Next up: It's Harold Lloyd in 'Safety Last' under the stars on Tuesday, 8/15 in Alton, N.H.

Harold Lloyd in 'Safety Last' (1923).

You know summer is rolling right along when it's time for Silent Film Night during 'Old Home Week,' held each August in Alton, N.H.

Many Granite State towns celebrate 'Old Home Day,' a tradition that started after the Civil War. Many N.H. veterans left for the much better farmland they saw elsewhere while fighting for the Union, causing many rural towns to see a notable population drop.

'Old Home Day,' usually held in summer, was designed to encourage former residents to return to the old homestead, reconnect with family and friends, and so on. 

The custom of celebrating 'Old Home Day' persisted into the 21st century, often morphing in different ways over time.

In Alton, a town on Lake Winnipesaukee that sees a lot of summer tourists, they now celebrate 'Old Home Week'—actually 10 days of events that include a 5K run, a parade—and yes, an outdoor silent film screening.

Many thanks to Alton resident Phil Wittman, a vintage film buff who for many years chaired the 'Old Home Week Committee' and who some years ago began the practice of including silent film with live music among the offerings.

And yes, it's outside: as the sun sets, a screen is set up against the town's locally famous bandstand, and I cable up my digital keyboard and projector in parking lot and pray for the rain to hold off. (So far, we've not had a washout, although we've had some close calls.)

 Meanwhile, people set up lawn chairs on the pavement and traffic island behind me. The scent of bug sprays wafts through the crowd. (And cigarette smoke, too—it's outside, and Alton seems to attract a lot of smokers.)

Then, as twilight takes hold, off we go, showing a silent film to those assembled, plus any motorists passing by on Route 11.

It's usually Buster Keaton, but this year it's Harold Lloyd. On Tuesday, Aug. 15, we'll screen 'Safety Last' in honor of the film's 100th anniversary. 

More information in the press release below. Hope you'll join us under the stars!

Just don't forget the bug spray. (And if you light up, please try to stay downwind.)

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Harold Lloyd battles a large clock in 'Safety Last' (1923)

MONDAY, JULY 17, 2023 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Hang on! Alton Old Home Week to celebrate 100th anniversary of silent film classic 'Safety Last'

Thrill comedy climaxed by Harold Lloyd's iconic building climb; screening with live music on Tuesday, Aug. 15

ALTON, N.H.—It's a cinematic image so powerful, people who've never seen the movie instantly recognize it.

The vision of Harold Lloyd hanging from the hands of a huge clock, from the climax of his silent comedy 'Safety Last,' (1923), has emerged as a symbol of early Hollywood and movie magic.

Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the film's original release with an outdoor screening of 'Safety Last' on Tuesday, Aug. 15 at Alton Town Gazebo in Alton Bay, N.H.

The screening will feature live music for the movie by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis.

All are welcome to this free family-friendly event, which will start at dusk. Attendees are encouraged to arrive no later than 8 p.m.

Movie-goers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and enjoy 'Safety Last' under the stars.

The show is part of this year's Alton Old Home Week schedule of events, which run from Aug. 11-20.

'Safety Last' follows young go-getter Lloyd to the big city, where he hopes to make his mark in business, then send for his small town sweetheart.

His career at a downtown department store stalls, however, until he gets a chance to pitch a surefire publicity idea—hire a human fly to climb the building's exterior.

But when the human fly has a last-minute run-in with the law, Harold is forced to make the climb himself, floor by floor, with his sweetheart looking on.

The result is an extended sequence filmed without trick photography that blends comedy and terror, holding viewers spellbound.

Lloyd, along with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, is regarded as one of the silent screen's three great clowns.

Lloyd's character, an ambitious young man ready to struggle to win the day, proved hugely popular in the 1920s.

While Chaplin and Keaton were always favored by the critics, Lloyd's films reigned as the top-grossing comedies throughout the period.

Silent film at the Alton Town Gazebo will give audiences the chance to experience early cinema as it was intended: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.

"Put the whole experience back together, and you can see why people first fell in love with the movies," said Rapsis, who practices the nearly lost art of live silent film accompaniment.

Rapsis performs on a digital synthesizer that reproduces the texture of the full orchestra, creating a traditional "movie score" sound.

Celebrate the 100th anniversary of Harold Lloyd's iconic thrill comedy 'Safety Last' (1923) with a screening on Tuesday, Aug. 15 at dusk at the Alton Town Gazebo in Alton Bay, N.H.

All are welcome to this free family-friendly event, which will start at dusk. Attendees are encouraged to arrive no later than 8 p.m.

 

Calling all golfers! See 'The Apple Tree Girl' (1917) on Sunday, 7/30 at Town Hall, Wilton, N.H.

A promotional still for 'The Apple Tree Girl' (1917).

Next up: on Sunday, July 30, I'll accompany 'The Apple Tree Girl' (1917), a rare surviving feature-length film from Thomas Edison's studios.

Screening is at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. 

It's part of our "Unknown To Be Shown" series of silent films at the Town Hall Theatre, which has been showing movies since 1912. 

But over the years, not all films have played Wilton. So the series is our attempt to catch up and ensure the local movie-going public gets a chance to see these titles on the big screen.

One thing about 'The Apple Tree Girl' is that it includes scenes of competitive golfing as practiced 116 years ago. There's Shirley Mason sporting her best plaid skirt while playing for the championship.

I've found that early films can be of interest to non-cinephiles if they show past practices in various areas of human endeavors. 

A good example is 'Speedway' (1929), an otherwise routine MGM drama that's of interest to auto buffs because it was filmed on location on the original track of the Indianapolis 500.

