Sunday, May 22: 'The First Auto' in Wilton, N.H., plus notes on three earlier screenings featuring John Gilbert, Harold Lloyd, and Buster Keaton

An original poster for 'The First Auto' (1927).

This weekend, in honor of the upcoming Indianapolis 500, we're screening 'The First Auto' (1927), a Warner Bros. drama set at the turn of the previous century, at the dawn of the auto era.

Showtime is Sunday, May 22 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. A lot more info is in the press release below, including the ironic death of actor Charles Emmett Mack in a car accident prior to the film's completion.

Now, a look back at some recent shows. It's been a busy month and I'm behind on keeping up this diary, so here goes.

• A screening of the John Gilbert swashbuckler 'Bardelys the Magnificent' (1926) drew cheers, surprisingly, from the audience on Wednesday, May 11 at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse in Plymouth, N.H.

I say "surprisingly" because the cheers came during the film's climax towards the end of a screening that otherwise elicited practically no audible response from those attending.

Well, you never know. I think part of it is that the climax to 'Bardelys' is truly top-notch: Gilbert's title character, condemned to death and actually on the gallows, suddenly makes a break for it.

What follows is a remarkable sequence of choreographed action in which Gilbert eludes his pursuers, matching swashbuckling legend Douglas Fairbanks in creative and athletic stunting.

To me, the cheers and applause was music to my ears, as it meant people were following the story and cared about this character's fate after all. 

Also, it was very nice to have a regular attendee of the Flying Monkey silent series come up afterwards to say the music I came up with for the famous "boating romance" scene in 'Bardelys' really fit the scene and gave it extra depth. 

I assume she was talking about the music, and not the pond that John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman are seen gliding over.

• Harold Lloyd's 'For Heaven's Sake' (1926) opened this year's silent film series in Brandon, Vt., preceded by a Weiss Bros. short 'Danger Ahead' (1926) just to show two contrasting types of silent comedy. 

I've accompanied 'For Heaven's Sake' several times recently (in celebration of its new 'public domain' status) and I've noticed something strange about the film that I've not read anything about.

The picture clocks in at 58 minutes, or just under an hour—rather short for a Lloyd feature in between 'The Freshman' (1925, 76 minutes) and 'The Kid Brother' (1927, 84 minutes).

I know Lloyd had trouble with it in production, and even finding a suitable title was difficult. The material just didn't gell, which I guess will happen when you make films in the semi-improv way the silent clowns employed.

And critics have sometimes pointed out that the climactic "race to the altar" lacks drama or suspense because there's no real reason in the story for Harold to hurry, other than he doesn't want to be late. 

I mean, he's already phoned his bride before commencing on a wild ride across the unnamed city. Along the way, the antics of Harold's five sozzled roughneck friends are amusing, but are no match for other high-stakes situations such as the iconic building climb of 'Safety Last' (1923).

Contrast the climax of 'For Heaven's Sake' that with 'Girl Shy' (1924), where Lloyd absolutely MUST get to the church as fast as possible, as his girl is already at the altar, exchanging vows with a bigamist. I've accompanied screenings of this film where people are literally shouting "Hurry up!" at the screen.

Alas, this doesn't happen in 'For Heaven's Sake,' as the stakes aren't nearly so high. 

And I wonder if something didn't quite go right in the oven, and if something larger and more sinister was originally planned for the film, but somehow got cut. 

For starters, there's the film's stunted length. 

And then there's also the credits: getting top billing is James Mason—the silent one, not the James Mason who later starred in '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.' Mason is billed as 'The Gangster,' presented as one of the lead roles.

But Mason barely appears in the film, and always on the sidelines.

Much more prominent is reliable celluloid bully Noah Young, who interacts regularly with Lloyd throughout the film and plays what turns out to be the film's key heavy. But unlike Mason, he doesn't merit any mention or credit in the opening titles.

To me, it seems likely that Lloyd and his team intended to develop the "gangster" theme more thoroughly to create a situation to bring real danger to our protagonist J. Harold Manners, the richest man in town.

Lloyd's "meet-cute" with Jobyna Ralston in 'For Heaven's Sake' (1926). 

And the potential is there. If there was a reason for a gangster to stop Lloyd's wedding to Jobyna Ralston's mission worker (maybe a romantic rivalry?), then maybe Lloyd could have been kidnapped by the bad guys (not his rich friends), creating suspense on the level of 'Girl Shy' or 'Safety Last.'

Maybe that's the role Mason was intended to play. After all, he played a similar baddie (with designs on Ralston) in Lloyd's comedy 'Why Worry?' (1923). 

Even better, Mason could have kidnapped Ralston, not Lloyd, forcing our Hero to race to her rescue, maybe with his drunken friends in tow along the way. Great suspense could be generated, with Lloyd striving to rescue Jobyna while keeping five inebriated friends from danger.

But there are signs that whatever role Mason was supposed to play, most of it wound up on the cutting room floor.

Instead, in 'For Heaven's Sake,' Lloyd gets kidnapped by his fellow rich twits, which doesn't lead to any significant peril for our hero, and little edge-of-the-seat suspense for an audience. 

There are accounts that the "gangster" angle planned for 'For Heaven's Sake' wound up being reworked for 'Speedy' (1928), But it's really too that a way wasn't found to use it to amp up the tension in 'For Heaven's Sake.' 

I mean, for heaven's sake.

