Leavitt Theatre opens silent film season with 'Girl Shy' (1924) on Saturday, May 16; D.W. Griffith's 'America' provides a surprisingly satisfying afternoon at the movies

Silent film comedian Harold Lloyd showing his aggressive side in 'Girl Shy' (1924).

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...

A poster promoting D.W. Griffith's epic 'America' (1924).

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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 Harold Lloyd and co-star Jobyna Ralston in 'Girl Shy' (1924).

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2026 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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.

The Leavitt, located at 259 Main St. Route 1 in Ogunquit, is celebrating its 101sst anniversary, having served the community continuously since 1925.

The silent film season starts on Saturday, May 16 at 7 p.m. with 'Girl Shy' (1924), a classic silent comedy starring Harold Lloyd. Admission is $18 per person.

Live music will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based musician and composer who specializes in accompanying silent film screenings.

'Girl Shy' (1924) stars Harold Lloyd as a timid young man from a small town who pens a book about imaginary female conquests.

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.

More recently, the Leavitt has added restaurant and bar service, and has expanded its entertainment schedule to include live music and special events.

The silent film series honors the theater's long service as a moviehouse that has entertained generations of residents and visitors to the seaside resort community, in good times and in bad.

"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!

Harold Lloyd's classic silent comedy 'Girl Shy' (1924) will lead off this season's silent film series on Saturday, May 16 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Fine Arts Theatre, 259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123; admission is $18 per person, general seating.

For more information, visit www.leavittheatre.com.

 

Next up: 'Phantom of the Opera' on Monday, Oct. 27 at Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine

A poster for the original silent film version of 'Phantom of the Opera' (1925), which I'm accompanying six times this Halloween season!

It's a show 100 years in the making—in a vintage theater celebrating its 100th season!

It's the silent thriller 'The Phantom of the Opera' (1925), which I'll accompany on Monday, Oct. 27 at the Leavitt Theatre in downtown Ogunquit, Maine. 

It's the last hurrah for this season's schedule of silent films with live music at the Leavitt, which has been celebrating its 100th season in part by screening films released in 1925.

That includes 'Phantom,' with the timing just right for a spooky Halloween experience. Lots more about the movie and the screening are in the press release, which is pasted in below.

I can report a responsive crowd turned out for last night's screening of 'The Man Who Laughs' (1928), which I accompanied at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center in Plymouth, N.H. 

The event was augmented by something new at the Monkey: a promotional chalkboard set out on the sidewalk. Nice!

And here's me doing my best Conrad Veidt impersonation underneath the marquee before the show.

 How did I do?

I know, I need to work on the hair. And the wardrobe. And the eyes and face. And the posture. I think other than those minor details, it's dead on!

While I work on my impressions, you can work on making your way to the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine, where they're screening 'The Phantom of the Opera' (1925) on Monday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. with music by me. More details in the press release below. 

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Lon Chaney menaces Mary Philbin in 'The Phantom of the Opera' (1925).

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

'Phantom of the Opera' starring Lon Chaney at Leavitt Theatre on Monday, Oct. 27

Just in time for Halloween Pioneer classic silent thriller to be shown with live musical accompaniment—see it if you dare!

OGUNQUIT, Maine—It was a film considered so frightening when first released that theaters were advised to have doctors standing by in case moviegoers fainted.

It was the original big screen adaptation of 'The Phantom of the Opera' (1925), starring iconic actor Lon Chaney in the title role.

This classic Universal thriller will be shown on Monday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1, Ogunquit.

General admission tickets are $20 per person.

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

The film is suitable for all ages, although young children may find some scenes intense and frightening.

The show will enable audience members to experience the original silent 'Phantom' the way it was intended to be seen: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.  

'The Phantom of the Opera,' starring legendary actor Lon Chaney in the title role, remains a landmark work of the cinematic horror genre. To modern viewers, the passage of time has made this unusual film seem even more strange and otherworldly.

It's an atmosphere that silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis will enhance by improvising live music on the spot for the screening.

"The original 'Phantom' is a film that seems to get creepier as more time passes," said Rapsis, who accompanies films at venues around the nation. "It's a great way to experience the power of silent film to transport audiences to strange and unusual places."

'The Phantom of the Opera,' adapted from a 19th century novel by French author Gaston Leroux, featured Chaney as the deformed Phantom who haunts the opera house. The Phantom, seen only in the shadows, causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to force the opera's management to make the woman he loves into a star.

The film is most famous for Lon Chaney's intentionally horrific, self-applied make-up, which was kept a studio secret until the film's premiere.

Chaney transformed his face by painting his eye sockets black, creating a cadaverous skull-like visage. He also pulled the tip of his nose up and pinned it in place with wire, enlarged his nostrils with black paint, and put a set of jagged false teeth into his mouth to complete the ghastly deformed look of the Phantom.

Chaney's disfigured face is kept covered in the film until the now-famous unmasking scene, which prompted gasps of terror from the film's original audiences.

"No one had ever seen anything like this before," Rapsis said. "Chaney, with his portrayal of 'The Phantom,' really pushed the boundaries of what movies could do."

Chaney, known as the "Man of a Thousand Faces" due to his versatility with make-up, also played Quasimodo in the silent 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' (1923) and circus performer 'Alonzo the Armless' in Tod Browning's 'The Unknown' (1927).

The large cast of 'Phantom of the Opera' includes Mary Philbin as Christine Daaé, as the Phantom's love interest; character actor Snitz Edwards; and many other stars of the silent period.

'The Phantom of the Opera' proved so popular in its original release and again in a 1930 reissue that it led Universal Studios to launch a series of horror films, many of which are also regarded as true classics of the genre, including 'Dracula' (1931), 'Frankenstein' (1931), and 'The Mummy' (1932).

