#Lulu in Hollywood

[film-classics]

Louise Brooks - The Flapper Icon

Mary Louise Brooks (born in Cherryvale, Kansas on November 14, 1906) was an American film actress during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as "The Flapper Icon," in part due to her trend-setting bob hairstyle and modern fashion sense. Those that do not recognize her name almost certainly know her look.

Born in a typical a typical Midwestern community, Brooks joined the Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts in Los Angeles at 15. She soon found work a as a chorus girl in New York City. This attracted the attention of Walter Wanger, a producer at Paramount. He had her sign a contract with the studio in 1925. During this time, she gained a cult following in Europe for her role in the Howard Hawks' film A Girl in Every Port (1928). Dissatisfied with her mediocre roles in Hollywood, she went to Germany in 1929 and starred in some of the silent era's films, including Pandora's Box (1929).

When Brooks returned to Hollywood in 1931, she was cast in mainstream films such as God's Gift to Women (1931). However, her career prospects significantly declined by 1940. She briefly returned to Wichita, where she was raised, and then moved to New York City, where she worked numerous jobs. Following the rediscovery of her films by cinephiles in the 1950s, she began writing articles about her film career and had had special relationships with film historians James Card, John Kobal, and Kevin Brownlow.

After suffering from degenerative osteoarthritis and emphysema for many years, Brooks died of a heart attack in her apartment in Rochester, New York at 78.

Legacy:

Served as the inspiration for the long-running Dixie Dugan (1929-1966) newspaper strip by John H. Striebel, the comic books of Valentina (1965-1996) of Guido Crepax, and Ivy Pepper in Tracy Butler's Lackadaisy (2006-2020) comic series

Is the basis of the movie Show Girl (1928) and its subsequent musical Show Girl (1929), and the graphic novel entitled Louise Brooks: Detective (2015)

Opened a dance studio in Beverly Hills and Wichita, Kansas in the 1940s

Authored a booklet titled The Fundamentals of Good Ballroom Dancing in 1940

Became a noted film writer in the late 1950s for various journals like Film Culture and Sight and Sound

Inspired many cinematic and literary characters such as Sally Bowles in Bob Fosse's Cabaret (1972) and Lulu in Something Wild (1986)

Published a collection of autobiographical essays, Lulu in Hollywood, in 1982, which was ranked number 44 in the Hollywood Reporter's "100 best film books of all time" in 2023 and number 28 in the Los Angeles Times' "50 best Hollywood books of all time" in 2024

Presented with the George Eastman Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Art of Film in the 1982 Festival of Film Artists

Ranked number 44 by Empire magazine's 100 sexiest stars in film history in 1995

Is the subject of the Emmy-nominated documentary Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu, which was commissioned by Turner Classic Movies in 1998

Is a central character in the PBS film The Chaperone (2018), which depicts her initial arrival in New York

[polyhymniasbooks]

"For all actors know that truly natural acting is rejected by the audience. Although people are better equipped to judge acting than any other art, the hypocrisy of "sincerity" prevents them from admitting that they, too, are always acting some role of their own invention."

[thegivenchythree]

Dolce & Gabbana spring 2025

[libraryleopard]

my sister's always complaining that romance novels always have celebrities who are too normal (i.e. they're in rom coms or in the running to be james bond and such) so i have resolved to write her a story in which the love interest is playing a weird little sci fi freak á la nux from mad max: fury road or feyd-rautha harkonnen from dune but now i've gotten wayyy too into creating the lore for this fake sci fi franchise please send help

[ludmilachaibemachado]

To Sir with Love - One of the great 60s films🌹🌹🌹

Via I🖤Sixties Models/ Fashion! FB🌹

[lulu-spooks]

Today I learnt that the power of love by Frankie goes to Hollywood is considered a Christmas song and I’m baffled as to why.

[cleocatzby]

Forever Muse™

1920s ladies: louise brooks as lulu in pandora's box (1929)

[kazz-brekker]

hey what if we continued the ancient rome tv theme and watched spartacus (you get to decide how serious this suggestion is)

you joke but actually i would be down for that because i'm still annoyed that when i took classics courses in college my greek history class made me watch the movie 300 which i hated but in my roman history class we did not watch even one SINGLE movie about gladiators

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Louise Brooks (Pandora's Box, Diary of a Lost Girl)—Louise Brooks started off as a dancer and went to work in the Follies before going to Hollywood. Disappointed with her roles there, she went to Germany and proceeded to make Pandora's Box, the first film to show a lesbian on-screen (not her but one of her many doomed admirers in the film), and Diary of a Lost Girl, both of which are considered two of the greatest films of the 20th century. She helped popularize the bob and natural acting, acting far more subtly than her contemporaries who treated the camera as a stage audience. After the collapse of her film career and a remarkably rough patch as a high-end sex worker, she was rediscovered and did film criticism, notably "Lulu in Hollywood," which Rodger Ebert called "indispensable." Also, christ. Look at her.

Vilma Bánky (The Son of the Sheik, The Eagle)—She's famous now for being a silent star ruined by the transition to talkies, unlike her frequent co-star Ronald Colman. I think that's a shame, as she has a real vivaciousness and charm in The Winning of Barbara Worth. In this *checks notes* western about environmental engineering, she rides around the desert and gets wooed by both Colman and a young Gary Cooper (good for her dot gif.) Even in stills from films that are sadly lost, I think there is a distinctive warmth and individuality to her. Also she is extremely hot in her extremely pre-Code dress in The Magic Flame.