• Sunday, May 15 brought Buster Keaton's 'Our Hospitality' (1923), which I accompanied at the Center for the Arts in Natick, Mass. 

Great screening, audience with the picture all the way. Lots of questions during a very extended Q & A following the film. 

An original lobby card promoting 'Our Hospitality' (1923). 

One attendee observed that Keaton was very hard on the South and its people. This prompted an interesting discussion, with me saying that Keaton wasn't trying to "say" anything, but just using a family feud and what would have been seen as antiquated customs even in the 1920s to drive a story.  

Keaton wasn't a political artist in the same way that his rival, Mr. Charles Chaplin, was, especially later in life. With Keaton, I said it would be a misstep to read anything like a contemporary political agenda into his work, which was produced a century ago. (And in the case of 'Our Hospitality,' was set 100 years before that.)

And that led into a discussion of 'The General' (1926), and how Keaton's Civil War epic portrayed the South as heroes and the North as villains—again, just for story-telling purposes, not to promote any kind of agenda, hidden or otherwise.

Speaking about 'The General' later in life, Keaton observed that "you can always make a villain out of the North, but you can never make a villain out of the South." 

It's my theory that he was talking about box office: in the 1920s, with the Civil War still within living memory, any film in which the South was portrayed as the bad guys and the North as triumphant wouldn't do business in a big part of the nation.

And now, it's on to 'The First Auto' (1927), which I'll accompany on Sunday, May 23 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theater in Wilton, N.H. 

Let me know if you need a ride!

*  *  *

An original lobby card for 'The First Auto' (1927).

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2022 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

'The First Auto,' silent car racing drama with live music, on Sunday, May 22 in Wilton, N.H.

Movie's leading man ironically killed in car crash during filming, but Warner Bros. still completed and released the picture

WILTON, N.H.—It was intended to be a nostalgic drama about the transition from horses to automobiles in the early 1900s.

But during filming, 'The First Auto' (1927) took a tragic behind-the-scenes turn when leading man Charles Emmett Mack was killed in a car accident.

Mack, a popular 1920s star, died in a crash while driving to a racetrack to shoot sequences for the nearly completed movie.

Despite Mack's death at age 26, Warner Bros. finished the picture, altering the ending so that his character didn't need to appear on-screen.

'The First Auto' will be screened on Sunday, May 22 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Admission is free; a donation of $10 per person is suggested to help defray expenses.

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

'The First Auto' is being shown in honor of the upcoming Indianapolis 500, the classic road race that takes place each Memorial Day weekend.

Opening in 1895, 'The First Auto' follows the story of a prosperous stable owner (Russell Simpson) whose son (Charles Emmett Mack) becomes fascinated with the then-new "horseless carriages," or automobiles.

After the two clash repeatedly, the son moves to Detroit to work in the auto business. By 1905, he's become a successful race car driver.

Things come to a head when the son secretly enters a race back in his old hometown—a race that the father intends to sabotage.

Leading man Charles Emmett Mack (at left) broke into the movies as a young prop man for director D.W. Griffith.

Griffith began using Mack in small on-screen parts, which led to a career in front of the camera as a popular 1920s star.

He co-starred in several films with fellow young actor Neil Hamilton, who would much later go on to play Commissioner Gordon in the 1960s 'Batman' TV series.

Among the large cast in 'The First Auto' is actor William Demarest, who would go on to play Uncle Charlie in the long-running sitcom 'My Three Sons.'

The movie also features a cameo appearance by legendary race car driver Barney Oldfield, who first broke the 60 mph speed mark in 1903.

Oldfield served as technical advisor for the race sequences to ensure period authenticity.

The film was directed by Roy Del Ruth; writers included a young Darryl F. Zanuck, who would go on to create 20th Century Fox, a studio he ran for many decades.

'The First Auto' is part of the Town Hall Theatre's silent film series, which aims to show early movies as they were meant to be seen—in high quality prints, on a large screen, with live music, and with an audience.

"All those elements are important parts of the silent film experience," said Rapsis, who will improvise a musical score for 'The First Auto.'

"Recreate those conditions, and the classics of early Hollywood leap back to life," he said.

‘The First Auto’ will be shown with live music on Sunday, May 22 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Admission is free; a donation of $10 per person is suggested to help defray expenses.

For more info, visit www.wiltontownhalltheatre.com or call (603) 654-3456.

Once-lost swashbuckler 'Bardelys' this week in Plymouth; report on 'The Kid' in Newport, R.I.

Portrait of the artist taking a photo of the poster for 'The Kid.' I'm visible as a reflection at left. 

This week it's off to Plymouth, N.H., where I'll accompany a screening of the lost-but-rediscovered MGM swashbuckler 'Bardelys the Magnificent' (1926) on Wednesday, May 11.

Show time is 6:30 p.m. I'd forgotten how much fun this film was, as I hadn't seen it since it was re-issued about 10 years ago after a nearly complete print was discovered in France. 

Lots more info in the press release below. For now, a few thoughts about a screening of 'The Kid' (1921) in Newport, R.I. and the excitement of performing for an audience where silent films aren't a regular part of the programming.

In Newport, the screening of Chaplin's 'The Kid' at the historic Jane Pickens Theatre (a single screen downtown moviehouse 100 years old this year!) was a direct outgrowth of a screening of 'The General' last February.