The silent film version of 'Phantom' also paved the way for numerous other adaptations of the story, up to and including the wildly successful Andrew Lloyd Webber musical from 1986 that continues to run in productions around the world.

"Even with all the different versions of this story, Chaney's performance in the lead role stands the test of time," Rapsis said. "And remember—in silent film, no one can hear you scream!"

‘The Phantom of the Opera’ (1925) will be shown with live music on Monday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123; admission is $20 per person, general seating. For more information, visit www.leavittheatre.com. 

Next up: 'Risky Business' (1925) on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine

Outside Brandon Town Hall on Saturday, Sept. 12 prior to accompanying 'Spies' (1928).

This week, I accompany 'Risky Business' (1925) in Ogunquit, Maine, Buster Keaton's 'Seven Chances' (1925) in Plymouth, N.H., and then—a new one for me—Abel Gance's 'J'Accuse!' (1919) in Wilton, N.H.

The press release for 'Risky Business' is below. It's a nifty comedy that holds up well, I think. So if you're anywhere close to Ogunquit, Maine, I hope you'll join us at the Leavitt Theatre, which continues to celebrate its 100th season.

This past weekend's adventures included accompanying 'Spies' (1928), Fritz Lang's sprawling espionage epic, on Friday night in Brandon, Vt. 

It's the 14th season we've been screening silent films with live music in the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, and the audiences keep on coming!

It's the longevity of the series that prompted me to program 'Spies' this year. I told Friday night's audience that 'Spies' wouldn't work if we hadn't been "training" ourselves for the past 14 years, which got a nice laugh.

The film lends itself to some big musical gestures. Although all went well, it's become increasingly clear that my trusty Roland speakers are no longer up to the task. After dragging them all over creation for nearly 20 years, they've just about had it.  

They can no longer carry bass notes without fluttering, and notes in the treble range don't sound as smooth as they used to. 

So time to get new speakers! Hope to have them in hand prior to hauling out to Pittsburgh next month, when I'll accompany 'The Big Parade' (1925) as part of the Pittsburgh Silent Film Festival.

Speakers weren't a problem this past Saturday at the Harvard Film Archive, where I played the house grand piano for Yasujiro Ozu's 'I Was Born, But...' (1932).

Some of the young cast members in 'I Was Born, But...' (1932).

The piano (I forget the make) had just been tuned that week, and was a dream to play! I hadn't been asked to do music for any HFA programs in quite some time, so it was great to be back.

The screening made use of the archive's own 35mm print, which led to the screening's only mishap.

At the very end of the movie, with maybe less than a minute of footage left, the screen just went dark. 

Just black. No warning, no nothing.

I knew we were very close to the end, and I was already winding up the music so it would come to a stop in a very light and elegant way.

So when the screen went blank, I assumed the print was missing the last few feet, which sometimes happens. I kept the music going for just a bit, but then artfully climbed to the keyboard's upper registers, bringing the score to a halt.

This was followed by a generous ovation from those in attendance. I found myself waiting for house lights to come up so I could acknowledge it.

But the lights stayed off, and the applause was starting to die down—and then the film started up again!

So we got the final minute, and once again I climbed the keyboard to attempt an elegant finish, Take 2.\

Later I was told the print was riddled with splices, but that it had held until the last possible minute, when it jumped the sprockets.

There was another strange mishap right at the start, when something happened that I'd never experienced before.

The HFA's house piano light was attached over the keyboard. Just 15 seconds into the film, the spring-loaded clip let go, causing the lamp to be catapulted into the darkness somewhere off to my right.

Fortunately, I had my junky old brass piano light was standing by on the other side of the keyboard. 

So I just reached over and switched that on,  and away we went.

Shortly after, an audience member brought the errant light back to the keyboard. I was still working, so now it became the back-up.

Final note: I often open up piano benches because you never know what you'll find. At the HFA, the bench was clearly weighed down by something with substantial heft to it.

Inside I found...two copies of the 2007 Greater Boston Yellow Pages, each as big as 

So if you're ever attending a Harvard Film Archive screening and need to look up a good plumber, I know just what you should do.

Okay, onward to 'Risky Business' (1925) at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine. Press release below. Hope to see you there!

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An original lobby card promoting 'Risky Business' (1925).

TUESDAY, AUG. 26, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

'Risky Business' to screen in Ogunquit—but NOT the version starring Tom Cruise

Leavitt Theatre celebrates 100th season by screening vintage 1925 silent comedy 'Risky Business' with live music on Wednesday, Sept. 17

OGUNQUIT, Maine—It's not the 1980s version with Tom Cruise, but a 1925 comedy/drama about a rich socialite in love with a poor country doctor.

It's 'Risky Business,' starring 1920s starlets Vera Reynolds and Zasu Pitts, to be screened on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1 in Ogunquit, Maine.

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

Tickets are $15 general admission and available at the door.

The Leavitt is celebrating its 100th anniversary, having served the community continuously since 1925. To honor this long record, the venue has programmed a season of vintage silent movie classics from 1925 with live music.

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.

"Put the whole experience back together, and you can see why people first fell in love with the movies," Rapsis said.

In 'Risky Business,' widowed Mrs. Stoughton wants a good match for her only daughter, Cecily, for whom she's chosen the rich and debonair Richard Coults-Browne. 

Cecily, however, only has eyes for the handsome and compassionate country doctor Ted Pyncheon. 

When Cecily announces her engagement to the doctor, her mother still believes she knows best—and decides a taste of country life is just the medicine to bring her little girl back around to her way of thinking.

Vera Reynolds started in movies as a Bathing Beauty for Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios, and starred in a number of short films before appearing in features such as 'Prodigal Daughters' (1923), directed by Sam Wood, and Cecil B. DeMille's 'Feet of Clay' (1924).

