I knew him as 'Commissioner Gordon'...But Neil Hamiton was a silent-era leading man

"Is this the Caped Crusader? Come to Gotham City Police Headquarters at once!"

In creating music for early cinema, I continue to be surprised by all the connections that exist between silent film and the pop culture of my childhood.

The above gentleman falls into that category: as a kid, I knew him as Gotham City's "Commissioner Gordon," ready to use his red "hotline" telephone to reach Batman at any time.

But four decades prior to that, audiences around the world knew him as affable leading man Neil Hamilton, seen above in the silent film version of 'The Great Gatsby' (1926), one of his more notable roles. Alas, the picture is lost.

But many of his others aren't, and one of them is part of this year's silent film schedule at the Manchester City Library, 405 Pine St. in downtown Manchester, N.H.

'The Shield of Honor' (1928) is a police-focused crime drama starring Hamilton and also Thelma Todd in an early appearance.

The film never gets shown, which is why it's on the schedule this year in Manchester.

At left, Hamilton as Commissioner Gordon the 'Batman' TV series, with perennial stooge Sergeant O'Hara.

See, the focus of the series is to give neglected films a chance to be shown in the environment for which they were created: in a theater with a big screen, with live music, and—most importantly—a live audience.

That's where you come in. (And I hope you do!)

For the audience part to work, we need people. Duh, right?

So in 2017, if you're within traveling distance to Manchester, N.H., I hope you'll make it a point to drop in on a few screenings and see for yourself.

The Manchester City Library as depicted on an old postcard.

It's surprising now many pictures not regarded as classics still hold up when shown under the right conditions, which we try to recreate once a month in the library's Carpenter Memorial Auditorium.

First up is a light-hearted drama, 'The Power of the Press' (1928), directed by none other than a young Frank Capra!

Starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Jobyna Ralson (known best as Harold Lloyd's leading lady through much of the 1920s), it's missing a few scenes but has the potential to be a real winner.

So it may not be recognized as an official masterpiece. But with big names associated with it, 'The Power the The Press' has an impressive pedigree and I think deserves a chance, don't you?

If you do, please join us on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. for the kick-off screening of the 2017 silent film series at the Manchester City Library.

Admission is free, with donations accepted to help defray expenses. Carpenter Memorial Auditorium is located on the lower level of the Manchester City Library, 405 Pine St., Manchester, N.H.

For more information about the film, and all the titles we've lined up for 2017, check out the press release I've pasted in below.

Thanks—and Happy New Year to all!

* * *

An original poster for 'The Power of the Press' (1928), which we're showing on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library.

THURSDAY, DEC. 29, 2016 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more info, contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Comedies, dramas, thrillers—plus an early appearance of Batman's 'Commissioner Gordon'

Manchester (N.H.) City Library announces 2017 schedule of monthly silent film screenings with live music

MANCHESTER, N.H.—Films that first caused audiences to fall in love with the movies will be shown throughout 2017 at the Manchester City Library, 405 Pine St. in downtown Manchester, N.H.

The library's monthly series of films from cinema's early years, shown with live music by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis, will continue throughout the coming year.

The programs are free and open to the public, with donations accepted to defray expenses. The shows, which take place generally on the first Tuesday of the month, begin at 6 p.m. and are held in the library's Carpenter Memorial Auditorium.

The series is designed to show early cinema the way it was intended to be seen: with a live audience, on the big screen, and with live music.

"Put those elements back together, and the films can sometimes leap right back to life," said Rapsis, a New Hampshire resident who accompanies silent film screenings around the nation.

The library's series focuses on reviving films that rarely receive screenings.

This year's schedule includes an early Frank Capra drama, a Shakespearean adaptation from Germany, and a police drama starring Neil Hamilton, a young leading man who many years later would go on to play Commissioner Gordon in the popular 1960s "Batman" TV series.

A scene from German director Paul Leni's visually imaginative drama 'Waxworks' (1924).

Rapsis said audiences are surprised at how much entertainment value remains in the works of early moviemakers.

"When these films were playing in theaters, no one called them "silent movies," Rapsis said. "They were just "the movies," and told their stories visually and with music, so no one felt anything was missing."

Today the films also function as visual time capsules, allowing audiences to see vividly how daily life was lived a century ago or more.

To score a silent film, Rapsis uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of the full orchestra. The soundtrack is created live in real time as the movie is screened.

Rather than focus on authentic music of the period, Rapsis creates new music for silent films that draws from movie scoring techniques that today's audiences expect from the cinema.

First up in 2017 is 'The Power of the Press' a light-hearted drama from 1928 directed by Frank Capra and starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Jobyna Ralston. Clem Rogers (Fairbanks) is a cub reporter writing obits and weather reports when he gets a chance at a story so big he's sure to get the front page.

'The Power of the Press' will be screened on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. in the Carpenter Memorial Auditorium.

Other screenings this year at the Manchester City Library include:

• Tuesday, March 7, 2017, 6 p.m.: 'The Shamrock and the Rose' (1927) starring Mack Swain, Olive Hasbrouck; prepare for St. Patrick's with this vintage ethnic comedy about the Irish Kellys family and the Jewish Cohens, neighbors in home, rivals in business—and now forced to deal with an unexpected inter-family romance!

• Tuesday, April 4, 2017, 6 p.m.: 'Othello' (1922) starring Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss; we celebrate Shakespeare's birthday (he died this month, too) with an early silent version of the bard's immortal tragedy as brought to the screen in an early German version.

• Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 6 p.m.: 'Let's Go' (1923) starring Richard Talmadge, Eileen Percy; light-hearted romp with Talmadge playing scion of a family-owned cement company. A business trip brings headaches over a paving contract, but also a chance at romance.

• Tuesday, June 27, 2017, 6 p.m.: 'Tempest' (1928) starring John Gilbert, Camilla Horn; epic drama in which an officer in the Czar's army (Barrymore) falls hard for a haughty princess (Horn), who spurns him and causes him to be stripped of rank. But the tables are turned with the Russian revolution, which upends the aristocracy and puts the soldier and the princess at the mercy of forces that no one can control.

• Tuesday, Aug, 1, 2017, 6 p.m.: 'Christine of the Big Tops' (1926) starring Pauline Garon, Cullen Landis; raised in a traveling circus, young orphan Christine is eager to prove her worth on the trapeze. But her real challenge is choosing between the affections of her Guardian and a young doctor.

• Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, 6 p.m.: 'The Shield of Honor' (1927) starring Neil Hamilton; long before he played Commissioner Gordon in the iconic 1960s 'Batman' TV show, Neil Hamilton was a leading man, saving the day and getting the girl in a steady stream of films throughout the silent era. This vintage crime drama is a good example of his output.

• Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017, 6 p.m.: 'Waxworks' (1924) with Emil Jannings, Conrad Veidt, and Werner Krauss; just in time for Halloween: in this masterwork of the German Expressionist movement, a trilogy of terror is woven around the wax figures of a carnival sideshow.

• Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017, 6 p.m.: 'What Price Glory' (1926) starring Dolores del Río, Victor McLaglen; in the midst of World War I, two American GIs battle each other for the affections of a local girl in France. Comedy/drama was a big sprawling hit.

• Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017, 6 p.m.: 'Upstream' (1927); backstage intrigue is the name of the game in this John Ford-directed feature film that was considered lost for decades until a copy was recently unearthed in New Zealand.

