Pandora's Box (1929)
Trivia
Georg Wilhelm Pabst nearly signed Marlene Dietrich to star, although he greatly preferred Louise Brooks. According to Pabst, Dietrich was in his office waiting to sign the contract when a cable came from Paramount saying that Brooks was willing to play the role.
Louise Brooks, who had faded into obscurity by the late 1930s, was delighted by her renewed popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, much of which was actually the result of intensive self-promotion by herself and her mentor, James Card, and even went so far as to attend re-releases of her films in crowded revival houses.
This marked the first of 3 films produced in Europe for Louise Brooks. Brooks remarked she much preferred her European films because she felt they challenged her as an artist, but she admitted the European films proved more exhausting than those filmed in Hollywood.
The character of Lulu, the free-spirited and sexually-promiscuous Berlin flapper, her iconic haircut, blatant sexuality, and manner of dress momentarily influenced the model of what became known as the "new modern woman" in Europe and the United States.
Despite being replaced by Louise Brooks at the last minute for the role of Lulu in Pandora's Box (1929), Marlene Dietrich managed to snag another coveted role. Her removal from "Pandora's Box" freed her up to play one of her most iconic roles, Lola Lola in Josef von Sternberg's The Blue Angel (1930).
Director Georg Wilhelm Pabst approached Paramount about loaning Louise Brooks to star in this film. Paramount refused, and Pabst was forced to turn to Marlene Dietrich as his second choice. However, Brooks and the studio were in the midst of a heated dispute about her salary. With Paramount unwilling to pay Brooks more money, she walked out on her contract and immediately agreed to replace Dietrich on the film.
Film historians have credited the sudden presence of sound in moving pictures for the commercial struggles of this film.
Director Georg Wilhelm Pabst felt that Louise Brooks was perfect for the part of Lulu after he saw her performance in A Girl in Every Port (1928).
Georg Wilhelm Pabst initially incurred a lot of wrath when he cast American Louise Brooks in the role of Lulu, a part which was considered to be quintessentially German. Ultimately Brooks' performance silenced her critics.
In her book of essays published in 1982, Louise Brooks says she was physically attracted to Gustav Diessl, who played Jack the Ripper, and that made it easy for her to play her scenes with him.
According to Louise Brooks' memoir, "Lulu in Hollywood", Alice Roberts was not aware her character was a lesbian until filming began, and she was initially opposed to playing the role as being attracted to Lulu. Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Brooks writes, convinced Roberts to pretend she was making her love gestures to Pabst, who was standing just off-camera.
After a warm critical reception immediately upon release, this film fell into relative obscurity until British film historian Kenneth Tynan's article, "The Girl in the Black Helmet," published by The New Yorker in 1979 reacquainted the film public with Pandora's Box (1929) and its star Louise Brooks
Included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list.
Was chosen by "Premiere" Magazine as one of the "100 Movies That Shook the World" in the October 1998 issue. The list ranked the "100 most daring movies ever made."
Louise Brooks' highly influential "bob" hairdo is referred to as a Lulu to this day.
For the scene in which Lulu picks up and seduces Jack, Georg Wilhelm Pabst selected one of Louise Brooks's own suits--her favorite--for Lulu's costume and soiled, scuffed and rended it. Brooks claimed that, without spoken direction, Pabst thus established the desired effect of making her feel worn, cheap and desperate, as the character of Lulu was intended to be portrayed.
Fritz Kortner reportedly did not like or respect Louise Brooks, whom he didn't consider a trained actress.
The 5,000 marks Alwa pays to the Marquis Casti-Piani on the train to keep quiet would equate to about $1,200 at the time or roughly $17,700 in 2019.
Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.
