Coming up: New silent film series in Fairlee, Vt., plus thoughts on gender roles and coinage inspired by Harold Lloyd's 'For Heaven's Sake'

An original lobby card for 'Our Hospitality' (1923) starring Buster Keaton.

Next up: a new series of silent films with live music in Fairlee, Vt.

It's my privilege to serve as accompanist for a monthly series of screenings in Fairlee Town Hall Auditorium.

First up is Buster Keaton's family feud comedy 'Our Hospitality' (1923), which I'll accompany on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 2 p.m.

Many thanks to everyone at Fairlee Community Arts for the opportunity to do music for this and two other films this fall.

The line-up includes an evening screening of 'The Cat and the Canary' (1927) on Friday, Oct. 16; and then a matinee screening of Harold Lloyd's romantic comedy 'Girl Shy' on Sunday, Nov. 15.

More about the series, and the upcoming screening of 'Our Hospitality,' in the press release pasted in below. 

For silent film fans in the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire, I hope you'll join us for these upcoming screenings and support this new series.

But now, here's a report on today's screening of Harold Lloyd's 'For Heaven's Sake' (1926) at the Somerville Theatre in Somerville, Mass. 

Today's matinee benefited by rainy weather A rainy day is usually good for movie attendance, and today's matinee drew a nice-sized crowd of about 75 individuals.

I can't complain about visibility on the Somerville's big marquee:

I wish to thank Harold's granddaughter, Sue Lloyd, who arranged for the Somerville Theatre to get a 35mm print shipped out in time for the screening. (By the way, the print looked fabulous.)

Her own 35mm print is on its way to this year's Pordenone silent film festivalooza in Italy, but Sue was able to find another for us to use.

'For Heaven's Sake' is often regarded as "lesser" Harold, although all of his features from the 1920s still make for great entertainment. A century after the film's release, our audience laughed throughout the picture.

However, one sequence in 'For Heaven's Sake' fell flat: when Harold must cope with unwanted odors and then inedible pastries. It's partly a retread from a similar scene from 'Grandma's Boy' (1921).

In the earlier film, the unpleasant odor comes from mothballs (from Harold's old suit), which then get dumped into a candy dish, which is how Harold winds up eating them. Much hilarity ensues. The scene always gets a big laugh.

In 'For Heaven's Sake,' the smell comes from a broken bottle of perfume that Harold unknowingly has in his pocket. 

Harold is sitting next to a tough guy, so assumes the flowery fragrance is coming from his neighbor. In a long take, Harold's facial expression evolves to the point where he registers scorn that a man can be so—well, unmanly. 

Then the tough guys catches the scent, and casts his own prolonged and disapproving glance Harold's way for the same reason. 

This scene might have produced uproarious and knowing laughter 100 years ago. But this afternoon, nothing.  

I think it's a case where attitudes about homosexuality, sexual preference, and gender identity have changed so completely over the years that the scene today is drained of any humor it once carried.

I can live with that. Part of the value of a movie from 100 years ago is that it's an accidental time capsule. In the same way that antiquated views of Los Angeles may be of interest, so are the at-times antiquated attitudes on display.

Does this mean the film should be edited to reflect modern sensibilities, or not shown at all? Of course not. Rather than judge yesterday's attitudes by today's standards, I think the thoughtful approach is to ask this question: 

I wonder what we're doing right now that people will find utterly baffling and even offensive 100 years in the future?

Our use internal combustion engines? Our consumption of processed food? Our addiction to our hand-held devices? (Heck, that's already becoming offensive.)

One other observation from 'For Heaven's Sake' about a brief shot that was missing from the 35mm print.

Early in the film, there's one moment I always enjoy, and which is present in the 2005 New Line release for home video. 

Harold at a bar in a pool hall and can't a $100 bill. Conveniently, another patron is paying with a coin. Harold intercepts the coin, puts it into a nearby slot machine, pulls the lever, and wins! 

The version I'm familiar with includes a close-up of the payout: two silver quarters: one of the current 'Standing Liberty ' design, and another a well-worn Barber quarter, last minted in 1915 but still in circulation. 

As a coin collector in childhood, and having never really grown up, such a scene excites my numismatist. In the world of silent film, seeing the coins people used in everyday transactions always brings me a thrill.

However, at today's screening of 'For Heaven's Sake,' the brief close-up was missing from the 35mm print. The scene was otherwise completely intact. It was just the one-second close-up of the coins that didn't appear!

