This month marks the 100th anniversary of the untimely death of silent screen icon Rudolph Valentino, who passed away on Aug. 23, 1926 at age 31.
This past Sunday, I accompanied the first of several screenings this month of 'The Son of the Sheik' (1926), Valentino's last film. I'm actually be doing it twice this weekend: on Saturday night in Brandon, Vt., and then on Sunday afternoon in Somerville, Mass.
(See the "Upcoming Silent Film Screenings" page for more details.)
But before that, it's up to Plymouth, N.H. to accompany Buster Keaton's great comedy 'Steamboat Bill, Jr.' (1928), which is being screened on Thursday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center.
Yes, this is the one where the side of a two-story house falls onto Buster, but he survive unhurt thanks to a strategically placed upper window.
More details about the screening and the film are in a press release below. See you at the movies!
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2026 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com
Buster Keaton's 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' to screen on Thursday, Aug. 13 at Flying Monkey
Public welcome! Family-friendly classic silent film comedy to be shown with live music at historic venue in downtown Plymouth, N.H.
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 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928), one of Keaton's landmark movies, on Thursday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 S. Main St., Plymouth, N.H.
The screening, the latest in the Flying Monkey's silent film series, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent films.
General admission is $15 per person. Tickets may be purchased online at www.flyingmonkeynh.com or at the door.
The show is intended to give area movie-goers the opportunity to experience early cinema as it was intended: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.
In 'Steamboat Bill Jr.,' Buster plays the bumbling son of a gruff riverboat captain. When a rival brings a newer boat to the river, the family is forced to face competition, just as Buster is forced to ride out a cyclone threatening to destroy the community.
Can Buster save the day and win the hand of his girlfriend, who happens to be the daughter of his father's business rival?
The film includes the famous shot of an entire building front collapsing on Keaton, who is miraculously spared by a conveniently placed second-story window.
Keaton, who grew up performing with the family vaudeville act, was known for never smiling on camera, an important element of his comic identity. A trained acrobat who learned at an early age how to take falls, Keaton did all his own stunts on camera in the era before post-production special effects.
Critics continue to hail Keaton’s timeless comedy as well as his intuitive filmmaking genius. In 2002, Roger Ebert wrote of Keaton that “in an extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, he worked without interruption on a series of films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies.”
Keaton, who never attended school, did not think of himself as an artist but as an entertainer using the new medium of motion pictures to tell stories and create laughter.
The screening of 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent film presentations.
Rapsis will create the accompaniment on the spot, improvising music as the movie unfolds to enhance the action on the screen as well respond to audience reactions. He will perform the music on a digital synthesizer capable of producing a wide range of theatre organ and orchestral textures.
"Live music was an integral part of the silent film experience," Rapsis said. "Because most films at the time weren't released with sheet music or scores, studios depended on local musicians to come up with an effective score that was different in every theater. At its best, this approach created an energy and a connection that added a great deal to a film's impact. That's what I try to recreate," Rapsis said.
Buster Keaton's classic comedy 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928) will be screened with live music on Thursday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 S. Main St., Plymouth, N.H.
General admission is $15 per person. Tickets may be purchased online at www.flyingmonkeynh.com or at the door. For more info, contact the Flying Monkey box office at (603) 536-2551.
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