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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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.
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.
No complete original prints of 'Beau Geste' are known to survive. The Library of Congress used materials from several archives to assemble a restored version in advance of the film's 100th anniversary.
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.
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