Welcome to 2026 and another year of bringing silent films to life with live music.
Right now I'm in London, but not for silent film purposes. The wife and I are on our quasi-annual mid-winter "pig out on theater" trip across the pond. Seven shows in four days.
But you can't get away from silent film that easily, as I discovered when we stopped for a quick dinner last night at "The Bear" a pub on Charing Cross Road.
Turns out the upstairs dining room was named in honor of native Londoner Charlies Chaplin, who it seems was a frequent patron there when performing at a nearby theater before he started his motion picture career.
In honor of that, the proprietors have installed a small display with the requisite bowler hat, cane, and other Chaplin mementos.
Sorry to report that most patrons seemed unconcerned with the Chaplin connection. It was apparent that no one had noticed it until I went over to get a photograph. Once attention was brought to the display, the only interest seemed to be in a vintage martini recipe that was part of it.
I guess being Charlie Chaplin ain't what it used to be.
But no matter! There's a full calendar of silent film screenings ahead in 2026, and I hope you'll take time to experience this storytelling art form the way it was intended: in a theater with a lot of people, and with live music.
Upcoming highlights include traveling to Cleveland for screenings this month; heading out to the Kansas Silent Film Festival to accompany films in Topeka next month; and a quick trip to Florida for a screening in March.
Closer to home, I'll do music for the world "re-premiere" of two silent film versions of 'The Old Homestead,' an enormously popular play that toured everywhere in the decades around 1900.
'The Old Homestead' was by Denman Thompson, a native of Swanzey, N.H. who put many of his memories of the town into the play. Two silent versions, one in 1915 and another in 1922, were made, but neither has been available for more than a century.
That is, until Larry Benaquist, a retired film professor at Keene State College in Keene, N.H., was able to track down nearly complete copies of both in European archives.
Both will be screened for the first time since their original release on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Colonial Theatre in Keene, N.H. Stay tuned for more details! But it's a real honor to be entrusted with the scoring of these two long-unseen films.
Looking further ahead: the year brings a plethora of 100th anniversaries of silent films that I'll try to program, and August marks the 100th anniversary of the untimely death of silent screen icon Rudolph Valentino. (And Halloween is the 100th anniversary of Harry Houdini's unexpected death, too!)
Other screenings include shows at big Boston theaters such as the Somerville or the Coolidge, plus a parade of local theaters, libraries, and community centers around New England. Check the listings (using the 'Upcoming Silent Film Screenings' link at upper right) to see what fits your schedule, and see you at the movies in 2026!
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