The venue ran Keaton's Civil War epic in partnership with a local bookstore, which had brought in author Dana Stevens to speak about her new book 'Camera Man.' I came down to do live music, and so made my first-ever visit to Newport, despite being a life-long New Englander. (I'm more of a "North of the Mass. Pike" kind of guy, but that's another story.)

Although the "JPT" (as it's called) runs all kinds of film (first-run, classics, foreign, independent), it seems silents with live music haven't been on the menu, despite the console of the venue's original theater organ still in place. (The pipes are still there as well, mummified in the walls.)

But 'The General' was so well-received, manager Alex Whitney was open to the idea of running other silent-era titles. He readily programmed a screening of 'Nosferatu' next October, right before Halloween, which I can't wait to accompany and which I'm sure will fill the house. 

So we talked about perhaps other silents in between, with me making the case that such programming was in keeping with the theater's roots as a silent movie house, but also an experience that can't be duplicated at home or via streaming. I also advocated for some kind of regular series as a way to build an audience over time.

My fellow silent film accompanist Ben Model often speaks of "audience preservation," a big part of keeping the silent film experience going. In the case of Newport, it's "audience development"—trying to create and sustain enough interest in the form so that it's worth it for a theater to program.

The marquee showing eclectic programming typical of the Jane Pickens Theatre in Newport, R.I.

Alex wasn't ready to commit to a regular slate of silents, but he was intrigued enough to program 'The Kid,' with everyone crossing their fingers that an audience would materialize, even without the added attraction of a book-signing. 

And I'm pleased to report that it did: about 60 paid admissions. The result was an audience that responded strongly throughout Chaplin's comedy/drama, and was full of questions before and after the show. Most had never experienced a silent film with live music. 

And the questions were really basic, ground-level inquiries (Where do you get these films? Are you playing the original score?) that reminded me that many attendees were right at the beginning of a wonderful journey of discovery, if they chose to pursue it.

Comedies such as 'The Kid' were the "gateway drug," I said, to a world of cinema that is of course not new anymore, but is new to us. It's a different kind of cinema that at its best is a very different movie-going experience that what you're used to—with stories told visually (by necessity) that tend to be more abstract and universal and more about the big emotions such as Love (with a capital L) or Fear or Joy or Jealously, and with no dialogue to get in the way, and with music helping stir your own reactions to the story as it unfolds on-screen, and with not just comedies, but dramas, thrillers, adventures, and more, and all with the added bonus today of showing us (in many films) what life was life for ordinary people just living their day-to-day life, but in narratives underpinned by stories driven by universal elements of the human experience that speak to us even today, because we're still human beings. And so on.

Wow! Didn't mean to go all William Faulkner there, but that's what happens when I get excited. And how exciting to think that the Newport film-going community was on the threshold of experiencing a world of movies—silent ones—but which can still speak to us today.

And it helped that the Jane Pickens has excellent acoustics for what I do and how I do it. The sound from my two ancient Roland speakers bounces right off the wooden stage floor and really fills the house. Nice!

You could tell by the questions that people were into it. The back-and-forth continued in the theater long after the public Q & A finished. One gentleman (another Jeff) came up with greetings from film accompanist Donald Sosin, an old school chum of his with whom he keeps in touch, and who was on the other coast at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. I considered that a good omen for Newport.

So what's next? Other than 'Nosferatu' in October, nothing specific right now. But we've managed to build regular silent film series in locations as disparate as Brandon, Vt. (our 11th season starts this weekend!) Ogunquit, Maine (another seaside community with a vintage theater) and Plymouth, N.H., where I'm accompanying 'Bardelys the Magnificent' tomorrow night.

So I'm hoping Newport can be a good home for silent cinema, too. Time will tell.

And now it's time for info about 'Bardelys the Magnificent'—the press release is below, and hope to see you at the Flying Monkey in Plymouth, N.H.

*     *     *

 

John Gilbert, Eleanor Boardman, and executioner in 'Bardelys the Magnificent' (1926).

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2022 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Rediscovered silent film swashbuckler to 're-premier' in Plymouth, N.H. on Wednesday, May 11

'Bardelys the Magnificent' (1926), long thought lost until a copy was found in Europe, to be screened with live music

PLYMOUTH, N.H.—A major Hollywood feature—considered lost for decades until a copy surfaced in France in 2006—will soon return to the big screen.

'Bardelys the Magnificent' (1926), a big-budget MGM release starring John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman, will be screened on Wednesday, May 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H.

Live music for the movie will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. Admission to the screening is $10 per person.

Based on a novel by prolific Italian/English author Rafael Sabatini, 'Bardelys the Magnificent' is a tale of romance, honor, and derring-do set during the reign of King Louis XIII of France.

The story follows the adventures of French nobleman Bardelys, who assumes the identity of a dead man to be close to the woman he loves.

The ruse backfires, however, when it turns out the dead man is wanted for treason against the King. This propels Bardelys into a series of swashbuckling adventures as he must avoid being caught and executed, all the while pursuing his beloved.

The title role is played by legendary leading man John Gilbert, then at the height of his 1920s stardom and popular for his good looks, magnetic personality, and athletic stunts.

Actress Eleanor Boardman plays Roxalanne, his love interest; the huge cast includes many silent film-era stars and supporting players.

'Bardelys the Magnificent' was directed by King Vidor, who was responsible for several well-known silent-era classics, including 'The Big Parade' (1925), 'The Crowd' (1928), and 'Show People' (1928).