This is round 2 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Louise Brooks:

"Defined the style of the modern flapper. A gaze that could make a stone fall in love."

"Louise Brooks left a legend far greater than her real achievement as an actress, but even today few people have seen her films. In our own time, the fascination with Brooks seems to have begun in 1979 with a profile by Kenneth Tynan in the New Yorker, which revealed that the actress who made her last movie in 1938 was alive and living in Rochester, N.Y. Such was the power of Tynan's prose that people began to seek out her existing films, primarily this one, to discover what the fuss was about. What we see here is a healthy young woman -- she was 23 when the film was released -- with whom the camera, under G.W. Pabst's influence, is fascinated. There is a deep paradox in Brooks and her career: the American girl who found success in the troubled Europe between two wars; the vivid personality who briefly dazzled two continents but faded into obscurity; the liberated woman who had affairs with such prominent men as CBS founder William S. Paley as well as with women including (by her account) Greta Garbo but wound up a solitary recluse. And all of this seems perfectly in keeping with her most celebrated role in Pandora's Box. For despite her bright vitality, her flashing dark eyes and brilliant smile, Brooks's Lulu becomes the ultimate femme fatale, careering her way toward destruction, not only of her lovers but eventually of herself."

"She invented having bangs to indicate that you have borderline personality disorder"

"chances are if youve ever seen a "flapper girl" character or even just art of a generic flapper type made after the 20s it was based on her appearance - particularly the bob hairstyle! she had some pretty rough experiences through her life before during and after her tumultuous acting career which ended in 1938 but she made it to the 80s, wrote an autobiography and did a lot of interviews that she was never afraid of being honest in about her own life or peers of the age, and apparently was unabashed about some affairs she had with well known women (including greta garbo!!)"

"She read Proust and Schopenhauer on set between sets. She was one of the original flappers/new women of the 1920s. She had a one night stand with Garbo and was the inspiration for Sally Bowles in Cabaret. Truly a stone cold fox."

"on her wikipedia page it says her biographer said she "loved women as a homosexual man, rather than as a lesbian, would love them" and while i have no idea if this is true or not i thought that was very gender of her"

"despite being american she was big in german expressionist films and thus her aesthetic was unmatched!!"

So far ahead of her time in regard to portraying complicated women. Timeless elegance. "I learned to act by watching Martha Graham dance, and I learned to dance by watching Charlie Chaplin act.” - Louise Brooks

Vilma Bánky:

I love Vilma Bánky! She was called "the Hungarian Rhapsody" and apparently had a thick Hungarian accent which I think is cute. Several men fighting over the same women can be very cliche but when I saw her in The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926) I got it because my god she really is that drop dead gorgeous. She's also a wonderful actress though, expressive yet natural. I read once that seeing her in The Dark Angel (1925)—a film now seemingly lost—inspired Merle Oberon to become an actress :)

This is more of a factoid but she was apparently the women's golf champion at Wilshire Country Club through the 1940s. [link] I just think she's neat.

I love herrrrr she’s my everything. Watching her kiss Rudolph Valentino in Son of the Sheik made me so flustered I had to pause the movie to cool down. She’s the prettiest the most beautiful the most incredible woman I’ve ever seen. I could look at a picture of her for hours

[hernakedmuse]

Speaking in Tongues

Part III

Disclaimer: There's smut that might make people uncomfortable. Not proofread.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♥︎♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♥︎♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

We ended up parked behind the Hollywood sign around 4 in the morning.

The heat was on in the car and the seat warmers, it was nice and toasty. Timothée's seat was reclined all the way back and I had somehow made it so I was sitting comfortably sideways in his bony yet comfy lap. My fingers were buried in his Hershey's chocolate curls, as his big ring adorn hand rested on my hip beneath the borrowed shirt that smells like him, his finger toying with the band of my thong. His face rested in my cleavage, he even undid more buttons so he could feel my bare flesh pillowing his cheek.

It felt comforting and erotic being this close to him, as his other arm was wrapped around my waist to keep me close, I realized I didn't think I had such a wonderful cuddle like this one.

He let me choose the music and I signed into my Spotify on his phone. I Go Crazy by Flesh for Lulu played beautifully through the speakers of his Tesla. As I gently massaged his scalp, I allowed my ears to be caressed by the lyrics of the song.

This city's mad in the head

And sick in the soul

All the stars flew away a long time ago

Isn't that nice

Like Miami Vice

I go crazy when I'm without you

I go crazy when I'm without you

Well your life is like an infants dream

It's like everything's on TV

You see your face in the mirror

Could it be your place in the mirror

And so we turn on the TV one more time

And we see that everything is fine

"This song is really good." He said. "The eighties seemed to have a lot of good hits, the kind that describe how you feel and you didn't notice you felt this way until the song came on." He rambled into my skin, the breath of his words tickling my flesh making my nipples hard and pebbled.

"Exactly, I don't think anytime was more expressive and emotional than the eighties, it was my favorite. I know that sounds so cliche and nostalgic, but I've always felt so out of place with this time." I explained as I rubbed that spot behind his ear that caused him to groan and me to smirk.

