Here's a running list of upcoming screenings of silent film with live music by Jeff Rapsis.
• Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, 7 p.m.: "Phantom of the Opera" (1925) starring Lon Chaney;
Leavitt Theatre,
259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123. Long before Andrew Lloyd Webber created the hit stage musical, this
silent film adaptation starring Lon Chaney helped place 'Phantom' firmly
in the pantheon of both horror and romance. Just in time for Halloween! Join us for a
summer season of movies and entertainment at the historic Leavitt
Theatre. See great silent films with live music in a summer-only theater
opened in 1925 and barely changed since. Tickets $15 per person.
• Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, 7:30 p.m.: "Dracula" (1931) starring Bela Lugosi; The Jane Pickens Theatre, 49 Touro St., Newport, R.I.; (401) 846-5474; https://janepickens.com/. Universal's original sound version of Dracula featured the inspired
casting choice of Bela Lugosi in the title role, but virtually no music!
So this Halloween, we present 'Dracula' with an added musical score by
Jeff Rapsis, our resident silent film accompanist. Tickets $17 per person.
• Wednesday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m.: Lon Chaney Halloween Creepfest! "The Unknown" (1927) and 'West of Zanzibar' (1928), both starring Lon Chaney and directed by Todd Browning; The Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester, N.H.; (603) 574-4826.
Two very weird late silent thrillers, both starring Chaney at the peak of
his career and directed by Todd Browning. In 'The Unknown' (1927), Chaney
plays 'Alonzo the Armless,' a circus knife-thrower (he uses his feet!)
with a dark past who lusts after trapeze artist Joan Crawford, who is
pursued by the circus strong man, but she has a phobia about being held
by a man. See where this is going? In 'West of Zanzibar' (1928),
Chaney plays a vaudeville magician who loses use of his legs in an
accident but still journeys to Africa to seek revenge on the wealthy
businessman (Lionel Barrymore) who stole his beloved. Join us for a series of silent film programs with live music in a
wonderful restored theater in downtown Manchester. Tickets $10 per person.
• Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, 2 p.m. "Daughter of the Dawn" (1920); the Edison Theatre at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, 37417 Niles Boulevard, Niles, Calif. One of the few silent films made with an entirely Native American cast. Filmed in Oklahoma in 1920; the story, played by an all-Native American cast of 300 Kiowas and Comanches, includes a romantic rivalry, buffalo hunts, a battle, village scenes, dances, deceit, courage, hand-to-hand combat, and a happy ending. Long thought lost until a print surfaced in 2005 in Oklahoma City. Wonderful vintage Edison theater from 1913 now fully restored; shows weekly programs of silent films with live music.
• Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, 6:30 p.m.: "The General" (1927) starring Buster Keaton; Greenfield Garden Cinemas, 361 Main St., Greenfield, Mass.; call (413) 773-9260 or visit www.gardencinemas.net. Buster's Civil War-era masterpiece follows the story of a Confederate railroad engineer whose train is hijacked by Northern spies. One of the great films of any era! Tickets $10.50 adults; $8.50 students, seniors, and veterans.
• Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, 6:30 p.m.: "The Lost World" (1925) starring Wallace Beery; The Flying Monkey Movie House and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H.; (603) 536-2551. 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. Silent film series at a restored moviehouse
in Plymouth, N.H. Tickets $10 per person. Rescheduled from Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024.
• Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, 2 p.m.: "Girl Shy" (1924) starring Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston; Lempster Historical Society. More details to come. 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. Sponsored by the Lempster Historical Society and Friends of the Lempster Library.
• Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, 7 p.m.: "Barbed Wire" (1927) starring Pola Negri, Clive Brook; Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Main Street/Route 7, Brandon, Vt.; http://www.brandontownhall.com. During World War I, the French government commandeers a family farm for use as a camp for German POWs, setting the local population at each other. Intense drama about forbidden love and the human condition with a special holiday twist. 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 continuing preservation work.
• Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, 7 p.m.: "The Thief of Bagdad" (1926) starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.; Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St, Brookline, Mass.; (617) 734-2501. Celebrate the 100th anniversary of this
eye-popping cinematic spectacle; starring Fairbanks in top form as
Arabian
adventurer who must complete a series of epic tasks to save his beloved.
