'Way Down East' on Sunday, Jan. 29 at Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre

An original poster for 'Way Down East' (1920).

Up next: 'Way Down East' (1920), the classic D.W. Griffith melodrama that finds Lillian Gish as an unwed mother cast out of her rural community, only to wind up on an ice floe rushing toward a giant waterfall and certain doom!

Phew! Just writing that one sentence leaves me breathless!

Showtime is Sunday, Jan. 29 at 4:30 p.m. at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre. More about this great flick in the press release below.

Now, a few notes from the present.

Wednesday night saw an enthusiastic crowd on hand for 'The Winning of Barbara Worth' (1926) at the Rogers Center for the Arts at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass.

We don't get many students at the Rogers screenings, but attendance has been steadily building among film buffs in the area. I think we had maybe 75 people.

And Wednesday night's audience seemed especially willing to boo the 'Jefferson Worth' character, a contractor who imperils a pioneer settlement by failing to reinforce a dam.

And for some reason, the score fell together quite effectively. More than once, I felt I came up with just the right music for important moments. Nice!

I'm not sure what things sometimes just work out, but it may be the law of averages.

Do something often enough (and I accompany about 100 live screenings a year), some will inevitably come up short, but others will surpass all expectations.

Or, to quote Groucho Marx: "They can't all be gems, folks."

In general, though, I think doing a lot of films has helped me develop my own musical language and voice that I'm now starting to use in written-down compositions.

The best example of this was my 'Kilimanjaro Suite,' a 30-minute long score for orchestra that was premiered last Sunday by the N.H. Philharmonic under music director Mark Latham.

Mark Latham, at left, and me on stage after the performance of my 'Kilimajaro Suite' for orchestra.

Although this had nothing to do with silent film, I don't think I could have done it without all the accompaniment I've been doing in recent years.

(I still need to post a write-up of the whole 'Kilimanjaro Suite' experience. Coming soon to a blog near you!)

Before this Sunday's screening of 'Way Down East,' I haul myself out to Schagticoke, N.Y. (north of Albany, in the 518 area code) for one of my favorite annual gigs.

It's a once-a-year mid-winter community pot luck supper and silent film night at Liberty Ridge Farm hosted by owners Bob and Cynthia Gifford.

Taking place in the farm's function room, the event brings together about 100 people who now seem like old friends.

This all started when Cynthia's parents were the winning bidders of my services ("Silent Film Screening with Live Music) at a charity auction about eight years ago.

They asked if I wouldn't mind driving out to New York. I said "No problem," and the rest is history."

We usually show comedies, but this year we're taking a different approach with a "Halloween in January" approach.

We'll open the program with Buster Keaton's 'Haunted House' (1921), and then the main attraction is 'The Cat and the Canary' (1927). Boo!

Tully Marshall gets a grip in 'Cat and the Canary' (1927).

And in-between is one of the best pot luck suppers served north of the Mason-Dixon line, or any other line you can name.

Interested? Anyone's welcome to attend, as long as you bring a dish for the pot luck or make a donation to the big glass jar to help defray expenses.

(More details in the 'Upcoming Screenings' page at upper right.)

Okay, about 'Way Down East.' I did music for this some years ago at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre, and it was one of the most memorable screenings ever.

Why? Because I had prepared for the film, and didn't think it would go over too well—other than the undeniably exciting ending with Gish on those ice floes, it was too old and creaky. How could anyone take this seriously?

But Griffith, a former stage director, knew in his bones how to get a crowd excited. And so it was quite surprising to me to find the audience reacting strongly to 'Way Down East' right from the beginning.

This engagement continued throughout the picture. And when it came time for Gish to wind up on the ice floes, the place just went crazty!

So in seeing this film as it was intended—with live music and a live audience—you can still get a sense of why 'Way Down East' was one of the top-grossing films of the silent era.

You can also see what a different it makes when the original conditions of early cinema are in place: a lot of people, a big screen, live music. You get a real sense of why people fell for the movies, and fell hard. There's nothing like it!

See for yourself when we run 'Way Down East' (1920) on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 4:30 p.m. at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre. Details in the press release below:

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The classic shot of Lillian Gish on the ice floes.

FRIDAY, JAN. 20, 2017 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Silent film classic 'Way Down East' at Town Hall Theatre on Sunday, Jan. 29

D.W. Griffith blockbuster starring Lillian Gish, filmed partly in New England, to be screened with live music

WILTON, N.H. — The iconic image of actress Lillian Gish trapped on an ice floe and headed straight for a waterfall will once again fill the big screen when 'Way Down East' (1920) is revived on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 4:30 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Admission is free; a donation of $5 per person is suggested to help defray expenses.