Postcards from Paradise from the same band played next, I sang along a little and softly. Timothée lifted his head from my cleavage smiling up at me toothy, I giggled and it was cut off when he nuzzled the corner of my lips, and kissed me there. He sat up a little more causing me to bounce a little in his lap. He squeezed my hips and sighed audibly into my throat before kissing there as well.

I giggled softly and rubbed his back, and he responded by licking my chin and kissing my mouth and oh my God. Where has this mouth been all my life? Why have I never been kissed like this? Why hasn't anyone massaged the shape of my lips, or curled them with the rolling of tongue and pulling with teeth as if trying to bring my mouth closer. It wasn't fast, it was slow, slow, sensual, and I barely felt it before he gently pried my lips open with his and he slipped that long muscle in. He licked my tongue and rubbed my lower back beneath the shirt before cupping my ass, fingers flirting with the strings of my thong.

He sucked on my tongue before stroking every cavern in my mouth with that skilled tongue of his, and took a ringed hand to gently grab my jaw gingerly. The kiss grew to be more intense and we pulled apart reluctantly because we literally couldn't even breathe anymore. His face was beautifully flushed, Rouge bloomed across cheeks and the bridge of his freckled nose. 

My tongue hung out a bit and he stared at it with a soft, little moan before kissing me again, this time a little faster with saliva pooling. I squeaked and it was muffled, before hungrily kissing him in return, I wanted to kiss him so deep I wanted to taste what he had for breakfast. 

He rolled his hips up against mine, pinning a barely covered crotch with his hard on that the sweats barely concealed. My eyes rolled back and he kissed my lips more before sweetly kissing my cheek and eyes. Then he sucked on my ear lobe like it was a gobstopper. I shivered and released a shaking moan, I was dripping wet staining his sweats as he fucked me through clothing practically. He then thrust his tongue into my ear. "Timothée!" I cried out. 

He ripped his shirt from my body with such force I heard the expensive buttons clatter to the floor.  His eyes zeroed in on my breasts and he grasped them and squeezed them. "These are so…fuck." He buried his face in them and sucked on my fawn colored nipples and sucked hard , teeth grazing as his mouth tugged on them painfully in a way that had me on the verge of an orgasm.

I watched him suck between the two with his eyes rolling back. I can't believe he was getting off from my breasts like this, he's so hot. I tugged hard on his curls and he snuck a hand below before ripping my thong off, it now laid in tatters on the floor of his car.

He laid back on his reclined seat. "Come on kitten, climb up."

I was dizzy and panting. "Huh?"

"Straddle my face."

My eyes widened. "I might crush you."

"Good, it'd be a hell of a way to go. I want those playboy, made for shorts thighs that are most likely the envy of every gymnast, to hug my head, forcing my face further into that sweet little cunt. I don't give a fuck if you're worried for some stupid reason, you haven't reason to be self conscious you're easily the most beautiful most sexually frustrating little sex kitten ever to be born. And if you don't sit on my face right now I'm going to punish you, I mean it."

I didn't see this coming, the unexpected dominant nature, the filthy praise. He was out of my wettest dreams.

I wanted to be so good for him, so I didn't waste a moment more. I hovered my dripping pussy over his awaiting mouth, and he grabbed my thighs and pushed his face up pressing his mouth to me, causing me to gasp. He then laid back down bringing my ass right to his face. 

His groan vibrated rapturously against my pussy before he sucked on my labia with greed. I gasped and grinded down and thoroughly rubbed his tongue through every fold before thrusting his tongue inside of me. My eyes rolled back and rode his face more, his nose bumped against my clit and then he sucked my bud into his mouth and I couldn't wait, and when he slapped my ass so hard causing a wave of ripples thundering across my ass, I came so hard and so much and my eyes rolled back again and I felt like a doll that's voice box has been broken and I'm sputtering things on repeat. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" I cried out, tears poured down my cheek in black from my mascara. 

I slid down and pushed down his sweats into his anaconda of a cock  sprung out almost cartoonishly. I was drooling, and it hit his thigh. His cock twitched and he whined. "Fuck." He gasped.

I reached down and rubbed my release from my pussy, I dropped saliva on his tip and took my slicked hand and rubbed my juices along with my saliva rubbing his cock with the organic lubricant.  He bucked his hips almost violently. I watched in awe as I took my soaked hand and rubbed and kneaded his balls. I couldn't  see his face since my ass was in his but hips and serpentine cock was telling me everything.  I gently played with balls and stroked his cock, wet and lewd sounds echoed in the car playing along with Flesh for Fantasy.

I moved my mouth down to the puckered hole between his ass, I swirled my tongue around his rim and he made the most delicious whine of a sound. "Fuck, just like that you dirty girl" he groaned his voice going higher at the end.

I spat on his hole before sucking on it and he bucked again. "Holy fuck!" He gasped. I still was stroking his cock sloppily, as I sucked on his hole, my drool spilling before I pressed my tongue in and his cock was leaking spilling his cock. Wet, slurping noises mixed with his whining. I then moved my mouth off of his rim and took his cock in my mouth, he gripped my ass and thrust into my mouth before spreading my cheeks and I felt his spit on my hole, causing me to moan around his thickness.

