Friday, October 28, 2022

Tonight! Lionel Barrymore and Boris Karloff in 'The Bells' (1926) in Warner (N.H.) Town Hall

A lobby card promoting 'The Bells' (1926).

The pre-Halloween silent film marathon continues with a screening of 'The Bells' (1926) tonight (Friday, Oct. 28) at the old Town Hall in Warner, N.H.

Showtime is 7 p.m. for what's a fund-raiser for the Telephone Museum of New Hampshire, which is located in Warner. (Yes, New Hampshire has a Telephone Museum!)

And what better silent film to show in support of a telephone museum than one called 'The Bells'?

Live music (plus some nifty bell sound effects) will be provided by yours truly. 

The movie itself has nothing to do with telephones, nor does it concern the famous Edgar Allen Poe poem. 

Despite the A-list cast (which also includes silent film mainstay Gustav von Seyffertitz), the film is a low-budget murder thriller from obscure studio Chadwick Pictures. 

I recorded a score for it several years ago for a DVD reissue by Reel Classics Video. But tonight's music will all be freshly improvised.

For more information, check out the N.H. Telephone Museum Web site.

And while I'm at it, thanks to everyone who turned out to pack the Jane Pickens Theatre in Newport, R.I. for last night's 100th anniversary screening of 'Nosferatu' (1922).

A total of 216 tickets were sold—the most so far for any silent film program since I began performing in Newport earlier this year. 

Despite the DCP version of the film being noticeably different from the DVD transfer that I usually use, all went well. After a half-dozen 'Nosferatu' screenings in the past two weeks, I'm getting pretty good at synchronizing the chime noises when the clock strikes midnight. 

Your final chance to see 'Nosferatu' this Halloween season, at least with music by me, will by on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 2 p.m., when I accompany a screening at the Park Theatre in Jaffrey, N.H.

After that, the film goes back into its coffin until the next resurrection. 

Hope to see you at tonight's screening of 'The Bells' in Warner! In the meantime, enjoy some "atmosphere" shots from 'Nosferatu' last night in Newport, where they do quite a good job on the posters.




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