Zasu Pitts began her career on the stage; she was a notable comic actress in movies during the silent and talkie eras, and best known for her roles in 'Better Times' (1919) and for an unusual dramatic role in Erich Von Stroheim's epic 'Greed' (1924). She continued to appear in films into the 1960s, with a bit part in 'It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.' (1963).

Alan Hale was both a director and a prolific character actor who worked in silents and early talkies. His notable roles include Little John in 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1938) and Danger in 'It Happened One Night' (1934). His son, actor Alan Hale Jr., played the Skipper in the 1960s television sitcom 'Gilligan's Island.'

'Risky Business' was released by Cecil B. DeMille's Producers Distributing Corporation.

Following 'Risky Business' on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m., other programs in this year's Leavitt silent film series include:

• Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Phantom of the Opera" (1925). 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. See it if you dare!

See the original silent comedy/drama 'Risky Business' (1925), to be shown with live music by Jeff Rapsis on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123; admission is $15 per person, general seating. For more information, visit www.leavittheatre.com. 

 

 

Up next! Scoring original dinosaur flick 'The Lost World' on Wednesday, 7/16 at Leavitt Theatre

An original release poster for 'The Lost World' (1925).

Even pre-history had to start somewhere!

And with the movies, 'The Lost World' (1925) generally gets the credit as the first-ever dinosaur movie. 

Based on the Arthur Conan Doyle story, the film pioneered stop-motion animation techniques that allowed long-extinct creatures to be brought to life on the big screen.

It'll be my privilege to create live music for a screening of this classic adventure thriller on Wednesday, July 16 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Theatre in downtown Ogunquit, Maine.

Lots more info in the press release below. Hope to see you at the Leavitt for this amazing picture, which really must be seen on the big screen, as dinosaurs are not small creatures.

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'The Lost World' combined stop motion animation with live action footage.

MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Dinosaurs! Silent film classic 'The Lost World' at Leavitt Theatre on Wednesday, July 16

Ground-breaking thriller, first to bring prehistoric creatures to the big screen, to be shown with live music; based on Arthur Conan Doyle story

OGUNQUIT, Maine—Before there was 'Jurassic Park' or 'Godzilla' or even 'King Kong,' there was 'The Lost World.'

The movie, a blockbuster hit when released in 1925, paved the way for Hollywood's enduring fascination with stories pitting mankind against dinosaurs and other larger-than-life creatures.

See for yourself when a restored version of 'The Lost World' is screened on Wednesday, July 16 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1 in Ogunquit, Maine.

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

Tickets are $15 general admission and available at the door.

The Leavitt is celebrating its 100th anniversary, having served the community continuously since 1925. To honor this long record, the venue has planned a season of vintage silent movie classics from 1925 with live music.

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.

 

A two-page trade journal ad for 'The Lost World' (1925). Click on the image to enlarge.

 

'The Lost World' is a silent fantasy adventure film based on Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel of the same name. The movie was produced by First National Pictures, a precursor to Warner Brothers, and stars Wallace Beery in the lead role as Professor Challenger.

'The Lost World' tells the tale of a British exploration team that journeys to South America to confirm reports of long-extinct creatures still roaming a remote high plateau deep in the jungle.

The landscape they discover, filled with a wide range of dinosaurs and other fantastic creatures, was enough to astonish movie-goers when 'The Lost World' first hit movie screens in February 1925. Scenes of a brontosaurus on the loose in central London broke new ground in terms of cinema's visual story-telling possibilities.

Early viewers of the film were especially impressed by special effects breakthroughs that allowed live actors to appear simultaneously on-screen with stop motion models of prehistoric creatures. This led to rumors that the filmmakers had actually discovered living prehistoric creatures.

Terrorizing downtown London—and predating Godzilla in Tokyo by three decades.

The film featured pioneering stop motion special effects by Willis O'Brien, who would go on to create the effects used to bring 'King Kong' to the screen in 1933.

Arthur Conan Doyle's novel and the movie version of 'The Lost World' proved so influential in the dinosaur genre that the title was borrowed by author Michael Crichton for his 1995 novel, and then used by director Steven Spielberg for 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' (1997), the sequel to the original 'Jurassic Park' movie of 1993.

In 1998, the original 'The Lost World' (1925) was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Despite the film's popularity, only incomplete copies of 'The Lost World' survived from its initial run in the silent era. In recent years, historians have been piecing together 'The Lost World' from fragments found scattered among the world's film archives.

The version to be shown at the Leavitt includes footage from eight different prints. At 93 minutes in length, it's the most complete version of 'The Lost World' available. The edition includes rare footage of Arthur Conan Doyle that has been missing from most prints since the film's original release.

To accompany the film, Rapsis will use a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of a full orchestra. For each film, the score is created live in real time as the movie is screened.

Rather than focus on authentic music of the period, Rapsis creates new music for silent films that draws from movie scoring techniques that today's audiences expect from the cinema.

Following 'The Lost World' (1925) on Wednesday, July 16 at 7 p.m., other programs in this year's Leavitt silent film series include:

• Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, 7 p.m.: "The Freshman" (1925) starring Harold Lloyd. Welcome football season with Harold Lloyd's blockbuster silent-era hit about a college boy who dreams of success on the gridiron. One of Lloyd's all-time best!

• Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Risky Business" (1925) starring Vera Ralston, Zazu Pitts. No, not the 1986 film starring Tom Cruise. In this silent-era 'Risky Business,' Zasu Pitts stars with Vera Reynolds in a tale of a society girl's love for a country doctor in a film that is by turns harrowing, hilarious, and heart-warming.

• Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Phantom of the Opera" (1925). 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. See it if you dare!

The restored 'The Lost World' will be shown with live music on Wednesday, July 16 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123; admission is $15 per person, general seating.

