Up next: 'Sunrise' at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge for Silent Movie Day on 9/29

George O'Brien and Margaret Livingstone in 'Sunrise' (1927) directed by F.W. Murnau.

There's still no Hallmark greeting cards yet, but this Tuesday marks yet another Silent Movie Day. 

This year, I'm marking the occasion by accompanying 'Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans' (1927) at the venerable Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Mass. 

Alas, the Brattle is the only venue in the Boston area that I know of that observes 'Silent Movie Day' with at least some silent film programming. 

Two years ago, the good folks at the Brattle let me accompany the restored version of Abel Gance's 'La Roue' (1923)—all seven hours of it in one day! We started at noon and, with some brief breaks between the four parts, finished at about 8:30 p.m. 

The celebration this year is a bit more modest: the Brattle ran some Chaplin shorts last Friday, and then on Tuesday it's me accompanying 'Sunrise' in a new restoration. 

Show your support for Silent Movie Day by journeying to the Brattle and joining us. Showtime is at 6:30 p.m.—ironically, at about dusk.

More info about the film and the screening is found in press release below.

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Original poster for the release of 'Sunrise' (1927).

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

Academy Award-winning drama 'Sunrise' to screen on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at Brattle Theatre

Silent film won three honors at first-ever Academy Awards, including 'Best Actress' for Janet Gaynor; show features live musical accompaniment

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Silent film on the big screen with live music returns to the Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge, with the Academy Award-winning romantic drama 'Sunrise' (1927) on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 6:30 p.m.

The screening of 'Sunrise,' starring Janet Gaynor and George O'Brien, is in honor of international 'Silent Movie Day,' which is celebrated each year on Sept. 29.

Admission is $15.50; $13.50 for members/students/seniors. Tickets available online at brattlefilm.org or at the door.

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

Gaynor, a popular female star of the silent film era, won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in 'Sunrise.' The movie took top honors in cinematography and was also recognized for "Unique and Artistic Production" at the inaugural awards.

Janet Gaynor and George O'Brien in a happier moment in 'Sunrise' (1927).

'Sunrise' tells the story of a young country couple (played by Gaynor and O'Brien) whose marriage is threatened by the presence of a woman from the city (Margaret Livingston) who convinces the man to abandon his wife. Will the young husband go through with a plan to kill his wife? Will true love overcome the obstacles of temptation and the promise of short-term pleasure?

'Sunrise' was directed by F. W. Murnau, a German filmmaker and one of the leading figures in German Expressionism, a style that uses distorted art design for symbolic effect. 'Sunrise' was made when Murnau was invited by studio chief William Fox to make a film in Hollywood.

The resulting movie features enormous stylized sets that create an exaggerated, fairy-tale world. The city street set alone reportedly cost over $200,000 to build, a huge sum at the time. Much of the exterior shooting was done at Lake Arrowhead, Calif.

Janet Gaynor and George O'Brien in 'Sunrise' (1927).

Full of cinematic innovations, the groundbreaking cinematography (by Charles Rosher and Karl Struss) featured moving cameras and impressive tracking shots. Titles appear sparingly, with long sequences of pure action and most of the story told in Murnau's signature visual style. The extensive use of forced perspective is striking, particularly in a shot of the city with normal-sized people and sets in the foreground and smaller figures in the background by much smaller sets.

The story of 'Sunrise' is told as a visual allegory with few specific details. The characters have no names, and the setting is not named in order to make the tale more universal and symbolic.

With a full title of 'Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans,' the film is regarded as one of the high points of the silent cinema. In 1988, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress for films that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The Sight and Sound poll of 2012 for the British Film Institute named 'Sunrise' the fifth-best film in the history of motion pictures by critics, and 22nd by directors.

An original poster promoting 'Sunrise' (1927).

Critics continue to hail 'Sunrise' as one of the best films of all time.

"F.W. Murnau's 'Sunrise' conquered time and gravity with a freedom that was startling to its first audiences," wrote Roger Ebert in 2004. "To see it today is to be astonished by the boldness of its visual experimentation.

Rapsis, who uses original themes to improvise silent film scores, said great silent film dramas such as 'Sunrise' used their lack of dialogue to create stories that concentrated on the "big" emotions such as Love, Despair, Anger, and Joy. Because of this, audiences continue to respond to them in the 21st century, especially if they're presented as intended — with a live audience and live music.

"Dramas such as 'Sunrise' were created to be shown on the big screen as a communal experience," Rapsis said. "With an audience and live music, they come to life as their creators intended them to. So the screening of 'Sunrise' on Silent Movie Day 2026 is a great chance to experience films that first caused people to fall in love with the movies," he said.

'Sunrise' will be shown with live music on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 6:30 p.m.at the Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.

Admission is $15.50; $13.50 for members/students/seniors. Tickets available online at brattlefilm.org or at the door.For more info, call (617) 876-6837.

 

 

 

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.