Up next: it's Harold Lloyd's 'Girl Shy' (1924), which I'm accompanying on Saturday, May 16 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine.
More info on the film and this screening, which opens the 2026 silent film series at the historic venue, in the press release pasted in below.
But first, a report on an unusual screening yesterday: D.W. Griffith's rarely shown Revolutionary War epic 'America' (1924), which I did music for at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H.
The screening was part of a week-long celebration of the nation's upcoming 250th birthday, organized just a bit early so Wilton wouldn't have to compete with other towns as we get closer to the 4th of July.
I had never done 'America' before, and really wasn't aware of the film until longtime Town Hall Theatre proprietor Dennis Markevarich asked if it would work as part of the town's event schedule that weekend.
How would I know? Only one way to find out...
And what happened followed a pattern. With every D.W. Griffith film I've ever done, the same thing happens. Previewing it by myself, I always come away thinking "How is an audience going to buy this?"
Hoaky plots. Cardboard characters. Obvious plots. Cornpone humor. Moralizing intertitles. Stodgy film technique. And with 'America,' we don't even get stalwart Griffith leading lady Lillian Gish, but instead Carol Dempster, who is many things, but is not Lillian Gish.
It would all add up, I thought, to a long and unsatisfying afternoon at the movies.
But then, when you DO put a Griffith epic in front of audience, as the film was intended to be shown, it somehow comes to life. Audiences respond, just as they did in Griffith's heyday. The technique, though primitive, still works.
And that's what happened with 'America' on Sunday in Wilton, N.H. About 60 people became quickly engrossed in the movie, and stayed "in the zone" for the full 2½ hours. They laughed at the comic relief. They cheered when villain Lionel Barrymore finally met his end. It worked!
It was the shared experience of silent film at its best—afterwards, attendees came up to say they thoroughly enjoyed it. And so did I! Overall, it made for a very satisfying afternoon at the movies. So bravo, Mr. Griffith.
In fact, it was so successful, it made me curious about another lesser-known Griffith film starring Neil Hamilton and Carol Dempster: 'Isn't Life Wonderful' (1924). I now plan to program it next year to see if it holds up as well when presented as intended: on a big screen, in a theater, with live music, and with an audience.
Speaking of the big screen: that's where you can see Harold Lloyd's comedy 'Girl Shy' (1924) on opening night of this year's silent film series at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine.
More info and details below. See you Saturday by the seaside!
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For more info, contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com
Leavitt Theatre to screen Harold Lloyd comedy 'Girl Shy' with live music on Saturday, May 16
Classic comedies, action-packed dramas highlight 2026 Silent Film Series schedule for historic Ogunquit venue's 101st anniversary season
OGUNQUIT, Maine—Classics of the silent film era return to the big screen this summer at Ogunquit's Leavitt Theatre, which is planning another season of vintage cinema with live music in the historic venue.
The series gives area film fans a chance to see movies from the pioneering days of cinema as they were intended to be shown—on the big screen, with an audience, and accompanied by live music.
Trouble begins when bashful Harold falls in love for real, and then must rescue his beloved from marrying the wrong man in the big city.
Harold's dilemma prompts a climactic race to the altar that stands as one of the great chases in all of cinema. The sequence was so successful that MGM used it as a model for the famous chariot race in the original silent film version of 'Ben Hur' (1925).
The film is bursting with visual comedy typical of the silent era, but the romantic storyline was strong enough to act as a counterweight, creating a new hybrid genre now known as the romantic comedy, or "rom-com."
The Leavitt, a summer-only moviehouse, opened in 1925 at the height of the silent film era, and has been showing movies to summertime visitors ever since.
"These movies were intended to be shown in this kind of environment, and with live music and with an audience," said Max Clayton, the Leavitt's manager. "Put it all together, it's great entertainment that still has a lot of power to move people."
Following 'Girl Shy' (1924) on Saturday, May 16, other programs in this year's Leavitt silent film series include:
• Friday, June 19, 2026, 6:30 p.m.: "Three Ages" (1923) starring Buster Keaton. Keaton's first feature-length comedy interweaves tales of romance from three epochs: the Stone Age, the Roman Empire, and "Modern Times," meaning 1920s California. See why Buster is regarded as one of the great clowns of the silent era.
• Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, 7 p.m.: "Beau Geste" (1926) starring Ronald Colman. Michael "Beau" Geste leaves England in disgrace and joins the infamous French Foreign Legion. He is reunited with his two brothers in North Africa, where they face greater danger from their own sadistic commander than from the rebellious Arabs.
• Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, 7 p.m.: "The Cat and the Canary" (1927); Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123. 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!
For more information, visit www.leavittheatre.com.
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