He mimicked my motions from earlier, sucking on my hole and I whimpered against his shaft. Timothée didn't hold back any longer, he started fucking my mouth  and I gripped his thighs to hold on, my nails dug into his skin as he sucked on my rosebud and proceeded to tongue fuck it as he slammed his cock down my throat. Tears spilled down my face as sloppy lewd sounds muffled my cries and his eager feasting.

I felt a single ringed finger move in stretching my back door entrance and I writhed, writhing like I was possessed.  I choked on his cock and orgasmed just when he filled my mouth with his release. 

He pulled me off him as he panted lazily, he gently patted my ass. "I'm not done with you, chouchou."

I felt boneless but was being pulled about, before I knew it he had me on his reclined seat with my bruised nipples pressed against the cooling leather.  He spread my legs and slapped my ass hard, when I let out a yelp he slapped it again and harder before grabbing it roughly in such a dizzying manner. He bit my cheek hard and I let out a sob before I melted into a moan. He bit my other cheek and I gasped. I knew I was going to be black and blue later. I shivered when he rubbed my dripping pussy before forcing two fingers in deliciously. 

"F-fuck!" I stuttered.

"Jesus, wet little fuck doll. Feel that? You love this don't you? Love me destroying this perfect made to order body. You want me penetrating you in every sense of the word, no one else just me?"

I could hardly answer so weakly nodded, but he wasn't having that. He bit my ass so hard and clung to the seat lurching forward. "Answer me, chouchou, je l'exige!" 

He's bossing me around in French? Was I dreaming? Did I get drugged and induced to this alternate reality like my own Wonderland?

I love it, I love this, I wanted his name etched into every part of me.Timothée, Timothée, Timothée, Timothée. 

He didn't demand me in harsh tones or a darkening voice, every command in French or English has been in gentle chastising,  stern and soft, almost lazy sounding, with a threat beneath.

"Shit, look at that pussy glisten, you like me roughing you up? You're a doll that likes to  be played with so hard she breaks? More Bratz than Barbie?"

"Yes!" I cried out, his words pushing me toward another orgasm.

"There's her voice, thought I lost it, don't ever not speak again baby. " He pressed against me, that weapon he calls a cock sandwiched between my ass like they're a pair of buns and he has the hot dog. He kissed my neck gently, his ringlets brushed against my skin. "I always want to hear your pretty voice, it's the most gorgeous sound in the whole word."

I almost cried at his saccharine words, no one has ever spoken to me like that.

"Yes, Timothée. "

"You're so good, so sweet, now are you going to be a good little whore and let me in?" He slapped his cock against my weeping hole. "Just gonna be a whore for me? Open your pussy for me?" He bit on my neck making me whine. "Shake this fine ass for me?" He gripped my ass making it jiggle. "Be good please" He pleaded and sniffed my hair.  "Shake it for me as I impale you with my cock, I've always dreamed…"

The fact that I have starred in his fantasies, I couldn't believe I was that high on someone like Timothée Chalamet's pedestal. He pushed inside me slowly, and I felt him so deep in, tip brushing close to my cervix, I felt brain dead. Once he bottomed out he placed his hand on my abdomen where I could see his outline of his dick, holy fuck.

Remembering his pleas, I moved my ass bouncing it back on his cock provocatively.  He groaned his hands held onto me possessively, his breath panting in my ear as he pinned me down with no way of me escaping as he fucked into me. His balls slapped against my pussy lips. "Good girl, good girl. Fuck that's it, best ass in the world, best pussy, so tight!" He gasped as he pounded inside of me faster, obscene sounds of our affair overpowered the volume of our Playlist.

I whined for more. He was thrusting so fast and so hard, stretching me more than I've ever been and the delicious pain of him hitting my cervix pulling me into a state of bacchanal frenzy. I couldn't ever cum unless I felt a bite of pleasure, he knows my body so well like he owns it. He bit the back of my shoulder sinking his teeth in and I gripped his cock, choking it with my pussy.

He sobbed out into my ear, pounding faster and faster, my eyes crossed, my tongue fell out and unintelligent words spilled from my mouth as I squirted and made a mess on his cock and his expensive car. I felt him fill me and fill me, no way could anyone have this much cum? It hasn't ended, I suddenly for the first time desired cumflation, to show physical evidence of where it all went.

"I-ung-ngh!" I got out and he laughed maniacally, lost in his own state of euphoria. "Fuck that's right, take it. Sois une gentille fille pour moi, prends tout mon petit chaton crème. Laisse-moi te posséder, te posséder, et je t'adorerai, je ferai tout ce que tu voudras. S'il vous plaît, s'il vous plaît, s'il vous plaît, putain!"

He finished his last ropes, with a loud outcry. We cried together and he collapsed against me. His cock still in me was still hard even though he panted like he climbed Everest when he just climbed me. "One more time please…one more time before I take you home."

I was beyond exhausted, everywhere was sore. I would need an Epsom salt bath, 3 200mg ibuprofen, and cotton underwear. No way could I take another around. "Okay, just one more."

@sufferingstarlight @meetmyothersouls

[emmieexplores2]

Dancing scene.

"Lulu" (1962)

[libraryleopard]

The problem with this Hollywood rom com is that I LOVE creating fake movies for the love interest to have been in but he wasn’t a child star so there are a limited number of roles he could actually have been in prior to the story. Like it’s thematically more about being suddenly rocketed to fame in your 20s (yes I was reading a GQ profile on Paul Mescal and pondering the meaning of fame earlier why do you ask) rather than growing up in the spotlight so I need to stop squeezing an unrealistic number of movies into his filmography but it’s so FUN making up fake films.