In 'The Apple Tree Girl,' we get scenes on the golf as it was played during World War I. In areas like thing, audiences today, all this time later, often find it interesting to not what has changed—and what hasn't.

So: calling all golfers!

More details in the press release below. Hope to see you there as we revive this 116-year-old chestnut!

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Shirley Mason stars in 'The Apple Tree Girl' (1917) from Thomas Edison.

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2023 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Rare feature film, 'The Apple Tree Girl' from Thomas Edison, to screen at Town Hall Theatre

• Drama featuring forgotten star Shirley Mason to be shown on Sunday, July 30 with live music as part of 'Not Known To Be Shown' series

• Town Hall Theatre patrons contributed to recent crowd-funding effort to digitally scan sole surviving print held by U.S. Library of Congress

WILTON, N.H.—One of the last feature films produced by motion picture pioneer Thomas Edison will return to the silver screen this month for a rare revival.

'The Apple Tree Girl' (1917), a drama starring Shirley Mason, will be shown on Sunday, July 30 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $10. Live music will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis.

The screening is part of a series of early films that never played at the Wilton venue when originally released.

The 'Not Known to be Shown' series runs through October and features obscure dramas, comedies, and adventure flicks from the silent era.

"In putting together this series, we wanted to give audiences a chance to see some rarely screened titles from the first years of motion pictures," Rapsis said.

"Also, they're all movies I've never scored before," Rapsis added. "So it's also a chance to work with 'new' material, although the films themselves are about 100 years old," Rapsis said.

In 'The Apple Tree Girl,' Shirley Mason stars as Charlotte Marlin, a shy young woman who grew up on a Connecticut farm known for an apple tree known to change color.

After losing her parents, Charlotte moves in with her aunt. After experiencing unrequited love, Charlotte resolves to be liked by all, achieve fame, and marry a millionaire.

In her pursuit of fame, she takes up golf, eventually winning a prestigious tournament. But then an unexpected turn of events forces Charlotte to confront her true feelings.

The film was based on a story by George Weston published in the Ladies Home Journal.

Shirley Mason was a popular—and busy—star of early cinema; 'The Apple Tree Girl' was one of 17 films in which she appeared in 1917 alone.

'The Apple Tree Girl' was directed by Alan Crosland and shot in rural Connecticut. It co-stars Raymond McKee, Joyce Fair, Edward Coleman, and Jessie Stevens.

'The Apple Tree Girl' is notable as one of the last films produced by inventor Thomas Edison, who helped create the technology to produce and exhibit motion pictures.

Starting in 1894, the Edison company produced more than 1,200 films to feed the public's growing appetite for motion pictures.

Most Edison films were short subjects made before feature-length films became popular in the mid-1910s.

Edison tried to keep up, eventually producing 54 full-length features; 'The Apple Tree Girl' is one of only a handful that survive.

While most film production had moved to southern California by the mid-1910s, Edison's studios remained in the New York City area, where the inventor's sprawling operations were headquartered.

Critics point out that Edison's films began to lag behind the California-based competition; the inventor ceased filmmaking operations in 1918.

The sole surviving 35mm print of 'The Apple Tree Girl' is archived at the U.S. Library of Congress. A digital transfer was made in 2022 via a Kickstarter campaign to which Town Hall Theatre patrons donated.

The Kickstarter campaign was organized by film buff Edward Lorusso, a Maine resident who has coordinated the digital scanning of many one-of-a-kind film prints.

"Because of the successful Kickstarter effort, Town Hall Theatre film fans can take satisfaction that they helped get 'The Apple Tree Girl' transferred to digital media so it could once again be seen and enjoyed by all," Rapsis said.

Upcoming films in the Town Hall Theatre's 'Not Known to be Shown' series include:

• Sunday, Aug. 20, 2 p.m.: 'Beau Brummel' (1924) starring John Barrymore. Opulent silent drama about the rise and fall of the famous London gentleman, a commoner who circulates in royal circles due to his influence and sartorial prominence.

• Sunday, Aug. 27, 2 p.m.: 'The Divine Lady' (1929) starring Corrine Griffith. Frank Lloyd won the 'Best Director' Oscar for this romantic melodrama about British naval hero Horatio Nelson's romantic adventures.

• Sunday, Sept. 17, 2 p.m.: 'Eagle of the Night' (1928) starring Frank Clarke, Shirley Palmer. An inventor creates a new muffler for noisy airplane engines, but the bad guys are out to steal the breakthrough and put it to evil use.

• Sunday, Oct. 8, 2 p.m.: 'The Red Kimona' (1925). A small-town girl finds escape from her cruel home life in the arms of a handsome stranger, a situation that leads her to work as a prostitute in New Orleans.

‘The Apple Tree Girl' (1917) starring Shirley Mason will be screened on Sunday, July 30 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Admission is free; a donation of $10 per person is suggested to help defray expenses. For more information, call (603) 654-3456.

 

This week: Down to Deerfield, Mass. for 7/25 show, then out to Ogunquit, Maine on 7/26 for 'Zaza'

 A lobby card showing dashing diplomat H.B. Warner and stubborn showgirl Gloria Swanson, stars of 'Zaza' (1923).

Coming this week: on Tuesday, I drive down to Deerfield, Mass. to accompany the screening of a rare short film produced in the area; then on Wednesday it's out to Ogunquit, Maine, where I'll do music for 'Zaza' starring Gloria Swanson.

More on these screenings below, including a press release for 'Zaza' with complete information.

 The Strand Theatre in Rockland, Maine.

For now, let me report that I had a great time this past Saturday trekking up to the Strand Theater in Rockland, Maine, where they continued an ongoing celebration of their 100th anniversary with screenings of Buster Keaton's 'Our Hospitality' (1923) and 'Little Old New York' (1923) starring Marion Davies.

