Starting this Wednesday, I'll do music for five silent film screenings in six days.
The fun starts on Wednesday, April 2, when I accompany a 7 p.m. screening of 'Show People' (1928) at the Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St. in downtown Manchester, N.H.
'Show People' is a terrific late silent MGM comedy/drama starring Marion Davies and William Haines, and directed by King Vidor. Lots more info in the press release pasted in below.
After that, here's a quick run-down of where I'll be between then and next Monday.
• Thursday, April 3, 2025, 12:30 p.m.: "The Circus" (1928) starring Charlie Chaplin, part of Cinema Ritrovato 2025; University of N.H, Memorial Union Building (the "MUB"), 83 Main St., Durham, N.H. On this year's program: Chaplin's feature-length comedy set under the Big Top. All Cinema Ritrovato screenings and events are free and open to the public. For more information about the 2025 Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour in N.H., the full schedule of screenings, and details about the screening locations, visit www.cinemaritrovatonh.com.
• Saturday, April 5, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Straight Is The Way"
(1921); at the Blazing Star
Grange Hall, North Road in Danbury, N.H. (Preceded by "soup and bread"
dinner at 6 p.m.) An early crime drama/comedy set in the
small town of "Hampton Center, New Hampshire," released over 100 years
ago
and not screened again until it transferred in 2021
from a rare surviving print at the U.S. Library of Congress. Join us for
this Cosmopolitan Pictures chestnut from a century ago, and enjoy
seeing
Hollywood's image of the Granite State back in the day.Join us for a
silent film
program in a historic (and authentic) small town N.H. Grange Hall. Soup
and bread supper served at 6 p.m., $5 per person; movie shown at 7 p.m.,
suggested donation of $5 per person.
• Sunday, April 6, 2025, 2 p.m.: "It's the Old Army Game" 91926) starring W.C. Fields, Louise Brooks; Somerville Theatre,
55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass. In one of his silent features,
Fields plays a pharmacist who gets tangled up with real estate con men.
Shown via 35mm print from Library of Congress. 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. Tickets $17, with discounts for members/seniors/kids.
• Monday, April 7, 2025, 6:30 p.m.: "The Lost World" (1925) starring Wallace Beery; Greenfield Garden Cinemas, 361 Main St., Greenfield, Mass.; call (413) 773-9260 or visit www.gardencinemas.net. 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. Tickets $10.50 adults; $8.50 students, seniors, and veterans.
Hope to see you at one or all of these!
For now, here's the press release for the screening of 'Show People' on Wednesday, April 2 at 7 p.m. at the Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St. in Manchester, N.H.:
* * *
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com
Rex Theatre to screen classic silent rom-com 'Show People' on Wednesday, April 2
William Haines, Marion Davies lead all-star cast in classic silent film romantic comedy shown with live music
MANCHESTER, N.H.—He was the Tom Hanks of his time: a leading man with a winning manner and breezy charm who always got the girl.
But the film career of William Haines, one of early Hollywood's brightest stars, was cut short for an unfortunate reason: at a time when sexual preference was a taboo subject, he was openly gay.
See Haines at the peak of his popularity in 'Show People' (1928), an MGM comedy co-starring Marion Davies that spoofs the movie industry, pitting high drama against low comedy.
'Show People,' directed by King Vidor, shows Haines at the height of his leading-man status. The light-hearted story follows Peggy Pepper (Marion Davies), a beauty queen from Georgia trying to break into the movies as a dramatic actress. Haines plays Billy Boone, lead actor of a slapstick comedy studio where Pepper gets her first break.
Can the young actress yearning for drama survive the indignity of pies in the face? And when her big break finally comes, will it mean sacrificing her growing friendship with Billy? And can Billy rescue the fun-loving Georgia girl from a studio that aims to invent a whole new persona for her as a serious actress, descended from European royalty?
Can low comedy win out over high drama? In answering that question, 'Show People' pokes fun at Hollywood phoniness and the culture of celebrity worship that had already emerged by the 1920s. 'Show People' also offers rare behind-the-scenes glimpses of movie-making at the very end of the silent period, when studios were rushing to prepare for sound.
"It's like they knew an era was ending, and 'Show People' is kind of a Valentine to the whole silent film experience," said Rapsis, who will accompany the screening at the Leavitt. "It's a love letter to all the craziness that went into creating the movie business."
Set in backstage Hollywood, 'Show People' features cameos by dozens of major stars of the period, including Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., William S. Hart, and John Gilbert.
Haines made the transition to talkies, but eventually had a falling out with MGM's studio bosses, which led to his firing in 1933. In recent years, Haines has been recognized as a courageous pioneer in gay rights in the early Hollywood community.
In 2003, 'Show People' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
“These films are still exciting experiences if you show them as they were designed to be screened,” Rapsis said. “There’s a reason people first fell in love with the movies, and we hope to recreate that experience. At their best, silent films were a communal experience very different from today’s movies—one in which the presence of a large audience intensifies everyone’s reactions.”
‘Show People’ (1928), a classic silent comedy starring William Haines and Marion Davies, will be shown with live music on Wednesday, April 2 at 7 p.m. at the Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester, N.H.
No comments:
Post a Comment