I can't imagine why. But to make up for the loss, here's a screen capture of the missing coins:

Ka-ching! 

See you in Fairlee, Vt. this coming Sunday for 'Our Hospitality!' More details about the film and the series in the press release below.

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Buster Keaton with four-legged friend in 'Our Hospitality' (1923).

TUESDAY, SEPT. 15, 2026 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Buster Keaton stars in 'Our Hospitality' on Sunday, Sept. 27 at Fairlee Town Hall

Classic feature-length silent comedy about feuding families inaugurates series of silent films with live music

FAIRLEE, Vt.—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, and remain popular crowd-pleasers today.

See for yourself with a screening of 'Our Hospitality' (1923), one of Keaton's landmark features, on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 2 p.m. at Fairlee Town Hall Auditorium, 75 Town Common Road, Fairlee, Vt.

This screening, the first in a series of silent films at Fairlee Town Hall, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent films.

Admission is free, with donations accepted to help defray costs. 

The screening is organized by Fairlee Community Arts, and is intended to bring people together for shared experiences that can't be duplicated on a home entertainment center.

A vintage trade publication ad promoting 'Our Hospitality' (1923) to exhibitors.

Set in the 1830s, 'Our Hospitality,' tells the tale of a young man (Keaton) raised in New York City but unknowingly at the center of a long-running backwoods family feud.

Resolving to return and claim his family homestead, he sets in motion a perilous cat-and-mouse game in which every move could be his last.

Highlights of the picture include Keaton's extended journey on a vintage train of the era, as well as a climatic river rescue scene.

The film stars Keaton's then-wife, Natalie Talmadge, as his on-screen love interest; their first child, newborn James Talmadge Keaton, makes a cameo appearance, playing Buster as an infant. Keaton's father also plays a role in the film.

Keaton entered films in 1917 and was quickly fascinated with the then-new medium. After apprenticing with popular comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Keaton set up his own studio in 1920, making short comedies that established him as one of the era's leading talents.

A remarkable pantomime artist, Keaton naturally used his entire body to communicate emotions from sadness to surprise. And in an era without special effects, Keaton's acrobatic talents enabled him to perform all his own stunts.

 

Buster Keaton with dog and period-authentic traveling bag in 'Our Hospitality' (1923).

In 1923, Keaton made the leap into full-length films with 'Our Hospitality,' which proved popular enough for him to continue making features for the rest of the silent era.

Critics later expressed astonishment at the sudden leap Keaton made from short comedies to the complex story and technical demands required for full-length features.

Accompanist Jeff Rapsis will create a musical score for the film live during its screening, in the manner of theater organists during silent cinema's peak years in the 1920s.

"For most silent films, there was never any sheet music and no official score," Rapsis said. "So creating original music on the spot to help the film's impact is all part of the experience."

"That's one of the special qualities of silent cinema," Rapsis said. "Although the films themselves are often over a century old, each screening is a unique experience—a combination of the movie, the music, and the audience reaction."

The screening of 'Our Hospitality' is the first in a series of silent film screenings planned for this fall at the Fairlee Town Hall Auditorium.

Upcoming screenings include:

• Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, 7 p.m.: "The Cat and the Canary" (1927). Just in time for Halloween! 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 a movie filled with deep shadows, dark secrets, and a surprisingly timeless mix of humor and horror that keeps audiences guessing,

• Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, 2 p.m.: "Girl Shy" (1924) Join us for the original rom-com, a Harold Lloyd gem starring one of the masters of silent comedy and featuring an unforgettable race-to-the-church finish. See Harold's best work as he intended it: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience. 

The silent film series opens with ‘Our Hospitality’ (1923) starring Buster Keaton, to be shown with live music on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 2 p.m. at Fairlee Town Hall Auditorium, 75 Town Common Road, Fairlee, Vt.

Admission is free, with donations accepted to help defray costs. The screening is organized by Fairlee Community Arts; for more info, visit www.fairleearts.org

 

Husband and wife: Buster Keaton and Natalie Talmadge in 'Our Hospitality' (1923).

Up next: Harold Lloyd's 'For Heaven's Sake' (1926) in 35mm at Somerville Theatre on Sunday, 9/20

A poster promoting 'The Vampire' (a.k.a. Theda Bara) in 'A Fool There Was' (1915).

Good stretch of interesting silent film shows in the past few days. 