The Strand is a real rarity in today's entertainment landscape: a wonderfully vibrant single-screen motion picture that's been in business since Warren G. Harding occupied the White House.

It's not only weathered the ups and downs of the exhibition business, but seems to be thriving. The Strand, operating as a non-profit since 2014, offers first-run films, live concerts, and special programming such as hi-definition Metropolitan Opera broadcasts.

It all happens in a beautifully maintained building that looks like a color photograph of a 1920s movie theater brought to life. The day I was there, many of the staff actually dressed like it was 100 years ago for 'Silent Movie Day,' and admission prices were rolled back to 25 cents.

For me, the Davies film was highlighted afterwards when couple came up to chat, and the husband turned out to be a great grandson of W.R. Hearst, longtime paramour (but never husband) of Marion.

Jason "Jay" Hearst is grandson of Hearst's third son, John Hearst, and today runs his own audio engineering firm in Camden, Maine. (Check out his studio at www.hearstudios.com.)

We had a nice chat about the preservation and availability of Marion's films. Who knows? Hearst's sons were pretty rotten to her, but maybe the great-grandchildren could make something happen to help Marion's work win recognition from today's audiences.

It was a special treat to accompany Harold Lloyd's 'The Kid Brother' (1927) on Sunday afternoon at the Center for the Arts in Natick, Mass. Why special? Because it was one of those screenings where everything falls into place from the opening titles.

Afterwards, I had an interesting conversation with a volunteer who works in the Psychology Department of a local college. She asked a few questions about how I go about creating a large amount of music by improvising in real time.

She then made the observation that what I do must be "very healing." And I think she's right.

I'm not sure what I'm healing from. Whatever it is, it must be something big, as I keep wanted to make music in a darkened theatre.  

In all seriousness, I suppose it could a long-delayed (and long drawn out) response to losing my father when I was 4 years old. For years, I've kind of brushed that off, saying it happened years and years ago (1968, actually) and had no bearing on my life today. Live in the present, I would say.

But it may had some deep underlying effect after all. 

An image from 'Onoko's Vow' (1910), a silent film shot in central Massachusetts.

Well, your next chance to see (or actually hear) me heal some more is Tuesday, July 25 at 7 p.m. in Deerfield, Mass., where I'll provide music for a rarely screened short silent movie filmed in that area in 1910.

It's an Edison short drama called 'Onoko's Vow,' filmed on location in Deerfield and Whately, Mass. It's part of a presentation organized by the historical societies of both two communities. I doubt I'd be able to summarize it any better than they do, so here's an excerpt from their online listing:

Herbert S. Streeter of Greenfield wrote the script, which he loosely based on actual events in the early colonial history of Deerfield. The 15-minute film tells the fanciful story of a fictional Native American character Ononko, and his relationship with a settler family, set against the backdrop of two violent encounters involving colonial settlers and Indigenous people. Join us to view a newly digitized version of this almost forgotten film followed by a panel discussion with Dr. Carolyn Anderson, silent film historian and Professor Emerita of UMass Amherst, and Dr. Margaret Bruchac, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Coordinator of Native American and Indigenous Studies, and Associate Faculty in the Penn Cultural Heritage Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

Wow! Some heavy hitters there. For more information, check out the Whately Historical Society's online listing.

And then Wednesday night, I revisit 'Zaza' (1923) a Gloria Swanson film for which I recorded a piano score for Kino-Lorber in 2017.

I won't be recreating that exactly, but will improvise using a lot of the same material. It depends on what I can remember when I sit down to play at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine.

However, one thing about 'Zaza' is the "Elvis" problem. For more on that, check out the press release below, which contains all kinds of other info about the screening.

See you at the creativity healing therapy session—oops, I mean the movies!

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Gloria Swanson sulks in 'Zaza' (1923).

MONDAY, JULY 17, 2023 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Silent film accompanist to perform live score to Gloria Swanson classic 'Zaza' on Wednesday, July 26

New Hampshire's Jeff Rapsis created music for Kino-Lorber's 'Zaza' DVD; film to be screened with live music at Leavitt Theatre, Ogunquit

OGUNQUIT, Maine—Taking his place to play the score for a classic silent film, accompanist Jeff Rapsis has no sheet music on his keyboard. It's because he's making up the music on the spot.

But on Wednesday, July 26, he'll have a head start for 'Zaza' (1923), a romantic melodrama starring Gloria Swanson that's playing at the Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1 in downtown Ogunquit.

Last year, Rapsis created the recorded soundtrack for the much-anticipated release of 'Zaza' on DVD/Blu-ray by Kino-Lorber, a New York-based company that specializes in re-releasing classic films.

The screening is at 6 p.m. Admission is $12 per person. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the Leavitt's full dinner menu and bar service is available.

"It was a real thrill to put together a musical score for this great feature film, which has never been available for home viewing before," Rapsis said. "I feel like I've collaborated with Gloria Swanson and the team that made this film."

The Kino-Lorber edition of 'Zaza,' with music by Rapsis, was released in 2017 to enthusiastic reviews.

"With a piano score from composer Jeff Rapsis that follows the original 1923 cue sheet, this is a pretty fantastic score for the film," wrote Matthew Hartman of Hi-Def Digest. "The piano work gives the film a nice old-time feel with the right blend of jaunty entertainment and hitting the lower dramatic tones. It never feels overly dramatic or too wild and fits the tone of the film perfectly."

In 'Zaza,' Swanson stars as a tempermental music hall performer in a provincial French theater who falls in love with a high-ranking diplomat played by H.B. Warner.