All screenings are free and open to the public, and take place in Carpenter Memorial Auditorium, Manchester Public Library, 405 Pine St., Manchester, N.H.

The next film in the Manchester City Library's series of silent cinema with live music is 'The Power of the Press' (1928), directed by a very young Frank Capra, which will be shown with live music by Jeff Rapsis on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017 at 6 p.m.

For more information about the Manchester City Library's programming, call (603) 624-6550. For more information about the silent film series, visit www.jeffrapsis.com

Come visit our "silent film laboratory" held monthly at Manchester's City Library

John Gilbert's never-screened final silent, 'Desert Nights' (1929). Delight or dud? We'll find out in August.

I've seen it happen again and again: a silent film that I've looked at by myself at home comes across as a real yawner, a tiresome dud.

But the same film, when screened in a theater, with live music and with an audience, snaps back to life and commands the screen!

I've found this occurs not just with well-known classics, but with obscure films that just never get shown.

Exhibit them as intended, and the whole experience comes together. The film somehow works.

This isn't always the case, of course. Truth is, you never know what kind of reaction an older film will inspire.

The only real way to know for sure is to get the film up on a screen and give it a chance with live music and with an audience.

That's what we've been doing at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library once a month for some years now.

Each month, I run an obscure film, usually one I've never accompanied before. Could be a drama, comedy, western, adventure—anything.

And together, we collaborate to find out if the film really has anything going for it.

It's kind of a laboratory for testing how much power remains in the batteries of these old flicks.

And there are a lot of films that survive. For every well-known silent such as 'Metropolis' or 'The General,' there are literally hundreds of other lesser-known flicks.

Overall, it's estimated that about 11,000 feature-length films were produced in the U.S. during the silent era.

Of those about 70 percent have been completely lost due to neglect, decay, and so on.

But that leaves something like 3,000 films out there, each potentially full of great artistic or cultural and entertainment value. Sometimes all three!

Over the years, our efforts have produced some surprise discoveries. Films that never get shown can still spring right back to life if shown as intended.

Among the stand-outs: John Ford's surprisingly intense Irish drama 'Hangman's House' (1928); the unexpectedly hilarious comedy 'Conductor 1492' starring Johnny Hines; and Greta Garbo steaming up the screen in 'Wild Orchids.'

We're on break this month, but we pick things up in August, and I hope you'll join us.

Together, we give forgotten films a chance to do what they were designed to do so long ago: to transport us, to entertain us, to inspire us.

Can they? Will they? Only one way to find out.

Below is a press release announcing the titles from now through the end of the year. See you at the library!

* * *

Yes, I know we misspelled "Desert" in this promotional ad for the silent film series at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library.

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Live music means no "Shhh!" at Manchester City Library's silent film series

Monthly program features great films from cinema's early years shown free to the public

MANCHESTER, N.H. — The films may be silent. But the experience of seeing them is anything but.

That's because live music is always part of the show at the Manchester City Library's ongoing silent film series. And so is audience reaction.

The silent film programs are free and take place in the basement auditorium of the Manchester City Library, which is located at 405 Pine St. in downtown Manchester.

The schedule for the rest of 2016, just released, includes a ground-breaking drama from acclaimed German director F.W. Murnau, a rarely-screened Lon Chaney feature, and action flicks featuring firemen, the U.S. Coast Guard, and a woman who transforms herself into a leopard.

Each month, the library runs a classic film from the time before movies came with synchronized sound and dialogue.

Instead, filmmakers told their stories visually, with live music creating a unique atmosphere when the movie is shown in a theater.

"These are the films that caused people to first fall in love with the movies," said Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist who creates and performs live music for the library's series.

"At the time they were new, nobody thought of them as silent," Rapsis said. "They were pictures that moved, a brand new art form. And the stories they told had a universal appeal that captured the public's imagination all over the globe."

The films are popular with audiences of all ages, from children to senior citizens.

All screenings in the series take place in Carpenter Auditorium, located on the lower level of the historic Manchester City Library building.

Shows in the series are free and open to the public. Screenings take place on Tuesday nights and begin at 6 p.m.

The complete schedule for the remainder of 2016 includes rarely screened dramas, action adventure flicks, foreign films, and more.

• Tuesday, Aug. 9 at 6 p.m.: "Desert Nights" (1929) starring John Gilbert, Ernest Torrence. A thieving couple victimize a diamond mine and kidnap its manager, but he gains the upper hand (and falls in love with the woman) when they flee into the hostile desert. Superstar Gilbert's final silent film, climaxed by an immense sandstorm.

• Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 6 p.m.: "The Last Laugh" (1924) starring Emil Jannings, directed by F.W. Murnau. Engrossing character study of what happens when the head doorman at a posh Berlin hotel is ordered to give up his uniform due to encroaching old age. German film full of iconic images that stretched the expressive power of cinema.

• Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 6 p.m.: "The Leopard Woman" (1920). Battle-of-wits jungle drama about an British explorer and a female spy from a rival goverment ordered to foil his mission. The fun begins when rather than killing the explorer, she falls in love with him―and then he goes blind!

• Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 6 p.m.: "The Third Alarm" (1922) and "The Coast Patrol" (1925). Fire and water mix in a double bill of classic low-budget melodramas, one about a firefighter forced to retire when the department switches from horses to motorized vehicles, and another about smugglers who threaten a lighthouse keeper's peaceful post.

• Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m.: "Mockery" (1927) starring Lon Chaney. During the Russian Revolution, a mentally challenged peasant saves a beautiful countess from invading Cossacks, then obsesses over her. Often overlooked Chaney drama with heavy helping of class warfare.

In addition to telling good stories and having entertainment value, these films are also of interest for what they show about daily life in the time they were made.

"Over the years, films from the silent era have picked up additional interest as a record of a way of life that's quite different from today," Rapsis said.

For each film, Rapsis improvises a music score using original themes created beforehand. None of the the music is written down; instead, the score evolves in real time based on audience reaction and the overall mood as the movie is screened.

"Doing the music live is a bit of a high-wire act," Rapsis said. "But I find it's the best way to create music that reflects what's happening on screen and helps an audience connect and stay with a film."

The next screening in the Manchester City Library's monthly silent film series will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 9 at 6 p.m. Featured attraction is 'Desert Nights' (1929) starring John Gilbert and Ernest Torrance.

The program takes place in the Carpenter Auditorium, lower level of Manchester City Library, 405 Pine St., downtown Manchester. Admission is free and the program is open to the public.

For more information, call the library at (603) 624-6550 or visit online at http://www.manchester.lib.nh.us/

For more about the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

This week: Romance in Manchester, then double-feature dog adventure up north

Nils Asther and Greta Garbo consider their options in 'Wild Orchids' (1929), a late MGM silent.

It's February, and the calendar brings with it two ways to warm up: screenings for Valentine's Day, and screenings at a small town historical society's annual pot luck supper and movie night.

Not that the occasions are mutually exclusive...

On Tuesday, Feb. 2, our monthly feature at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library is 'Wild Orchids' (1929), a torrid late MGM silent starring Greta Garbo.

Showtime is 6 p.m.; admission is free, with donations accepted and oh-so-appreciated.