The movie, a blockbuster melodrama directed by cinematic pioneer D.W. Griffith, is set in old-time rural New England, and was partly filmed on location in New Hampshire and Vermont. It stars Gish in an acclaimed performance as a wronged woman trying to make her way in an unforgiving world. Can she find love and redemption, or will she ride to her doom on the raging river's ice floes?

'Way Down East' will be screened with live music by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist.

In 'Way Down East,' Gish stars as a poor New England country girl who travels to Boston to visit her rich relatives in the hopes of getting financial help. While there, she's dazzled by upper class society and romanced by a rich womanizer (Lowell Sherman) who takes advantage of her innocence by tricking her into bed with a fake marriage ceremony.

Convinced she's found the husband of her dreams, Gish returns home to the country, only to be abandoned. She informs her faux husband she's pregnant; he orders her to get an abortion. Instead, Gish goes into exile to have the baby, finds herself persecuted for giving birth out of wedlock, and flees even further into the country to seek refuge. The film was noteworthy in its time for addressing such topics as abortion and women's rights.

Modern critics hail 'Way Down East' for Gish's performance, which continues to mesmerize audiences nearly a century after the film's release. "Gish provides an abject lesson in screen acting and brings home the importance and effectiveness of seeing a film in a theater with a crowd," wrote Paul Brenner on www.filmcritic.com in 2007. "If you are not moved at the scene of Gish baptizing her dead baby, then you should check the obituaries of your local paper to see if you are listed."

The film also stars silent era heartthrob Richard Barthelmess. In the film's climax, Barthelmess must dash to rescue Gish from being carried away on the ice floes.

Lillian Gish on location.

Much of the acclaimed ice floe sequence was filmed in March 1920 on location on the Connecticut River in New Hampshire and the White River in Vermont, as the winter pack ice was breaking up. No process shots or post-production special effects were available to filmmakers at the time, so Griffith and his crew had no choice but to stage and shoot it all on a real river, with the players out on the ice. To get the floes to break up and float down the river, Griffith's crew dynamited pack ice upstream.

Gish later said that she suffered frostbite by following director Griffith's command to always keep one hand in the water during the shooting.

Despite such hardships, 'Way Down East' cemented Gish's reputation as one of the silent era's major stars. Gish would continue to work in films and, later, television, until the 1980s. She died in 1993 at age 99.

Accompanist Jeff Rapsis specializes in creating music that bridges the gap between an older film and the expectations of today's audiences. Using a digital synthesizer that recreates the texture of a full orchestra, he improvises scores in real time as a movie unfolds, so that the music for no two screenings is the same.

"It's kind of a high wire act, but it helps create an emotional energy that's part of the silent film experience," Rapsis said. "It's easier to be in tune with the emotional line of the movie and the audience's reaction when I'm able to follow what's on screen, rather than be buried in sheet music," he said.

Because silent films were designed to be shown to large audiences in theaters with live music, the best way to experience them is to recreate the conditions in which they were first shown, Rapsis said.

D.W. Griffith directs a scene from 'Way Down East' (1920).

"Films such as 'Way Down East' were created to be shown on the big screen to large audiences as a communal experience," Rapsis said. "With an audience and live music, silent films come to life in the way their makers intended. Not only are they entertaining, but they give today's audiences a chance to understand what caused people to first fall in love with the movies."

'Way Down East' was based on a popular stage drama, for which director Griffith paid the then-astounding sum of $175,000 to turn into a movie. The picture proved to a be a huge moneymaker, taking in $4.5 million, making it the fourth-highest grossing movie of the silent film era. 'Way Down East' would be the last of Griffith's great blockbusters; tastes changed as the 1920s rolled on and Griffith's Victorian style fell out of favor. Receipts from 'Way Down East' kept Griffith's studio afloat during a subsequent series of box office flops.

"This picture was a monster hit when it was released," Rapsis said, "and it still holds up well today. As a melodrama, it's a great film for an audience to cheer on the good folks and boo and hiss the bad guys. But there's an additional level of interest now because the film captured a way of life that's long since disappeared."

