Alert! This weekend's screening of 'The Strong Man' (1926) at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. has been changed to Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m.
Let's get fancy and paste in some JavaScript to create blinking text, like it's 1999 all over again.
'THE STRONG MAN' RESCHEDULED TO SATURDAY, FEB. 8!
Originally scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 9, the screening had to be moved a day earlier. So if you'd like to see what's widely regarded as Harry Langdon's best feature film, come on Saturday, Feb. 8.
More details about the film and the show are in the press release pasted in below.
Before that, however, I need to thank Boston Globe film critic Odie Henderson for a terrific preview of last Sunday's screening of 'The Flying Ace' at the Somerville Theatre, and also for a follow-up essay published this past Wednesday.
It's rare these days for what's left of local media to devote resources to covering cinema. And it's rarer still for anyone to pay attention to vintage film.
But Odie, who's been the Globe's film writer and critic for a few years now, took an interest in 'The Flying Ace,' writing about the film both before and after the screening.
Check out his preview, which ran on the front of the Globe's Weekend section:
The results of this kind of attention can be gratifying. Nearly 200 people turned out for the matinee screening, which took place on Sunday, Feb. 2 in the Somerville's main theatre.
In introducing 'The Flying Ace,' I asked how many people had seen Odie's piece in the Globe? Nearly every hand shot up! (A lot of people also had seen coverage on the website of WBUR, a Boston-area NPR station.)
Odie attended the screening, and wrote a follow-up about the experience that included some kind words about my accompaniment:
"As Rapsis played the final notes of his outstanding, boisterous, and improvised accompaniment, I realized just how well his score complemented the film."
Thanks, Odie! Your work helped this film and our screening reach a lot more people that it otherwise might have.
* * *
MONDAY, JAN. 27, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com
Frank Capra's very first movie highlights Town Hall Theatre silent film program on Saturday, Feb. 8
Screening
features Harry Langdon's classic comedy 'The Strong Man' shown with
live music; fun family activity suitable for all ages
WILTON, N.H. — Silent film with live music returns to the Town Hall Theatre in February with the showing of an
uproarious comedy starring Harry Langdon.
Directing
'The Strong Man' was young first-timer Frank Capra, who would later go
on to create such Hollywood classics as 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'
(1939) and 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1946).
'The Strong Man'
tells the story of a World War I soldier (Langdon) who, following his
discharge, finds work as assistant to a circus strong man. As the act
travels the country, Langdon continually searches for a girl he
corresponded with while stationed overseas in the military.
The
search leads to a town controlled by Prohibition-era gangsters, which
forces Harry to test the limits of his own inner strength even as he
looks for his dream girl. Can Harry triumph over the bad guys? And is
love more powerful than brute strength?
The feature-length film
showcases the unique child-like personality of Langdon, who is largely
forgotten today. For a brief time in the 1920s, however, he rivaled
Charlie Chaplin as Hollywood's top movie clown.
Langdon's
popularity, which grew quickly in the last years of the silent era,
fizzled as the movie business abruptly switched to talkies starting in
1929.
'The Strong Man' was selected in 2007 for preservation in
the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being
"culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
In
recent years, 'The Strong Man' has been recognized as a major
achievement of the silent film era—a satisfying and timeless balance of
emotion and comedy.
"A little tragedy and a lot of laughs can be
seen in 1926's The Strong Man," wrote critic Richard von Busack in 2007.
"Director Frank Capra's energy and sturdy plot sense counterpoint
Langdon's wonderful strangeness."
'The Strong Man' will be accompanied by live music by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist who performs at venues across the region and beyond.
"These films were created to be shown on the big screen as a communal experience," Rapsis said. "With an audience and live music, they still come to life in the way their makers intended them to.
"The silent film screenings at the Town Hall Theatre are a great chance for people to experience films that first caused people to first fall in love with the movies," he said.
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