And then on Saturday, Feb. 6, I haul myself up to the Campton (again N.H.) Historical Society, where we're running a double feature of Rin Tin Tin adventure films.

Showtime is—well, the annual potluck supper is at 5 p.m., and we usually start the movie program sometime after 6 p.m.

Free admission again, although if you're attending the pot luck it's good manners to bring a dish to share.

Of the two programs, the Garbo film is new to me. And after doing two screenings of Griffith's 'Intolerance' in the past week (plus one of 'Metropolis'), I'm really looking forward to taking it slow and letting the romantic tension build.

I don't generally send out press releases for the Manchester City Library series, in part because I'm just lazy, but also because I tend to program obscure or lesser-known titles that are unlikely to draw a big crowd anyway.

We do have our loyal attendees, but anyone is welcome to pop in. Hope to see you there!

I did, however, send out a release for the program up in Campton, which is about an hour north of home base and in the foothills of the White Mountains.

So if you're interested in joining us on Saturday, Feb. 6, lots of detail below.

And one program note: I had also planned a Valentine's Day silent film screening at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre this month, but the schedule has become impossible.

Originally set for Sunday, Feb. 14, we had to move it to Sunday, Feb. 7. And then I had something come up which takes me out of the area that day. And then I'm booked for the rest of the month and into March, so...

So apologies to regular attendees of the monthly series in Wilton. We'll be back on schedule in March with 'Ben Hur' (1925) Sunday, March 27. (Hey, that's Easter!)

* * *

MONDAY, JAN. 18, 2016 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Rin Tin Tin leaps back into action Saturday, Feb. 6 at Campton Historical Society

Legendary dog star races to the rescue in double feature of rare classic silent adventure films presented with live music

CAMPTON, N.H. — He couldn't speak. But that was no handicap for a star during the silent film era.

He was Rin Tin Tin, the legendary German Shepherd dog whose popularity rivaled that of any human performer when the movies were brand new.

See for yourself on Saturday, Feb. 6, when the Campton Historical Society screens a double feature of vintage Rin Tin Tin silent adventure films with live music.

The evening begins with a pot luck supper at 5 p.m. The film program, which is free and open to the public, will start at about 6:15 p.m.

In 'Clash of the Wolves' (1925), Rin Tin Tin plays a wild wolf who befriends a prospector; together they hunt down a criminal intent on jumping the prospector's claim and stealing his girl.

In 'The Night Cry' (1926), Rin Tin Tin is unjustly accused of killing sheep in ranching country; this forces him to flee for his life and hunt down the true killer on his own.

Both melodramas were produced by then-struggling Warner Bros. Studio. Rin Tin Tin films proved immensely popular around the world, with audiences marvelling at the then-new German Shepherd breed's feats of derring-do as he often out-smarted his human co-stars.

At the time, studio executives referred to Rin Tin Tin as "the mortgage lifter" because the dog's pictures helped rescue the ailing studio from bankruptcy.

Rin Tin Tin was so popular, he was named "Best Actor" at the first-ever Academy Awards in 1929 until ceremony officials decided on a re-vote in favor of human performer Emil Jannings.

Both films at the Campton Historical Society will be accompanied live by silent film musician Jeff Rapsis, who uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of a full orchestra.

"The Rin Tin Tin films are great pictures for audience reaction, even today," Rapsis said. "They're full of fast-paced action, great stunts—and above all, they really move!"

"If you're new to the silent film art form, seeing the Rin Tin Tin pictures in a theater with live music is a terrific way to get acquainted with the enduring power of this kind of movie-making," Rapsis said.

Rin Tin Tin remained popular until his death in 1932, which made headlines around the globe. But his progeny went on to star in later films and TV shows, keeping the name before the public for generations.

Rin Tin Tin's descendants are still bred, continuing the bloodline to the present day. The ongoing Rin Tin Tin phenomenon inspired a recent book, "Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend" by New Yorker writer Susan Orlean.

The Rin Tin Tin double feature at the Campton Historical Society aims to recreate the silent film experience as early movie audiences knew it: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.

"When you put the silent film experience back together, it's amazing how the movies jump to life," Rapsis said. "You can really get a sense of why people got so excited about movies when they were new."

A double feature of silent-era Rin Tin Tin adventures will be shown with live music on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 6:15 p.m. at the Campton Historical Society, Campton Town Hall, Route 175, Campton, N.H. The program is free and open to the public, and will be preceded by a pot luck supper starting at 5 p.m. For more details, visit www.camptonhistorical.org. For more info on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

Was that skunk right after all? Report from 'The Road to Yesterday' (1925)

It's true—a film can sometimes turn out to be a real stinker.

But last night at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library marked the first time I've ever had a skunk threaten to disrupt a screening!

Yes, an actual skunk: a full-grown adult. And this was not in backwoods New Hampsha, but right in the downtown of Manchester, our state's largest city.

(Okay, that's not saying much. But it weren't the backwoods, neitha.)

What happened was, I had schlepped all my gear from the car to the library theater's basement door, which must be kept open during load-in so it doesn't lock you out.

So there I am, the heavy door propped wide open by my two Roland speakers, and man-handling my Korg keyboard to get it through the opening.

And then I hear noise from the ground cover.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

So I look up, and marching slowing along the base of the building and not 10 feet from me is a very large skunk, coming right at me!

And my arms are full, and the door is open, and Mr. Skunk shows no signs of hesitating.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

I didn't think his presence was a comment on the night's movie, Cecil B. DeMille's time-travel drama (don't ask), 'The Road to Yesterday' (1925).

It was a cold and wet night, so he was probably attracted by the light and heat coming from the open library door. Can't blame him for that.

For a moment I froze, my arms filled with 70 lbs. of keyboard. But then I just laughed out loud at the absurdity of the situation.

Great! Just great! It hadn't been the best day already, and now I've got a skunk about to enter the library. Why not?

But then I moved quickly to get the keyboard in (and out of the rain), and then to get the door shut.

By then, Mr. Skunk had changed his mind about checking out the door, and had turned around and was waddling back from whence he came, soon disappearing around the building's far corner.

Crunch! Crunch. Crunch.

Wow! Close call!

But part of me wanted the skunk to come inside just for the fun of seeing everyone go crazy.

That might have been enough to distract people from 'The Road to Yesterday' (1925) a lesser-known Cecil B. DeMille drama that turned out to be lesser-known for a good reason, I thought.

The story: two 1920s couples suffering marital/engagement strife are caught in a train wreck, which sends them back in time to Elizabethan England!

There, they confront problems in their past lives that are preventing true happiness back in the modern era. Highlights include a torture scene and the burning of a witch, plus comedy relief.

Our audience actually seemed to buy it and enjoyed the film, which surprised me. I found it overblown, incoherent, and absurd.

Plus the plot was hard to follow from the accompanist bench. So maybe the skunk was an omen!

The little bit of skunk slapstick was only the latest example of me getting caught up in real-life silent film schtick.

While setting up for a Chaplin program at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre this past weekend, I leaned down to untangle some audio cables, and when I tried to stand up, I found my necktie was now also tangled in the cords.

This prompted an unplanned tribute to visual comedy, all right in front of about 100 people, thank you very much.

Speaking of Chaplin: this weekend takes me to the grandly named Tuscan Opera House in Dixfield, Maine, where students from Dirigo High School have organized a show featuring the Little Tramp on Saturday, Dec. 5.

