Up next: 'Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at Derry (N.H.) Opera House

A scene from 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' (1920).

It's gonna be one crowded cabinet!

This morning I got word that more than 130 people have pre-registered for a screening of 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' (1920), which I'll accompany on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Derry (N.H.) Opera House.

Wow! Unless a lot of people ghost us (it IS the Halloween season, after all), that's a big turnout, which always adds to the excitement.

But there's still room for more. Check out the press release below, which has info about the film plus how to register for the screening. 

For now, I'm pleased to report that last night's screening of 'Phantom of the Opera' (1925) attracted more than 100 spooks to what the final silent film program for the 100th anniversary season of the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine.

If it seemed even more crowded than that, it's because for the Halloween season the Leavitt Theatre populates is main screening room with stuffed scarecrow-like goblins that occupy a fair number of seats.

Such as:

Here's an overview...

Great crowd full of people willing to shriek at the famous "unmasking" scene—and which continued to shriek at all of Chaney's big moments afterwards. This might have had something to do with the Leavitt now offering bar service, but who can say?

I'll do 'Phantom' again this afternoon at the Mattapoisett Free Library in Mattapoisett, Mass. (showtime is 5:30 p.m.) and then once more on Saturday, Nov. 1 at the recently reopened Crandell Theatre in Chatham, N.Y. 

They're both new venues for me and I look forward to spreading the silent film gospel to newcomers and diehard fans alike. 

Boris Karloff makes a friend, sort of, in 'Frankenstein' (1931), an early talkie with no musical score. 

In addition, on Thursday, Oct. 30 at the Jane Pickens Theatre in Newport, R.I., I'm doing a live score for 'Frankenstein' (1931) starring Boris Karloff.

Wait, isn't that a talking picture? It is, but like many early sound films, studios hadn't quite gotten into the habit of creating recorded soundtracks as we know them today.

The Bela Lugosi' Dracula' (1931) is the same way—very eerie and atmospheric visuals, but not a scrap of dramatic music. 

With 'Frankenstein,' I've found adding music in certain places can—well, help bring the film to life.

It's alive! It's alive! 

To see what a difference music makes with 'Frankenstein' (especially in the laboratory sequences), check out a screening of this vintage horror classic on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. at the Jane Pickens Theatre in Newport, R.I.

And for now, here's all the details on 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at the Derry (N.H.) Opera House. 

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A scene from 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' (1920).

MONDAY, OCT. 20, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Halloween special! 'Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at Derry Opera House

Screening of breakthrough silent thriller to feature live musical accompaniment

DERRY, N.H.—This halloween, a creepy silent film regarded as the forerunner of all horror movies is coming to haunt southern N.H.

'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' (1920) will be shown live music on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Derry Opera House, 29 West Broadway, Derry, N.H.

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

The event is organized by the Derry Public Library, the Taylor Library, and the Greater Derry Arts Council.

Admission is free; advance registration is requested. To register, visit the Derry Public Library's website at derrypl.org and click on the online 'Events' calendar.

Set in an insane asylum, 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,' is considered a landmark in early cinema. Nearly a century after its release, the film still has the capacity to creep out audiences.

"A case can be made that 'Caligari' was the first true horror film, critic Roger Ebert wrote in 2007.

Actor Conrad Veidt in the actual cabinet from 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' (1920).

'Caligari,' made in Germany after World War I and directed in expressionist style by Robert Wiene, stars Werner Krauss and Conrad Veidt.

The film employs stylized sets, with abstract, jagged buildings painted on canvas backdrops and flats.

To add to its strange visual design, the actors used an exaggerated technique that employed jerky and dancelike movements.

The movie is also cited as having introduced the surprise "twist" ending to cinema.

"Silents such as 'Dr. Caligari' are films that first caused people to fall in love with the movies," Rapsis said. "The aim is to present them as they were originally intended to be shown: in a theater, on a big screen, with live music, and with an audience. If you can put all those elements together, these films leap to life."

In scoring 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,' Rapsis plans to augment the traditional orchestral sound with the vocabulary of film music from later eras.

"Because I improvise the music, it's hard to know what will happen until the film actually starts running," Rapsis said.

'Caligari,' a forerunner of the 'film noir' genre, has influenced generations of movie-makers.

A sequel of sorts was released in the 1980s with the film 'Dr. Caligari,' which dealt with the granddaughter of the original Dr. Caligari and her illegal experiments on her patients in an asylum.

'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' (1920) will be shown with live music on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Derry Opera House, 29 West Broadway, Derry, N.H. 