[galerymod]

Javier Bardem's worst looks or Hollywood's most adaptable actor

Javier Bardem, who was born in 1969, comes from a dynasty of actors and for a long time refused to follow the predetermined road to an acting career. However, he finally accepted his destiny. His first successes came in Spain in the 1990s in films by cult director Bigas Luna, who made the young actor's screen presence shine in exaggerated macho roles: After playing a supporting role in "Lulu - The Story of a Woman" (1990), he cast him in a leading role - in "Jamon Jamon" (1992), co-starring with his current wife Penélope Cruz, and a year later in "Macho".

Bardem's instinct not to be tied down to these roles and a few coincidences changed his life: He emigrates to the USA to play roles that do not correspond at all to his previous image. This risk-taking was rewarded with worldwide fame: in 2001, he became the first Spanish actor to be nominated for an Oscar. However, he always remains loyal to Europe and more daring productions.

During his career, Javier Bardem has worked with some of the greatest directors; few European male actors can boast such an impressive filmography. In 2008, he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "No Country for Old Men". Just two years later, he was honoured at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Biutiful". In 2012, he plays an antagonist of James Bond in "Skyfall". Together with his wife Penélope Cruz, he has been a dream team in front of and behind the camera for many years, but is able to keep his private life private.

I personally don't believe in film ranking, everyone should make their own judgement, but since Wikipedia is blank here, which means there is no film list of all his films, I have added the ranking to give an overview.

There are actors who play in a different dimension for me he is one of these exceptional talents.

mod

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Evelyn Preer

Evelyn Preer (née Jarvis; July 26, 1896 – November 17, 1932), was an African American pioneering screen and stage actress, and jazz and blues singer in Hollywood during the late-1910s through the early 1930s. Preer was known within the Black community as "The First Lady of the Screen."

She was the first Black actress to earn celebrity and popularity. She appeared in ground-breaking films and stage productions, such as the first play by a black playwright to be produced on Broadway, and the first New York–style production with a black cast in California in 1928, in a revival of a play adapted from Somerset Maugham's Rain.

Evelyn Jarvis was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on July 26, 1896. After her father, Frank, died prematurely, she moved with her mother, Blanche, and her three other siblings to Chicago, Illinois. She completed grammar school and high school in Chicago. Her early experiences in vaudeville and "street preaching" with her mother are what jump-started her acting career. Preer married Frank Preer on January 16, 1915, in Chicago.

At the age of 23, Preer's first film role was in Oscar Micheaux's 1919 debut film The Homesteader, in which she played Orlean. Preer was promoted by Micheaux as his leading actress with a steady tour of personal appearances and a publicity campaign, she was one of the first African American women to become a star to the black community. She also acted in Micheaux's Within Our Gates (1920), in which she plays Sylvia Landry, a teacher who needs to raise money to save her school. Still from the 1919 Oscar Micheaux film Within Our Gates.

In 1920, Preer joined The Lafayette Players a theatrical stock company in Chicago that was founded in 1915 by Anita Bush, a pioneering stage and film actress known as “The Little Mother of Black Drama". Bush and her troupe toured the US to bring legitimate theatre to black audiences at a time when theaters were racially segregated by law in the South, and often by custom in the North and the interest of vaudeville was fading. The Lafayette Players brought drama to black audiences, which caused it to flourish until its end during the Great Depression.

She continued her career by starring in 19 films. Micheaux developed many of his subsequent films to showcase Preer's versatility. These included The Brute (1920), The Gunsaulus Mystery (1921), Deceit (1923), Birthright (1924), The Devil’s Disciple (1926), The Conjure Woman (1926) and The Spider's Web (1926). Preer had her talkie debut in the race musical Georgia Rose (1930). In 1931, she performed with Sylvia Sidney in the film Ladies of the Big House. Her final film performance was as Lola, a prostitute, in Josef von Sternberg's 1932 film Blonde Venus, with Cary Grant and Marlene Dietrich. Preer was lauded by both the black and white press for her ability to continually succeed in ever more challenging roles, "...her roles ran the gamut from villain to heroine an attribute that many black actresses who worked in Hollywood cinema history did not have the privilege or luxury to enjoy." Only her film by Micheaux and three shorts survive. She was known for refusing to play roles that she believed demeaned African Americans.

By the mid-1920s, Preer began garnering attention from the white press, and she began to appear in crossover films and stage parts. In 1923, she acted in the Ethiopian Art Theatre's production of The Chip Woman's Fortune by Willis Richardson. This was the first dramatic play by an African-American playwright to be produced on Broadway, and it lasted two weeks. She met her second husband, Edward Thompson, when they were both acting with the Lafayette Players in Chicago. They married February 4, 1924, in Williamson County, Tennessee. In 1926, Preer appeared on Broadway in David Belasco’s production of Lulu Belle. Preer supported and understudied Lenore Ulric in the leading role of Edward Sheldon's drama of a Harlem prostitute. She garnered acclaim in Sadie Thompson in a West Coast revival of Somerset Maugham’s play about a fallen woman.