I did music for 'Beau Geste' (1926) on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine; then Harold Lloyd's 'Hot Water' (1924) up in Brandon, Vt. on Saturday, Sept. 12; then Theda Bara in 'A Fool There Was' (1915)—a film I'd never accompanied before—on Sunday, Sept. 13 at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H.

Healthy attendance at all three, and especially strong for the Theda Bara film. 

Prior to screening 'A Fool There Was,' I asked: How many members of the Theda Bara Fan Club are present? A few hands raised.

Theda Bara in 'A Fool There Was' (1915).

Then I asked: "How many people here believe you are the reincarnation of Theda Bara?" (A few folks said yes to this, too.)

Theda's films may be mostly lost, but her reputation cinema's first 'vamp' lives on into the 21t century. 

In 20 years of accompanying silent film, I'd never done a Theda film because I think the few that exist are pretty creaky and look pretty ragged.

But I DO get requests, so figured this fall was finally the time to see if Theda could still hold the screen in one of her few surviving pictures: 'A Fool There Was' from 1915, a very early year for a U.S. feature film.

The verdict: Well, sorta. Some of her on-camera mystique was able to get through the murk of what seemed to be a third-generation print. 

But the real attraction, I think, was the scandalous nature of the story: an executive with a loving wife and child is seduced by femme fatale Theda while on a business trip in Europe representing the U.S. Government. 

Once under her spell, he deserts his family, gets fired from his government post, loses his business—and things go downhill from there. 

Fun!

But this kind of tale sold tickets. And Theda, who quickly became the go-to-gal for such roles, got enormous visibility in early Hollywood by playing such characters. 

Would I do it again? Yes. It's a good film for music—I used an all-strings setting on my synthesizer to create the same kind of focused sound that Bernard Hermann used in the score for Hitchcock's 'Psycho' (1961) , and the story held the attention of our audience for all 90 minutes.  

Looking ahead: next up, it's accompanying a 100th anniversary screening of Harold Lloyd's 'For Heaven's Sake' (1926) on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre as part of the venue's 'Silents, Please!' series.

I'm pleased to say that the Somerville will be screening the film via a 35mm print provided by Harold's granddaughter Sue Lloyd (thank you, Sue!) and it'll be in the Somerville's big 'House 1,' which all summer long featured 'The Odyssey' in 70mm.

Come join us! There's nothing like a Harold Lloyd film shown on the big screen with live music and (most importantly!) an audience. More info about the film (one of the top 10 of 1926) and the screening is in the press release below.

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Harold Lloyd and friends on an out-of-control bus in 'For Heaven's Sake' (1926).

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 9, 2026 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more info, contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Classic comedy 'For Heaven's Sake' in 35mm with live music on Sunday, Sept. 20 at Somerville Theatre

Harold Lloyd film, one of 1926's top box office attractions, to celebrate 100th anniversary in 'Silents, Please' screening

SOMERVILLE, Mass.— He was the most popular film star of the 1920s, routinely outpacing comic rivals Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton at the box office.

He was Harold Lloyd, the boy next door who embodied the "get up and go" of the Roaring '20s. Audiences loved Lloyd's mix of visual comedy and thrilling adventures, making him one of the most recognized icons of early Hollywood.

See for yourself with a 100th anniversary screening of Lloyd's romantic comedy 'For Heaven's Sake' (1926), to be screened in 35mm and with live music on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.

All are welcome to this family-friendly event; tickets are $17 for adults, $13 seniors/kids; members $13 adults, $9 seniors. Purchase tickets at www.somervilletheatre.com or call the box office at (617) 625-5700.

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

The screening is part of the Somerville Theatre's 'Silents, Please' series, which presents the best of early cinema as it was intended to be shown: in the best restored editions shown on the big screen in a theater, with live music, and with an audience.

In 'For Heaven's Sake,' Lloyd plays a wealthy young man smitten with the daughter of an impoverished clergyman who ministers to the urban poor.

On the day Lloyd and the girl plan to marry, Lloyd's wealthy country club friends kidnap him to prevent what they see as an embarrassing mistake.

Can the urban mission's petty criminals and chronic alcoholics rescue Harold and get him to the church on time?

A scene from 'For Heaven's Sake' (1926).

'For Heaven's Sake,' promoted with the tagline 'A Man With A Mansion, A Miss with a Mission,' became the 4th-highest grossing film of 1926, earning $2.6 million.

Critic Leonard Maltin described 'For Heaven's Sake' as "...a screamingly funny silent comedy."

In accompanying 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.