The picture was a solid hit in its original release, making money and enhancing the reputations of everyone involved.

Later, MGM's rights to the Sabatini novel expired in 1936, and the studio destroyed all copies per the licensing agreement. It was only later that archivists realized that no other copies of the film were known to have survived anywhere.

 
For seven decades, the only footage of 'Bardelys the Magnificent' known to exist was in the form of a brief clip included in a movie theater scene in 'Show People,' another Vidor picture. 'Bardelys' was regarded as a major lost feature film from the silent era.

Then, in 2006, researchers in France discovered an almost complete copy of 'Bardelys the Magnificent' in a private collection. The print was missing about 10 minutes of footage, but was otherwise intact and in excellent condition. 

The missing footage is replaced with still photos taken on the set, written descriptions, and by footage recovered from a 'Coming attractions' trailer for the film.

Restoration was completed in 2008; the film was subsequently released on DVD, and has since been screened at several festivals around the country.

Silent films were produced until 1929, when talkies arrived. About 80 percent of all movies made during the silent era are now lost due to decomposition, carelessness, fire, or neglect.

But copies of "missing" films still occasionally turn up in archives and collections around the world, so researchers and archivists continue to make discoveries.

Jailhouse love scene from 'Bardelys the Magnificent' (1926).

For 'Bardelys the Magnificent,' Rapsis will improvise a score using original musical material that he creates beforehand. For a movie score to support 'Bardelys,' Rapsis will use a digital synthesizer to recreate the sound and texture of a full orchestra.

"What I try to do," Rapsis said, "is create music that bridges the gap between a film that might be 90 or 100 years old, and the musical expectations of today's audiences."

The screening of 'Bardelys the Magnificent' is the latest in the Flying Monkey's series celebrating films that recently entered the public domain.

Copyright protection for all U.S. films released in 1926 expired on Jan. 1, 2022.

To mark the occasion, the Flying Monkey is showcasing vintage 1926 comedies, dramas, and adventure films, all with live music, and all now in the public domain.

Upcoming screenings in the Flying Monkey's "Public Domain Extravaganza" series include:

• Wednesday, June 8, 2022, 6:30 p.m.: "The Black Pirate" (1926) starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. The original pirate swashbuckler, with Fairbanks sword-fighting his way through a period adventure tale set during the age of sailing ships.

"By 1926, the movies had matured enough to offer a wide range of great entertainment that still holds up today," Rapsis said. "Come see for yourself as we screen some of the year's best flicks, all of which recently entered the public domain and now belong to us all."

'Bardelys the Magnificent' will be shown on Wednesday, May 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H.

Admission is $10 per person. For more info, call (603) 536-2551 or visit www.flyingmonkeynh.com.

Help restore MGM's 'Bardelys the Magnificent' at Red River in Concord, N.H. on Friday, 7/15

John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman in the formerly lost film 'Bardelys the Magnificent' (1926). No, the candle is not part of Boardman's hat.

About 11,000 feature films were produced in the U.S. during the silent era. Of those, about 8,500 are now lost, meaning no copies are known to exist anywhere.

Wow! But the good news is that films thought to be lost are still being found, even at this late date.

We'll be running one of the most prominent "unlost" films, the MGM historical romance 'Bardelys the Magnificent' (1926), on Friday, July 15 at Red River Theatres in Concord, N.H.

Showtime is 7 p.m. and there's more info in the attached press release.

Set in the France of King Louis XIII, it's a big-budget swashbuckling adventure film with an impressive pedigree: directed by King Vidor, and starring John Gilbert (MGM's top star at the time) and Eleanor Boardman, an actress who was Vidor's wife.

And in this case, it really shouldn't have been lost, because MGM generally took care of its back catalog of prints.

While other studios routinely junked release prints to recover the silver content, or just neglected films that had finished their theatrical runs, MGM from the beginning made an effort to maintain its "vault."

So what happened? In the case of 'Bardelys,' the film was based on a novel by Rafael Sabatini. When MGM's licensing deal with Sabatini expired in 1936, the studio opted not to renew.

As part of the deal, it was obligated to destroy the film's negative as well as all positive prints, which it did.

And that was that! Business is business.

Later, when people got interested in silent cinema, no copies of 'Bardelys' could be found anywhere.

So for decades, it was considered a lost film. All we had was the film's 'Coming Attractions' trailer, as well as a brief but tantalizing sequence that was used in a later MGM film directed by Vidor, 'Show People' (1928). And posters like the one at left.

But then, as sometimes happens, a nearly complete copy of the European version of 'Bardelys' was found in France in 2006. It had French intertitles and was missing most of Reel 3, but otherwise was intact and in pretty good shape.

Using MGM records, the original English titles were recreated, and the missing footage of Reel 3 was recreated using material from the trailer as well as still photographs and explanatory titles.

And behold: 'Bardelys the Magnificent' was "unlost," and able to be seen for the first time since its original 1926 release.

I first encountered the film at the Kansas Silent Film Festival a few years ago, with live music by the wonderful Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

It plays very well, and is an important missing link in the silent film catalog.

And it's also a perfect summertime escapist film, which is why we're running it at Red River—a day after Bastille Day, I might add.

But no lost silent film is truly "unlost" unless it's screened as intended: in a theater, with live music, and with an audience.

And that's where you come in. Hope you can join us and help conjure up the excitement and adventure of early Hollywood as we screen 'Bardelys the Magnificent' at Red River Theatres!