The film chronicles their romance as it takes unexpected turns both comic and dramatic. The Paramount feature was regarded as one of the studio's major releases of 1923, helping establish Swanson as a major star of the era.

For the Leavitt Theatre screening, Rapsis will recreate the score he put together earlier this year for the DVD release.

The music was based on a surviving "cue sheet" from the studio that offered suggested music to play when the film was in theatres in 1923.

"Some of the suggestions seemed right on, while others didn't," Rapsis said. "Just like musicians of the silent era, I followed some, and in other places created my own material."

'Zaza' contains multiple on-screen references to 'Plaisir d'Amour,' a 19th century love song with enduring popularity in France.

Using it today, however, creates problems, Rapsis said, because the tune is identical to the song 'I Can't Help Falling in Love With You' popularized by Elvis Presley.

"If you're not careful, it can sound like you're using a 1950s Elvis hit to accompany Gloria Swanson in post-World War I France," Rapsis said.

He addressed the problem by playing the tune with a classical accompaniment, and also making minor changes to "de-Elvis" the melody.

Rapsis has been creating live scores for silent films for the past decade, and currently performs for more than 120 screenings each year.

His standard approach to scoring silent films is to improvise the score on the spot, as a movie is screening.

"It's kind of a high wire act to do the music this way. But it provides an energy and excitement that contributes to the experience," Rapsis said.

Silent film programs can last anywhere from one to three hours in length. Rapsis finds that after the first 10 or 20 minutes, he sinks into a state of mind where he is completely absorbed by the process of scoring the movie, and the music sometimes seems to weave itself as he responds to the film in real time.

Rapsis, a museum director by day, is a lifelong silent film fan who studied classical piano separately.

"Silent film accompaniment is kind of a lost art, but once I tried doing it, I found I could naturally come up with music that helped these films come to life," Rapsis said.

"And I really enjoyed the process because it combined two things I really loved: silent film and music. For me, it was like putting chocolate and peanut butter together."

This season's Leavitt Theatre silent film schedule features movies all celebrating their 100th anniversaries. Upcoming shows include:

• Wednesday, Aug. 16 at 6 p.m.: 'The Pilgrim' (1923) starring Charlie Chaplin. As a convict on the lam, Chaplin impersonates a man of the cloth, with unexpected results.

• Wednesday, Aug. 23 at 6 p.m.: 'A Woman of Paris' (1923). Chaplin's drama about a kept woman (Edna Purviance) who runs into her former fiancé and finds herself torn between love and comfort.

• Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 6 p.m.: 'Haldene of the Secret Service' (1923). In Harry Houdini's final starring vehicle, he plays the son of a detective slain by a gang of counterfeiters.

• Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m.: 'The Ten Commandments' (1923). Long before Charlton Heston played Moses in Technicolor, director Cecil B. DeMille filmed this silent blockbuster on a grand scale.

'Zaza,' starring Gloria Swanson, will be shown with live music on Wednesday, July 26 at 6 p.m. at the historic Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine.

Admission is $12 per person. For more info, call (207) 646-3123 or visit www.leavittheatre.com

This weekend: Keaton and Davies in Rockland, Maine, then Harold Lloyd in Natick, Mass.

Marion Davies (right) in 'Little Old New York' (1923).

It's a silent film kinda weekend, with a double feature on Saturday, July 22 to help the Strand Theatre in Rockland, Maine celebrate its 100th birthday, and then on Sunday, July 23 one of Harold Lloyd's best pictures at the TCAN Center for the Arts in Natick, Mass.

The Lloyd picture is 'The Kid Brother' (1927), which will be screened on Sunday at 4 p.m. in Natick. Lots more info in the press release below. I hope you'll join us to experience this extraordinary motion picture as it was intended—on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience!

With the program at the Strand, I don't have a press release to share, as it was put together only very recently. But still, it should be a hoot, especially as the theater is charging just 25 cents admission as a throwback ticket price in honor of its centennial.

Highlighting Saturday's Strand program will be Marion Davies, whose 'Little Old New York' (1923) was screened at the Strand during its first year of operation. The film, presented in cooperation with Undercrank Productions and the Library of Congress, will be shown at 4:30 p.m. 

The key to all this coming about is Maine resident Ed Lorusso, a film buff who in recent years has organized Kickstarter campaigns to get hard-to-view motion pictures transferred to digital media so that contemporary audiences can enjoy them.

Ed, a Marion Davies fan, has been responsible for more than a few Davies titles getting transferred and making them available to the public via DVD or Blu-ray. One of those is Marion's 1923 hit 'Little Old New York,' for which Ed worked with a 35mm nitrate print held by the U.S. Library of Congress.

When Ed discovered that 'Little Old New York' played at the Strand in its original release, and that the Strand was marking its centennial this summer—well, the opportunity to run the film again as part of the celebrations was just too good to pass up.

Ed contacted the folks at the Strand, making a case for screening the film with live music. And that's  where I came in. When the dust settled, the Strand decided to show not one but TWO pictures from 1923 as part of "Silent Movie Day," which was scheduled for Saturday, July 22.

The Strand Theatre in Rockland, Maine.

First up at 2 p.m. is Buster Keaton's 'Our Hospitality' (1923), followed at 4:30 p.m. by Marion Davies in 'Little Old New York.' As mentioned above, admission is 25 cents per person. 

I notice that the weather forecast calls for a slight chance of rain this Saturday. However, there's a 100 percent chance of great cinema at the Strand. Hope you'll join us for one or both pictures, which were among 1923's top box office champions.