"If you've never seen one of these movies in a theater, check it out," Rapsis said. "These films were the pop culture of their day, and retain their ability to hold an audience and deliver a great time at the movies."

A 100th anniversary screening of Harold Lloyd's 'For Heaven's Sake' (1926) in 35mm will take place on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.

Tickets are $17 for adults, $13 seniors/kids; members $13 adults, $9 seniors. For tickets, visit www.somervilletheatre.com or call the box office at (617) 625-5700.

 

Tackling Theda Bara—well, not literally—in 'A Fool There Was' on Sunday, Sept. 13

Theda Bara in 'A Fool There Was' (1915).

They say there's a first time for everything. And this Sunday will be my first time with Theda Bara.

And that seems surprising. After all, I've been doing silent film music for 20 years. In the hundreds of movies I've accompanied, you'd think the list might have included ONE Theda Bara film.   

But nope! A combination of scarcity (very few of her films survive) plus lack of availability of good-looking prints has led to a prolonged Theda Bara drought in my performance schedule.

Well, that changes this weekend! On Sunday, Sept. 13, I'll have the privilege of accompanying 'A Fool There Was' (1915), one of the iconic star's few intact surviving films, at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. 

Showtime is 2 p.m. Admission is free; a donation of $10 per person is suggested to support the Town Hall Theatre's silent film series. 

For all the Theda Bara groupies out there, here's a rare chance to see one of the mysterious star's surviving films on the big screen and with live music. 

And yes, there are Theda Bara groupies. Her reputation as a "vamp"—and one of Hollywood's earliest sex symbols—has stood the test of time, even if most of her films haven't. 

And about that title: 'A Fool There Was.' Sounds like Yoda came up with that one!

Well, weird syntax or not, lots more info about the screening and film can be found in the press release below:

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MONDAY, AUG. 24, 2026 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Most of Theda Bara’s films are lost. See one that survived.

Silent screen’s original sex symbol stars in rare 1915 thriller ‘A Fool There Was,’ screening Sept. 13 in Wilton with live music

WILTON, N.H.—She was one of the biggest movie stars in the world. She became one of cinema’s first sex symbols. She made more than 40 films.

And almost all of them are gone.

Theda Bara, the legendary “vamp” of the silent screen, returns to the big screen in one of her rare surviving films when 'A Fool There Was' (1915) is shown on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

The melodramatic thriller will be presented with live music by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis, recreating the way audiences experienced movies when Bara was an international sensation more than a century ago.

Admission is free. Donations are gladly accepted to support the venue's silent film series, with $10 per person suggested.

For film fans, 'A Fool There Was' offers something increasingly rare: the chance to see an authentic performance by one of the first superstars of the motion picture era.

 

Theda Bara and costar Edward José in 'A Fool There Was' (1915).

Bara appeared in more than 40 films during a career that made her among the most recognizable faces of the 1910s. But because of nitrate deterioration, fires, neglect, and the wholesale disappearance of early motion pictures, only a handful of her films survive in substantially complete form.

That makes 'A Fool There Was' much more than an antique curiosity. It is a survivor.

And it’s the film that created the Theda Bara legend.

In 'A Fool There Was', Bara plays a mysterious seductress who ensnares a respectable married man and systematically brings about his downfall.

The role turned Bara into cinema’s original 'vamp'—a woman whose sexual magnetism proved irresistible and potentially fatal to the men around her.

Audiences had seen nothing quite like her.

With her darkly exotic appearance, heavy eye makeup, revealing costumes, and brazen sexuality, Bara became one of Hollywood’s earliest sex symbols before Hollywood itself had fully emerged as the center of the movie industry.

Theda Bara in 'A Fool There Was' (1915).

Her studio heightened the sensation by concocting an outrageous publicity campaign that portrayed the Cincinnati-born actress as an exotic woman of mystery, supposedly born in the shadow of the Sphinx.

The public ate it up.

Bara became a phenomenon, and the 'vamp' became a permanent character in American popular culture.

But unlike Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and other silent-era stars whose work remains widely available, Bara today is largely a legend without films.

The vast majority of her screen appearances have vanished. Audiences can read about her extraordinary fame and see her famous publicity photographs, but they have few opportunities to actually watch the woman who once fascinated millions.

'A Fool There Was' is the great exception.

Original promotional artwork for 'A Fool There Was' (1915).

The Wilton screening offers a chance not merely to watch the film, but to experience it in the environment for which it was created: on a big screen, with live music, and surrounded by an audience.