For more information, visit www.leavittheatre.com.

Up next: 'Don Q' at Coolidge on June 17, 'Unholy Three' at Leavitt on June 18

Outside the Somerville Theatre prior to a screening of 'Forgotten Faces' (1928).

Hi everyone! It's been a busy time in my other life as executive director of the Aviation Museum of N.H., so there hasn't been a lot of posting about silent film screenings.

I'm still out there. Recent screenings I've accompanied include Harold Lloyd's 'Speedy' (1928) at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse in Plymouth, N.H.; 'Forgotten Faces' (1928) at the Somerville Theatre in Somerville, Mass.; 'Underworld' (1927) at Brandon (Vt.) Town Hall; 'The Shakedown' (1929) at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H.; and Buster Keaton's 'Go West' (1925) at both the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine and the  

I just haven't had time to write about all this. 

Apologies and hope to get back to a more regular cadence later in the summer when I hope the schedule clears up. 

For now, it's all I can do to just mention my next two upcoming screenings: 'Don Q, Son of Zorro' (1925) on Tuesday, June 17 at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, Mass., and 'The Unholy Three' (1925) on Wednesday, June 18 at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine. 

A press release for 'The Unholy Three' is pasted in below.  See you at the movies!

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Lon Chaney stars in 'The Unholy Three' (1925).

 

THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more info, contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Lon Chaney stars as criminal ventriloquist in bizarre silent film thriller at Leavitt Theatre

Historic Ogunquit venue continues 100th anniversary season with screening of 'The Unholy Three', crime melodrama with live music

OGUNQUIT, Maine—Who else but Lon Chaney would star as a ventriloquist-turned-scam-artist in a silent crime thriller?

That's the premise of 'The Unholy Three' (1925), a bizarre MGM film to be shown with live music on Wednesday, June 18 at 7 p.m. at the historic Leavitt Theatre.

Tickets are $15 general admission and available at the door.

The Leavitt, located at 259 Main St. Route 1 in Ogunquit, is celebrating its 100th anniversary, having served the community continuously since 1925.

To honor this long record, the Leavitt Theatre has planned a season of vintage silent movie classics from 1925 with live music.

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.

 

The three conspirators in 'The Unholy Three' (1925).
 

'The Unholy Three' is a 1925 American silent crime melodrama involving a trio of circus conmen, directed by Tod Browning and starring iconic actor Lon Chaney.

The three criminals develop an elaborate criminal enterprise based on their circus skills, which include Chaney's skill at throwing his voice.

Chaney, then at the height of his career, was known as 'The Man of a Thousand Faces' for his ability to transform himself to tackle challenging roles in films such as 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' (1923) and 'The Phantom of the Opera' (1925).

 

'The Unholy Three' marked the establishment of the notable artistic alliance between director Browning and actor Chaney that would deliver eight films to MGM studios during the late silent film era. 

The film enjoyed tremendous success in its original release, adding luster to Chaney's reputation and revealing Browning as a remarkable film stylist. 'The Unholy Three' was named as one of The New York Times 10 Best Films of 1925.

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.

More recently, the Leavitt has added restaurant and bar service, and has expanded its entertainment schedule to include live music and special events.

The silent film series honors the theater's long service as a moviehouse that has entertained generations of Seacoast residents and visitors, in good times and in bad.

"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."

Live music for each program will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based performer and composer who specializes in scoring silent films.

In accompanying silent films live, Rapsis uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of the full orchestra. He improvises the music in real time, as the movie is shown.

In scoring a movie, Rapsis creates music to help modern movie-goers accept silent film as a vital art form rather than something antiquated or obsolete.

"Silent film is a timeless art form that still has a unique emotional power," Rapsis said.

After 'The Unholy Three' (1925) on Wednesday, June 11 at 7 p.m., other programs in this year's Leavitt silent film series include:

• Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 7 p.m.: "The Lost World" (1925) starring Wallace Beery. First-ever movie adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary tale of British explorers who discover pre-historic creatures still thriving atop a remote South American plateau. Great entertainment; ground-breaking special effects by the same team that later created 'King Kong' mesmerized early movie audiences and remain impressive today.

• Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, 7 p.m.: "The Freshman" (1925) starring Harold Lloyd. Welcome football season with Harold Lloyd's blockbuster silent-era hit about a college boy who dreams of success on the gridiron. One of Lloyd's all-time best!

• Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Risky Business" (1925) starring Vera Ralston, Zazu Pitts. No, not the 1986 film starring Tom Cruise. In this silent-era 'Risky Business,' Zasu Pitts stars with Vera Ralston in a tale of a society girl's love for a country doctor in a film that is by turns harrowing, hilarious, and heart-warming.

• Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Phantom of the Opera" (1925). 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. See it if you dare!

The silent film series continues with 'The Unholy Three' (1925) on Wednesday, June 18 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Fine Arts Theatre, 259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123; admission is $15 per person, general seating.

For more information, visit www.leavittheatre.com.

Monday, Oct. 28: See 'The Phantom of the Opera' (1925) in a 100-year-old Maine theater

A poster for the original release of 'Phantom of the Opera' (1925) starring Lon Chaney.

Halloween is upon us! And if you're still not in the spirit (har!), then the Phantom is for you.

'The Phantom of the Opera,' that is—the classic 1925 thriller starring Lon Chaney and (as the poster says) a cast of 5,000 others.

And your final chance to see it this season (with me accompanying it, anyway) is Monday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine.

An original 100-year-old silent moviehouse, it's a great venue for this picture. Also, it's the last event before the Leavitt shuts down for the off-season, so there's a kind of ghoulish finality about the whole affair.

So come on out to the coast on Monday night and join us for 'Phantom.' Afterwards, if you're not ready for Halloween—well, perhaps you're already a member of the undead.