It's about a three-hour drive one way for me. But distance matters not to those craving a Chaplin fix, so I wanted to get the info out.

Below is a press release for the Chaplin screening, the latest in a now annual program of silent films organized by the students and their teacher, Kurt Rowley.

So get out your compass and head north. Hope to see you there!

An original poster for 'The Kid' (1921).

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 18, 2015 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Chaplin's 'The Kid' to screen on Saturday, Dec. 5 at Tuscan Opera House

Landmark silent film comedy/drama to be presented with live music at historic venue

DIXFIELD, Maine—A comic icon of cinema's early days will return to the big screen for one night only, as the Tuscan Opera House presents an evening of silent film comedy starring Charlie Chaplin on Saturday, Dec. 5.

The show begins at 7 p.m. and will feature several Chaplin films, highlighted by 'The Kid' (1921), his breakthrough feature-length comedy/drama.

The program, organized by Dirigo High School students as a fund-raiser for the local historical society, is open to the public. Admission is $10 per person.

Live music will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist.

Rapsis will also provide background on Chaplin's career as well as introduce each film.

"There's nothing like silent film comedy shown on the big screen with a live audience," said Rapsis, who accompanies silent film screenings at venues around New England.

The Dixfield program is a follow-up to well-received silent film shows held in recent years at the historic four-story opera house.

A still from 'The Kid' (1921) starring Charles Chaplin and Jackie Coogan.

Chaplin was already the world's most popular comedian and filmmaker when he produced 'The Kid,' his first feature-length project. The movie, with its daring mix of intense drama and slapstick comedy, proved an instant sensation and marked one of the high points of Chaplin's long career.

'The Kid' follows the story of a tramp (Chaplin) who attempts to raise an orphaned boy on his own. It includes several classic scenes, and is highlighted by a sequence in which Chaplin battles authorities attempting to return the child to an orphanage.

Co-starring with Chaplin in 'The Kid' is five-year-old Jackie Coogan, who turned in what many critics rank as the best child performance of the entire silent film era. Chaplin himself worked closely with the young Coogan for more than a year to develop the youngster's acting abilities.

Coogan went on to a long career that much later included the role of "Uncle Fester" (at right) in the popular 1960s Addams Family television show.

'The Kid' will be preceded by two of Chaplin's earlier short comedies that helped establish his worldwide popularity: 'The Tramp' (1915) and 'The Vagabond' (1916).

The Chaplin program at the Tuscan Opera House provides local audiences a chance to experience silent film as it was intended to be shown: on the big screen, in restored prints, with live music, and with an audience.

"If you can put pieces of the experience back together again, it's surprising how these films snap 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."

In creating music for silent films, Rapsis performs on a digital synthesizer that reproduces the texture of the full orchestra and creates a traditional "movie score" sound.

Dixfield's Tuscan Opera House is an unusual four-story structure built in the late 19th century as a meeting house for the International Order of Odd Fellows.

Its original configuration included a kitchen and dining room in the basement, theater and dance hall on the ground floor, balcony and dressing rooms on the second floor, and the IOOF Lodge on the third floor, as well as attic space.

The building served as a cultural center for the Dixfield area for several generations, providing a venue for concerts, summer theater, town meetings, dances, motion picture shows, and church services.

Because Dixfield schools had no auditorium before 1970, graduations, plays, prize speaking, proms and all manner of school productions were held at the Opera House. In more recent years, the building became the site of several commercial ventures including an antique store and restaurants.

Dirigo High School students present Charlie Chaplin in 'The Kid' (1921) and other films, all shown with live music, on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. at the Tuscan Opera House, Maine Street, Dixfield. Tickets available at the door; admission is $10 per person, with all proceeds to go to the local historical society.

For more information and advance tickets, please contact Dirigo High School teacher Kurt Rowley at (207) 680-0113.

CRITIC QUOTE

“Chaplin's first real feature mixes slapstick and sentiment in a winning combination, as the Tramp raises a streetwise orphan. Wonderful film launched Coogan as a major child star, and it's easy to see why.”
— Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide

Chaplin, Keaton, and maybe von Sternberg...plus werewolves & topping 200,000 pageviews

Playing for 'The Cameraman' (1928) in an unusual venue: the Arlington Grange Hall in Winchester, N.H.

There's a high-profile festival of silent film going on this week in Pordenone, Italy. (That's "poor-deh-know-nay" for the very few non-native Italian speakers following this blog.)

Held each year in early October, it attracts the best and the brightest silent film restorers, archivists, scholars—and yes, musicians.

I'd like to check it out someday. But until the invitation comes, we'll just continue having our own silent film festival closer to home, with a bunch of great programs coming up that I hope you'll consider attending.

Tranfusion confusion: an injured man receives wolf blood in 'Wolfblood,' with unexpected consequences.

• Tonight (Tuesday, Oct. 6), I'm doing music for a screening of 'Wolfblood' (1925), a low budget lumbercamp melodrama noteworthy as one of the first examples of the "werewolf" theme in cinema. With Halloween coming up, why not? Showtime is 6 p.m. at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library, 405 Pine St. in downtown Manchester, N.H. Admission free, donations encouraged.

• Thursday, Oct. 8 brings 'The Kid' (1921) and Charlie Chaplin short comedies at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H. Co-starring a five-year-old Jackie Coogan, 'The Kid' was Chaplin's breakthrough; a full-length picture that successfully combined comedy and drama. Admission $10 per person.

• Friday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. brings a Buster Keaton program at the Arlington Grange Hall, 39 Mechanic St., Winchester, N.H. (Ha! Take that, Pordenone attendees.) Free admission but they're suggesting a donation of $7 per person. Two Keaton comedies, both focusing on movies: 'Sherlock Jr.' (1924) and 'The Cameraman' (1928). Can't get much more meta than that.

• Saturday, Oct. 10 brings a tentative gig at the Brattle Cinema, 40 Brattle St., in Cambridge, Mass. A series about the roots of film noir includes two screenings of Josef von Sternberg's ground-breaking crime drama 'Underworld' (1927) in 35mm at 4 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. I call it tentative because at at this point, I'm not sure if I'm actually doing accompaniment. As soon as I know yes or no, I'll post an update.

See? Just like Pordenone! Except not in Italy.

After this weekend, we enter the heavy Halloween schedule, which this year features Alfred Hitchcock's early thriller 'The Lodger' (1927) in about a half-dozen different locations around New England.

I haven't scored 'The Lodger' in some time, but it's full of Hitchcock's then-emerging style and a way to get in the right frame of mind for Halloween. I've developed some new musical material to help this title connect, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it evolves over multiple screenings.

But for this week, the focus is on werewolves, comedy, and gangster. If you'd like more info on 'The Kid' this Thursday, I've pasted in the text of the press release below. See you there!

And finally, a tip of the virtual hat to all visitors to this blog, which just topped 200,000 page views.

Blogs are so 2008, I know. But this format seems to work as a way to sometimes get into detail about creating live music for silent film screenings, so I plan to keep it up.

Thanks for visiting and please come again.