She rejoined the Lafayette Players for that production in their first show in Los Angeles at the Lincoln Center. Under the leadership of Robert Levy, Preer and her colleagues performed in the first New York–style play featuring black players to be produced in California. That year, she also appeared in Rain, a play adapted from Maugham's short story by the same name.

Preer also sang in cabaret and musical theater where she was occasionally backed by such diverse musicians as Duke Ellington and Red Nichols early in their careers. Preer was regarded by many as the greatest actress of her time.

Developing post-childbirth complications, Preer died of pneumonia on November 17, 1932, in Los Angeles at the age of 36. Her husband continued as a popular leading man and "heavy" in numerous race films throughout the 1930s and 1940s, and died in 1960.

Their daughter Edeve Thompson converted to Catholicism as a teenager. She later entered the Sisters of St. Francis of Oldenburg, Indiana, where she became known as Sister Francesca Thompson, O.S.F., and became an academic, teaching at both Marian University in Indiana and Fordham University in New York City.

Still from the 1919 Oscar Micheaux film Within Our Gates.

[aspoonofsugar]

That's Entertainment

The Hazbin Hotel's Pilot is called "That's Entertainment". The title is a tongue in cheeck joke, as the series is good entertainment, but it also references "That's Entertainment!", a song from The Band Wagon musical. This song is quite famous and it became an anthem of sorts for Hollywood as a whole. Here it is its final stanza:

The world is a stage The stage is a world Of entertainment!

Does it sound familiar? It should:

Alastor: After all, the world is a stage and the stage is a world of entertainment.

Why is there such a reference in the Pilot?

There are two reasons:

Hazbin Hotel is a series with allusions to musicals, movies, memes, fairy tales and different mythologies. All these references tie into the story and characters by commenting plotlines and arcs. So, The Band Wagon's easter egg is the same.

Both The Band Wagon and Hazbin Hotel are meta-stories. They are pieces of entertainment about making entertainment. "That's Entertainment!" (song) has something to say about musicals. "That's Entertainment" (pilot) has something to say about stories.

So, Hazbin Hotel is full of references that can be read:

On a story or character level - in the sense that they enrich the series and its protagonists

On a meta-narrative level - in the sense that they metaphorically comment on the entertainment industry

Let's analyze these two layers of reading, when it comes to some motifs and characters. Of course, let's start from one of the oldest creative minds of the universe. The very first dreamer:

Charlie: Lucifer was one of these angels. He was a dreamer with fantastical ideas for all of creation.

LUCIFER: THE GREATEST SHOWMAN

Lucifer is a dreamer both when it comes to morals (story and character level) and to creativity (meta-narrative level).

Morals - Lucifer's first big project is to share free will with humanity:

Charlie Morningstar: Together, they wished to share the magic of free will with humanity, offering the Fruit of Knowledge to Adam's new bride, Eve, who gladly accepted.

Lucifer and Lilith's plan was to give humanity knowledge, so that they could challenge the system and decide for themselves how to live. It is an ideal rooted in the faith people can be amazing, when in charge of their destiny.

Creativity - Lucifer is so passionate about "creation" that he turns Hell itself into a big colorful show. A seven-ring circus full of acts and performances happening at the same time. This is the metaphorical meaning of Hell's circus motif. This realm is the greatest shit-show of all times and Lucifer is its creator. He is the Greatest Showman. After all, Lucifer's known activities are:

Its previous shows with the Seven Deadly Sins' Troupe

A theme park called LuLu World

An App similar to Ticketmaster, which is called Lucimaster

These are all linked to the entertainment industry. Isn't it strange that the King of Hell has such a specialization? Shouldn't he have control over a more strategic part of the economy, like industry, banks or health? And yet, entertainment is Lucifer's domain because deep down Hell is nothing, but a showbusiness factory.

So, Lucifer is at his root a wide-eyed idealist, both when it comes to his political stance and to his creative process. And yet, Lucifer gives up on dreaming:

Charlie: Ashamed, Lucifer lost his will to dream.

He stops seeing the good in others and loses hope for the system and people alike to change. He can't imagine a different future than the sad and lonely present he lives in.

He is stuck creating "ugly ducklings" he himself dislikes:

Lucifer: That's it… Almost there… Now presenting… the magic-tastical back flipping rubber duck! Haha! That spits fire! Hoo hoo hoo! Hold the applause please, okay. Oh, thank you, thank you. Oh god, who am I kidding? This sucks!

Lucifer's creative block is conveyed also by some details set up in the Hellaverse. For example, Helluva Boss shows another sin, who is very active in the entertainment industry.

WHEN MAMMON STOLE THE SHOWBIZ

Mammon, King of Greed apparently breaks an established pattern in Helluva Boss. In this show, every sin is introduced by a song focused on their vice.