Silent movies were never intended to be silent. In their original theatrical runs, films were accompanied by musicians who supplied everything from atmosphere and emotion to rhythm and dramatic punctuation.

For the Wilton screening, Rapsis will improvise a complete score live as the film unfolds.

And the audience is part of the experience.

A century ago, movies were intensely communal entertainment. People laughed, gasped, applauded, and reacted together. With a good-sized crowd and live music, that same chemistry can still happen today.

The result is something streaming at home cannot reproduce: a century-old film suddenly becoming a live event.

And in the case of Theda Bara, it’s also a chance to encounter a performer whose work came perilously close to disappearing altogether.

Most of Theda Bara’s movies are gone forever.

On Sunday, Sept. 13, one of them gets another afternoon on the big screen.

'A Fool There Was' (1915), starring Theda Bara, will be shown with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Admission is free, with donations gladly accepted to support the silent film series. A donation of $10 per person is suggested.

 

Up this week: 'Beau Geste' in Maine, Harold Lloyd in Vermont, and Theda Bara in N.H., and more!

Ralph Forbes, Ronald Colman, and Neil Hamilton star in 'Beau Geste' (1926).

Welcome to September! Four screenings in four different states are the silent film adventures coming up for me in the next week.

The line-up includes...

• On Wednesday, Sept. 9, I'll accompany the original silent film version of 'Beau Geste' (1926) at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine. Showtime is 7 p.m.; tickets are $18 per person. Lots more info about the screening and the film in the press release that's pasted in below.

• On Saturday, Sept. 12, I'll haul myself up to Brandon, Vt., where this month's entry in our ongoing silent film series is Harold Lloyd's rarely screening domestic comedy 'Hot Water' (1924). Showtime is 7 p.m.; admission is free, donations accepted.

• On Sunday, Sept. 13, it's 'A Fool There Was' (1915), my first-ever Theda Bara film, at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. Screening is at 2 p.m.; free with donations accepted at this one, too.

• And then on Wednesday, Sept. 16, I'm heading down to Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., where I'll accompany several silent films as part of a cinema class. Sorry, not open to the public! 

Here's more info about 'Beau Geste' (1926), which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its release. Hope you can make it out to the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine to take in this picture the way it was intended to be seen: in a theater, on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience!

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Promotional art for the original silent film version of 'Beau Geste' (1926).

MONDAY, AUG. 31, 2026 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Restored 'Beau Geste' to screen with live music on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at Leavitt Theatre

Public welcome! Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the original 'Beau Geste,' one of the silent era's top grossing adventure films

OGUNQUIT, Maine— It was the blockbuster film that ignited a public craze for desert adventure stories and helped launch Ronald Colman and William Powell to cinematic stardom.

It was the original silent film version of 'Beau Geste' (1926), released 100 years ago. Audiences flocked cinemas for the film's gripping story, terrific performances, and exotic locales.

See for yourself with a screening of 'Beau Geste' (1926) on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 2 p.m. at the historic Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Ogunquit.

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.

General admission is $18 per person. 

The Leavitt is celebrating its 101st anniversary, having served the community continuously since 1925.

"If you've never seen a silent film in a theater with an audience and live music, you're missing one of the cinema's great experiences," said Rapsis, the Leavitt Theatre's silent film accompanist.

In 'Beau Geste' (1926), three tight-knit English brothers run off to join the French Foreign Legion in Algeria after a family heirloom goes missing. 

Expecting high adventure, they instead find themselves fighting for their lives in the middle of the Sahara—against their fellow legionnaires.

Produced by Paramount, the film was based on a popular 1924 novel by Percival Christopher Wren, a British writer of adventure stories.

Ralph Forbes with Ronald Colman in 'Beau Geste' (1926).

The film stars future Oscar-winner Ronald Colman in the title role as Michael "Beau" Geste. 

The cast also includes William Powell (who would later star in the popular 'Thin Man' mystery series) and young actor Neil Hamilton, a native of Lynn, Mass. who would much later play Commissioner Gordon in the 1960s Batman television series.

The production was to be made on location in Algeria, but the ongoing Rif War prohibited filming. It was shot instead in the desert southwest of Yuma, Ariz.

Beau Geste took in $1.5 million at the box office, an enormous sum at the time, making it the year's third highest grossing film, behind only Fox's war drama 'What Price Glory?' and 'The Black Pirate' starring Douglas Fairbanks.

Released before the advent of the Academy Awards, 'Beau Geste' won the Photoplay Medal of Honor, one of the industry's first awards recognizing the best picture of the year.

