A silent W.C. Fields? Unimaginable, you say?
Well, see for yourself at a screening of 'Running Wild' (1927), one of the comedian's best silent feature films.
The screening is tonight (Thursday, June 8) at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Theatre in downtown Ogunquit, Maine.
Tickets are $10 per person; more info is in the press release pasted in below.
Those who grew up watching the 1930s and 1940s Fields talkies on TV will always think of him first as the older gentleman with the cynical attitude and a fondness for adult beverages.
But Fields was in show business long before the movies. As a youth in the early years of the century, his juggling act took him all over the world.
The act was silent, to a large extent. So Fields honed his skills in pantomime, which turned out to be perfect training for success in the silent cinema.
He was in films as early as 1915, but didn't take the plunge in any serious way until winning a key role in D.W. Griffith's circus melodrama 'Sally of the Sawdust' (1925).
Afterwards, he was signed by Paramount to play lead roles in a series of comedies featuring the then-middle-aged Fields as a kind of frustrated everyman.
It was in films such as 'So's Your Old Man' (1926) and 'The Old Army Game' (1926) that Fields ensured such indignities as disrespectful families, howling children, unappreciative bosses, clueless customers, and just plain hard luck.
To me, it's like his silent-era adventures directly led to the more cynical outlook in his talking pictures later on.
In any case, 'Running Wild' is a flick worth catching. It contains great comedy, plus it's also a window into attitudes about child-rearing and discipline that today would probably get a parent arrested.
Oh, the good old days!
FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2017 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more info, contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com
Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit hosts silent film series with live music
Classic comedies, action-packed dramas highlight schedule; featured stars include W.C. Fields, Buster Keaton, and John BarrymoreOGUNQUIT, Maine—Classics of the silent film era will return to the big screen at Ogunquit's Leavitt Theatre, which is hosting a season of vintage cinema with live music in the historic facility.
The series gives area film fans a chance to see great movies from the pioneering days of cinema as they were intended to be shown—on the big screen, with an audience, and accompanied by live music.
Most screenings are on Thursday evenings. Next up is a 'Running Wild' (1927), a rare silent comedy starring W.C. Fields. Showtime is Thursday, June 8 at 7 p.m.
Things change suddenly when Fields inadvertently comes under the spell of a vaudeville hypnotist, who transforms him into a hard-charging aggressive alpha-male, with unexpected consequences.
Although he later achieved lasting fame in talking pictures, Fields was a major performer during the silent film era, starring in a series of popular features for Paramount Pictures.
The Leavitt's silent film series runs through October, concluding with a Halloween screening of the early horror classic 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' (1920), to be shown on Saturday, Oct. 28.
Admission for each screening is $10 per person.
The series includes comedies, adventure films, a silent film version of 'The Wizard of Oz' (1925), the recently rediscovered original big-screen adaptation of 'Sherlock Holmes' (1916), and the first-ever vampire movie, 'Nosferatu' (1922).
"These are the films that first made people fall in love with the movies, and we're thrilled to present them again on the big screen," said Peter Clayton, the Leavitt's long-time owner.
The Leavitt, a summer-only moviehouse, opened in 1923 at the height of the silent film era, and has been showing movies to summertime visitors for nine decades.
The silent film series honors the theater's long service as a moviehouse that has entertained generations of Seacoast residents and visitors, in good times and in bad.
"These movies were intended to be shown in this kind of environment, and with live music and with an audience," Clayton said. "Put it all together, and you've got great entertainment that still has a lot of power to move people."
Live music for each program will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based performer and composer who specializes in scoring silent films.
In accompanying silent films live, Rapsis uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of the full orchestra. He improvises the music in real time, as the movie is shown.
In scoring a movie, Rapsis creates music to help modern movie-goers accept silent film as a vital art form rather than something antiquated or obsolete.
"Silent film is a timeless art form that still has a unique emotional power, as the recent success of 'The Artist' has shown," Rapsis said.
Other films in this year's series include:
• Thursday, June 29 at 7 p.m.: 'Daredevil Aviation Double Feature.' Join fellow flyboys and flygals for a double feature of vintage silent film featuring 1920s biplane action.
• Thursday, July 13 at 7 p.m.: 'The Wizard of Oz' (1925) starring Larry Semon. Early silent film version of Frank L. Baum's immortal tales features silent comedian Larry Semon in a slapstick romp that also casts Oliver Hardy as the Tin Man. Oz as you've never seen it before!
• Thursday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m.: 'Sherlock Holmes' (1916) starring William Gillette. Recently discovered in France after being lost for nearly a century, see this original 1916 adaptation of Sherlock Holmes stories as performed by William Gillette, the actor who created the role on stage.
• Thursday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m.: 'Go West' (1925) starring Buster Keaton. Buster's ranch comedy about the stone-faced comedian and his enduring romance with—a cow! Rustle up some belly laughs as Buster must prove himself worthy once again.
• Thursday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m.: 'Nosferatu' (1922). Experience the original silent film adaptation of Bram Stoker's famous 'Dracula' story. Still scary after all these years—and some critics believe this version is not only the best ever done, but has actually become creepier with the passage of time.
• Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m.: 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' (1920) starring John Barrymore; Just in time for Halloween! John Barrymore plays both title roles in the original silent film adaptation of the classic novella by Robert Louis Stevenson. A performance that helped establish Barrymore as one of the silent era's top stars.
All programs are at 7 p.m. and admission is $10 per person.
'Running Wild' (1927), a comedy starring W.C. Fields, will be shown on Thursday, June 8 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Fine Arts Theatre, 259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123; admission is $10 per person, general seating.
For more information, visit www.leavittheatre.com. For more info on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.
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