Finish out this Labor Day weekend with a silent comedy starring W.C. Fields—a performer few think of as silent.
Fields plays the head of a family, sort of, in 'Running Wild' (1927), a silent comedy I'm accompanying on Monday, Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Garden Cinemas in downtown Greenfield, Mass.
If you can't imagine W.C. Fields without his trademark nasal twang, I encourage you to check out this film. 'Running Wild' is one a series of silent comedy features starring Fields that were very popular, and which hold up well today.
Although he later achieved true comic immortality in talking features, Fields in his younger years had toured the globe for decades as a performer who specialized in comic juggling and pantomime.
Such skills translated well to the visual medium of the movies, in which he appeared as early as 1915, although he remained primarily a stage performer in the 1920s, often based in New York and headlining lavish reviews.
His first major film role came in 'Sally of the Sawdust' (1925), a circus comedy/drama directed by D.W. Griffith.
Fields' screen presence was enough to prompt Paramount to star him in a series of family comedies released during the remainder of the silent era. Most were filmed on Long Island during the day, allowing Fields to honor his New York stage commitments.
'Running Wild' (1927) is one of the entries, with Fields playing the henpecked husband of a blended household in a kind of 1920s 'Modern Family.'
I hope you'll join us to see how Fields could get laughs without relying on verbal wisecracks. More details in the press release below. See you there!
* * *
MONDAY, AUG. 19, 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com
Garden Cinemas to screen rare silent film starring W.C. Fields
'Running Wild' (1927), uproarious comedy to be screened Monday, Sept. 2, shows legendary performer in his earlier prime
GREENFIELD, Mass.—He was a performer who could be recognized just by the sound of his voice.
But
prior to reaching iconic fame in talking pictures, comedian W.C. Fields
starred successfully in a popular series of silent feature films for
Paramount Pictures and other studios in the 1920s.
See the
non-talking W.C. Fields for yourself in 'Running Wild' (1927), one of
Fields' most highly regarded silent pictures, in a screening on Monday,
Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Greenfield Garden Cinemas, 361 Main St.,
Greenfield, Mass..
The screening will feature live accompaniment
by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in
creating music for silent films.
Admission is $10.50 adults, $8:50 for children, seniors, and students. Tickets are available online or at the door.
W.C.
Fields remains famous for his comic persona as a misanthropic and
hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathetic character despite his
snarling contempt for dogs, children and women. Although Fields achieved
lasting fame as a movie star in talking pictures of the 1930s, his long
career encompassed decades on the vaudeville stage as well as a series
of silent film roles.
"People find it hard to think of W.C.
Fields in silent films, but he was actually quite successful in them,"
said Rapsis, who will accompany the film using a digital synthesizer.
As
a vaudeville performer and juggler, Fields cultivated a form of visual
comedy and pantomime that transferred well to the silent screen. Also,
as a middle-aged man, he was able to play a family father figure—the
kind of role that wasn't open to younger comic stars such as Charlie
Chaplin or Buster Keaton.
In all, Fields starred in 10 silent
features in the mid-1920s. Several of these films are lost; in those
that survive, Fields sports a thick mustache, part of his vaudeville
costume as a "vagabond juggler" which he dropped in later years.
In
'Running Wild,' Fields plays Elmer Finch, a cowardly and henpecked
husband who is disrespected by his stepson, his co-workers, and even the
family dog.
But every dog has his day, and Finch's comes when he
undergoes hypnosis, which transforms him into a swaggering
take-no-prisoners alpha male.
The result is a timeless domestic
farce that continues to delight audiences when screened as intended: in a
theater, with live music and an audience.
The Garden Cinema's
silent film series aims to recreate the full silent film experience,
with restored prints projected on the big screen, live music, and the
presence of an audience. All these elements are essential to seeing
silent films they way they were intended, Rapsis said.
"If you
can put it all together again, these films still contain a tremendous
amount of excitement," Rapsis said. "By staging these screenings of
features from Hollywood's early days, you can see why people first fell
in love with the movies."
The next installment in the Garden's
silent film series will be 'Running Wild' (1927), to be screened with
live music by Jeff Rapsis on Monday, Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the
Greenfield Garden Cinemas, 361 Main St., Greenfield, Mass. Admission is
$10.50 adults, $8:50 for children, seniors, and students.
Tickets at the door; advance tickets are available at www.gardencinemas.net. For more information, call the box office at (413) 774-4881.