* * *

FRIDAY, OCT. 2, 2015 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Chaplin's 'The Kid' to screen on Thursday, Oct. 8 at Flying Monkey

Landmark silent film comedy/drama to be presented with live music at historic venue

PLYMOUTH, N.H.—Silent film with live music returns to the Flying Monkey with a screening of Charlie Chaplin's classic comedy/drama 'The Kid' (1921) on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 6:30 p.m.

The special program, which also includes several of Chaplin's short comedies, with be presented with live music by Jeff Rapsis, one of the nation's leading silent film accompanists. Admission is $10 per person.

Chaplin was already the world's most popular comedian and filmmaker when he produced 'The Kid,' his first feature-length project. The movie, with its daring mix of intense drama and slapstick comedy, proved an instant sensation and marked one of the high points of Chaplin's long career.

'The Kid' follows the story of a tramp (Chaplin) who attempts to raise an orphaned boy on his own. It includes several classic scenes, and is highlighted by a sequence in which Chaplin battles authorities attempting to return the child to an orphanage.

Co-starring with Chaplin in 'The Kid' is five-year-old Jackie Coogan, who turned in what many critics rank as the best child performance of the entire silent film era. Chaplin himself worked closely with the young Coogan for more than a year to develop the youngster's acting abilities.

Coogan went on to a long career that much later included the role of "Uncle Fester" in the popular 1960s Addams Family television show.

The Chaplin program continues the monthly series of silent film with live music at the Flying Monkey. The series provides local audiences the opportunity to experience silent film as it was intended to be shown: on the big screen, in restored prints, with live music, and with an audience.

"If you can put pieces of the experience back together again, it's surprising how these films snap 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."

The Flying Monkey originally opened as a silent film moviehouse in the 1920s, and showed first-run Hollywood films to generations of area residents until closing several years ago.

The theater has since been renovated by Alex Ray, owner of the Common Man restaurants, who created a performance space that hosts a wide range of music acts.

But movies of all types are still a big part of the Flying Monkey's offerings, and the silent film series is a way for the theater to remain connected to its roots.

In creating music for silent films, Rapsis performs on a digital synthesizer that reproduces the texture of the full orchestra and creates a traditional "movie score" sound.

'The Kid' will be preceded by several short Chaplin comedies made earlier in his career that helped establish his worldwide popularity.

Upcoming shows in this year's silent film series at the Flying Monkey include:

• Thursday, Oct. 22, 6:30 p.m.: 'The Cat and the Canary' (1927). Can a group of strangers survive the night in a haunted house to learn the secret of a madman's will? Find out in the original Gothic thriller from silent film director Paul Leni. Just in time for Halloween, a movie filled with deep shadows, dark secrets, and a surprisingly timeless mix of humor and horror that will keep you guessing.

• Thursday, Nov. 12, 6:30 p.m.: "Really Big Stars: An Elephant Double Feature." A pair silent films starring pachyderms! In 'Soul of the Beast' (1923), Oscar the Elephant accompanies a circus runaway fleeing her mean stepfather, launching a melodramatic plot of love, revenge, and cruelty. In 'Chang' (1927), shot on location in rural Siam (now Thailand), a native family in the back country battles the jungle for survival. Nominated for the Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production at the first-ever Oscars in 1929.

'The Kid' (1921) starring Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan, will be screened with live music on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H. Admission $10.

For more info, call (603) 536-2551 or visit www.flyingmonkeynh.com. For more on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

CRITIC QUOTE

“Chaplin's first real feature mixes slapstick and sentiment in a winning combination, as the Tramp raises a streetwise orphan. Wonderful film launched Coogan as a major child star, and it's easy to see why.”
– Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide

Coming to the Manchester (N.H.) City Library: Werewolves, time travel, and earthquakes!

Greta Garbo and Nils Asther fog up the big screen in 'Wild Orchid' (1929), on the schedule this season at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library.

Who says there's no future in silent film?

I've just puzzled out titles through the end of 2016 for our monthly screenings at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library.

December 2016 sounds like the future to me, so there!

The schedule is packed with a wide variety of titles, with one exception: no well-known silent-era classics.

'Wings?' Nope. 'The General?' Sorry. 'Metropolis?' Not here.

Don't get me wrong—these pictures are great, and I love doing music for them.

But for the Manchester City Library series, the emphasis is on films that rarely get shown, with priority given to those I've never had a chance to see or accompany before.

One reason for this is that the Carpenter Auditorium is relatively small—maybe 150 seats. So it lends itself to niche programming. Another reason it that doing unfamiliar films helps me develop my craft.

But most importantly, I continue to be amazed at silent-era films that I've never heard of but which hold the screen if given a chance to run as intended: on a screen, with live music, and in front of an audience.

Outlets such as TCM are great. But with silent film, there's no substitute for seeing it in a theater with a group of people. It's a completely different experience from seeing it on, say, your home entertainment center with just you and your dog in attendance.

With so many vintage titles lost forever through decomposition and neglect, you'd think that the pickings from the silent era would be slim.

But instead, the pickings are actually quite fat. Even with about 75 percent of U.S. silent feature-length films gone, several thousand still survive in one form or another. This adds up to a huge world that film buffs can explore for years, discovering surprises all the time.

That's what it's been like for me, anyway.

And so that's what the library series is all about: celebrating the vast amount of silent cinema that has come down to us intact, and giving it a chance to be seen as intended.

So what's coming up? I've updated my "Upcoming Silent Film screenings" page to list everything through December, 2016.

But the text of the press release below includes a convenient one-stop schedule for you to ponder. Check it out, and hope to see you at these programs.

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Dolores Costello awaits the big shake-up in 'Old San Francisco' (1927).

MONDAY, SEPT. 21, 2015 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Manchester (N.H.) Library announces 2015-16 line-up of silent films with live music

Schedule includes the first-ever "werewolf" flick, a drama about time travel, and Hollywood's original "disaster" movie

MANCHESTER, N.H.—Silent film with live music continues at the Manchester City Library with the release of the 2015-16 season schedule.

Upcoming programs include stories of time travel, forbidden romance, airborne border patrol agents, and vintage anti-Communist propaganda.

A highlight of the schedule is Hollywood's first-ever disaster flick: 'Old San Francisco' (1927) from Warner Bros., a drama about racism climaxed by a recreation of the catastrophic 1906 earthquake that destroyed the city.

Another notable title is the first-ever "werewolf" movie: 'Wolf Blood' (1925), an outdoors adventure in which an injured lumber camp boss receives a transfusion of wolf blood and—well, you know.

The films are shown on the first Tuesday of the month in the lower level auditorium of Carpenter Memorial Library, 405 Pine St. in downtown Manchester.

All screenings begin at 6 p.m. The public is welcome and admission is free, with a donation of $5 per person suggested to help defray expenses.

Live music for all screenings is provided by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist.

Rapsis, who performs at film festivals and screenings around the country, organizes the Manchester City Library screenings as a way to practice his craft and present seldom-seen silents as they were intended—with live music and with an audience.

The series focuses on obscure movies that may have been popular or notable or significant when first released, but which since have faded into obscurity.

"Rather than celebrated masterpieces, the films we show in Manchester are more typical of what people would find playing at their neighborhood movie house in the first decades of cinema," Rapsis said.

Screening silent films in a theater setting with live music allows their entertainment and cultural value to be enjoyed by modern audiences, Rapsis said. That's true with any vintage motion picture—even those that aren't well-known classics, Rapsis said.