* * *

Before it got lost, it had to get made: shooting 'Bardelys the Magnificent' with Eleanor Boardman, cameraman William Daniels, and director King Vidor.

SATURDAY, JULY 9, 2016 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Rediscovered silent film swashbuckler to 're-premier' in Concord, N.H. on Friday, July 15

'Bardelys the Magnificent' (1926), epic long thought lost until a copy was found in Europe, to be screened with live music

CONCORD, N.H.—A major Hollywood feature—a film lost for decades until a copy surfaced in France in 2006—will soon get its local big screen "re-premier."

'Bardelys the Magnificent' (1926), a big-budget MGM historical romance starring John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman, will be screened on Friday, July 15 at 7 p.m. at Red River Theatres,, 11 South Main Street in Concord.

Live music for the movie will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. Admission is $10 per person.

Based on a novel by prolific Italian/English author Rafael Sabatini, 'Bardelys the Magnificent' is an epic tale of love, honor, and derring-do set during the reign of King Louis XIII of France.

The story follows the adventures of French nobleman Bardelys, who assumes the identity of a dead man to be close to the woman he loves. The ruse backfires, however, when it turns out the dead man is wanted for treason against the King.

This propels Bardelys into a series of swashbuckling adventures as he must avoid being caught and executed, all the while pursuing his beloved.

The title role is played by legendary leading man John Gilbert, then at the height of his 1920s stardom. Gilbert was popular for his good looks, magnetic personality, and athletic stunts. Actress Eleanor Boardman plays Roxalanne, his love interest; the huge cast includes many silent film-era stars and supporting players.

'Bardelys the Magnificent' was directed by King Vidor, who was responsible for several well-known silent-era classics, including 'The Big Parade' (1925), 'The Crowd' (1928), and 'Show People' (1928).

The picture was a solid hit in its original release, enhancing the reputations of everyone involved. Later, MGM's rights to the Sabatini novel expired in 1936, and the studio destroyed all copies per the licensing agreement. It was only later that archivists released that no other copies of the film were known to have survived anywhere.

For six decades, the only footage of 'Bardelys the Magnificent' known to exist was a brief clip included in a movie theater scene in 'Show People,' another Vidor picture. 'Bardelys' was regarded as a major lost feature film from the silent era.

Then, in 2006, researchers in France discovered an almost complete copy of 'Bardelys the Magnificent' in a private collection. The print was missing about 10 minutes of footage, but was otherwise intact and in excellent condition.

The missing footage is replaced with still photos taken on the set, written descriptions, and by scenes recovered from a 'Coming attractions' trailer for the film. The story is now easily followed.

Restoration was completed in 2008; the film was subsequently released on DVD, and has since been screened at several festivals around the country—but not not in Concord until now.

"With it being the day after Bastille Day, we thought it would be a great time to screen this historical romance set in France," Rapsis said.

...and before it got made into a "photoplay" (meaning movie), it was a novel by Rafael Sabatini.

Silent films were produced until 1929, when talkies arrived. About 75 percent of all movies made during the silent era are now lost due to decomposition, carelessness, fire, or neglect. But copies of "missing" films still occasionally turn up in archives and collections around the world, so researchers and archivists continue to make discoveries.

For 'Bardelys the Magnificent,' Rapsis will improvise a score using original musical material that he creates beforehand. For a movie score to support 'Bardelys,' Rapsis will use a digital synthesizer to recreate the sound and texture of a full orchestra.

"What I try to do," Rapsis said, "is create music that bridges the gap between a film that might be 80 or 90 years old, and the musical expectations of today's audiences."

'Bardelys the Magnificent' is the latest in a monthly series of silent films presented with live music at Red River Theatres. The series provides local audiences the opportunity to experience silent film as it was intended to be shown: on the big screen, in good-looking prints, with live music, and with an audience.

"If you can put Humpty Dumpty back together again, it's surprising how these films jump back to life," Rapsis said. "By showing the films under the right conditions, you can really get a sense of why people first fell in love with the movies."

Red River Theatres, an independent cinema, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to screening a diverse program of first-run independent films, cult favorites, classics, local and regional film projects, and foreign films.

The member-supported theater’s mission is to present film and the discussion of film as a way to entertain, broaden horizons and deepen appreciation of life for New Hampshire audiences of all ages.

Upcoming silent film programs at Red River include:

• Friday, Aug. 12: 'The Yankee Clipper' (1927) starring William Boyd. Period drama set in the 19th century; two clipper ships race from China to Boston to compete for a lucrative tea contract.

• Friday, Sept. 16: 'Spies' (1928). Director Fritz Lang followed his futuristic saga 'Metropolis' with this pioneering espionage thriller that created the template for all future James Bond movies.

• Friday, Oct. 14: 'The Cat and the Canary' (1927). Creepy haunted house thriller set the stage for great Universal classics such as 'Dracula' and 'The Mummy.'

'Bardelys the Magnificent' will be shown on Friday, July 15 at 7 p.m. at Red River Theatres, 11 South Main St., Concord, N.H. in the Jaclyn Simchik Screening Room. Admission is $10 per person; for more info, call (603) 224-4600 or visit www.redrivertheatres.org.

Adventures in silent film accompaniment: snowbanks, orgies, and missing sustain pedals

Coming off a busy stretch of accompaniment leading up to the Kansas Silent Film Festival later this week. Here's a few snapshots from the life of a silent film accompanist based in northern New England.