Timeless tale told imaginatively and on a grand scale, complete with
cutting edge special effects.Silent film
on the big screen with live music: the Coolidge's
long-running 'Sounds of Silence' program recreates the experience of
early cinema so today's audiences can experience why movie-goers first
fell in love with the silver screen.
• Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, 2 p.m.: "It's the Old Army Game" (1926) starring W.C. Fields, Louise Brooks; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Burn off those Thanksgiving weekend extra calories with laughter. Uproarious 1926 silent comedy in which W.C. Fields plays Elmer Prettywillie, a druggist kept awake by clamorous garbage collectors, a nosy woman seeking a 2-cent stamp, bogus land deals, and phony fortunes in a non-stop comedy of errors. Silent film with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912. Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.
• Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, 6:30 p.m.: "The Mark of Zorro" (1920)
starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.; Greenfield
Garden Cinemas, 361 Main St.,
Greenfield, Mass.; call (413) 773-9260 or visit www.gardencinemas.net. Douglas Fairbanks Sr. stars in the still-thrilling original adaptation.
Great crowd-pleaser that had an enormous impact on popular culture,
including inspiration for the "Batman" comic book series. Tickets $10.50 adults;
$8.50 students, seniors, and veterans.
• Sunday, Dec. 8, 4 p.m.: "Metropolis" (1927) directed by Fritz Lang; The Center for Arts in Natick, 14 Summer St., Natick, Mass.; (508) 647-0097. The eye-popping silent film sci-fi masterpiece of German filmmaker Fritz Lang is a vintage look at things to come. Restored version includes nearly a half-hour of lost footage that was rediscovered in Argentina in 2008. Silent film with live music in a renovated firehouse that's now a terrific arts center. Tickets $14, Center for the Arts members $12.
• Friday, Dec. 13, 7 p.m.: "Oliver Twist" (1922) starring Jackie Coogan, Lon Chaney;
at the Park Theater, 19 Main St., Jaffrey, N.H.; (603) 532-9300; https://theparktheatre.org/ The original silent film adaptation of the famous tale by Charles Dickens. Part of the Park Theatre's annual 'Dickens Fest'; includes an early 10-minute adaptation of 'A Christmas Carol' produced in 1910 by Thomas Edison. General admission $15 per person; buy tickets online or at
the door.
• Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, time about 3 p.m.: "The Lost World" (1925) at the 50th Annual Sci-Fi Marathon presented by the Case Western Reserve University Film Society, 10900 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. Live music for 'The Lost World,' a featured attraction in this year's annual 36-hour (!) sci-fi marathon at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. First-ever movie adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary tale of British explorers who discover prehistoric 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.
• Sunday, Jan. 26, 2 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Silent film
with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912.
Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.
• Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Wild Orchids" (1928) starring Greta Garbo; The Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester, N.H.; (603) 574-4826. An older man takes his young wife across the South Pacific to the island nation of Java, where he plans to invest in tea plantations. Aboard ship, she witnesses a passenger hitting one of his servants. The violent man is immediately taken by the beauty of this mysterious woman and resolves to make her acquaintance, marking the start of a dangerous romantic triangle leading to an unforgettable climax in the jungle. Join us for a series of silent film programs with live music in a wonderful restored theater in downtown Manchester. Tickets $10.
• Sunday, Feb. 9, 2 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Silent film
with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912.
Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.
• Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1, 2025, Kansas Silent Film Festival at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Annual pilgrimage to multi-day celebration of silent film with live music. Check it out at www.kssilentfilmfest.org. My 26th consecutive year of attending this festival, which includes during the pandemic in 2021, when it was held online but we recreated it in New Hampshire. See you in the Sunflower State!
• Sunday, March 9, 2 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Silent film
with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912.
Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.
