LOUISE BROOKS (Jun 6, 1929) Hand-dated portrait

[Los Angeles: Paramount], 1929. Vintage original 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Minor crease at top left and bottom right edges, about fine.

Louise Brooks displays her iconic Buster Brown bob in this portrait, likely photographed by Eugene Robert Richee. The handwritten date of 6/6/29 on verso indicates it was likely used in promotion of her 1929 Paramount film The Canary Murder Case, which was released in April of that year.

Finished in 1928, it was held for release in order to turn the silent film into a talkie. Brooks had gone to Europe and was in the middle of making three films. Because she refused to return to Hollywood to dub dialogue for the film (Margaret Livingston did so for her), Paramount sabotaged her American film career.

This portrait was likely shot in 1928. It is coded P703-118