And the next day, it's Harold Lloyd in 'The Kid Brother' (1927) in Natick, Mass. Below is the press release with lots more info. See you there!

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Harold Lloyd climbs aboard in 'The Kid Brother' (1927).

TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2023 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Natick Center for the Arts to screen 'The Kid Brother' on Sunday, July 23

Harold Lloyd's 1927 comedy masterpiece the latest in venue's series of silent films with live accompaniment

NATICK, Mass.—He was the most popular film star of the 1920s, routinely outpacing comic rivals Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton at the box office.

He was Harold Lloyd, the boy next door who could wind up hanging from the hands of a clock high atop a skyscraper. Audiences loved Lloyd's mix of visual comedy and thrilling adventures, making him one of the most recognized icons of early Hollywood.

See for yourself when 'The Kid Brother' (1927), a feature-length film regarded as Lloyd's masterpiece, is screened on Sunday, July 23 at 4 p.m. at TCAN Center for the Arts, 14 Summer St., Natick, Mass.

The screening, the latest in the Center for the Art's silent film series, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent films.

Admission is $10 per person for members; $12 for non-members. Tickets are available online at www.natickarts.org or at the door.

In 'The Kid Brother,' meek country boy Harold Hickory (Lloyd) looks up to his tough father, but is overshadowed by two burly older brothers. When a traveling circus brings trouble to town and possible disgrace to the Hickory clan, can Harold save the family name?

From that simple situation, Lloyd weaves a roller coaster of a tale that critics and film historians say show him at the height of his powers as a filmmaker and comedian.

"The first silent film I ever saw that made me actually stand up and cheer," wrote critic Steven D. Greydanus of The Decent Films Guide. "As a first introduction to silent film, I would pick 'The Kid Brother' over the best of Chaplin or Keaton every time."

"Unlike Chaplin’s Little Tramp, who was as much defined by his bizarre eccentricities as his bowler and cane, Lloyd’s character, with his trademark spectacles, was an instantly likable, sympathetic boy-next-door type, a figure as winsome and approachable as Jimmy Stewart or Tom Hanks," Greydanus wrote.

The film co-stars Jobyna Ralston, Walter James, Eddie Boland, and Constantine Romanoff.

Harold Lloyd, along with Chaplin and Keaton, stands as one of the three masters of silent comedy. Though Lloyd's reputation later faded due to unavailability of his movies, the recent re-release of most of his major films on home media has spurred a reawakening of interest in his work and a renewed interest in theatrical screenings. 

Jobyna Ralston and Harold Lloyd in 'The Kid Brother' (1927).

"Seeing a Harold Lloyd film in a theater with live music and an audience is one of the great experiences of the cinema of any era," said Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film musician who will accompany the film.

"Films such as 'The Kid Brother' were designed for a specific environment. If you can put those conditions together again, you can get a sense of why people first fell in love with the movies," Rapsis said.

'The Kid Brother' will be screened with live music on Sunday, July 23 at 4 p.m. at TCAN Center for the Arts, 14 Summer St., Natick, Mass.

Admission is $10 per person for members; $12 for non-members. Tickets are available online at www.natickarts.org or at the door.

Coming Wednesday, 7/19: 'The General' in Plymouth, N.H., plus notes about 'The Circle'

Buster Keaton catches cow in 'The General' (1926).

It's one of the great films of any era! 

It's Buster Keaton's 'The General' (1926). And your next chance to see it in a theater with live music (as it was meant to be seen) is on Wednesday, July 19 at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center in Plymouth, N.H.

Showtime is 6:30 p.m. Lots more info in the press release pasted in below.

I just did 'The General' last Saturday night in Brandon, Vt., with a crowd that was into it, which reminded me what a strong film it is in terms of audience response.

With good silent films, you're likely to get one or two moments where audiences spontaneously cheer or react in some way as one. 

With 'The General,' you get a dozen or more, if all goes well.

And by "goes well," I mean with the music. With 'The General,' as with other Keaton films and so many other comedies, I've learned to keep the music moving, but mostly light in texture. 

This enables an audience hear each other laughing or otherwise responding, which helps facilitate those "all at once" spontaneous reactions.

That's what happened in Brandon last Saturday night. One big moment after another—a good reminder of how these films can free up people to genuinely enjoy a shared experience.

'The General' on Saturday was followed by 'The Circle' (1925) on Sunday.

This Frank Borzage-directed MGM romantic comedy, adapted from a stage play by William Somerset Maugham, was a film I hadn't encountered before, and which surprised me.

How? By how it dealt with the cliché of young lovers eloping for romance. This situation, which ends so many stories, is only the very beginning of 'The Circle,' which attempts to answer the question "What next?"

And by "next," I mean 30 years later. And to see what time has wrought, and how Maugham works it into a contemporary love triangle heading in the same direction, is a very fun premise.

So I had high hopes for 'The Circle' and the screening this past Sunday at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. 

However, Sunday in our part of the world brought torrential downpours, plus flash flood and tornado warnings urging people to stay off the roads. 

This depressed attendance to just a handful of hardy film buffs (thank you!), which I suspect was not enough critical mass to start the "spontaneous chain reaction" of laughter that you sometimes get with larger audience—and such as I experienced the night before with 'The General.'

Well, I think I'll have to give 'The Circle' another chance. We ran it as part of a 'Not Known to be Shown' series, which showcases films that to our knowledge have never played at the Town Hall Theatre, where movies have been on the bill since 1912.

Let's hope it doesn't take another 98 years before we get around to showing it again.

Okay, more info about Wednesday night's screening of 'The General' is pasted in below. See you Wednesday evening in Plymouth, N.H.!

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Buster Keaton and co-star in 'The General' (1926).

TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2023 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Buster Keaton's 'The General' with live music at Flying Monkey on Wednesday, July 19

Civil War railroading comedy/adventure film lauded as stone-faced comic moviemaker's masterpiece

PLYMOUTH, N.H.— He never smiled on camera, earning him the nickname of "the Great Stone Face." But Buster Keaton's comedies rocked Hollywood's silent era with laughter throughout the 1920s.

See for yourself with a screening of 'The General' (1926), one of Keaton's landmark feature films, on Wednesday, July 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 Main St., Plymouth, N.H.

The screening will feature live music for the movie by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. General admission is $10 per person.

The show is the latest in the Flying Monkey's silent film series, which gives audiences the opportunity to experience early cinema as it was intended: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.

An 'everything but the kitchen sink' lobby card promoting 'The General.'
 

'The General,' set during the U.S. Civil War, tells the story of a southern locomotive engineer (Keaton) whose engine (named 'The General') is hijacked by Northern spies with his girlfriend on board.

Keaton, commandeering another train, races north in pursuit behind enemy lines. Can he rescue his girl? And can he recapture his locomotive and make it back to warn of a coming Northern attack?

Critics call 'The General' Keaton's masterpiece, praising its authentic period detail, ambitious action and battle sequences, and its overall integration of story, drama, and comedy.

It's also regarded as one of Hollywood's great railroad films, with much of the action occurring on or around moving steam locomotives.

Accompanist Jeff Rapsis will improvise an original musical score for 'The General' live as the movie is shown, as was typically done during the silent film era.

"When the score gets made up on the spot, it creates a special energy that's an important part of the silent film experience," said Rapsis, who uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of a full orchestra for the accompaniment.

 

Keaton on location in Oregon while shooting 'The General.'

With the Flying Monkey's screening of 'The General,' audiences will get a chance to experience silent film as it was meant to be seen—in a high quality print, on a large screen, with live music, and with an audience.

"All those elements are important parts of the silent film experience," Rapsis said. "Recreate those conditions, and the classics of early Hollywood leap back to life in ways that can still move audiences today."

Keaton, along with Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, stands today as one of the silent screen's three great clowns. Some critics regard Keaton as the best of all; Roger Ebert wrote in 2002 that "in an extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, (Keaton) worked without interruption on a series of films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies."

A remarkable pantomime artist, Keaton naturally used his whole body to communicate emotions from sadness to surprise. And in an era with no post-production special effects, Keaton's acrobatic talents enabled him to perform all his own stunts.

Critics review 'The General':

"The most insistently moving picture ever made, its climax is the most stunning visual event ever arranged for a film comedy."
—Walter Kerr, author of 'The Silent Clowns'

"An almost perfect entertainment!"
—Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

"What makes the film so special is the way the timing, audacity and elegant choreography of its sight gags, acrobatics, pratfalls and dramatic incidents is matched by Buster's directorial artistry, his acute observational skills working alongside the physical élan and sweet subtlety of his own performance."
—Time Out (London)

The Keaton films are a great introduction to silent films for modern audiences, accompanist Rapsis said.

"Keaton's comedy is as fresh today as it was a hundred years ago — maybe more so, because his kind of visual humor is a lost art," Rapsis said.

‘The General’ (1926) starring Buster Keaton will be shown with live music on Wednesday, July 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 Main St., Plymouth, N.H.

General admission tickets are $10 at door or in advance by calling the box office at (603) 536-2551 or online at www.flyingmonkeynh.com.

Saturday, 7/15: 'The General' in Brandon, Vt.; Sunday, 7/16: 'The Circle' in Wilton, N.H.

Vintage original glass slide promoting 'The Circle' (1925), complete with show dates added by hand.

Interesting pair of films this weekend: one I've never seen or accompanied before, and another that I've done perhaps more than any other single film.

First up: it's Buster Keaton's 'The General' (1926), screening on Saturday, July 15 at 7 p.m. at Brandon Town Hall and Community Center in Brandon, Vt.

That's the one I've done so many times I've lost count. More details are in the press release below. 

'The General' was actually the very first film I scored in Brandon (back in 2011), prompting a monthly silent film series that continues to this day.

We generally run one Keaton program each year. With more than 10 years now under our belts (and having shown all the other Keaton silent features), 'The General' is our first repeat.

And yes, 'The General' is one of the most frequently screened silents, with only 'Nosferatu' (1921) perhaps vying for the crown. In the spirit of 'Nosferatu,' one could say they're neck and neck. 

And then on Sunday, July 16, it's 'The Circle' (1925), a romantic comedy directed by Frank Borzage and based on a play by William Somerset Maugham.

The film is screening at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H. Admission is free, with $10 donation suggested to support the Town Hall's silent film series.

I don't have any press release to share because I apparently didn't send one out last month prior to leaving for two weeks in France. Oops!

So time for some last-minute promotion. How about this for a slogan?

DON'T BE SQUARE! SEE 'THE CIRCLE'!

'The Circle' has two big names in it: Eleanor Boardman and a very young Joan Crawford. And Creighton Hale (a familiar name to silent film fans) also shows up.

The plot? Here's a one-sentence summary from the Internet Movie Database: "An unhappy woman considers leaving her dull husband for another man."

I don't know any more than that, which is as it should be. 'The Circle' is the first in a series of films that we've never shown before in Wilton, and which I've never accompanied. 

The series runs through October. For a preview, download the flier.

And for now, I invite you to join us this Saturday in Brandon, Vt. for a screening of Buster Keaton's classic comedy 'The General' (1926). Details below:

*   *   *

Buster Keaton in 'The General' (1926).

TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2023 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Buster Keaton's 'The General' with live music at Brandon Town Hall on Saturday, July 15

Civil War railroading comedy/adventure film lauded as stone-faced comic moviemaker's masterpiece

BRANDON, Vt.— He never smiled on camera, earning him the nickname of "the Great Stone Face." But Buster Keaton's comedies rocked Hollywood's silent era with laughter throughout the 1920s.

See for yourself with a screening of 'The General' (1926), one of Keaton's landmark feature films, on Saturday, July 15 at 7 p.m. at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Route 7, in Brandon, Vt.

All are welcome to this family-friendly event. Admission is free, with free will donations accepted in support of ongoing Town Hall renovations.

The screening, the latest in the venue's silent film series, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent films.

'The General,' set during the U.S. Civil War, tells the story of a southern locomotive engineer (Keaton) whose engine (named 'The General') is hijacked by Northern spies with his girlfriend on board.

Keaton, commandeering another train, races north in pursuit behind enemy lines. Can he rescue his girl? And can he recapture his locomotive and make it back to warn of a coming Northern attack?

Critics call 'The General' Keaton's masterpiece, praising its authentic period detail, ambitious action and battle sequences, and its overall integration of story, drama, and comedy.

 

Buster Keaton with his namesake locomotive in 'The General' (1926).

It's also regarded as one of Hollywood's great railroad films, with much of the action occurring on or around moving steam locomotives.

Accompanist Jeff Rapsis will improvise an original musical score for 'The General' live as the movie is shown, as was typically done during the silent film era.

"When the score gets made up on the spot, it creates a special energy that's an important part of the silent film experience," said Rapsis, who uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of a full orchestra for the accompaniment.

With the Brandon Town Hall's screening of 'The General,' audiences will get a chance to experience silent film as it was meant to be seen—in a high quality print, on a large screen, with live music, and with an audience.

"All those elements are important parts of the silent film experience," Rapsis said. "Recreate those conditions, and the classics of early Hollywood leap back to life in ways that can still move audiences today."

 

Keaton and his co-star in 'The General' (1926).

Keaton, along with Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, stands today as one of the silent screen's three great clowns. Some critics regard Keaton as the best of all; Roger Ebert wrote in 2002 that "in an extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, (Keaton) worked without interruption on a series of films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies."

A remarkable pantomime artist, Keaton naturally used his whole body to communicate emotions from sadness to surprise. And in an era with no post-production special effects, Keaton's acrobatic talents enabled him to perform all his own stunts.

The screening of 'The General' is sponsored by Gary and Nancy Meffe; Ben and Claudette Lawton; Bertram D. Coolidge; Frank and Ettie Spezzano; Ronald, Carolyn and Rickly Hayes; and Hayes Pallets.

Other films in this year's Brandon Town Hall silent film series include:

• Friday, Aug. 18, 7 p.m.: 'The Ten Commandments' (1923) directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Long before Charlton Heston played Moses in Technicolor, director Cecil B. DeMille filmed this silent blockbuster on a grand scale. Many say it surpasses the remake—see for yourself as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the film's original release. Sponsored by Bruce Ness and Nancy Spaulding-Ness

• Saturday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m.: 'The Freshman' (1925) starring Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston. We welcome football season with Harold Lloyd's blockbuster hit about a college boy who dreams of gridiron greatness. One of Lloyd's all-time best! Sponsored by Frank Mazza and Linda Zaragoza; Kathy and Wayne Rausenberger; Edward Loedding and Dorothy Leysath.

• Saturday, Oct. 7, 7 p.m.: 'My Best Girl' (1927) starring Mary Pickford, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers. In a big city department store, romance blossoms between a humble stockroom clerk and the store owner's son—who is already engaged! A sparkling “rich man, poor girl” romantic comedy from 1927 starring screen icon Mary Pickford and Charles 'Buddy Rogers,' her future real-life husband. Sponsored by Harold and Jean Somerset; Fyles Brothers, Inc.; and Jeanette Devino.

• Friday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m.: 'The Cat and the Canary' (1927). Can a group of distant relatives survive the night in a haunted house to learn the secret of a madman's will? Find out in the original Gothic thriller from silent film director Paul Leni. Just in time for Halloween, a movie filled with deep shadows, dark secrets, and a surprisingly timeless mix of humor and horror that will keep you guessing. Sponsored by Pam and Steve Douglass.

• Saturday, Nov. 11, 7 p.m.: 'The Big Parade' (1925) starring John Gilbert. We salute Veterans Day with this sweeping saga about U.S. doughboys signing up and shipping off to France in 1917, where they face experiences that will change their lives forever—if they return. MGM blockbuster directed by King Vidor; one of the biggest box office triumphs of the silent era. Sponsored by Donald and Dolores Furnari; Jeanette Devino; and Lorrie Byrom.

Critics review 'The General':

"The most insistently moving picture ever made, its climax is the most stunning visual event ever arranged for a film comedy."
—Walter Kerr, author of 'The Silent Clowns'

"An almost perfect entertainment!"
—Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

"What makes the film so special is the way the timing, audacity and elegant choreography of its sight gags, acrobatics, pratfalls and dramatic incidents is matched by Buster's directorial artistry, his acute observational skills working alongside the physical élan and sweet subtlety of his own performance."
—Time Out (London)

The Keaton films are a great introduction to silent films for modern audiences, accompanist Rapsis said.

"Keaton's comedy is as fresh today as it was a hundred years ago — maybe more so, because his kind of visual humor is a lost art," Rapsis said.

‘The General’ (1926) starring Buster Keaton will be shown with live music on Saturday, July 15 at 7 p.m. at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Route 7, in Brandon, Vt.

