Up this week: 'Beau Geste' in Maine, Harold Lloyd in Vermont, and Theda Bara in N.H., and more!

Ralph Forbes, Ronald Colman, and Neil Hamilton star in 'Beau Geste' (1926).

Welcome to September! Four screenings in four different states are the silent film adventures coming up for me in the next week.

The line-up includes...

• On Wednesday, Sept. 9, I'll accompany the original silent film version of 'Beau Geste' (1926) at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine. Showtime is 7 p.m.; tickets are $18 per person. Lots more info about the screening and the film in the press release that's pasted in below.

• On Saturday, Sept. 12, I'll haul myself up to Brandon, Vt., where this month's entry in our ongoing silent film series is Harold Lloyd's rarely screening domestic comedy 'Hot Water' (1924). Showtime is 7 p.m.; admission is free, donations accepted.

• On Sunday, Sept. 13, it's 'A Fool There Was' (1915), my first-ever Theda Bara film, at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. Screening is at 2 p.m.; free with donations accepted at this one, too.

• And then on Wednesday, Sept. 16, I'm heading down to Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., where I'll accompany several silent films as part of a cinema class. Sorry, not open to the public! 

Here's more info about 'Beau Geste' (1926), which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its release. Hope you can make it out to the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine to take in this picture the way it was intended to be seen: in a theater, on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience!

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Promotional art for the original silent film version of 'Beau Geste' (1926).

MONDAY, AUG. 31, 2026 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Restored 'Beau Geste' to screen with live music on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at Leavitt Theatre

Public welcome! Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the original 'Beau Geste,' one of the silent era's top grossing adventure films

OGUNQUIT, Maine— It was the blockbuster film that ignited a public craze for desert adventure stories and helped launch Ronald Colman and William Powell to cinematic stardom.

It was the original silent film version of 'Beau Geste' (1926), released 100 years ago. Audiences flocked cinemas for the film's gripping story, terrific performances, and exotic locales.

See for yourself with a screening of 'Beau Geste' (1926) on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 2 p.m. at the historic Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Ogunquit.

The screening, the latest in the Leavitt's silent film series, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent films.

General admission is $18 per person. 

The Leavitt is celebrating its 101st anniversary, having served the community continuously since 1925.

"If you've never seen a silent film in a theater with an audience and live music, you're missing one of the cinema's great experiences," said Rapsis, the Leavitt Theatre's silent film accompanist.

In 'Beau Geste' (1926), three tight-knit English brothers run off to join the French Foreign Legion in Algeria after a family heirloom goes missing. 

Expecting high adventure, they instead find themselves fighting for their lives in the middle of the Sahara—against their fellow legionnaires.

Produced by Paramount, the film was based on a popular 1924 novel by Percival Christopher Wren, a British writer of adventure stories.

Ralph Forbes with Ronald Colman in 'Beau Geste' (1926).

The film stars future Oscar-winner Ronald Colman in the title role as Michael "Beau" Geste. 

The cast also includes William Powell (who would later star in the popular 'Thin Man' mystery series) and young actor Neil Hamilton, a native of Lynn, Mass. who would much later play Commissioner Gordon in the 1960s Batman television series.

The production was to be made on location in Algeria, but the ongoing Rif War prohibited filming. It was shot instead in the desert southwest of Yuma, Ariz.

Beau Geste took in $1.5 million at the box office, an enormous sum at the time, making it the year's third highest grossing film, behind only Fox's war drama 'What Price Glory?' and 'The Black Pirate' starring Douglas Fairbanks.

Released before the advent of the Academy Awards, 'Beau Geste' won the Photoplay Medal of Honor, one of the industry's first awards recognizing the best picture of the year.

A Toronto Film Society article stated, 'Beau Geste' is the archetype of the Foreign Legion movie—a carefully produced, enjoyable adventure yarn with an intriguing element of mystery. Melodrama and sentiment are handled with discretion and, at times, with an engaging sense of humor."

Promotional poster for 'Beau Geste' (1926). 

The original 'Beau Geste' was so popular, it inspired several remakes: one in 1939 starring Gary Cooper, and another in 1966. Later, British comic Marty Feldman spoofed the desert adventure genre with 'The Last Remake of Beau Geste' (1977).

The screening of 'Beau Geste' will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent film presentations.

Rapsis will create the accompaniment on the spot, improvising music as the movie unfolds to enhance the action on the screen as well respond to audience reactions. He will perform the music on a digital synthesizer capable of producing a wide range of theatre organ and orchestral textures.

"Live music was an integral part of the silent film experience," Rapsis said. "Because most films at the time weren't released with sheet music or scores, studios depended on local musicians to come up with an effective score that was different in every theater."

"At its best, this approach created an energy and a connection that added a great deal to a film's impact. That's what I try to recreate," Rapsis said.

The original silent film version of 'Beau Geste' (1926) will be screened with live music on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 2 p.m. at the historic Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Ogunquit.

General admission is $18 per person. For more info, visit www.leavittheatre.com.

Celebrate our 250th birthday (a little early) with D.W. Griffith's 'America' (1924) on Sunday, May 10

A poster promoting 'America' (1924) and highlighting the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, which is depicted in the film.

This weekend, I'll be at the keyboard to accompany a screening of D.W. Griffith's historical epic 'America' (1924), a drama set during the American Revolution.

The film, which I've never scored before, will be shown on Sunday, May 10 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. 

The screening is part of the town's slightly early multi-day celebration of the nation's upcoming 250th birthday. For more info about all of this weekend's events, visit https://www.wiltonnh250.com/.

(The showing of 'America' is described as "a silent film masterpiece meets a powerful live piano score." Well, I'll do my best.)