• Today's screening of 'Bardelys the Magnificent' (1926) at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre went well, except the side entrance that I use to load my equipment in and out was blocked by a large snowbank that had been pushed up against the building, covering the stairs and partially blocking the door. The perils of performing in mid-winter New Hampshire! Seriously, it looked like that scene in 'The Gold Rush' where Chaplin shovels a huge pile snow from one business to another.

A stiff wind and temps in the 20s didn't make things any more pleasant. Fortunately, I wore my sensible winter shoes, so it didn't matter that much when my feet plunged down to mid-thigh while struggling to muscle in my synthesizer. It takes three trips for me to carry everything in, and each time the stiff wind banged shut the outside door, forcing me to go all the way around to the theater's main entrance. Ah, the glamour of the movies!

About 40 people were on hand for my first attempt at 'Bardelys.' I can tell when I'm overscheduled because I start to show up at screenings with nothing really prepared. That, alas, was the case with Bardelys, which offers a lot of potential for music, but I just wasn't in the zone through most of the film. I lucked out with one good melody that came to me on the way in, and that carried most of the picture. A harpsichord setting I used seemed to stomp on any on-screen subtleties, and about two-thirds of the way through I switched over to my fallback orchestral setting.

The music all seemed pretty sloppy to my taste, and I was concerned that audience reaction seemed to die down quite a bit after John Gilbert met Eleanor Boardman. So, near the end, I was pleasantly surprised (and a bit relieved) when the room erupted in cheers during Gilbert's exuberant escape from the gallows. Even theater owner Dennis Markaverich said afterwards he "laughed my ass off" at Gilbert grabbing a curtain and using it as a parachute, something Douglas Fairbanks hadn't thought to do just yet.


• A much more satisfying screening took place on Valentine's Day (Thursday, Feb. 14), when we screened Harold Lloyd's 'Girl Shy' (1924) in 35mm at the Somerville Theatre in Somerville, Mass. About 100 people turned out for this show, which had Lloyd's short 'Never Weaken' (1921) as an opener. I knew we had them when, in 'Never Weaken,' they laughed uproariously at Lloyd consulting the dictionary to make sure his suicide note is spelled correctly. (It is a very funny scene.) Lloyd's subsequent antics on the steel skeleton of a skyscraper under construction produced shrieks and gasps just as he intended.

For the music, I used just a traditional organ setting for the short, in part to make the full orchestral settings for the feature seem that much more grand by comparison. For 'Never Weaken,' a jaunty tune I've used here and there proved all I needed to carry all the action up until the suicide sequence, which I punched up by turning serious (minor key, repeated notes) and then going silent to underscore his thinking and reactions, which made room for the laughs. And for the skyscraper sequence, I reverted back to the jaunty tune for the rooftop jazz band that gives Harold a rude awakening, but then kept it low for much of his mid-air antics, again to make sure the audience could hear itself react.

It all came together wonderfully, I thought, especially with me plugged into the Somerville's house sound system. I switched to the full orchestra for 'Girl Shy,' but muffed the beginning because it just came up so fast. But it came together nicely, with scene after scene falling into place. A few rough spots happened in the train sequence and when Jobyna Ralston's car breaks down, but by then the film had them and it didn't matter so much.

Things really got fun when Harold returns to the publisher and all the female office staff go crazy over him. What laughter! For underscoring, I just used the main rhythm and melody from the Habanara of Bizet's Carmen, which lent just the right touch of mockery to the scene, I thought. And the reaction was again strong when Harold receives an envelope in the mail that he thinks is a rejection letter, but which we know contains a check. As Harold motions to rip it, people behind me shouted "NO! DON'T DO IT!" When he actually did rip it, he was accompanied not by music, but by groans of anguish that filled the theater.

At this point, the energy never let up. Next thing you know, Harold and his uncle are piecing together the check. $3,000! Hooray! Then Harold looks at the newspaper and sees his sweetheart is getting married that day. Oh no! Then the man's "other wife" wanders in, sees the wedding announcement, and exclaims, "Someone should stop it for the girl's sake!" Guess who that someone is? Hooray again, as Harold dashes from the tailor shop, this time vowing to make it to the church on time.

I just can't describe the excitement in the theater by this time. It had built up to a point where I think it actually worked against some of Harold's gags early on in the chase, because we want him to be making progress. Example: the guy teaching his girl to drive, which causes frustration for Harold as they repeatedly stop and start and go in circles. The audience stopped laughing during this, and I think it's because everyone wanted him to just get going. It's the same reason Keaton cut the "underwater traffic cop" gag from 'The Navigator'—by that part of the story, the audience couldn't tolerate comedy just for comedy's sake, because the gal is in danger.

Harold quickly recovered, and so did the audience. And by the time he was whipping a horse-drawn wagon through downtown, everyone was totally into it. Scoring this was a ball—I was able to keep things relatively light for most of the time, which allowed audience members to hear each other and really helped the overall reaction, I think. For the last few minutes, people were spontaneously shouting at Harold to 'HURRY UP!' It just doesn't get any better than that, folks.