• Wednesday, March 19, 2025, 7:30 p.m.: "Before They Could Speak: Laurel & Hardy in the Silent Film Era" starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy; The Walker Lecture Series, Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince Street, Concord, N.H. Free and open to the public. See the famous comedy duo when they got their start during the silent film era, prior to the transition to talkies. Films include 'Two Tars' (1928), 'The Finishing Touch' (1928), and 'You're Darn Tootin'' (1928).
• Sunday, March 30, 2 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Silent film
with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912.
Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.
• Wednesday, April 2, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Show People" (1928) starring William Haines, Marion Davies; directed by King Vidor; The Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester, N.H.; (603) 574-4826. Young Peggy Pepper (Marion Davies) ventures to Hollywood to make her mark in drama, but finds an unexpected (and unwelcome) flair for slapstick comedy. King Vidor directed this entertaining valentine to an art form that would soon be swept aside by talking pictures. Full of cameos of stars ranging from Charlie Chaplin to Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Join us for a series of silent film programs with live music in a wonderful restored theater in downtown Manchester. Tickets $10 per person.
• Sunday, April 13, 2025, 2 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Silent film with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912. Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.
• Sunday, April 27, 2025, 2 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Silent film with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912. Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.
• Saturday, May 17, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Brandon Town Hall
and Community Center, Main Street/Route 7, Brandon, Vt.;
http://www.brandontownhall.com. 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 continuing preservation work.
• Sunday, May 18, 2025, 2 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Silent film with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912. Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.
• Wednesday, May 28, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Title TBA";
Leavitt Theatre,
259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123. Join us for a
summer season of movies and entertainment at the historic Leavitt
Theatre, celebrating its 100th anniversary. See great silent films with live music in a summer-only theater
opened in 1925 and barely changed since.
• Saturday, June 7, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Main Street/Route 7, Brandon, Vt.; http://www.brandontownhall.com. 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 continuing preservation work.
• Sunday, June 8, 2025, 2 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Silent film with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912. Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.
• Wednesday, June 11, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Title TBA";
Leavitt Theatre,
259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123. Join us for a
summer season of movies and entertainment at the historic Leavitt
Theatre, celebrating its 100th anniversary. See great silent films with live music in a summer-only theater
opened in 1925 and barely changed since.
• Saturday, July 12, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Main Street/Route 7, Brandon, Vt.; http://www.brandontownhall.com. 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 continuing preservation work.
• Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Title TBA";
Leavitt Theatre,
259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123. Join us for a
summer season of movies and entertainment at the historic Leavitt
Theatre, celebrating its 100th anniversary. See great silent films with live music in a summer-only theater
opened in 1925 and barely changed since.
• Sunday, July 27, 2025, 2 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Silent film with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912. Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.
• Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Title TBA";
Leavitt Theatre,
259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123. Join us for a
summer season of movies and entertainment at the historic Leavitt
Theatre, celebrating its 100th anniversary. See great silent films with live music in a summer-only theater
opened in 1925 and barely changed since.
• Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Brandon Town Hall
and Community Center, Main Street/Route 7, Brandon, Vt.;
http://www.brandontownhall.com. 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 continuing preservation work.
• Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025, 2 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Silent film with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912. Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.
• Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Title TBA";
Leavitt Theatre,
259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123. Join us for a
summer season of movies and entertainment at the historic Leavitt
Theatre, celebrating its 100th anniversary. See great silent films with live music in a summer-only theater
opened in 1925 and barely changed since.
• Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Main Street/Route 7, Brandon, Vt.; http://www.brandontownhall.com. 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 continuing preservation work.
• Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, 2 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Silent film with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912. Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.
• Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Main Street/Route 7, Brandon, Vt.; http://www.brandontownhall.com. 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 continuing preservation work.
• Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, 2 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Silent film with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912. Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.
• Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Title TBA";
Leavitt Theatre,
259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123. Join us for a
summer season of movies and entertainment at the historic Leavitt
Theatre, celebrating its 100th anniversary. See great silent films with live music in a summer-only theater
opened in 1925 and barely changed since.
• Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Brandon Town Hall
and Community Center, Main Street/Route 7, Brandon, Vt.;
http://www.brandontownhall.com. 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 continuing preservation work.
• Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, 2 p.m.: "Title TBA"; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Silent film
with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912.
Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged.