Admission is free; advance registration is requested. To register, visit the Derry Public Library's website at derrypl.org and click on the online 'Events' calendar.

Taking a different approach to Halloween: this year, no plan or pattern whatsoever!

Let's see. Tomorrow it's Frankenstein. Friday it's Houdini. On Saturday, it's Satan. And Sunday, a Hunchback.

With an appointment calendar like that, Halloween can't be far off. And sure enough, the big day itself arrives Wednesday next week, when I have a date with the Phantom of the Opera.

It's the busiest time of the year for silent film accompaniment. The calendar is packed with screenings for boys and ghouls in search of an other-worldly experience.

Hence I'm keeping appointments with everyone from the Vampire Nosferatu to Mephistopheles, a.k.a. Satan.

This variety is a change for me. For previous Halloweens, I've generally picked one film to concentrate on accompanying, and then taken it around to all the various venues looking for a silent film spook fix.

Also, I tried to focus on films that aren't shown as often as the two biggies: Murnau's 'Nosferatu' (1922) and Lon Chaney's 'Phantom of the Opera' (1925).

So one year it was Alfred Hitchcock's early silent thriller 'The Lodger' (1927). Another year it was 'The Cat and the Canary' (1927), Paul Leni's Gothic haunted house picture. And another year it was Barrymore's 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' (1920).

By concentrating on one film for Halloween and taking it on tour, so to speak, I could really get to know the picture, and so burnish the improv-based accompaniment to a high gloss.

Well, not this year. This time around, it's a different title for nearly every screening. The only repeats: two Phantoms and two Hunchbacks. Otherwise, it's one-offs throughout the season.

Which I don't mind. It's a different kind of challenge to create music for a variety of films, one after another. And I've always felt that for me, the key to doing it well was doing it a lot.

That's what happened last week, which included a four-day stretch of shows in three different states. On Thursday in Massachusetts, it was 'Hunchback of Notre Dame,' followed by 'Wings' (a non-Halloween title!) on Friday up in Maine. Then on Saturday, it was the German thriller 'Der Golem' (1921) over in Vermont then on Sunday 'The Phantom of the Opera' down in Massachusetts again.

And I have to say, but by the time I sat down at the keyboard on Sunday night at the Aeronaut Brewing Co. in Somerville, Mass., I felt I was playing with a fluency and ease that simply wasn't present when I started the four-day run.

So doing it a lot, and mixing up the titles to challenge myself, really seems to work for me.

Does it work for you? Find out by attending one of the upcoming Halloween screenings on my calendar:

• Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018, 7 p.m.: "Frankenstein program" at the Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St., Arlington, Mass.; (781) 646-4849. A triple feature of Frankenstein films, including the early (and short) silent Thomas Edison version. Tickets $8 per person. For more info: www.regenttheatre.com.

• Friday, Oct. 26, 2018, 8 p.m. "Harry Houdini Celebration"; Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St., Arlington, Mass.; (781) 646-4849. Celebrate the birthday of Harry Houdini, legendary illusionist and escape artist, with an evening that combines live performance with a silent film starring Houdini himself as a James Bond-like action/adventure hero. Silent film with live music in a treasured neighborhood theater and performance space. Tickets $15 in advance, $20 at door. For more info: www.regenttheatre.com.

• Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018, 7 p.m.: "Faust" (1926) directed by F.W. Murnau, starring Emil Jannings; Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123; http://www.leavittheatre.com. Join us for another season of vintage cinema at the historic Leavitt Theatre. Emil Jannings stars in F.W. Murnau's terrifying version of the classic tale. A visual tour de force, full of creepy characters and frightening images. See great silent films with live music in a summer-only theater opened in 1923 and barely changed since. Admission $10 per person.

• Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018, 4:30 p.m.: "Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1923) starring Lon Chaney; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456; www.wiltontownhalltheatre.com. Just in time for Halloween! Lon Chaney stars in the original screen adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic novel about a deformed bellringer in medieval Paris. A moving and timeless drama filled with classic scenes and capped with a thrilling climax! Monthly series of silent films with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912! Admission free, donations of $5 per person encouraged.

• Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018, 7 p.m.: "The Phantom of the Opera" (1925) starring Lon Chaney; Colonial Theatre, 95 Main Street, Keene, N.H.; (603) 352-2033; www.thecolonial.org. Celebrate Halloween with one of the all-time classics. Long before Andrew Lloyd Webber created the hit stage musical, this silent film adaptation starring Lon Chaney helped place 'Phantom' firmly in the pantheon of both horror and romance. Silent film with live music in a theater that originally opened as a silent movie house in 1924. Tickets: $6.50 per person, general admission.