One challenge of 'Girl Shy' is the intercutting between Harold's mad dash and the placid pre-wedding scenes at the church. These happen at various intervals, and I did my best to "feel" them coming and change the music on the fly. (There's one particularly tough place where Harold is on a motorcycle and has gone through a grocery store, and we swap back and forth several times quite rapidly.) But once Harold is on the horse-drawn wagon, the cuts come so frequently that it wouldn't make sense to change the music, so instead I just kept pounding away, working my way up the keyboard with repeated notes in the left hand and Harold's driving melody in the bass. I think it makes for really effective cinema.

I'm pleased to say that after 'Girl Shy' finished, I got a bona fide standing ovation, and in Boston, too! It was totally thrilled and rewarding and gratifying, and I very much appreciated all the folks who came up afterwards to get my card, ask questions, and offer congratulations. One woman even asked if I would consider being part of a burlesque show! (To play music in, not dance.)

Afterwards, I dashed off a note to a friend that made me realize some things about the experience of doing live music like that. Get a load of this:

Wow, about last night. Wish you could have somehow been there. Things really fell into place, with a large audience that really reacted to the experience, and the music seemed to flow out of me so naturally and easily.

So to me, it was like this great communal orgy in which everyone kept their clothes on (as far as I know), but was in the dark and filled with intense physical releases such as laughing and shrieking.

At 'The End,' I finished with a bang as the lights came up, and then got a prolonged standing ovation! Wow, who doesn't want to receive a standing O after such an intimate experience? :)

Afterwards, I had a lot of people come up to say hi, including one woman who asked if I wanted to be in a burlesque show! She meant it in terms of playing music, but you can imagine what this whole conversation did to my already sexed-up imagination.

The only wrong note in the melody was that shortly after the start of 'Girl Shy,' I kicked my sustain pedal into the Somerville's cavernous orchestra pit. I was still attached to the synthesizer, but I had not way to retrieve it, other than ceasing to play and then hoisting it up. I decided I could do without it, and I did, but that's the first time it ever got away from me like that.

• Lots of other things. Our local television station, WMUR-TV Channel 9, is doing a piece on me for their half-hour feature program "New Hampshire Chronicle." This required me to spend four hours in the Wilton Town Hall Theatre on Tuesday, Feb. 12 to be interviewed, and for them to get scenes of me in action. I think they shot enough footage so that even Eric von Stroheim would be satisfied! But seriously, I'm looking forward to the segment, which I'm told will air sometime near the end of the month. We'll see how I feel after I said it. We'll see if what veteran CBS News reporter George Herman said about me is true: that I have "a good head for television."


• On Monday, Feb. 11, I had the pleasure of doing 'Metropolis' (1927) for students in a film history course at Southern New Hampshire University taught by my friend and colleague Bill Millios. This took place in a computer lab (all the school's theater-type classrooms were booked) but something about it clicked and it turned into one of the most satsifying scores I've produced in awhile. The students stayed with it from start to finish; one of them said in a note to Bill:

"And thank you for inviting Jeff Rapsis to come in and play live music for "Metropolis"; I've been interested in learning about the history of silent films, but this was the first time I've ever seen a feature-length silent film and I was completely blown away!

I think I was more wrapped up in "Metropolis" than I have ever been with any movie I've seen before; I think the live music really pulled me into the movie and helped draw me into the film's world. Thanks again!"

Wow, I'll have to tell Bill to give that gal an A.


• I had a ball doing music for 'Aelita, Queen of Mars' (1924) at Wellesley College, which was still digging itself out from under the Blizzard of 2013 at the time of our screening on Sunday, Feb. 10. What a crazy film! I would have to say that the last 20 minutes rank as some of the most bizarre filmmaking of the entire silent film era. Best intertitle: "Follow our example, comrades! Form the Federal Socialist Republic of Mars!"

One interesting thing at that screening was that a film print of the newly restored 'A Trip to the Moon' had not arrived due to the storm, so we showed an earlier restoration on the Flicker Alley DVD with recorded music, and then a 16mm print from Blackhawk (missing the full ending) with me doing live music. Never had to accompany the same film after recorded music, but there's a first time for everything, I guess.


• And then prior to that, I did Rudolph Valentino in 'The Eagle' at the Flying Monkey in Plymouth, N.H., and Gilbert and Garbo in 'Love' at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library, which was more than enough for Valentine's Day. Next year I think I'll counterprogram with a film like Keaton's 'Spite Marriage' (1929). And before that, there was a Keaton program for which the wife and I drove 300 miles to New York state and back. All that in February, and it's only the 17th. Sheesh!

'Bardelys the Magnificent' returns to the big screen in Wilton, N.H.

I have a Kansas Silent Film Festival t-shirt that features this very image!

A film thought lost for decades will once again flicker across the silver screen when 'Bardelys the Magnificent' (1926) is shown on Sunday, Feb. 17 at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre.

I first saw the newly restored picture a few years ago when it was shown at the Kansas Silent Film Festival, accompanied live by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

I had never heard of the novel or the film, but what I saw in Kansas was great cinema.

The print, discovered in a private collection in France and missing Reel 3, was good enough to support a wonderful restoration effort, which was then making the festival rounds.

But it never made it to New England, at least that I know of. So we're screening it in Wilton on Sunday, Feb. 17 to give 'Bardelys' another shot on the big screen.

One interesting thing about 'Bardelys' is that it marked early screen appearances of a young bit player named John Wayne and also future comedian Lou Costello, then working as a stunt double.

I don't know if I could spot them in the picture, but here are some frame captures that supposedly have Wayne in them as one of the soldiers. Can you pick him out?