A Toronto Film Society article stated, 'Beau Geste' is the archetype of the Foreign Legion movie—a carefully produced, enjoyable adventure yarn with an intriguing element of mystery. Melodrama and sentiment are handled with discretion and, at times, with an engaging sense of humor."

Promotional poster for 'Beau Geste' (1926). 

The original 'Beau Geste' was so popular, it inspired several remakes: one in 1939 starring Gary Cooper, and another in 1966. Later, British comic Marty Feldman spoofed the desert adventure genre with 'The Last Remake of Beau Geste' (1977).

The screening of 'Beau Geste' 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.

The original silent film version of 'Beau Geste' (1926) will be screened with live music on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 2 p.m. at the historic Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Ogunquit.

General admission is $18 per person. For more info, visit www.leavittheatre.com.

Marking the 100th anniversary of Valentino's untimely death—but first, Buster Keaton's 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' at Flying Monkey in Plymouth, N.H. on Thursday, 8/13

Vilma Banky and Rudolph Valentino in 'The Son of the Sheik' (1926).

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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Original promotional art for Buster Keaton's 'Steamboat Bill Jr.'

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.

Buster Keaton and Ernest Torrence as son and father in 'Steamboat Bill, Jr.'

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.

Buster braves the coming storm in 'Steamboat Bill, Jr.' 

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.

 

Ernest Torrence and Buster Keaton in 'Steamboat Bill, Jr.' (1928) 

Off the grid for a short spell, but then back at keyboard for programs starting in mid-July

An original poster promoting 'The Black Pirate' (1926), which I'll accompany on Saturday, July 18 in Brandon, Vt.

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! I'm away from the keyboard for a short stretch, but will be back doing music for silent film screenings starting in mid-July. 

Here's a round-up of upcoming programs of silent film with live music by me. Hope to see you soon at a silent film screening!

• Saturday, July 18, 2026, 7 p.m.: "The Black Pirate" (1926) starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr.; Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Main Street/Route 7, Brandon, Vt. The granddaddy of all pirate films, with Fairbanks as an athletic young aristocrat who seeks revenge by joining the pirate band responsible for his father's death. Filmed in color! Join us for a series of silent films and live music in a wonderfully restored town hall in Brandon Vt. that features great acoustics. Admission free, donations accepted with proceeds to help support the silent film series.

• Sunday, July 19, 2026, 2 p.m.: "The Johnstown Flood" (1926) starring George O'Brien, Florence Gilbert, and Janet Gaynor; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. A dramatization of the infamous 1889 disaster, centering on a love triangle between engineer Tom O'Day and two women: the working-class Anna Burger (played by Janet Gaynor) and the wealthy Gloria Hamilton. As a greedy mill owner ignores warnings about the South Fork Dam, a flood is triggered, and Anna attempts to race through the town to warn residents. The film is notable for its pioneering special effects. Join us for a summer mini-series of 1926 blockbusters celebrating their 100th birthdays! Silent film with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912. Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.  

Promotional art for 'Chang' (1927), which I'm accompanying on Sunday, July 26 at the Somerville Theatre.

• Sunday, July 26, 2026, 2 p.m.: "Chang" (1927); Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.; Somerville Theatre. Early semi-documentary that takes viewers deep into the unspoiled jungles of rural Siam (now Thailand) in southeast Asia. Story follows families forced to band together to battle fearsome and lethal enemies, chief among them the dreaded 'Chang.' Made by the team that would go on to film 'King Kong' several years later. Join us for silent film on the big screen at the Somerville Theatre, a 1914 moviehouse and theater. For more info, call the theater box office at (617) 625-5700.      

• Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, 2 p.m.: "Son of the Sheik" (1926) starring Rudolph Valentino; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. The screen's original Latin lover in his most famous role, that of Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassad, ruler of a vast desert empire and conqueror of many a woman's heart. Prepare to swoon! Exotic adventure film that captured the imagination of early movie audiences. Shown in honor of the 100th anniversary of Valentino's untimely death in August 1926 at age 31. Part of a summer mini-series of 1926 blockbusters celebrating their 100th birthdays! Silent film with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912. Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged. 

• Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, 7 p.m.: "Steamboat Bill, Jr." (1928); The Flying Monkey Movie House and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H.; (603) 536-2551. As the son of a gruff steamboat captain, Buster tries to make the grade even as storm clouds gather—and romance brews with the daughter of a rival ship owner. Film climaxes with legendary cyclone sequence, one of Buster's best. Silent film series at a restored moviehouse in Plymouth, N.H. Tickets $15 per person.

• Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, 7 p.m.: "Son of the Sheik" (1926) starring Rudolph Valentino; Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Main Street/Route 7, Brandon, Vt. We mark the 100th anniversary of Valentino's untimely death with his final picture: a rip-roaring sequel to 'The Sheik,' full of romance, adventure, and thrills! Join us for a series of silent films and live music in a wonderfully restored town hall in Brandon Vt. that features great acoustics. Admission free, donations accepted with proceeds to help support the silent film series. 

• Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, 2 p.m.: "Son of the Sheik" (1926) starring Rudolph Valentino; Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.; Somerville Theatre. We mark the 100th anniversary of Valentino's untimely death with his final picture: a rip-roaring sequel to 'The Sheik,' full of romance, adventure, and thrills! Join us for 100th anniversary presentation on the big screen at the Somerville Theatre, a 1914 moviehouse and theater. For more info, call the theater box office at (617) 625-5700.  

Harold Lloyd in 'Safety Last' (1923), which I'm accompanying on Saturday, Aug. 22 in Ludlow, Vt.

• Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, 7 p.m.: "Safety Last" (1923) starring Harold Lloyd. Heald Auditorium in Ludlow Town Hall, 37 Depot St., Ludlow, Vt. Admission free, donations welcome. The iconic image of Harold Lloyd dangling from the hands of a downtown clock is only one piece of a remarkable thrill comedy that has lost none of its power over audiences more than a century after its release. See it for yourself on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience. Silent film with live music presented by the Friends of the Ludlow Auditorium in the lovingly restored upstairs space in Ludlow Town Hall in Ludlow, Vt. For more info, call (802) 228-3238.  

 • Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, 4 p.m.: "Seven Chances" (1925) starring Buster Keaton; The Center for Arts in Natick, 14 Summer St., Natick, Mass.; (508) 647-0097. Buster is about to be saved from bankruptcy by an unexpected inheritance of $7 million—but only if he gets married by 7 p.m. that very day. Can Buster somehow find the girl of his dreams while being pursued by an army of women eager to marry a soon-to-be millionaire? One of Buster's best comedies, climaxed by one of the great chase scenes in all silent film comedy. Silent film with live music in a renovated firehouse that's now a terrific arts center. Tickets $14, Center for the Arts members $12.    

 

Off to California for Harold Lloyd at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, but first some thoughts about Keaton's 'The General'

Me outside the Jane Pickens Theatre, which always does amazing promotional posters. 

Last Thursday night, I had the honor of doing music for 'The General' (1926) for a very appreciative audience at the Jane Pickens Theatre in Newport, R.I.

In introducing the film, I tried a new way to explain what an innovator filmmaker Keaton was.

I asked everyone to look for a short sequence early in the film when Buster jumps on and starts riding one of those old-fashioned bicycles sometimes called 'penny-farthings'—the ones with one big wheel (which has the pedals) and a tiny trailing wheel.

Buster pedals for a short while, and finally falls off and down an embankment. It takes all of 10 seconds of screen time. Buster gets laughs for the sheer futility of his efforts.

But the startling thing about the sequence is the placement of the camera. Once Buster hops aboard the bike, the view switches so that Buster is followed from above as he struggles to maintain his balance over rough ground, and then finally tips over.

It could have been shot from ground level, which is is when Buster mounts the bike. But then the film switches to a tracking shot to follow him as he pedals and finally falls.

Why take the trouble to shoot from a high angle? Buster, I think, instinctively knew that the absurdity of the scene would be greatly magnified by how he's pedaling along the edge of a steep embankment.

And in order for that to work, an audience had to see the embankment. And the only way to do that was for the camera to be elevated high above Buster and to look down. 

To modern audiences, this seems perfectly natural—something you'd hardly notice. Every time we watch a movie, we benefit from more than a century of film-making technique. 

But if you look at a lot of silent films, you realize how rare and unusual this sort of camera placement is. Deep into the 1920s, directors were still prone to keep the camera on the ground, as if it was an audience member sitting in a seat at a stage play. Old theater habits died hard.

Buster, however, seemed to instinctively know that the camera had to be in a certain (and seemingly unnatural) place for the scene to work, and the flexibility of the motion picture allowed that.

No onlooker would have seen Buster on his bike from a high angle as he passed by. But Buster and his team seemed to understand the different possibilities offered by the movies, and made use of them when the scene called for it.