"There's a reason people fell hard for the movies right from the start, and putting the silent film experience back together helps us to experience that same excitement even today, no matter what the specific film is," Rapsis said.

Because some early feature films run less than an hour, the upcoming schedule includes two programs of double features.

Rapsis creates live musical scores for silent films using a digital synthesizer that can reproduce the texture of the full orchestra. The accompaniment is improvised in real time using musical material Rapsis creates beforehand augmented by ideas that occur during the screening.

"Creating a score in real time is kind of a high-wire act, but I think it adds an essential element of spontaneity and excitement to any silent film screening," Rapsis said. "You never know exactly how it's going to turn out."

The 2015-16 silent film schedule at the Manchester City Library through next May (monthly programs except January 2016) is as follows:

• Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015, 6 p.m.: 'Wolf Blood' (1925). Get ready for Halloween with this early try at turning the werewolf legend into a movie. An injured lumber camp boss receives a transfusion of wolf blood during an operation, and...well, you can take it from there.

• Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015, 2015, 6 p.m: 'My Friend from India' (1927). Dandy Tommy Valentine (Franklin Pangborn) meets and falls for Barbara, the niece of Socialite Bedelia Smith, but fails to learn her name, so he is forced to consult a "Swami mystic." Light-hearted romantic comedy starring a lesser-known star of early cinema who later flourished as a character actor in talkies.

• Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, 6 p.m.: 'The Road to Yesterday' (1925). Bizarre Cecil B. Demille drama about a married couple who find their strained relationship is the result of unhappiness they experienced in past lives; epic tale encompasses a fiery train wreck, flappers, and time travel.

• Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, 6 p.m.: 'Wild Orchids' (1929). Steamy tale of forbidden romance: An older man takes his young wife (Greta Garbo) on a business trip to Java. Aboard ship, she witnesses a wealthy passenger brutally thrashing a servant. The violent man is immediately taken by Garbo's beauty and resolves to meet her.

• Tuesday, March 1, 2016, 6 p.m.: 'Melodrama Double Feature.' Twin bill of classic low budget melodramas: 'Tentacles of the North' (1926) about two ships trapped in the Arctic ice; and 'The Phantom Flyer' (1928) about an airborne border patrol officer who uses his flying skills to save his sweetheart from a band of cattle rustlers.

• Tuesday, April 5, 2016, 6 p.m.: 'Old San Francisco' (1927). Big-budget Warner Bros. historical drama starring Dolores Costello, Warner Oland; story about racial strife in 'Frisco climaxed by a recreation of the city's catastrophic 1906 earthquake. Pioneering film paved the way for all disaster flicks that followed!

• Tuesday, May 3, 2016, 6 p.m.: Scandal! Two Early Potboilers. Double bill of early drama: 'The Cheat' (1915), an early Cecil B. Demille story about financial scandal; plus 'Shattered Dreams' (1919), an anti-Bolshevist tale in which a rich businessman attempts to teach his idealist son a lesson by buying him an island off the coast of Florida to establish a Communist paradise.

• Tuesday, June 7, 2016, 6 p.m.: 'The Rag Man' (1925). Seldom-screened drama in which young Jackie Coogan plays a child who runs away from an orphanage fire and takes refuge with Max, a junk man played by underrated silent comic actor Max Davidson.

The next film in the Manchester City Library's monthly silent film series is 'Wolf Blood' (1925), which will be screened with live music on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. in the Carpenter Memorial Auditorium, lower level of Manchester City Library, 405 Pine St., Manchester, N.H.

The program is free and open to the public. A donation of $5 per person is suggested to help defray expenses. For more information about the Manchester City Library, call (603) 624-6550 or visit http://www.manchester.lib.nh.us. For more information about the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

Labor Day over, now back to work: Accompanying five shows in six days

Gloria Swanson stars in 'Sadie Thompson' (1928), screening tonight (Tuesday, Sept. 8) at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library.

The silent film calendar was rather light as August turned into September. And I'm not complaining.

But that's over now. The next six days bring five very different programs to accompany: drama, comedy, jungle action, and more.

And this week's mini-marathon is capped by an unusual Douglas Fairbanks double feature in which footage from one of his early comedies was reedited into a new film that tells an entirely different story!

I'll post info here about the screenings as they come up. Or check out the "Upcoming Silent Film Screenings" link at upper right.

Beyond this, I'm looking forward to a busy performance calendar this fall, with a packed schedule of Halloween shows followed in November by an appearance at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in California.

In December, I head to Cincinnati for a program on Thursday, Dec. 10 at the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center, where I last performed in 2013.

And on the way back, I'll make my international debut on Sunday, Dec. 13 at the Revue Cinema in Toronto, Canada.

To prepare for these high-profile gigs, I'm working on pushing my keyboard technique up a notch.

So I've recommitted to playing the Hanon technical exercises on a regular basis, plus a few of my own invention.

The goal remains to develop more fluency getting around the keyboard, and imagining and making music without necessarily looking down at the keys, which helps in accompaniment.

Also on the improvement program is good old Beethoven.

Recently, I realized a long-standing ambition when I got hold of the Liszt piano transcriptions of Beethoven's nine symphonies.

So I'm slowing playing through them in order, and it's been a real rush to experience this familiar music and bring it to life in this way.

Basically, each day I work through a movement at a very slow speed (sight-reading has never been my strength) and note any harmonies or progressions that are surprising or instructive.

That way I push my keyboard technique, but also absorb some of Beethoven's moves for later use.

Raoul Walsh and Gloria Swanson in 'Sadie Thompson' (1928)

We'll see if any of this makes a difference with tonight's screening of 'Sadie Thompson' (1928) at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library.

It's Gloria Swanson and Lionel Barrymore doing battle in the steamy tropics, so it helps that we're in the middle of a September heat wave in our part of the world.

'Sadie Thompson' is missing its final reel, but I think that actually adds to the experience.

To me, it seems as if the conflict between Swanson and Barrymore gets so intense that film just can't contain it any longer.

Instead, we're left with a reconstruction of stills and descriptions that leave the climax up to our own imaginations, making it potentially more personal and powerful than anything a filmmaker could put on the screen.

So it's an unusual form of narrative: a traditional film until the final reel, and then the audience is required to imagine the action based on a general outline.

There's a certain primal power in this approach. I recall Hitchcock saying that it was more terrifying to let something nasty happen offscreen, because people's imaginations would always make it worse than any filmmaker could show. There's something about that in the way 'Sadie Thompson' must now be shown, with its last reel missing.

So 'Sadie Thompson' is in the same category as, say, the Venus de Milo, or Schubert's 'Unfinished Symphony.' They're great works of art that achieve perhaps a higher form greatness by virtue of their being incomplete.

Maybe that's a principle that I can apply to writing blog posts. Maybe what I write will be that much better if I fail to

Coming up: Two chances to see documentary 'Nanook of the North' in the dead of winter

Nanook prepares to launch his harpoon in 'Nanook of the North' (1922).

As I write this, New England is about to be buried under anywhere from one to two feet of snow.

Your mileage may vary, but forecasts call for a significant storm on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

Well, it's winter here. And what better setting to take in a ground-breaking documentary about life north of the Arctic Circle?

Yes, coming up are two chances to see 'Nanook of the North' (1922), Robert Flaherty's hit 1922 look at Nanook and his family as they struggle to survive.