Well, neither can I. But perhaps we'll have better luck on Sunday, Feb. 17, when we put 'Bardelys the Magnificent' back up on the Wilton Town Hall Theatre's big screen, where it belongs!

See you there. And for more information, check out the text of the press release below...

* * *

Two's company, but three's a crowd, especially when one of them has his head covered by a dark pointy hood thing.

FRIDAY, FEB. 8, 2013 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Newly rediscovered silent film swashbuckler
to 're-premier' in Wilton, N.H. on Sunday, Feb. 17

'Bardelys the Magnificent' (1926), long thought lost until a copy was found in Europe, to be screened with live music

WILTON, N.H.—A major Hollywood feature—oonsidered lost for decades until a copy surfaced in France in 2006—will soon get its New England big screen "re-premier."

'Bardelys the Magnificent' (1926), a big budget MGM release starring John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman, will be screened on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 4:30 p.m. at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre.

Live music for the movie will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. Admission to the screening is free, with donations accepted.

Based on a novel by prolific Italian/English author Rafael Sabatini, 'Bardelys the Magnificent' is a tale of romance, honor, and derring-do set during the reign of King Louis XIII of France.

The story follows the adventures of French nobleman Bardelys, who assumes the identity of a dead man to be close to the woman he loves. The ruse backfires, however, when it turns out the dead man is wanted for treason against the King. This propels Bardelys into a series of swashbuckling adventures as he must avoid being caught and executed, all the while pursuing his beloved.

The title role is played by legendary leading man John Gilbert, then at the height of his 1920s stardom. Gilbert was popular for his good looks, magnetic personality, and athletic stunts. Actress Eleanor Boardman plays Roxalanne, his love interest; the huge cast includes many silent film-era stars and supporting players.

'Bardelys the Magnificent' was directed by King Vidor, who was responsible for several well-known silent-era classics, including 'The Big Parade' (1925), 'The Crowd' (1928), and 'Show People' (1928).

The picture was a solid hit in its original release, making money and enhancing the reputations of everyone involved. Later, MGM's rights to the Sabatini novel expired in 1936, and the studio destroyed all copies per the licensing agreement. It was only later that archivists released that no other copies of the film were known to have survived anywhere. For six decades, the only footage of 'Bardelys the Magnificent' known to exist was in the form of a brief clip included in a movie theater scene in 'Show People,' another Vidor picture. 'Bardelys' was regarded as a major lost feature film from the silent era.

Then, in 2006, researchers in France discovered an almost complete copy of 'Bardelys the Magnificent' in a private collection. The print was missing about 10 minutes of footage, but was otherwise intact and in excellent condition. The missing footage is replaced with still photos taken on the set, written descriptions, and by footage recovered from a 'Coming attractions' trailer for the film. The story is now easily followed.

Restoration was completed in 2008; the film was subsequently released on DVD, and has since been screened at several festivals around the country, but not not in New England until now.

"With it being the weekend after Valentine's Day, we thought it would be a great time to screen a historical romance," Rapsis said.

Silent films were produced until 1929, when talkies arrived. About 80 percent of all movies made during the silent era are now lost due to decomposition, carelessness, fire, or neglect. But copies of "missing" films still occasionally turn up in archives and collections around the world, so researchers and archivists continue to make discoveries.

For 'Bardelys the Magnificent,' Rapsis will improvise a score using original musical material that he creates beforehand. For a movie score to support 'Bardelys,' Rapsis will use a digital synthesizer to recreate the sound and texture of a full orchestra.

"What I try to do," Rapsis said, "is create music that bridges the gap between a film that might be 80 or 90 years old, and the musical expectations of today's audiences."

'Bardelys the Magnificent' is the latest in a monthly series of silent films presented with live music at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre. The series provides local audiences the opportunity to experience silent film as it was intended to be shown: on the big screen, in good-looking prints, with live music, and with an audience.

"If you can put Humpty Dumpty back together again, it's surprising how these films just back to life," Rapsis said. "By showing the films under the right conditions, you can really get a sense of why people first fell in love with the movies."

Upcoming silent film screenings at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre include:

• Sunday, March 31, 2013, 4:30 p.m.: 'The Passion of Joan of Arc' (1928). Landmark drama that chronicles the trial of Jeanne d'Arc on charges of heresy, and the efforts of her ecclesiastical jurists to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions. A film regarded as lost until a pristine compete print was discovered in a closet in Oslo, Norway in 1981.

• Sunday, April 28, 2013, 4:30 p.m.: 'The Winning of Barbara Worth' (1926). Epic Western starring Ronald Coleman, Vilma Banky about the settling and irrigation of California's Imperial Valley, once a wasteland but now an agricultural paradise. With a young Gary Cooper playing a key role. Visually spectacular story filmed largely on location in Nevada's Black Rock desert.

• Sunday, May 26, 2013, 4:30 p.m.: 'Tell It To The Marines' (1926). In honor of Memorial Day: U.S. Marine Sergeant O'Hara (Lon Chaney) has his hands full training raw recruits, one of whom, 'Skeets' Burns, is a particular thorn in his side...especially when it comes to romancing nurse Nora Dale.

'Bardelys the Magnificent' will be shown on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 4:30 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H. Admission is free, with donations encouraged to defray expenses. For more information, visit www.wiltontownhalltheatre.com; for more information on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.