The Street of Forgotten Men. 1925. USA. Directed by Herbert Brenon. Screenplay by Paul Schofield, John Russell. With Percy Marmont, Mary Brian, Neil Hamilton, Louise Brooks. Restored by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, from a print held by the Library of Congress. 76 min.
Herbert Brenon’s 1925 urban melodrama holds its place in film history as the first screen appearance of Louise Brooks, unbilled but unmistakable as a gangster’s moll whose sudden appearance enlivens the film’s final reel. Brenon, one of the most acclaimed directors of the ’20s (Beau Geste, A Kiss for Cinderella) here works with material that might have been written for Lon Chaney and Tod Browning: Easy Money Charley (Percy Marmont) makes a solid living posing as a one-armed amputee begging along the Bowery, but his heart of gold is awakened when a dying prostitute asks him to look after her young daughter—who quickly grows into beautiful Mary Brian, causing problems for everyone involved. The film was shot largely at Paramount’s Astoria studios, with a couple of side trips to Fifth Avenue.