Asmodeus, King of Lust, has House of Asmodeus:

Asmodeus: You singing love songs in my lustful lounge? Fizzarolli: Ozzie's ain't the place for sentimental sounds! Asmodeus: What'd you expect from a proprietor like us? Fizzarolli: Your demon host, Asmodeus, the embodiment of lust! Asmodeus: Give me a thrust! Fizzarolli: Bwabwabwabwa bwaaaah- Asmodeus: Show me some lust From the groin to the bust In desire, we trust In the house of Asmodeus

Beelzebub, Queen of Gluttony, has Cotton Candy:

Hey! I'm whatchu need, I'm watchu want I got it all, a carnival I'll bring you up, I'll take you down I'm sticky sweet, stuck in your teeth Like cotton candy Cotton candy (Ah-ah, ah-ah) Cotton candy (Ah-ah, ah-oh) Cotton candy (Ah-ah, ah-ah) I'm whatchu want Not watchu need (Ah-ah, ah-oh)

What about Mammon? The King of Greed has actually a lot of songs that explore his sin. Let's think about what his debut episode is called: "Mammon's magnificent musical mid-season special (ft Fizzarolli)".

Mammon doesn't sing nor performs, but the musical is still his. Fizz, who is the main character of the episode, gets only a mention.

In other words, all the songs featured in the mid-season special are Mammon's songs. They do not directly say anything about greed, but they comment on this sin in a meta-narrative way:

Octavia: Is it true this park is just a really shameless spin-off of Lucifer's far more popular Lu Lu World?

The Sin of Greed steals others' talents, so his songs are stolen songs. Loo Loo Land is the perfect example of this:

Everybody's friendly And nobody is mean No copyright infringements ever seen I have a dream (He has a dream) I'm here to tell (He's here to tell) About a magical fantastic place Called Loo Loo Land

This song has Mammon:

Profit of Lucifer and his Lu Lu World theme park

Rip off Charlie's Inside of Every Demon is a Rainbow song

Possess Fizzarolli's body

The King of Greed is a talentless performer:

Asmodeus: Also, you are a waaaay better performer than Mammon ever was, and thaaat's just facts.

Still, he is good at marketing and is slowly stealing the showbusiness for himself. He organizes pageants, finds new talents to exploit and has convinced Hell's middle class that being a clown like him is the coolest thing ever:

Fizzarolli: It's not about that! It's getting to work with my idol. I just love that he's giving someone new the chance to be in the spotlight! He's an inspiration. Blitzo: Well he's- definitely something alright. I mean, I dunno, was it worth all our savings just to have him put on an over-hyped commercial, and then bitch about taxes, and then assault us with clowns, vomit, and pass out on stage? Fizzarolli: So worth it!

What does it all mean for Lucifer?

On a character level, it ties with Lucifer's depression and general sense of failure. He is a Seraphim, the King of Hell and a brilliant artist and performer. And yet, he can't stop one of his subjects from ripping off his ideas. Once again Lucifer's dreams are ruined. They become soulless and rotten. Moreover, the one doing this is a member of Lucifer's own Circus Troupe, which adds to the impression of isolation and loneliness Lucifer gives off.

On a meta-narrative level, greed is corrupting the entertainment industry, as the dreamer in charge of it feels unmotivated and uninspired. This is a pretty poignant and tongue-in-cheeck dig to the current state of things, where corporations are mass-producing empty stories. After all, Lucifer fits the Mr Alt Disney TV Trope:

A No Celebrities Were Harmed version of Walt Disney; expect him to be the animator of a world-famous cartoon character (frequently a Mocky Mouse) and/or the founder of Souvenir Land. Also expect an exaggerated interest in planned communities and/or creating a utopia, possibly with sinister undertones. He'll present said utopia in the form of a World's Fair-like exhibition, usually in his parks. Many of these characters go beyond parodying just Disney and fuse him with Howard Hughes, another mustachio'd early/Golden Age of Hollywood impresario and futurist. Hughes gradually became debilitated by severe mental illness (OCD and agoraphobia) and eventually was reduced to living in seclusion, obsessively carrying out odd habits.

Lucifer is an oddball with a Showbiz Empire in Hell. He is loosely an expy of Walt Disney and the old Hollywood, but he is now tired and unable to produce anything new. Luckily, there is a beautiful disney-like princess ready to help him.

HAZBIN HOTEL, THE GREATEST SHOW

Charlie is a disney princess with the twist she reigns in hell, rather than on a classical fairy tale kingdom. In particular, she resembles Rapunzel in both design and personality:

Both princesses wear their hair tied, but they let it loose when they use their powers. They are enthusiastic, able to inspire others, but also sheltered. So, they are a bit childish. Charlie is basically Rapunzel if Raps were met with a cynical world the moment she escaped the tower:

He's got a dream He's got a dream See, I ain't as cruel and vicious as I seem Though I do like breaking femurs You can count me with the dreamers Like everybody else I've got a dream

Inside of every demon is a rainbow! Inside every sinner is a shiny smile! Inside of every creepy hatchet-wielding maniac, Is a jolly, happy, cupcake-loving child!

Rapunzel enters a sinister inn, shares her dream and is validated and understood by a bunch of bandits. Charlie explains her goal to all of Hell and is humiliated and laughed at by everyone.

Despite this setback, Charlie is still a disney-like princess and throughout the first season she brings dreams to others. This is true especially for Lucifer:

The King of Hell's dreams are awaken by Charlie's Hazbin Hotel project in two ways.

