Tonight! It's up to Brandon, Vt. to do live music for a 100th anniversary screening of 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1922) starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr.
If you're anywhere near the area, come on out tonight for what promises to be a grand time at the movies. After all, it was only the #1 top box office attraction that year!
For more information, let's get right to the press release:
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It's off to Sherwood Forest for the 100th anniversary of legendary silent blockbuster, screened with live music
BRANDON, Vt.—He robbed from the rich, gave to the poor, and was the top box office attraction of 1922.
He was Douglas Fairbanks Sr. starring in 'The Adventures of Robin Hood,' the original movie adaptation of the legendary tale.
See it for yourself on the big screen on Saturday, June 11 at 7 p.m. at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, on Route 7 in Brandon, Vt.
Admission is free; donations are welcome to help support ongoing Town Hall renovation efforts.
Live music for the silent 'Robin Hood' will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based performer and composer who specializes in scoring and presenting silent films.
Set in medieval England, 'Robin Hood' tells the tale of the Earl of Huntingdon (Fairbanks), a dashing nobleman who joins King Richard the Lion-Hearted (Wallace Beery) on a Crusade to the Holy Land.
Huntingdon later returns to England to find Richard's cruel brother, Prince John (Sam De Grasse), falsely claiming the throne, enriching his aristocratic cronies and tyrannizing the citizenry.
Huntingdon takes to the woods and becomes 'Robin Hood,' soon joined by a band of merry men who undermine Prince John's reign by robbing from the rich and giving to the poor.
Can Robin
Hood and his men vanquish their enemy, the High Sheriff of Nottingham
(William Lowery)? And can they rescue Lady Marian Fitzwalter (Enid
Bennett), Huntingdon's betrothed, from the evil clutches of Prince John?
Along the way, Fairbanks has ample opportunity to demonstrate his skills in archery, fencing, and acrobatics.
Directed
by Allan Dwan, 'Robin Hood' amazed audiences with its enormous sets
that recreated in full scale the castles and villages of medieval
England.
At a time when $200,000 was a hefty movie budget, 'Robin Hood' cost $1 million to produce.
But
the film proved an enormous hit, becoming the top box office attraction
of 1922 and earning $2.5 million in its initial release through United
Artists, the distribution company Fairbanks formed with fellow stars
Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, and his wife, Mary Pickford.
Fairbanks,
among the most popular stars of the 1920s, was the inspiration for the
character of George Valentin in the Oscar-winning Best Picture 'The
Artist' (2011). Fairbanks was known for films that used the then-new
medium of motion pictures to transport audiences to historical time
periods for grand adventures and athletic stunts.
He's often referred to as "Douglas Fairbanks Sr." to avoid confusion with his son, the actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Also
in the cast for 'Robin Hood' is Alan Hale Sr., who made such an
impression at Little John that he was cast in the same role in the 1938
remake starring Errol Flynn. (Hale's son, Alan Hale Jr., played the role
of the Skipper on the 1960s television series "Gilligan's Island.")
Live
music for 'Robin Hood' will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff
Rapsis, who uses a digital synthesizer to create a traditional full
orchestra "movie score" sound.
"Seeing a Fairbanks picture in a theater with live music and an audience is a classic movie experience," Rapsis said.
Rapsis emphasized the unique value of seeing early cinema as it was originally presented.
"These films were designed for the big screen, live music, and large audiences. Put it all together again, and you get a sense of why people first fell in love with the movies," Rapsis said.
It's the 11th year of Brandon's popular silent film series, which gives residents and visitors a chance to see great movies from the pioneering days of cinema as they were meant to be shown—on the big screen, with an audience, and accompanied by live music.
Screenings are held once a month on Saturday nights from May through November. Admission is free; donations are encouraged, with proceeds to benefit the Town Hall's ongoing restoration.
Over the years, silent film donations have helped support projects including handicapped access to the 19th century building; renovating the bathrooms; and restoring the structure's original slate roof.
The screening of 'Robin Hood' is sponsored by Bruce Ness and Nancy Spalding-Ness.
Other films in this year's Brandon Town Hall silent film series include:
• Saturday, July 23, 7 p.m.: 'Sherlock Jr.' (1924) and 'Battling Butler' (1926). A Buster Keaton double feature showing the stone-faced comedian at the peak of his physical comedy powers. Sponsored by Kathy and Bill Mathis in memory of Maxine Thurston.
• Saturday, Aug. 13, 7 p.m.: 'Blood and Sand' (1922) starring Rudolph Valentino in his first starring role, as a sexy bullfighter in this romantic thriller. Celebrating its 100th anniversary! Sponsored by Edward Loedding and Dorothy Leysath, the Hanson Family in memory of Pat Hanson, and Sally Wood.
• Saturday, Sept. 10, 7 p.m.: 'The Flying Ace' (1926), rare example of movies produced for black-only theaters in segregated parts of the nation; added to the National Film Registry in 2021. Sponsored by Nancy and Gary Meffe.
• Saturday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m.: 'Nosferatu' (1922) Just in time for Halloween! Celebrate the 100th anniversary of F.W. Murnau's original adaptation of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' story. Sponsored by Bar Harbor Bank and Trust.
• Saturday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m.: 'Her Sister from Paris' (1925) starring Constance Talmadge, Ronald Colman. The scene: Europe. The cast: Rich people. Effervescent battle-of-the-sexes comedy. Sponsored by Harold & Jean Somerset.
'Robin Hood' (1922) starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr., will be screened with live music on Saturday, June 11 at 7 p.m. at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Route 7, in Brandon, Vt. All are welcome to this family-friendly event. Admission is free, with free will donations accepted in support of ongoing Town Hall renovations.
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