'Way Down East' will be shown on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 4:30 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H. Admission is free; a donation of $5 per person is suggested to help defray expenses. For more info, visit www.wiltontownhalltheatre.com or call (603) 654-3456. For more info on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

Silent film music mid-winter update: Snowstorms, a farm, and a brand-new brewery

We're digging out from three feet of snow in this part of the world. But the show must go on!

And how fitting that the show last Tuesday night was 'Nanook of the North' (1922) at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library.

A few dozen hardy souls braved the enormous snowbanks and we had a great screening. My big joke was my answer to the commonly asked question, "How are the roads out there?"

"The roads are fine. It's the other drivers that cause all the problems!"

I returned from Africa a few weeks ago, and I've already had some unusual silent film adventures. Here's a quick round-up:

• Two separate screenings of Fritz Lang's neglected late silent 'Woman in the Moon' (1929) really connected with audiences.

I had planned these deliberately to get the silent film part of my brain restarted after climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

And it worked: I love doing this film, and both times the score came together fairly easily, even if it's a big and ambitious film.

Anyway, it was enough to get the rust out and get back into the "silent film accompaniment" zone.

One of the tricks of this film, incidentally, is to limit the accompaniment to strings only for the first 90 minutes or so—up to the big launch sequence.

The only exception is using a loud bell and whistle as sound effects during an early flashback to a university lecture, and then a breathy voice/organ sound for when we see footage of the moon shot from a probe. Otherwise, all strings.

This creates a great impact when you switch to full orchestra starting with the launch sequence, which is quite powerful filmmaking, including the first-ever appearance of a "countdown" prior to something blasting off, which was apparently the invention of Lang and his collaborator, Thea von Harbou.

However, I think the exciting sequence leading up to the crash landing on the moon's surface is also first-rate. With the right kind of music, it build to a tremendous climax—so much so that at both screenings, spontaneous applause broke out when it concluded.

A great film that I love doing.

• This past Saturday, I took my now-annual trip out to Liberty Ridge Farm in Schagticoke, N.Y., a rural community about a half-hour north of Albany.

There, we had the sixth annual "Dead of Winter" community get-together pot luck and silent film night in the farm's very handsome function hall.

This has been going on so long, and with most of the same people attending each time, that I now getting updates on the health of family matters and other personal concerns. Which I love.

I also love that the audience is made up of all ages: from kids in elementary school to people old enough to actually remember when silent movies were new. I'm not kidding: one lady was 94 and able to recall details from her childhood experiences at the local bijou.

We ran Keaton's 'The General' (1927) and audience reaction was strong.

But the highlight for me, truth be told, was someone's casserole dish, which was topped with french-fried onion rings.

While in the buffet line, when no one was looking I selfishly scooped a large portion of fried onions off the top of the dish.

Pure heaven! I could make a whole meal out of those if my cardiologist would allow me.

• One of the great things about doing silent film screenings is that you get to go to places you otherwise never would have got to.

For instance: after doing music for 'Nanook of the North' at the Harvard Film Archive, I ventured out in search of the Aeronaut Brewery, a place I'd never heard of but located not too far away.

The folks there were interested in a Valentine's Day silent film event, so I wanted to check the place out.

Driving slowly through the snow-clogged streets of Cambridge, I seemed to be entering an old industrial area. Did I have the address right?

I turned onto Tyler Street, which was all loading docks and chain link fences. By some miracle, I found a parking space carved out of a 10-foot-high snowbank. Snow was blowing off roofs like it was the Klondike.

A brewpub? Here?

But I walked up the street, which continued between what seemed to be two abandoned warehouses. I could hear noise coming from inside the buildings, but with the wind howling I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination.

I finally got almost right in front of a pair of steamed-up glass doors when I could make out the name: "Aeronaut Brewing."

So I walked inside, and entered an alternate world that completely surprised me.

Get this: The place was an enormous high-ceilinged warehouse packed with people, most of whom seemed half my age or younger. Hanging overhead from the ceiling were collections of lawn chairs and balloons—apparently that kid who took a ride using similar equipment is the inspiration for the name.

Off to one side, people were lined up several layers deep at an enormous beer bar. And in back, where the brewing tanks were located, I found a guy with a laptop who turned out to be co-owner Ben Holmes. Ben happens to be married to Christine Platzek, who plans events at Aeronaut and contacted me about the silent film.

Christine gave me a tour of the place, which sprawls through several connected industrial spaces. In addition to customers, at least two bands were jamming in odd corners, including one with a sousaphone. Food is not yet available, but an enterprising guy was reselling Union Square donuts.

