Sammy Davis Jr. in A Man Called Adam on DVD
Wim Wender's Paris, Texas on DVD
14th Annual Kansas Silent Film Festival - Feb. 26 & 27
Bad Girls of Film Noir, Vol. 2 on DVD
Bad Girls of Film Noir, Vol. 1 on DVD
Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy on DVD

Interview with Event Coordinator THOMAS GLADYSZ of the SF Silent Film Festival

Booksmith, an independent bookstore located in the Haight Ashbury district, has long been a sponsor of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, and for the past 10 years, Event Coordinator Thomas Gladysz has studied it all, from author book signings to the tastes and trends of the book buying public. Here’s a recent interview with Gladysz take on his participation with the SF Silent this past decade:

TCM: How did Booksmith get involved as a sponsor for the SF Silent?  Who contacted whom?

Thomas Gladysz: The Booksmith first got involved with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival some ten years ago. Back in 1997, the festival had arranged an appearance by photo historian Mark A. Vieira. He had just published a beautiful new book on George Hurrell.  The Festival needed books to support his appearance. As it happened, Festival staff  knew Booksmith staff. They approached our store to supply books and host the signing. That first event featured just one author and one book. It was a humble start, admittedly - but a successful one. The following year, the festival asked us back and we stocked a bigger table and arranged signings with a couple of authors. Since then, our relationship with the Festival  - as well as the selection of books and number of authors we have helped bring in - has grown. Today, we have three large tables crammed with books and host numerous writers and film historians. In a small way, we have become part of the Festival. Attendees look for our table.

TCM: Thomas, you've been heading up this event for a long time. What's your own personal interest in film history and silent film?

Thomas Gladysz: I love movies. I love Pre-Code film, documentaries, sci-fi films, historical epics, lots of stuff.  And in particular, I am fascinated by silent film. As anyone who knows me knows, I have a special interest in Louise Brooks. Some would call it an obsession! In 1995, I founded the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com), an internet archive and fan club. It has nearly 2000 members in 50 countries on six continents. It's also one of the most visited websites in the world devoted to any silent film star.

My wife, Christy Pascoe - who also works at The Booksmith and helps at the Festival - also has had a long standing love of silent film. She has spurred my interest in such personalities as Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Erich von Stroheim, Ronald Colman, Clara Bow, and others. I watch a few movies every week. Some I see in a theater. Some I watch on DVD.

Some I watch on TCM. I just bought a used copy of "Maedchen in Uniform" (1931). It's a VHS copy. I don't think the film was ever released on DVD. I am looking forward to seeing that again.

TCM: San Francisco has such a great reputation for film literacy, how does that reflect on Booksmith's book purchasing?

Thomas Gladysz: You're right. San Francisco is a great film town. There are festivals and special screenings taking place all the time. I've attended memorable festivals devoted to film noir and Pre-Code movies. I have also attended special series devoted to important directors, like Ernest Lubitsch. At times, it seems there is too much going on. It's sometimes daunting.

Nevertheless, with such a high level of film literacy, its important for The Booksmith to keep a well stocked film section. People come in asking for books on all kinds of little known directors and actors. Who knew there were that many fans for a book on the Disney's silent films, the Keystone Cops, or the early novelist and film maker Thomas Dixon?

We recently had the privilege of hosting Stephen Bach for his superb new book on Leni Refienstahl. Later this fall, we'll be hosting local film historian Matthew Kennedy for his new book on Joan Blondell. We also have an event scheduled with Jeanine Basinger for her forthcoming book on Hollywood, The Star Machine. Because of our association with the Silent Film Festival, film lovers in the Bay Area look to us for books on film. We also have a smart staff who are able to recommend something they have read.

TCM: With so many other film festivals in San Francisco, are you a sponsor with any others apart from the SF Silent?

Thomas Gladysz: Yes, we've worked with both the San Francisco International Film Festival and the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. Recently, at the 2007 San Francisco International Film Festival, we hosted a book signing with the legendary film historian Kevin Brownlow. That was thrilling. I have admired Brownlow's books and documentaries for a long time. And happily, dozens of other similarly thrilled individuals lined up to get a signed book, or just to say hello to this great man. In the past, we've also helped arrange events at The Balboa Theater, a local rep house owned by Gary Meyer, who is now associated with the Telluride Film Festival. In November of last year, for example, we co-sponsored an event at the Balboa with the Swiss-based film historian Peter Cowie. Last year marked the Louise Brooks centenary, and Cowie was in town to publicize the release of Louise Brooks: Lulu Forever. The Booksmith and the Louise Brooks Society co-sponsored his San Francisco event. We drew a nice crowd, and sold a good number of not-inexpensive books!

TCM: In 10 years, what sort of trends in book buying have you observed with film buffs?

Thomas Gladysz: It's always interesting to see what books sell and what books don't. And to try and figure out why. The typical festival goer has a real interest in film history. I guess that's why they would attend an event like the San Francisco Silent Film Festival devoted to old movies which, in many cases, haven't been screened in decades.

In general, the best selling books are biographies. People like reading well researched, well written biographies of their favorite stars. A perennial favorite among Festival goers is the biography of Louise Brooks by Barry Paris. I think it is the best film biography - the best biography - I have ever read. I recommend it. I have hand-sold many copies over the years to attendees of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Eve Golden's biography of Theda Bara, entitled Vamp, is also a steady seller. As is David Stenn's biography of Clara Bow. And Emily Leider's biography of Rudolph Valentino, Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino. McFarland publishes many books on film, especially silent film.