You can see it on Friday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Harvard Film Archive in Cambridge, Mass.

And it's being screened again on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library.

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

But let me say I'm really looking forward to these screenings, as 'Nanook' is one of the "big" silent film titles that I've yet to tackle—until now.

As a documentary, it lends itself to a very different approach for music than a traditional narrative story.

Rather than straight-up melodies or tunes, I'll probably head in the direction of "textures." By that, I mean repeated patterns, cells, and cycling chord progressions.

For a documentary, I do think there's quite a bit of emotion that can be mined from finding a suitable texture and then adjusting it as the scenes change.

So what kind of texture for 'Nanook?'

Well, I keep thinking of how Puccini created an atmosphere of "cold" in La Boheme by harmonizing things in open fifths.

Snow in a scene from Puccini's 'La Boheme.'

That may play a role in what happens next Friday night at the Harvard Film Archive.

We'll see. In any case, you might want to bring an extra coat.

* * *

The man himself. Like Elvis or Liberace, he needs only one name.

SUNDAY, JAN. 25, 2015 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Pioneering documentary 'Nanook of the North' coming to Harvard Film Archive

Ground-breaking silent film to be screened in 35mm with live music on Friday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—A film hailed as the one of the first to show the potential of the movie camera to take audiences to distant lands will be shown this week at the Harvard Film Archive.

'Nanook of the North' (1922), a ground-breaking film about life among Eskimos above the Arctic Circle, will be screened on Friday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Harvard Film Archive in Cambridge, Mass.

The classic silent documentary, to be screened in 35mm, will be shown with live music by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis.

Director Robert Flaherty’s film tells the story of Inuit hunter Nanook and his family as they struggle to survive in the harsh conditions of Canada’s Hudson Bay region.

The screening is part of a retrospective of Flaherty's work and career that continues through March 1 at the Harvard Film Archive.

Remarkably matter-of-fact in its blow-by-blow depiction of the everyday struggle to stay alive in the Arctic hinterlands of Canada’s Hudson Bay, 'Nanook of the North' expresses Flaherty’s reverence for his Inuit subjects in every carefully framed shot.

The film, which emerged from a return trip up North after celluloid from a preceding adventure went up in flames, unfolds as a series of long takes interspersed by occasionally poetic intertitles, all of which serve to highlight seemingly mundane tasks required for survival in the frigid terrain.

Beyond its educational function, though, Flaherty’s profoundly empathetic intimacy with his subjects—the resilient, prodigious seal-and-walrus-hunter Nanook and his weathered clan—heightens what seems on the surface to be merely a dry informational pamphlet.

Another classic spear-throwing image from 'Nanook of the North.'

To make the film, Flaherty built an ad-hoc film processing lab in the challenging Arctic conditions and trained his Inuit friends to be his technicians.

Immersed in the culture for over two years, Flaherty embraced the new artform as a transformative vehicle to show modern audiences that without all the complications and trappings of modern civilization, lives could be happily lived—even under nature’s harshest conditions.

Enormously popular when released in 1922, 'Nanook of the North' is a cinematic milestone that continues to enchant audiences.

In 1989, 'Nanook of the North' was one of the first 25 films to be selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

‘Nanook of the North' (1922) will be shown in 35mm with live music on Friday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Harvard Film Archive, located in Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass. Tickets are $9 per person/$7 students & seniors. For more information on the screening, visit http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/ or call 617-495-4700. For more information on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

Light as a feather, then heavy as lead: From 'Her Night Of Romance' to 'Intolerance'

The two lovers-to-be meet in 'Her Night of Romance.' Is that really Constance Talmadge hiding behind those glasses?

What's life without a little contrast?

That's what I'll experience in the next two days, when I do music for a frothy romantic comedy, followed by one of the heaviest, most frothless pieces of silent cinema around.

And then my West Coast debut this weekend! More about which in a bit.

The whipsawing starts with a screening of 'Her Night of Romance' (1925) on Tuesday, May 6 at 6 p.m. at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library, 405 Pine St. This film is so light, it practically needs to be held down with ropes, like one of those big cartoon balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

But it's full of laughs, too, and also full of the vivacious Constance Talmadge, then at the peak of her career. So there's plenty to look at on screen! (Equal opportunity ogling note: And there's Colman for the ladies, too.)

I never get tired of watching Constance on screen. Though not known as a dramatic (and therefore "serious") actress, to me she has the most expressive face of any silent film actress I know. While Constance rarely overplays, her face gets an amazing workout in every film of hers I've seen.

Her eyes, already huge, carry with us from panic to delight as they roll about in their sockets. She can transform her facial expression from confidence to farcical terror, and back again, in an instant. And on the rare occasions when she gets angry...well, hell hath no fury.

Both Talmadge stars (Constance and her sister Norma) were generally accepted as great beauties, so it's a treat to see Constance disguising herself as a frumpy old maid as 'Her Night' opens. At the time, audiences must have found it especially hilarious. (I don't know what it says about me, but I still find her strangely attractive.)

'Her Night of Romance' is one I've never done before, but in previewing it, there are places where I'm betting the film still gets big laughs. We'll see at the screening, which is tomorrow night as I write this.

Then, two days later, I tackle 'Intolerance' (1916), D.W. Griffith's three-hour heavyweight drama that threads together no less than four separate stories. The "fun" begins on Thursday, May 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center at 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H.

Both films are the result of me trying to challenge myself (and keep up my interest) by programming films that I've never done before. With 'Her Night of Romance,' I've previewed it and I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to do. But with 'Intolerance,' among the questions I still have to answer are: "Why the heck am I doing this in the first place?"

It's a big film, and yes, contains four different stories. So I'd like the music to reflect these four different epochs so that even if you had your eyes closed, you could tell what time period we're in.

However, with three days to go, I still haven't previewed the film thoroughly, so we'll see what happens. 'Intolerance' is not a film where you want to totally wing it.

If you're interested in seeing this legendary film on the big screen, check out the press release below.

But before that, about my "West Coast Debut." I'll post more on this as it happens, but I wanted to thank all the people associated with the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Niles, Calif. (just across the bay from San Francisco) for inviting me to be guest accompanist for their program on Saturday, May 10. I happen to be heading to San Francisco on a business trip the day before, so it worked out perfectly.

I'll even get to see my brother-in-law, who lives out there and first brought his crazy relative-by-marriage to see the Niles set-up, which is extremely impressive.

More detail on that to come. For now, take a big tall drink of the press release for 'Intolerance,' and hope to see you at the screening!

* * *

FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

With 'Intolerance,' four stories better than one

Rarely screened landmark silent film epic
to be shown with live music on Thursday, May 8

PLYMOUTH, N.H.—It was a breakthrough that changed the movies forever: a three-hour epic knitting together four sweeping stories spanning 2,500 years, all designed to show the struggle for love throughout human history.

The film was D.W. Griffith's 'Intolerance' (1916), which stunned the movie-going public with its vast scope, enormous sets, large cast, and revolutionary editing. Often named to lists of the 100 best films of all times, critics continue to point to 'Intolerance' as one of the most influential and important milestones of early cinema.

See for yourself with a rare screening of a restored version of 'Intolerance' (1916) at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center on Thursday, May 8 at 6:30 p.m. The program, the latest in the theater's silent film series, will be accompanied by live music performed by silent film composer Jeff Rapsis. Admission is $10 per person.