For the silent film, Christine wanted me to set up in an area on the far side of the facility (to cut down on the cross-traffic) with a big white wall.

The place had a wonderful vibe and I immediately wanted to try doing a show there. So yes, we're doing a Valentine's Day program on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 9 p.m.

Christine and Ben then treated me to one of their best available: the Union Square IPA. It was fantastic. I would have tried more if I didn't have to drive back to New Hampshire afterwards.

What really made it worthwhile, though, was at one point I ended up standing behind the bar talking to Christine, and customers started asking me questions.

When it was apparent that I was clueless, Ben stepped in to explain that I was going to do live music for a silent film program there on Valentine's Day.

"Wow," gushed a young woman in line, looking right at me. "That's really awesome."

Hey, you know how a dog is supposed a great way to get women to talk to you?

Well, so is being a silent film accompanist, apparently. :)

Pickford's 'Tess of the Storm Country' coming on Sunday, Jan. 26 in Wilton, N.H.; then other Pickford screenings next week

Saturday, Jan. 25 finds me on the road to one of my favorite yearly silent film gigs: the dead-of-winter "Silent Movie Night" and pot luck supper held each January at Liberty Ridge Farm in the small town of Schagticoke, N.Y., about 20 miles north of Albany, N.Y.

The Gifford family, which runs the recreational farm, won me in an auction several years ago, and the resulting performance in their barn/function room proved popular enough for me to be invited back each January. Everyone stuck in town for the winter (everyone from kids to old folks) comes out for a night of silent film and live music.

This year's featured attraction is Buster Keaton's great comedy 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928), plus some short films to warm up both me and the audience. Plus there's more food than anyone could possibly eat. So if you're in the area and didn't get invited, I encourage you to come anyway. Bring a pot luck dish and no one will turn you away!

And after that I begin a week-long communion with Mary Pickford, courtesy several screenings that I have high hopes for.

On Sunday, Jan. 26, I'm doing music for Pickford's drama 'Tess of the Storm Country' (1922) at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. Admission is free but we request a $5 donation to help defray expenses.

And then on Thursday, Jan. 30, I'm doing music for a special Pickford program in Concord, N.H.: a screening of the recently discovered Pickford short drama 'Their First Misunderstanding' (1911), a print of which was found in a barn in Nelson, N.H., of all places. The film has been restored in an effort overseen by Prof. Larry Benaquist of Keene (N.H.) State College.

The program, which also includes Pickford's great full-length feature 'Sparrows' (1926), is at Red River Theatres, 11 South Main St., Concord, and will be hosted by Christel Schmidt, author of "Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies." Showtime is 7 p.m. and tickets are $15 a head. In case you're wondering, the show is in the "Lincoln" cinema, one of Red River's two big "main" theaters, rather than the much-smaller screening room, where we usually run silent film.

And then Christel and I are hauling down to Boston the next night for a Pickford tribute in 35mm at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square. The program includes the first-ever screening of the restored 'Their First Misunderstanding' in 35mm. Also on the bill is another short drama titled 'The Dream' (1911) and then 'Sparrows' (1926), both in 35mm. The show starts at 8 p.m. and admission is $10 per person.

The Somerville's Pickford program is special not only because it's a rare chance to see some excellent Pickford material in 35mm in a real theater, but also because it launches the Somerville's own four-month "Centennial Celebration" to celebrate the theater's 100th birthday this coming May.

They'll be screening a dazzling list of titles representing the best cinema of the past century. And the weekend includes two more silents in 35mm: D.W. Griffith's melodrama 'Way Down East' (1920) on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m., and then the great World War I aviation epic 'Wings' (1927) on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. All seats $10.

So lots of great silent film coming up in our part of the world. If I was hoping to get "in training" for appearances coming up at the Kansas Silent Film Festival (Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28 and March 1) and Cinefest in Syracuse, N.Y. (from Thursday, March 13 to Sunday, March 16), then I'm getting my wish.

Here's the press release for the Pickford program on Thursday, Jan. 30 at Red River. I'll post more info on the Somerville screenings as we get closer to the big weekend, which I'm already psyched about.

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Mary Pickford and her then-new husband Owen Moore work through 'Their First Misunderstanding' (1911).