On a character level, Charlie's Hazbin Hotel is the evolution of Lucifer's dream, as it is rooted in the belief human souls can choose goodness. Even after death:

Charlie: Don't you care, Sera? That just because someone is dead, it doesn't Mean they can't resolve to change their ways Turn the page, escape infernal blaze

On a meta-narrative level, Hazbin Hotel is the greatest show. It is a new series, which takes obvious inspiration from classics, both disney movies and musicals. However, it is still fresh and innovative. Similarly, its protagonist is a disney-like princess (Charlie), who inspires a Walt Disney expy (Lucifer). She is a creation (daughter) giving hope to her creator (father). This is why by the end of season 1, Lucifer finds some of his old creative drive, as he helps Charlie rebuild the Hotel:

Lucifer: Remedial creation for me... it's as easy as can be!

Charlie brings back both hope (story level) and entertainement (meta-narrative level) in hell:

Alastor: Hahaha, why does anyone do anything? Sheer, absolute boredom! I've lacked inspiration for decades. My work became mundane, lacking focus, aimless! I've come to crave a new form of entertainment! Hahaha!

She has the talent to renew a showbiz (hell), which is mundane and aimless. She has a freshness, which catches the eye of navigated entertainers:

Alastor: She's filled with potential that I could guide Rosie: I concur Rosie and Alastor: Stick with her, you'll be on the winning side

Still, why is that so? Why is Charlie such a good entertainer?

CHARLIE: THE PERFORMATIVE DREAMER (CHARACTER LEVEL)

Charlie is entertaining because:

She tries hard to keep up her smile, even if she is suffering inside. In this sense, she is a real performer

She is so dedicated to her objective, that she is ready to do anything to reach it. In this sense, she is a true dreamer

Charlie, the performer

Alastor:Just because you see a smile don't think you know what's going on underneath. A smile is a valuable tool, my dear. It inspires your friends, keeps your enemies guessing, and ensures that no matter what comes your way, you're the one in control.

Charlie is a character, who masks her negative emotions behind smiles, enthusiasm and an apparent neverending optimism. In reality, she struggles a lot with who she is:

Alastor: Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel, a misguided path to redemption! Founded five days ago by Lucifer's delusional daughter, Charlotte Morningstar! Come place your fate in her inexperienced hands, as she tries to work through her daddy issues by fixing you!

Has Charlie founded the Hazbin Hotel to help sinners or to find herself a purpose? The answer is both. Charlie's project is born from genuine altruism, but also from a selfish desire to matter.

Charlie, the dreamer

Alastor: You have a dream! You wish to tell! And it's just laughable. But, hey, kid, what the hell?

Charlie's dream seems impossible, almost a delusion. And yet, Charlie keeps pursuing it, no matter what. She sings her heart out to advertise the hotel... only to be seen by everyone as a joke. Still, she keeps going. She doesn't give up on her project.

Alastor: Consider it an investment in ongoing entertainment for myself! I want to watch the scum of the world struggle to climb up the hill of betterment only to repeatedly trip and tumble down to the fiery pit of failure!

Seeing Charlie struggle is fun because even if she fails, she tries again. She experiments new things, she learns and she teaches. She apologizes and she forgives. She never quits. So, she is an entertainer.

Charlie: I have a dream, I'm here to tell! About a wonderful fantastic new hotel!

CHARLIE, THE PERFORMER FULL OF DREAMS (META-NARRATIVE LEVEL)

Charlie puts up a performance and follows her dream no matter what. She hides within herself a selfish motivation (fiction), but earnestly pursues her selfless dream (reality). Similarly, Hazbin Hotel is a story (fiction) with a strong heart (reality).

That is because entertainment is rooted into reality:

Anything that happens in life Can happen in a show You can make 'em laugh You can make 'em cry Anything, anything can go (That's Entertainment! - The Band Wagon)

Charlie: Does getting into a fistfight with a reporter count as entertainment…? Alastor: Hahaha! It's the purest kind, my dear: Reality! True passion!

The song states anything can be entertainment

Alastor claims that good entertainment is born from genuine passion

It is the same idea declined in different ways. Entertainment is a representation of the world, of its flaws and beauties. It is fiction, but in a sense it must stay true to itself. Just like Charlie herself is both a performative dreamer (fiction) and a performer full of dreams (reality):

She is a performative dreamer because deep down she feels she must be perfect and repress her negative feelings. Only in this way she has value. She masks herself with a pollyanna persona.

She is a performer full of dreams because she has the talent to maker her dreams come true and to become a real artist in the process. To succeed, though, she should not ignore her hidden parts. She must face reality.

THE WORLD IS A STAGE AND THE STAGE IS A WORLD OF ENTERTAINMENT

When fiction and reality meet, entertainment is born. This is what Hazbin Hotel's meta-message seems to be. A story is invented, but the feelings behind it must be genuine.

At the same time, entertainment helps people better understand themselves. This may be why Hazbin Hotel is full of entertainment motifs. Here are some:

Charlie is a singer

Vaggie is a dancer

Angel is an actor

Alastor is linked to radios

Vox is a TV demon

Valentino is a director and producer

Adam is a musician, whose arc is described by the musical "School of Rock"

Charlie and Alastor's bond is commented by the musical "Annie"

For each one of these references, one could write a meta (I hope I will for some tbh). That is how much the idea of entertainment is intertwined in the story. In conclusion, it is definately true that:

The world is a stage = Fiction must take inspiration from reality or it will feel hollow

The stage is a world = Stories can help to better understand reality and make sense of it

Hazbin Hotel is a piece of entertainment about entertainment, which is best understood through the lens of entertainment. In short, it is entertainment!