Bwah hah hah hah! More info in the press release below.

*    *    *

Lon Chaney terrorizes Mary Philbin in 'The Phantom of the Opera' (1925).

MONDAY, OCT. 21, 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

'Phantom of the Opera' with live music at Leavitt Theatre on Monday, Oct. 28

Just in time for Halloween: Classic silent horror flick starring Lon Chaney shown on the big screen with live music

OGUNQUIT, Maine—Get into the Halloween spirit with a timeless silent horror film!

'The Phantom of the Opera' (1925), the silent big screen adaptation of the classic thriller, will be shown with live music on Monday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Fine Arts Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1 in Ogunquit, Maine.

All are welcome to this family-friendly event; tickets are $15 per person general admission. 

The screening, the latest in the Leavitt Theatre's silent film series, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating scores for silent films.

The show will allow movie-goers to experience the silent 'Phantom' the way it was intended to be seen: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.  

'The Phantom of the Opera,' starring legendary actor Lon Chaney in the title role, remains a landmark work of the cinematic horror genre. To modern viewers, the passage of time has made this unusual film seem even more strange and otherworldly.

It's an atmosphere that silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis will enhance by improvising live music on the spot for the screening.

"The original 'Phantom' is a film that seems to get creepier as more time passes," said Rapsis, who accompanies films at screenings throughout the nation. "It's a great way to celebrate Halloween, and also the power of silent film to transport audiences to strange and unusual places."

'The Phantom of the Opera,' adapted from a 1910 novel by French author Gaston Leroux, featured Chaney as the deformed Phantom who haunts the opera house. The Phantom, seen only in the shadows, causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to force the opera's management to make the woman he loves into a star.

Ready for his close-up: Lon Chaney as the Phantom.

The film is most famous for Lon Chaney's intentionally horrific, self-applied make-up, which was kept a studio secret until the film's premiere.

Chaney transformed his face by painting his eye sockets black, creating a cadaverous skull-like visage. He also pulled the tip of his nose up and pinned it in place with wire, enlarged his nostrils with black paint, and put a set of jagged false teeth into his mouth to complete the ghastly deformed look of the Phantom.

Chaney's disfigured face is kept covered in the film until the now-famous unmasking scene, which prompted gasps of terror from the film's original audiences.

"No one had ever seen anything like this before," Rapsis said. "Chaney, with his portrayal of 'The Phantom,' really pushed the boundaries of what movies could do."

Chaney, known as the "Man of a Thousand Faces" due to his versatility with make-up, also played Quasimodo in the silent 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' (1923) and circus performer 'Alonzo the Armless' in Tod Browning's 'The Unknown' (1927).

The large cast of 'Phantom of the Opera' includes Mary Philbin as Christine Daaé, as the Phantom's love interest; character actor Snitz Edwards; and many other stars of the silent period.

'The Phantom of the Opera' proved so popular in its original release and again in a 1930 reissue that it led Universal Studios to launch a series of horror films, many of which are also regarded as true classics of the genre, including 'Dracula' (1931), 'Frankenstein' (1931), and 'The Mummy' (1932).

The silent film version of 'Phantom' also paved the way for numerous other adaptations of the story, up to and including the wildly successful Andrew Lloyd Webber musical from 1986 that continues to run on Broadway and in productions around the world.

‘The Phantom of the Opera’ (1925) will be shown on Monday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Fine Arts Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1 in Ogunquit, Maine.

All are welcome to this family-friendly event; tickets are $15 per person general admission. Tickets available at the door or online at https://www.leavittheatre.com/

Opening night at Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine brings Buster Keaton's 'The General' (1926)

Buster Keaton and his locomotive costar in 'The General' (1926).

Never mind Memorial Day weekend—a real sign that summer is on its way is Opening Night of this year's silent film series at the historic Leavitt Theatre in downtown Ogunquit, Maine.

And yes, Opening Night is Wednesday, May 29 at 6 p.m., when I'll accompany Buster Keaton's classic Civil War adventure/comedy 'The General' (1926). Admission is $15 per person.

Please note the start time was moved to 6 p.m. due to the possibility of a Celtics playoff game that evening, which the Leavitt would have shown on its big screen. Although the Celtics swept the Pacers in four games, we're sticking with the earlier 6 p.m. show time.

I hope you'll join us for this and other screenings in this year's silent film series at the Leavitt, which is celebrating its 99th year entertaining vacationers and visitors to the Maine coast. 

The theater is a great venue for silent films because silent films are what it was originally built to show. And although the place has been transformed into a night spot with upscale food and drinks now available, the vintage one-screen theater remains virtually intact. 

Rows of original seats sport wire loops underneath so gentlemen may store their hats during the show!

It'll be my privilege to create music for Keaton's 'The General,' which many regard as his masterpiece, including Buster himself. Nearly 100 years after its release, the film continues to show up on lists of the Top 10 Films of any era.

If you're not familiar with Buster or his work, check out this press release about 'The General.' And hope to see you Wednesday night at the Leavitt!

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Buster Keaton stars in 'The General' (1926).

Keaton's 'The General' to launch Leavitt Theatre's 2024 silent film series

Classic silent comedy to screen with live music on Wednesday, May 29 at 6 p.m.

OGUNQUIT, Maine—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 'The General' (1926), one of Keaton's landmark feature films, on Wednesday, May 29 at 6 p.m. at the historic Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine.

The screening will feature live music for the movie by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. General admission is $15 per person.

The show marks Opening Night of the Leavitt Theatre's 2024 silent film series, which gives audiences the opportunity to experience early cinema as it was intended: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.

'The General,' set during the U.S. Civil War, tells the story of a southern locomotive engineer (Keaton) whose engine (named 'The General') is hijacked by Northern spies with his girlfriend on board.

