Louise Brooks, born this day

William Wellman, born this...uh, February 29th

The director of Wings (1927) was born in a leap-year, so we'll celebrate him today.

Today's Photo: Louise Brooks (born this day)

There are a thousand crisper photos of Brooks in her prime. But a picture like this one is just as elegant, and much more rare.

Today's photo: Louise Brooks

The Love of Jeanne Ney (1927)

When I need my fix of 1920s/early-30s human grotesquerie, I know who to turn to: the Austrians. Films like Greed (1924) and M (1931) aren’t just terrific art, they’re freak-shows: displaying up close and personal some of the supreme low-lifes of the early screen. Some of the men and women in these films are ugly, and some aren’t; but they have a rot deep down inside of them and it isn’t pretty.