Their new book on silent film idol Wallace Reid was a good seller at this year's festival. Another title we sold out of was the just published book of interviews with Buster Keaton. It is part of series published by the University of Mississippi Press. Duke University Press just published a book on Sessue Hayakawa. We sold a bunch of those. Speaking of university presses, I must recommend the University Press of Kentucky. Their line of film books is outstanding. What makes them so good is that they are well researched, scholarly, and very readable. We have sold lots of their books over the last few years.

As a rule, books on individuals sell better than topical or thematic books. There are, of course, exceptions. A few of the general interest books which we have done well with over the years include Kevin Brownlow's The Parade's Gone By, William Everson's American Silent Film, and James Card's Seductive Cinema. Along with biographies, the other popular genre is what I would call the "well done pictorial."

Its something I would differentiate from otherwise skimpy picture books, which tend to recycle the same old pictures with minimal text. People want something more, something different, something substantial. Two of Mark A. Vieira's coffee table books, Greta Garbo: A Cinematic Legacy and Sin in Soft Focus, have each done very well. They are two outstanding examples of the "well done pictorial." Personally speaking, what I would like to see is a coffee table book on "vamps and flappers" - the sexy, exotic, mischievous actress's of the 1920's. I think there is a desire for a book like that. I think there is a need for a book like that. And I am sure we could sell many copies - if it were done right.

TCM: Describe to us the process in getting an author, say a noted film historian, actor or descendent of a famous film personality to be part of a booksigning?

  Thomas Gladysz: Authors come to us in different ways. Sometimes they or their representative or publicist approach the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Sometimes they approach the Booksmith. And sometimes we approach them. Our biggest success stories have been those times when an author or guest appearance coincided with one of the films being shown at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Arthur Lennig, who wrote an outstanding biography of Erich von Stroheim, appeared at the Festival the year they screened Stroheim's "Wedding March." (Fay Wray was also a Festival guest that year !) Another time, John Bengtson was on hand to sign Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton after one of Keaton's films was featured. The overlap between film and author is important.

TCM: Finally, any memorable guests for the book signings that you can recall in the past decade?

Thomas Gladysz: Wow, there have been so many! It's hard to say which has been more memorable. One year, we hosted Diana Serra Cary, who has authored books such as Hollywood's Children and Jackie Coogan: The World's Boy King. As a child, Cary had appeared in films under the name Baby Peggy. She was quite famous in the 1920s. Perhaps, even, as famous as Jackie Coogan. In 2002, the Festival screened "Captain January" (1924), which starred this truly delightful actress. Afterwords, Cary signed books and thrilled parents and children alike lined up to get her autograph. Cary is one of the most delightful authors I have ever met. I hear she is working on another book. I hope to have her back at the Festival sometime. Another year, we hosted Frederica Sagor Maas - the then 99 year old former screenwriter who delivered some delicious anecdotes about Erich von Stroheim, Clara Bow, Joan Crawford, and others. Mass was on hand to promote her memoir, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim. We ended up selling more than 100 books in a single afternoon. That may still stand as a record.

We have also hosted the children - and in one instance the grandchild - of famous personalities of the silent film era. Its always interesting to get their perspective, and to hear an anecdote or two about their famous parents. This year, William Wellman, Jr. was on hand to sign copies of his remarkable memoir, The Man and His Wings: William A. Wellman and the Making of the First Best Picture. Wellman, Jr. had spoken after the screening of "Beggars of Life" (1928), which was directed by his father shortly after he made "Wings." Fans were pleased to chat with him about his father's many famous films.

I should mention Jeffrey Vance, the film historian and author. He has been a great help in bringing guests to the festival. Vance has authored beautiful coffee table books on Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. One year, he arranged to bring Suzanne Lloyd to the Festival. Suzanne is Harold's granddaughter and Vance's co-author on Harold Lloyd: Master Comedian. That signing was a big success. Another year, Vance arranged to bring Sydney Chaplin to the festival. Sydney is Charlie Chaplin's son and an accomplished, Tony-Award winning actor in his own right. Sydney spoke about his father and later signed the books along with Vance. Needless to say, we sold a lot of em!

Over the years, we have also hosted a number of noted film historians and biographers. These authors are fundamental to what we do. These are the authors who are doing serious work of film scholarship. Among them have been Anthony Slide, Emily Leider, Cari Beauchamp, Neal Gabler, Robert Birchard, Allan Ellenberger, Frank Thompson, David Kiehn, Russell Merrit and J. B. Kaufman, and others. San Francisco Chronicle film critic Mick LaSalle - the author of two excellent books on Pre-Code film, Complicated Women and Dangerous Me - has been a regular guest at the festival. As has Leonard Maltin, the author of many indispensable books on various aspects of film history. Robert Osborne, the TCM host, made his first appearance at this year's festival. Fans queued up to get an autographed copy of 75 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards, as well as the Turner Classic Movies companion books, Leading Ladies and Leading Men.

The Booksmith has been involved with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival for more than ten years. Its a unique partnership. We are a Festival sponsor. We help publicize the Festival and help bring film historians and authors into the programing. They allow us to sell books, and they promote our store. They are great people to work with. Its a win-win situation. I would also say its the single best annual film book event in the country. And its only getting bigger.

Interview conducted by Michael T. Toole