Keaton, commandeering another train, races north in pursuit behind enemy lines. Can he rescue his girl? And can he recapture his locomotive and make it back to warn of a coming Northern attack?

Critics call 'The General' Keaton's masterpiece, praising its authentic period detail, ambitious action and battle sequences, and its overall integration of story, drama, and comedy.

It's also regarded as one of Hollywood's great railroad films, with much of the action occurring on or around moving steam locomotives.

Keaton, along with Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, stands today as one of the silent screen's three great clowns. Some critics regard Keaton as the best of all; Roger Ebert wrote in 2002 that "in an extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, (Keaton) worked without interruption on a series of films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies."

A remarkable pantomime artist, Keaton naturally used his whole body to communicate emotions from sadness to surprise. And in an era with no post-production special effects, Keaton's acrobatic talents enabled him to perform all his own stunts in 'The General' and all his other silent-era classics.

Accompanist Jeff Rapsis will improvise an original musical score for 'The General' live as the movie is shown, as was typically done during the silent film era.

"When the score gets made up on the spot, it creates a special energy that's an important part of the silent film experience," said Rapsis, who uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of a full orchestra for the accompaniment.

With the Leavitt Theatres's screening of 'The General,' audiences will get a chance to experience silent film as it was meant to be seen—in a high quality print, on a large screen, with live music, and with an audience.

"All those elements are important parts of the silent film experience," Rapsis said. "Recreate those conditions, and the classics of early Hollywood leap back to life in ways that can still move audiences today."

The interior of the Leavitt Theatre, with its proscenium arch still showing the original silent film aspect ratio.

Opened in 1925 as a silent movie house, the Leavitt Theatre has operated continuously for 99 years. Although the venue has been transformed into an entertainment hub featuring upscale food and craft cocktails, the one-screen theater remains virtually unchanged. 

This makes it a great venue to experience silent films in their natural environment, Rapsis said.

"Not many theaters built in the 1920s have survived intact," Rapsis said. "That makes the Leavitt a kind of time capsule for movie fans."

Critics review 'The General':

"The most insistently moving picture ever made, its climax is the most stunning visual event ever arranged for a film comedy."
—Walter Kerr, author of 'The Silent Clowns'

"An almost perfect entertainment!"
—Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

"What makes the film so special is the way the timing, audacity and elegant choreography of its sight gags, acrobatics, pratfalls and dramatic incidents is matched by Buster's directorial artistry, his acute observational skills working alongside the physical élan and sweet subtlety of his own performance."
—Time Out (London)

The Keaton films are a great introduction to silent films for modern audiences, accompanist Rapsis said.

"Keaton's comedy is as fresh today as it was a hundred years ago — maybe more so, because his kind of visual humor is a lost art," Rapsis said.

‘The General’ (1926) starring Buster Keaton will be shown with live music on Wednesday, May 29 at 6 p.m. at the Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Ogunquit, Maine.

General admission tickets are $15 at door or in advance online at leavittheatre.com. For more information, call (207) 646-3123.

Next up: Emil Jannings in 'The Last Laugh' (1924) at Epsilon Spires on Friday, 5/10 in Brattleboro, Vt.

A French language poster for F.W. Murnau's film 'The Last Laugh' (1924).

April showers may bring May flowers, and May brings the start of two season series of silent film screenings. 

On Saturday, May 11, I return to Brandon Town Hall and Community Center in Brandon, Vt. for a 13th year of presenting silent films with live music. First up is Chaplin's 'The Gold Rush' (1925).

Later, on Wednesday, May 29, I'll be at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine for the start of another season of silents with live music. First up: Buster Keaton in 'The General' (1926).

All the rest of each series are listed on my "Upcoming Silent Film Screenings" page, which is linked at the top right of this page.

But before any of that takes place, I'll be at Epsilon Spires in Brattleboro, Vt. on Friday, May 10, where I'll accompany F.W. Murnau's 'The Last Laugh' (1924).

More details on that screening in the press release below. Hope to see you there!

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Emil Jannings wearing the uniform that plays such an important role in 'The Last Laugh' (1924)

MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

'The Last Laugh' to screen with live music at Epsilon Spires on Friday, May 10

Oscar-winning actor Emil Jannings stars in ground-breaking 1924 silent drama from German director F.W. Murnau

BRATTLEBORO, Vt.—'The Last Laugh' (1924), a German silent film drama about a hotel doorman demoted to washroom attendant, will be screened with live music on Friday, May 10 at 8 p.m. at Epsilon Spires, 190 Main St., Brattleboro, Vt.

Admission is $20 per person. Tickets may be purchased in advance at www.epsilonspires.org or at the door.

The screening will feature live accompaniment on the venue's Estey pipe organ by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film musician.

In 'The Last Laugh,' regarded as one of German director F.W. Murnau's best pictures, the story is told entirely in visual terms, without the use of title cards.

The film, a character study that chronicles the mental breakdown of an aging man who loses his position of authority, is also noted for its revolutionary use of camera movement.

Playing the lead role is Swiss/German actor Emil Jannings, widely recognized as one of the most versatile actors of early cinema.

Jannings would later move to Hollywood, where he earned the first-ever Best Actor Oscar at the inaugural Academy Awards for his towering performances in 'The Last Command' (1928) and 'The Patriot' (1928).

Critics and film writers regard 'The Last Laugh' as a landmark of early cinema.

" 'The Last Laugh' is a masterpiece of psychological study, perhaps the best ever portrayal of what goes through one man's mind under varying situations ... It is absolutely mind-boggling to see Emil Jannings age at least 10 or 15 years right in front of our eyes in the course of a couple of minutes," wrote author Robert K. Klepner in 'Silent Films' (2005).

