Starting summer with three silent comedies: one Buster, one Harold, and one Marion Davies

Original promotional art for 'The Cameraman' (1928).

The official start of summer will arrive next week. Before we reach that seasonal milestone, I'll accompany three silent comedies at venues in three states. 

On Friday, June 14 (hey, that's tonight!) at 6 p.m., it's Buster Keaton's 'The Cameraman' (1928) at the Jane Pickens Theatre in Newport, R.I.

Then on Sunday, June 16 at 2 p.m., it's Harold Lloyd's 'The Kid Brother' (1927) at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H.

And then on Wednesday, June 19 at 7 p.m., it's Marion Davies and William Haines in 'Show People,' director King Vidor's sparkling comedy about the film business, which is at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine.

Collect all three! 

For now, I'll post the press release for 'The Kid Brother' below so you can decide if Father's Day is a good time to screen this film.

Happy Father's Day weekend to all, and see you at the movies!

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Harold Lloyd stars in 'The Kid Brother' (1927).

MONDAY, JUNE 3, 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Town Hall Theatre to screen 'The Kid Brother' on Sunday, June 16

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

WILTON, N.H.—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, June 16 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10 per person suggested to defray expenses.

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.

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 tale that critics and film historians say show him at the height of his powers as a filmmaker and comedian.

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

"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.

"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, June 16 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10 per person suggested to defray expenses. For more information, call the theater at (603) 654-3456.

Up next: 'Our Hospitality' (1923) on Wednesday, June 12 at Flying Monkey, Plymouth, N.H.

A lobby card for Buster Keaton's 'Our Hospitality' (1923).

Just back from a visit to Brandon, Vt. to accompany 'The Thief of Bagdad' (1924), and boy are my arms tired.

I know that sounds like a joke, but it isn't. I'm suffering from a pinched nerve, I think, which is causing issues with my right arm—specifically, the tendons in my right forearm and around the elbow .

It actually hurts to type this, and it hurt to accompany 'Thief,' which is 2½ hours long. I can try to take Advil to manage the pain, but let's just say I drove home with one hand last night.

The good news is that to address this, I need to visit my favorite healthcare professional: Dr. Bard, a chiropractor in Peterborough, N.H.

For personal health issues, I know it's up to me to take care of myself. When I have problems, I don't expect miracles. But that's what Dr. Bard delivers. 

He'll have me lay face down on his special adjustable chiropractic table, manipulate a few vertebrae, and then POW! 

Well, before that happens, I'll be accompanying another film: Buster Keaton's 'Our Hospitality' (1923), which is playing on Wednesday, June 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center in Plymouth, N.H.

If you're in the area, come see it. And bring some Advil in case I run short.

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

MONDAY, JUNE 3, 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Buster Keaton stars in 'Our Hospitality' on Wednesday, June 12 at Flying Monkey

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

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, and remain popular crowd-pleasers today.

See for yourself with a screening of 'Our Hospitality' (1923), one of Keaton's landmark features, on Wednesday, JUne 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 Main St., Plymouth, N.H.

General admission is $10 per person.

The screening will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent films.

Original promotional ad for '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.

Resolving to return and claim his family homestead, he sets in motion a perilous cat-and-mouse game in which every move could be his last.

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 Flying Monkey's silent film series, which aims to show early movies as they were meant to be seen—in restored 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.

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

Keaton entered films in 1917 and was quickly fascinated with the then-new medium. After apprenticing with popular comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Keaton 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 entire body to communicate emotions from sadness to surprise. And in an era without 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.

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.

Accompanist Jeff Rapsis will create a musical score for the 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, June 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 Main St., Plymouth, N.H. General admission is $10 per person. For more info, visit www.flyingmonkeynh.com or call (603) 536-2551.