In reviving 'Intolerance' and other great films of Hollywood's early years, the Flying Monkey aims to show silent 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 live score for 'Intolerance' on the spot. "Recreate those conditions, and the classics of early Hollywood leap back to life. They featured great stories with compelling characters and universal appeal, so it's no surprise that they hold up and we still respond to them."

Rapsis performs on a digital synthesizer that reproduces the texture of the full orchestra and creates a traditional "movie score" sound.

A vintage photo montage promoting the original release of 'Intolerance.'

'Intolerance,' considered one of the great masterpieces of the silent era, intercuts four parallel storylines, each separated by several centuries: A contemporary melodrama of crime and redemption; a Judean story of Christ’s mission and death; a French story about the events surrounding the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572; and a story depicting the fall of the Babylonian Empire to Persia in 539 BC.

The scenes are linked by shots of a figure representing Eternal Motherhood, rocking a cradle.

Each of the parallel stories are intercut with increasing frequency as the film builds to a climax. The film sets up moral and psychological connections among the different stories.

'Intolerance' was made partly in response to criticism of Griffith's previous film, 'The Birth of a Nation' (1915), which was criticized by the NAACP and other groups as perpetuating racial stereotypes and glorifying the Ku Klux Klan.

One of the unusual characteristics of 'Intolerance' is that many of the characters don't have names. Griffith wished them to be emblematic of human types. Thus, the central female character in the modern story is called The Dear One. Her young husband is called The Boy, and the leader of the local Mafia is called The Musketeer of the Slums.

Because of its four interwined stories, 'Intolerance' does not feature any one performer in a leading role. However, the enormous cast includes many great names from the silent era, including Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Constance Talmadge, Walter Long (a New Hampshire native), and a young Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in an uncredited cameo as a drunken soldier with a monkey.

"This movie was made for the big screen, and this screening at the Flying Monkey is a rare chance to see 'Intolerance' the way it was meant to be seen," Rapsis said.

The Flying Monkey shows silent films on the second Thursday of each month. Other upcoming programs in the Flying Monkey's silent series include:

• Thursday, June 12, 6:30 p.m.: "Metropolis" (1927). German director Fritz Lang's amazing epic about a futuristic society where an educated elite enjoys life in a glittering city, all supported by colonies of workers forced to live deep underground. A film that set new standards for visual design and changed movies forever!

‘Intolerance’ will be shown on Thursday, May 8 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 information, visit www.flyingmonkeynh.com or call (603) 536-2551. For more information about the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

Something of a busy week: Five days, four shows, three states

Fresh off a fun screening of Harold Lloyd's 'The Freshman' (1925) at the Somerville Theater in Somerville, Mass., I'm heading into a week with four diffent films in three different states over the next five days.

Luckily, this is New England, and the states are small. So the driving isn't too bad, although Saturday's trek up to Vermont is about 2½ hours one way.

Below is the schedule. But before I take off, a few quick thoughts about yesterday's music for 'The Freshman.'

We had a lively crowd of about 120 people on hand for an afternoon screening that took place right at the same time as opening game for the New England Patriots (so scratch off any serious football fans) and also during a fair that blocked several key streets around the theater. (Scratch easy access.)

The score marked the debut of my new referee's whistle for the football scenes as well as a call bell for the "Fall Frolic" sequence.

I blew the whistle right at the start, to get things going, but then held off until the climactic game scenes. I didn't use it at all during the extended football practice sequence because no one is visibly seen blowing a whistle, and besides, a little goes a long way.

So it was nice to hear afterwards from some folks who were glad I used it sparingly. Even so, a couple of times during the climax, the whistle was the victim of "dry mouth" syndrome, meaning when I tried to blow on it, nothing came out!

The call bell was a little trickier because it kept sliding down the the synthesizer's cover panel and onto my keys, making it kind of a nuisance during the film. And then, when it was time to use it, it was tougher than I thought to synchronize hitting it to the scenes on-screen of a bell being hit impatiently, while at the same time keeping the dance music going with my left hand.

Maybe I'm a little too demanding on myself, but a sound effect cue like this really has to be exactly right on or it's not worth doing, because then it draws attention to itself and kills the comedy. I was close, but didn't quite hit one cue exactly right, I thought.

Afterwards, no one seemed bothered by it. But that didn't matter because it bothered me, and I found myself wishing for another chance.

Things went well overall, though, especially considering the traffic diversions around the theater. Any kind of disruption can effect a performance, and I did have a tough time getting into the film, but it all came together for Harold's big scene with Jobyna and then the big game that follows.

I also had the pleasure of being interviewed by Lisa Mullins, a public radio journalist whose work is heard on 'The World' and other programs. She's planning on putting together a piece that might hit the Boston airwaves prior to our next Somerville Theatre screening, another Lloyd film: 'Safety Last' (1923) on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. As they say, stay tuned!

In the meantime, here's a round-up of this week's busy schedule, which brings a mix of drama and comedy...

• Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013, 6 p.m.: "The Tempest" (1928) starring John Barrymore, Camilla Horn; Carpenter Memorial Auditorium, Manchester Public Library, 405 Pine St., Manchester, N.H.; (603) 624-6550; Manchester Public Library. Epic drama in which an officer in the Czar's army (Barrymore) falls hard for a haughty princess (Horn), who spurns him and causes him to be stripped of rank. But the tables are turned with the Russian revolution, which upends the aristocracy and puts the soldier and the princess at the mercy of forces that no one can control. Monthly series of rarely screened silent films presented with live music in 1913 auditorium. Admission free, donations encouraged.

• Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013, 7 p.m.: "The Cameraman" (1928); Rogers Center for the Arts, Merrimack College, 315 North Turnpike St., North Andover, Mass. (978) 837-5355. Portrait photographer Buster exchanges his still camera for a movie camera in an effort to break into the newsreel business and win the attention of a special gal. Spectacular movie-themed Keaton comedy filled with great stunts filmed on a grand scale. Silent film with live music on the campus of Merrimack College. Free admission. For more information, visit the Rogers Center online.

• Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013, 6:30 p.m.: "The Last Command" (1928) starring Emil Jannings, William Powell; The Flying Monkey Movie House and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H.; (603) 536-2551; http://www.flyingmonkeynh.com/. Jannings snagged the first-ever Best Actor Academy Award for his towering portrayal of a Czarist general and patriot forced to contend with love and the Russian Revolution in this sweeping late silent drama directed by Josef von Sternberg. Part of a monthly silent film series at a newly restored moviehouse in Plymouth, N.H. Admission, $10 per person.

• Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013, 7 p.m.: "Lloyd and Keaton: Silent Comedy Double Feature"; Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Main Street/Route 7, Brandon, Vt.; http://www.brandontownhall.org. In 'Dr. Jack' (1922), Harold Lloyd stars as a country doctor with unorthodox methods that get results! But now comes his toughest case yet: a poor little rich girl (Mildred Davis), bed-ridden with a mysterious condition. Harold's cure is sure to make you smile! In 'Seven Chances' (1925), Buster will inherit a fortune provided he's a married man...by 7 p.m. today! Classic Keaton comedy, complete with one of the best silent film comedy endings ever created. Part of a summer series of silent film 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.