Critic David Kehr of the Chicago Reader described 'The Last Laugh' as "the 1924 film in which F.W. Murnau freed his camera from its stationary tripod and took it on a flight of imagination and expression that changed the way movies were made."

The film's director of photography, Karl Freund, set new standards of cinematography in 'The Last Laugh,' setting up the camera to move through corridors and "see" action through a character's eye-view.

Freund's long career later included work in television in the 1950s in Hollywood, when he developed the "three camera" system for the "I Love Lucy" show, which became the standard format for shooting situation comedies.

'The Last Laugh' 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.

"Films such as 'The Last Laugh' were created to be shown on the big screen and in a theater 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 Last Laugh' (1924) will be screened with live music on Friday, May 10 at 8 p.m. at Epsilon Spires, 190 Main St., Brattleboro, Vt.

Admission is $20 per person. Tickets may be purchased in advance at www.epsilonspires.org or at the door.

Blockbuster 'The Ten Commandments' (1923) up next on Wednesday, Sept. 20 in Ogunquit, Maine

Take two and call me in the morning: an original release posted for 'The Ten Commandments' (1923).

Thou shalt not miss it!

On Wednesday, Sept. 20, I'll accompany the original silent version of 'The Ten Commandments' (1923) at the Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Ogunquit.

Showtime is 6 p.m. Lots more info in the press release below.

Abbreviated post due to prep for the upcoming 'Early Fall Four-State 'Captain of Her Soul' book-signing with author Lara Gabrielle, which runs from Sept. 21-24.

Stay tuned. And see you in Ogunquit for 'The Ten Commandments' on Wednesday evening. More info below!

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Getting ready to part some waters in 'The Ten Commandments' (1923).

MONDAY, SEPT. 11, 2023 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Original 'Ten Commandments' movie to screen at Leavitt Theatre

Silent film Biblical blockbuster to be shown on 100th anniversary with live music on Wednesday, Sept. 20

OGUNQUIT, Maine—Decades before he directed Charlton Heston as Moses, filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille's original silent version of 'The Ten Commandments' (1923) wowed audiences the world over during the early years of cinema.

DeMille's pioneering Biblical blockbuster will be screened on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. at the historic Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1 in Ogunquit.

Admission is $12 per person. Doors open at 5 p.m.; the Leavitt's full dinner menu and bar service will be available during the program.

The screening, the latest in the Leavitt's silent film series, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent films.

DeMille's original 'Ten Commandments' was among the first Hollywood films to tackle stories from scripture on a grand scale. The picture was a popular hit in its original release, and served as a blueprint for DeMille's later remake in 1956.

Despite the silent original's epic scale, the Moses story takes up only about the first third of the film. After that, the tale changes to a modern-day melodrama about living by the lessons of the Commandments.

An original release poster for 'The Ten Commandments' (1923).

In the McTavish family, two brothers make opposite decisions: one, John, to follow his mother's teaching of the Ten Commandments and become a poor carpenter, and the other, Danny, to break every one of them and rise to the top. The film shows his unchecked immorality to be momentarily gainful, but ultimately disastrous.

A contrast is made between the carpenter brother and his mother. The mother reads the story of Moses and emphasizes strict obedience and fear of God. The carpenter, however, reads from the New Testament story of Jesus' healing of lepers. His emphasis is on a loving and forgiving God. The film also shows the mother's strict lawful morality to be flawed in comparison to her son's version.

The other brother becomes a corrupt contractor who builds a church with shoddy concrete, pocketing the money saved and becoming very rich. One day, his mother comes to visit him at his work site, but the walls are becoming unstable due to the shaking of heavy trucks on nearby roads. One of the walls collapses, with tragic results. This sends the brother on a downward spiral as he attempts to right his wrongs and clear his conscience.

Throughout the film, the visual motif of the tablets of the Commandments appears in the sets, with a particular Commandment appearing on them when it is relevant to the story.

'The Ten Commandments' boasts an all-star cast of 1920s performers, including Theodore Roberts as Moses; Charles de Rochefort as Rameses; Estelle Taylor as Miriam, the Sister of Moses; Edythe Chapman as Mrs. Martha McTavish; Richard Dix as John McTavish, her son; Rod La Rocque as Dan McTavish, her other son; and Leatrice Joy as Mary Leigh.

The Exodus scenes were filmed at Nipomo Dunes, near Pismo Beach, Calif., in San Luis Obispo County, which is now an archaeological site. The film location was originally chosen because its immense sand dunes provided a superficial resemblance to the Egyptian desert.

After the filming was complete, the massive sets—which included four 35-foot-tall Pharaoh statues, 21 sphinxes, and gates reaching a height of 110 feet, which were built by an army of 1,600 workers — were dynamited and buried in the sand. 

However, the burial location at Nipomo Dunes is exposed to relentless northwesterly gales year-round, and much of what was buried is now exposed to the elements, as the covering sand has been blown away.

The visual effect of keeping the walls of water apart while Moses and the Israelites walked through the Red Sea was accomplished with a slab of gelatin that was sliced in two and filmed close up as it jiggled. This shot was then combined with live-action footage of actors walking into the distance, creating a vivid illusion.

Live music is a key element of each silent film screening, said Jeff Rapsis, accompanist for the Leavitt Theatre's silent film screenings. Silent movies were not shown in silence, but were accompanied by live music made right in each theater. Most films were not released with official scores, so it was up to local musicians to provide the soundtrack, which could vary greatly from theater to theater.

"Because there's no set soundtrack for most silent films, musicians are free to create new music as they see fit, even today," Rapsis said. "In bringing a film to life, I try to create original 'movie score' music that sounds like what you might expect in a theater today, which helps bridge the gap between today's audiences and silent films that are in some cases more than 100 years old."