Here's the sequence from YouTube:

It's the same thing in another Keaton film, 'Our Hospitality' (1923), where scenes of Buster at the edge of a high waterfall are filmed from above, over the rushing waters (that can't have been easy) in order to show Buster's predicament.  

Buster shot from above (again) in 'Our Hospitality' (1923).

How did Buster know to do this? There was no film school. (Keaton, a child star in vaudeville, attended regular school for exactly one day.) It had to be an intuition about the possibilities of this new way of story-telling, and a willingness to experiment.

Not sure if any of this helped last Thursday's audience appreciate 'The General,' but the reaction was strong throughout. Very satisfying to see Buster's great achievement still provoke cheers as it approaches its 100th birthday.

Up next: I'm heading out to the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont, Calif. to accompany a program on Saturday, May 30 featuring Harold Lloyd's 'Grandma's Boy' (1922).

And then June brings a cluster of great programs, including the silent version of 'Beau Geste' (1926) in Wilton on Sunday, June 7 and a screening of a 35mm print of 'The Adventures of Prince Achmed' (1926) at the Somerville Theatre on Sunday, June 14.

See you at the movies! 

Up next: 'The General' with live music in Newport, R.I. on Thursday, May 21, plus the perils of using Vivaldi for Civil War battle scenes

Buster with his co-star in 'The General' (1926).

Even if we weren't celebrating the 100th anniversary of its release, Buster Keaton's 'The General' stands as one of the most requested silent films 

But this year, thanks to the big round number, I'm accompanying 'The General' more than ever. Next up: Thursday, May 21 at 6 p.m. at the Jane Pickens Theatre in Newport, R.I. 

More details on this screening in the press release pasted in below.

My experience with 'The General' dates back to my undergraduate days at Fordham University in the 1980s. 

I was involved with the 'Cinevents' committee, the student group that scheduled and showed feature films on campus. 

This was back in the days before anything was available at any time via streaming—but that's a whole other topic.

Even then, long before I actively started doing live music for silent film screenings, I was notorious for advocating for their inclusion in college schedule, forever pleading for 'Safety Last' to be screened at Fordham.

At one point, by classmates relented, and we booked Keaton's 'The General' as part of Fordham's classic film series, which took place on Tuesday nights at Keating Hall.

Keating Hall at Fordham, where we showed movies to the students on campus.

However, when the 16mm print arrived from the Swank rental agency, it turned out to be truly silent, with no recorded soundtrack!

What to do? 

 Someone got a cassette tape of Vivaldi's 'The Seasons,' and that's what we pumped through the sound system as Buster's Civil War epic unfolded.

I have to say, for the most part it worked wonderfully. A lot of Vivaldi's music is repeated notes chugging along, which went well with all the scenes set on moving trains. At one point, a movement ended just as a scene faded out. Wow!

Alas, our luck didn't hold. As the film reached its climax, the large scale Civil War battle scenes were accompanied by the lilting strains of Vivaldi's 'Spring,' a pairing that didn't quite work. 

I'm hoping to avoid that fate when I do live music for 'The General' on Thursday, May 21 at the Jane Pickens Theatre in Newport, R.I. More info and details in the press release below.

*    *    *

 Buster Keaton in 'The General' (1926).

Buster Keaton's 'The General' with live music at Jane Pickens Theatre on Thursday, May 21

100th anniversary screening! Civil War railroading comedy/adventure film lauded as stone-faced comic moviemaker's masterpiece

NEWPORT, R.I. — 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 100th anniversary screening of 'The General' (1926), one of Keaton's landmark feature films, on Thursday, May 21 at 6 p.m. at the Jane Pickens Theatre, 49 Touro St., Newport, R.I.

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

Admission is $18; members $16. Tickets at the door; advance tickets are available online at janepickens.com. For more information, call the box office at (401) 846-5474.

The screening is a chance to experience this landmark film as it was intended to be seen: in a high quality print 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.

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," Rapsis said.

With the screening of 'The General' at the Jane Pickens Theatre, 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."

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.

 

Buster Keaton on location while shooting 'The General' (1926).

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 Thursday, May 21 at 6 p.m. at the Jane Pickens Theatre, 49 Touro St., Newport, R.I.

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

Admission is $18; members $16. Tickets at the door; advance tickets are available online at janepickens.com. For more information, call the box office at (401) 846-5474.

 

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! 

*    *    *

 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.