handful of the film's uncredited, bit players, including a noted journalist, a screenwriter, and a world champion boxer.

- The story of Lassie's role in the film (no, not that Lassie, the first Lassie).

- The role music played in the making and exhibition of this silent film.

- The story of how future film legend Louise Brooks came to appear in the film - her first!

-- And so much more... from censorship records to its mention on the floor of Congress to a French fictionalization to a clipping noting the film's last documented showing, at a Navy Y.M.C.A. in Shanghai, China in 1931 !

Here's how you can help:

ABOUT ME: I launched the Louise Brooks Society website back in 1995. I have helped with the restoration of two Louise Brooks films, The Street of Forgotten Men and Now We're in the Air, and provided the audio commentary to two KINO Lorber releases, Diary of a Lost Girl and Beggars of Life. I have also written many articles about the actress and the silent film era, including several book and DVD reviews for Film International, Huffington Post, Classic Images, Pop Matters, Fandor, etc.... As well, I have contributed program notes to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Cleveland Silent Film Festival and Colloquium, Telluride Film Festival, Syracuse CineFest, Ebertfest, University of Wisconsin Cinematheque, and Brattle Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. My earlier books include the Louise Brooks edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, Now We're in the Air: A Companion to the Once Lost Film, and Louise Brooks, the Persistent Star.