MONDAY, JAN. 20, 2014 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

'Lost' silent film found in N.H. barn
to highlight Mary Pickford program at Red River

Screening on Thursday, Jan. 30 hosted by noted author;
includes feature film 'Sparrows' (1926) with live music

CONCORD, N.H.—A film thought lost for nearly a century until a copy was discovered in a New Hampshire barn will highlight a program at Concord's Red River Theatres on Thursday, Jan. 30.

The event, hosted by noted film scholar Christel Schmidt, will feature a screening of 'Their First Misunderstanding,' a short drama starring Mary Pickford and her then-husband Owen Moore that was produced in 1911.

The program, which starts at 7 p.m., will also include a screening of Pickford's full-length feature film 'Sparrows' (1926), regarded as one of the masterpieces of the silent film era. The program will be held in Red River's 'Lincoln' cinema. General admission is $15 per person.

Long thought lost, 'Their First Misunderstanding' is notable because it was the first credited screen appearance of Pickford, who would go on to be one of Hollywood's first superstars and among the most powerful figures in Hollywood.

A 35mm print of the film was discovered in 2007 in a barn in Nelson, N.H. by a contractor who was hired to tear down the structure. The film has since been restored by Keene State College and the Library of Congress; its "re-premiere" at Keene State College last October was hailed by film experts worldwide as a major rediscovery.

The screening at Red River will be only the second time 'Their First Misunderstanding' has been publicly screened since its restoration.

The films will be accompanied by live music created by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film musician and Red River's house film accompanist.

Hosting the event is Christel Schmidt, noted Pickford expert and editor of 'Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies,' a book recently co-published by the Library of Congress and the University Press of Kentucky.

Schmidt will be on hand to sign copies of her book, an anthology of writing about one of the most important — and misunderstood — figures in American film history. Copies will be available for purchase and signing before and after the show.

Also on the program is Larry Benaquist, professor emeritus of film at Keene State, who coordinated the restoration of 'Their First Misunderstanding' and several other films discovered in Nelson, a small town about 10 miles north of Keene.

Only about 20 percent of all silent films produced in the U.S. survive today. Most were lost to decay, neglect, or deliberate destruction after silent film was superceded by talking pictures in the late 1920s. As a result, the rediscovery of any film title thought lost is considered rare and unusual.

Screening 'Their First Misunderstanding' at Red River helps the theater fulfill its mission to bring out-of-the-ordinary cinema to New Hampshire residents.

"We're thrilled to be hosting only the second-ever screening of this early Pickford film that was discovered right here in New Hampshire," said Shelly Hudson, executive director of Red River. "It's amazing that this piece of cinema history has been unearthed in our own backyard, and we're glad to be able to give Granite State residents a chance not only to see it, but also understand more about its importantance."

Perspective on Pickford and her career will be provided by Schmidt, an independent researcher affiliated with the Library of Congress who has specialized in cataloging and tracking down all surviving Pickford films.

Pickford, an early superstar, was a major force in early Hollywood, helping establish the United Artists studio and serving as a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives out the annual Oscar awards.

However, Pickford's films receive little attention today, in part due to the myth that Pickford often played wholesome and traditional female characters.

In truth, Pickford's movies often required her to take action, challenge authority, and play strong roles uncommon for a woman of the era. In 'Sparrows' (1926), also on the Red River program, Pickford must single-handedly protect a group of orphans from an evil guardian, and then battle a pack of criminals. In a dramatic higlight, she leads the orphans on a perilous journey through a dangerous alligator-infested swamp.

"We hope this program helps people understand what a dynamic woman Mary Pickford was, both on screen and in her career," Hudson said. "If you've never experienced a silent film with live music, I encourage you to join us on Thursday, Jan. 30."

The screening is supported in part by HippoPress, the region's arts and entertainment newspaper.

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.

Red River Theatres includes silent film in its programming to give today's audiences a chance to experience the great films of cinema's early years as they were intended: in restored prints, on the big screen, and with live music and an audience.

“These films are still exciting experiences if you show them as they were designed to be screened,” said Rapsis, Red River's accompanist. “There’s a reason people first fell in love with the movies, and we hope to recreate that experience with the Pickford program and the other silent films we show at Red River. At their best, silent films were communal experience—one in which the presence of a large audience intensifies everyone’s reactions.”

"Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies" will be presented on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at Red River Theatres, 11 South Main St., Concord, N.H. Admission is $15 per person; for more info, call (603) 224-4600 or visit www.redrivertheatres.org. For more information about 'Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies, visit https://www.facebook.com/MaryPickfordQueenOfTheMovies. For more information about the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.