The fact that Sunday, May 10 is Mother's Day...well, I don't how that might affect attendance. Celebrate Mom's Big Day by taking her to a film about the War for Independence! 

But before moving ahead, here's a quick look back in the rear view mirror at recent screenings.

Selfie in front of Brandon (Vt.) Town Hall and Community Center.

Saturday, May 2 saw this year's Silent Film Series at the Brandon (Vt.) Town Hall and Community Center open with a screening of the MGM historical epic 'Annie Laurie' (1927) starring Lillian Gish and with live music by me.

I've worked up some strong material, I think, for this film, which is set in Scotland and includes lots of on-screen bagpipe playing. It's a challenge to create music that evokes the sound of bagpipes when called for, but also speaks to the story line which under pins it all. 

About 75 people enjoyed the program, which made for a strong start to this year's season of monthly silent film screenings, which runs through November. 

We saw an equally strong turnout for Buster Keaton's 'Steamboat Bill, Jr.' (1928), which I accompanied on Sunday, May 3 at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H.

Audience reaction was strong throughout—I guess we could all use a laugh these days. But people were so into the experience, spontaneous applause and cheers erupted at two scenes: when a two-story building front falls onto Buster, who is saved by an open window; and when he pilots a riverboat into a floating structure to rescue his father. 

More shows coming up later in May. But for now, I hope you'll join us for a rare screening of D.W. Griffith's 'America' (1924) on Sunday, May 10 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H. More details in the press release below.

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D.W. Griffith directing actors in costume during the filming of 'America' (1924).

MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2026 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

D.W. Griffith's epic 'America' (1924) to screen on Sunday, May 10 at Town Hall Theatre

In honor of the nation's 250th birthday! Revolutionary War drama to be shown with live music at historic venue in downtown Wilton, N.H.

WILTON, N.H.—It was among Hollywood's first attempts to bring the story of the American Revolution on the big screen.

It was 'America' (1924), a sprawling epic directed by D.W. Griffith, which thrilled audiences by recreating Paul Revere's midnight ride, the Boston Tea Party, and Washington's encampment at Valley Forge.

In honor of the nation's upcoming 250th birthday, the rarely screened film will be shown on Sunday, May 10 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

The program is free and open to the public; a donation of $10 per person is suggested to support the Town Hall Theatre's silent film programming. The screening is part of the town's commemoration of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776.

Live music will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist who performs regularly at silent film screenings around the nation.

The show is intended to give area movie-goers the opportunity to experience early cinema as it was intended: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.

Adapted from a 1905 novel 'The Reckoning' by Robert W. Chambers, 'America' tells the heroic story of events during the American Revolutionary War. The plot mainly centers on the Northern theatre of the war, with romance spliced into individual movie scenes.

'America' resulted from a 1923 petition by the Daughters of the American Revolution to Motion Picture Production Association President Will H. Hays to make a historical epic about the American Revolution. Hays convinced D.W. Griffith to direct the film. 'America' was produced by Griffith's New York-based studio and released by United Artists.

Griffith prepared for the film by visiting historic battlefields and meeting with historical societies such as the DAR, the Sons of the Revolution, the Smithsonian Institution, the New York Public Library, the Lexington Historical Society, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, and the Massachusetts Historical Society.

The first half of the film portrays the struggle of the under-armed, under-manned colonists against the British Redcoats at Lexington, Bunker Hill and Valley Forge. Other landmarks of the American Revolution shown include the Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere's midnight ride and Patrick Henry's inflammatory speeches to the VIrginia House of Burgesses. 

The battles of Lexington and Concord were staged with a wealth of authentic detail and enhanced by skillful editing. During the filming of a recreation of the Battle of Bunker Hill, a 19-year-old soldier's arm was blown off while reloading a cannon.

The second half dwells on the bloody Indian War of Mohawk Valley, and is highlighted by a "race to the rescue" action sequence, a Griffith specialty.

The film concludes with the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 and the first inauguration of George Washington as president of the United States in 1789.

The parts are tied together by the troubled romance between a young patriot, Nathan Holden (played by Neil Hamilton) and Nancy Montague (Carol Dempster), the daughter of a Tory Judge.

Hamilton, a popular silent-era leading man, would many years later achieve fame as "Commissioner Gordon" in the 1960s 'Batman' television series.

Also in the cast is Lionel Barrymore, who plays an English Loyalist; decades later, he would play 'Old Man Potter' in Frank Capra's 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1946).

After completion, the film was screened to President Calvin Coolidge before its release, and the U.S. Army used it for recruitment purposes.

However, 'America' was not as successful as Griffith's previous films. Costing nearly $1 million to produce, box office for 'America' was a disappointing $1.8 million. Changing public tastes in the Roaring '20s meant this would be Griffith's last big-budget historical epic.

A battle scene from D.W. Griffith's 'America' (1924).

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

Rapsis will create the accompaniment on the spot, improvising music as the movie unfolds to enhance the action on the screen as well respond to audience reactions. He will perform the music on a digital synthesizer capable of producing a wide range of theatre organ and orchestral textures.

"Live music was an integral part of the silent film experience," Rapsis said. "Because most films at the time weren't released with sheet music or scores, studios depended on local musicians to come up with an effective score that was different in every theater. At its best, this approach created an energy and a connection that added a great deal to a film's impact. That's what I try to recreate," Rapsis said.

D.W. Griffith's epic drama 'America' (1924) will be screened with live music on Sunday, May 10 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

The program, in honor of the nation's 250th birthday, is free and open to the public. A donation of $10 per person is suggested to support the Town Hall Theatre's silent film programming. For more information, call (603) 654-3456. 

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!

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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