Admission is free, with free will donations accepted in support of ongoing Town Hall renovations. For more info, visit www.brandontownhall.com.

This week: Buster Keaton in Maine and Vermont—but first, an update on the recent flooding

I'm just back from two weeks in France, but never mind about that. 

More important: a shout-out to all my friends in Vermont, who are right now grappling with some really bad flooding. 

I do a lot of shows in the Green Mountain State, and over the years I've gotten to know a lot of terrific people who live in some equally terrific small cities and towns.

One of those towns is Ludlow, Vt., where next month I'll make my annual appearance as part of their monthly movie series at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium.

So it was more than a little disconcerting to see today's New York Times home page carry an image of a flooded downtown Ludlow that included the very building where the movies get shown!

Wow! All best wishes to everyone for a quick drying out and fast recovery. 

Okay, up next in this summer's silent film hit parade: Buster Keaton in two states—Maine and (I hope) Vermont!

On Wednesday, July 12, I'll accompany 'Our Hospitality' (1923) at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine. More details in the press release below. 

And on Saturday, July 15, it's 'The General' (1926) at the Brandon (Vt.) Town Hall and Community Center. 

Brandon was hard hit by flooding caused by Hurricane Irene in 2011. I haven't heard from anyone up there yet, but I assume the show is still on. Will update if needed. 

If the show is a go, I expect a strong reaction, because by Saturday I think all Vermonters will be in need of a laugh. 

Here's info 'Our Hospitality' on Wednesday, July 12 at 6 p.m. in Ogunquit, Maine. See you there!

*  *  *

An original release poster for Buster Keaton's 'Our Hospitality' (1923).

TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2023 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Buster Keaton stars in 'Our Hospitality' on Wednesday, July 12 at Leavitt Theatre

Classic feature-length silent comedy to be screened on the big screen with live music

OGUNQUIT, Maine—He never smiled on camera, earning him the nickname of "the Great Stone Face."

But Buster Keaton's comedies rocked Hollywood's silent era with laughter throughout the 1920s, and remain popular crowd-pleasers today.

See for yourself with a screening of 'Our Hospitality' (1923), one of Keaton's landmark features, on Wednesday, July 12 at 6 p.m. at the historic Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine.

(Please note the start time of 6 p.m. is earlier than in prior seasons.)

Admission is $12 per person. Live music will be provided by accompanist Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based performer who specializes in creating music for silent film presentations.

The show is the latest in the Leavitt Theatre's silent film series, which gives audiences the opportunity to experience early cinema as it was intended: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.

Buster Keaton and friend in 'Our Hospitality' (1923).

Set in the 1830s, 'Our Hospitality,' tells the tale of a young man (Keaton) raised in New York City but unknowingly at the center of a long-running backwoods family feud.

Highlights of the picture include Keaton's extended journey on a vintage train of the era, as well as a climatic river rescue scene.

The film stars Keaton's then-wife, Natalie Talmadge, as his on-screen love interest; their first child, newborn James Talmadge Keaton, makes a cameo appearance, playing Buster as an infant. Keaton's father also plays a role in the film.

'Our Hospitality' is part of the Leavitt Theatre's silent film series, which aims to show early movies as they were meant to be seen—in high quality prints, on a large screen, with live music, and with an audience.

"All those elements are important parts of the silent film experience," said Rapsis, who will improvise a musical score for 'Our Hospitality.'

"Recreate those conditions, and the classics of early Hollywood leap back to life," he said.

Keaton entered films in 1917 and was quickly fascinated with them. After apprenticing with popular comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Keaton went on to set up his own studio in 1920, making short comedies that established him as one of the era's leading talents.

A remarkable pantomime artist, Keaton naturally used his whole body to communicate emotions from sadness to surprise. And in an era with no special effects, Keaton's acrobatic talents enabled him to perform all his own stunts.

In 1923, Keaton made the leap into full-length films with 'Our Hospitality,' which proved popular enough for him to continue making features for the rest of the silent era.

Husband and wife Buster Keaton and Natalie Talmadge in 'Our Hospitality' (1923).

 

Although not all of Keaton's films were box office successes, critics later expressed astonishment at the sudden leap Keaton made from short comedies to the complex story and technical demands required for full-length features.

This season's Leavitt Theatre silent film schedule features movies all celebrating their 100th anniversaries. Upcoming shows include:

• Wednesday, July 26 at 6 p.m.: 'Zaza' (1923) starring Gloria Swanson. Romance set in France in which Swanson plays a hot-tempered provincial actress who gets entangled with a married diplomat.

• Wednesday, Aug. 16 at 6 p.m.: 'The Pilgrim' (1923) starring Charlie Chaplin. As a convict on the lam, Chaplin impersonates a man of the cloth, with unexpected results.

• Wednesday, Aug. 23 at 6 p.m.: 'A Woman of Paris' (1923). Chaplin's drama about a kept woman (Edna Purviance) who runs into her former fiancé and finds herself torn between love and comfort.

Accompanist Jeff Rapsis will create musical scores for each film live during its screening, in the manner of theater organists during silent cinema's peak years in the 1920s.

"For most silent films, there was never any sheet music and no official score," Rapsis said. "So creating original music on the spot to help the film's impact is all part of the experience."

"That's one of the special qualities of silent cinema," Rapsis said. "Although the films themselves are often over a century old, each screening is a unique experience — a combination of the movie, the music, and the audience reaction."

‘Our Hospitality’ will be shown with live music on Wednesday, July 12 at 6 p.m. at the historic Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine.

Admission is $12 per person. For more info, call (207) 646-3123 or visit www.leavittheatre.com.