‘The Ten Commandments’ (1923) will be shown with live music by Jeff Rapsis on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at the historic Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1 in Ogunquit.

Admission is $12 per person. Doors open at 5 p.m.; the Leavitt's full dinner menu and bar service will be available during the program.

For more info, call (207) 646-3123 or visit www.leavittheatre.com. 

Up next: Harry Houdini silent film at historic Leavitt Theatre on Wednesday, Sept. 6

Harry Houdini gives a restrained performance in 'Haldane of the Secret Service' (1923).

It's a different kind of 'escape-ism.'

On Wednesday, Sept. 6, I'll do live music for 'Haldane of the Secret Service' (1923), a silent adventure thriller starring none other than legendary illusionist Harry Houdini.

Showtime is at 6 p.m. Lots more info in the press release below.

First, let me report on "opening night" of this season's silent film series at the Garden Cinemas of Greenfield, Mass., which took place on Monday, Sept. 4.

About 60 people turned out to catch Buster Keaton in 'Our Hospitality' (1923), which the theater screened to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its original release.

We didn't have a cake, but we did have a lot of first-time Keaton fans who responded warmly to Buster's comedy/drama set in the 1830s. 

The Garden Cinema's "First Monday Silent Film Series" runs through December. And there's no lack of promotion, especially in the theater, where seemingly every whiteboard or changeable sign has been commandeered in support.

That includes hand-written message boards outside the theater, too:

And it's nice to see Buster's title on the inside marquee for Screen #1:

Hope we get an equally healthy turnout for our next outing, which is the John Barrymore version of 'Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1920) on Monday, Oct. 2. 

For now, here's the press release for Harry Houdini in 'Haldane of the Secret Service' (1923), which I'm accompanying on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine. 

Hope to see you there!

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Original promotional art for Harry Houdini in 'Haldane of the Secret Service' (1923).

TUESDAY, AUG. 22, 2023 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Rare Houdini film 'Haldane of the the Secret Service' at Leavitt Theatre on Wednesday, Sept. 6

Legendary 'Handcuff King' escape artist returns to the big screen with live music in stunt-filled early silent adventure movie

OGUNQUIT, Maine—He reigned for decades as the legendary "Handcuff King," famous for daring and impossible escapes staged around the world.

But Harry Houdini also had a brief movie career, starring in a series of silent adventure films that showed off his athletic prowess and his talent for illusion, stunts, and escape.

See Houdini back on the big screen in 'Haldane of the Secret Service' (1923), one of his few surviving feature films.

The film will be shown on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. at the historic Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1 in Ogunquit.

Admission is $12 per person. Doors open at 5 p.m.; the Leavitt's full dinner menu and bar service will be available during the program.

The rarely screened film will be shown with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based performer regarded as one of the nation's leading silent film musicians.

Houdini made only a handful of movies in the 1910s and 1920s, and much of his film work is lost.

But enough escaped oblivion to provide a glimpse of the world-renowned escape artist at the peak of his worldwide fame.

In 'Haldane of the Secret Service,' U.S. Government agent Heath Haldane is determined to bring to justice the mysterious Dr. Yu, all-powerful head of the Chinese underworld

Dr. Yu is suspected of international counterfeiting, narcotics smuggling, and the murder of Haldane's father.

Haldane soon encounters the beautiful Adele Ormsby, whose family might be connected to Yu's criminal activities.

The pursuit of justice then takes the story from New York to Scotland, London, and Paris.

Time and again, the bad guys trap Haldane in ropes, chains and strongboxes. Each time, our hero wriggles out of his predicaments with the skill of—well, Harry Houdini.

Our hero disguised, apparently, as Harold Lloyd—although without the glasses.

Although Houdini's films were well-received, he eventually abandoned his movie career, preferring to perform in front of live audiences.

Houdini, born Erik Weisz, was a Hungarian-born, American-Jewish illusionist and stunt performer noted for his sensational escape acts.

He first attracted notice in vaudeville in the U.S. and then as "Harry Handcuff Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up.

Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it.

In 1904, thousands watched as he tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's Daily Mirror, keeping them in suspense for an hour.

Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown.

In 1913, Houdini introduced the Chinese Water Torture Cell, in which he was suspended upside-down in a locked glass-and-steel cabinet filled with water, holding his breath for more than three minutes. He would go on performing this escape for the rest of his life.

Houdini died prematurely in 1926, at age 52, of peritonitis following a burst appendix that may have been caused by blows received to the abdomen by a visitor backstage at a performance in Montreal.

Following his death, Houdini's reputation as a legendary performer continued to make his name a household world in the decades that followed.

Although not well known as a film actor, Houdini's work in motion pictures was not forgotten. In a posthumous ceremony on Oct. 31, 1975, Houdini was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7001 Hollywood Blvd.

This season's Leavitt Theatre silent film schedule features movies all celebrating their 100th anniversaries. Upcoming shows include:

• Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m.: 'The Ten Commandments' (1923). Long before Charlton Heston played Moses in Technicolor, director Cecil B. DeMille filmed this silent blockbuster in black and white, and on a grand scale.

"These films are audience favorites, and people continue to be surprised at how engrossing and exhilarating they can be when shown as they were intended: in a theater, and with live music," said Rapsis, who accompanies more than 100 screenings each year at venues around the nation.

Rapsis improvises live scores for silent films using a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of the full orchestra.

"It's kind of a high wire act," Rapsis said. "But for me, the energy of live performance is an essential part of the silent film experience."

Harry Houdini in 'Haldane of the Secret Service' (1923) will be shown with live music on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at the historic Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1 in Ogunquit.

Admission is $12 per person. Doors open at 5 p.m.; the Leavitt's full dinner menu and bar service will be available during the program.

For more info, call (207) 646-3123 or visit www.leavittheatre.com.