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.

This Saturday in Maine: music for silent films starring canines; this Sunday in Massachusetts: 'Padlocked' (1926) at Somerville Theatre

A fairly evocative trade ad promoting the Paramount drama 'Padlocked' (1926).

My upcoming weekend consists of music for dogs in Maine, then music for people in Massachusetts. 

Ye—on Saturday, Aug. 9, I'll accompany a program of silent films starring canines at the Johnson Opera House in Gardiner, Maine. 

Then on Sunday, Aug. 10, I'll do music for 'Padlocked,' a 1920s morality drama, at the Somerville Theatre in Somerville, Mass.

Lots more about 'Padlocked' in the press release below. It's a film that hasn't been seen since 1926, but is now available after a 2023 restoration by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

But about the dog program, which takes place on Saturday, Aug. 9 starting at noon. Officially, it's the Augusta Colonial Theatre's 3rd Annual Silent Film Festival. (It's being held in another venue, the Johnson Opera House in Gardiner, Maine, but don't let that throw you.)

Subtitled 'Dog Day Afternoon,' the program (curated by film restoration guru Ed Lorasso) is being promoted like this:

"Come join us for a paws-itively fun time at Johnson Hall Opera House for our 3rd Annual Silent Film Festival! Watch classic movies starring all the great furry friends of the silent film era: Jean the Vitagraph Dog, Shep the Dog, Teddy the Wonder Dog, and everyone's favorite Rin-Tin-Tin! Enjoy popcorn, drinks, and a tail-wagging good time. Don't miss out on this doggone awesome event!"

Dog puns aside, it promises to be a pretty compelling program.

It's a good variety of early short films, plus the full-length spectacular Warner Brothers feature 'Clash of the Wolves' (1925) starring Rin Tin Tin.

If you'd like to know why Rin Tin Tin was known as the "mortgage lifter" among theater owners, 'Clash of the Wolves' is a good example.  

Canine star Rin Tin Tin on set with 'Clash of the Wolves' costar June Marlow.

I've done many animal-themed silent film programs over the years. It was a popular genre in early cinema, and their charm and excitement still comes through. 

The dogs themselves are as compelling as any human performer. Really—after all, lacking the power of speech is no handicap in silent films. 

See for yourself by attending this off-beat program on Saturday, Aug. 9. For more info, a complete list of films, and to buy tickets, visit the festival's Eventbrite page.

And what about 'Padlocked' (1926), which I'm accompanying on Sunday, Aug. 10 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre? Lots of info in the press release below. See you there!

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A scene from the long-unseen Paramount drama 'Padlocked' (1926).

MONDAY, AUG. 4, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Somerville Theatre to screen rare silent 'Padlocked' with live music on Sunday, Aug. 10

Restored 1920s morality drama from Paramount Pictures, based on provocative Cosmopolitan story; film unseen since its original 1926 release

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — Released at the height of the Roaring '20s, it played up the clash of Jazz Age temptations with traditional conservative morality.

It was 'Padlocked' (1926), a silent-era drama from Paramount Pictures—a movie unseen since its original release, but now available following a recent restoration.

The rarely screened film will be shown on Sunday, Aug. 10 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.

Admission $17 adults; $13 members; $12 seniors/children. Tickets are available at somervilletheatre.com or at the door.

Live musical scoring will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based performer who specializes in music for silent film screenings.

'Padlocked,' based on a serialized story published in Cosmopolitan magazine, is an urbane 1920s drama that skewers the cruelty and hypocrisy of moral reformers.

The film stars Noah Beery Sr., Florence Turner, Lois Moran, Louise Dresser, Helen Jerome Eddy, Allan Simpson, and Richard Arlen.

A vintage trade ad promoting Paramount's drama 'Padlocked' (1926).
 

Beery plays Henry Gilbert, a wealthy do-gooder and domestic tyrant whose puritanism destroys the lives of his wife and daughter, played by Florence Turner and Lois Moran.

Gilbert's myopia about human character proves his undoing: he sees evil in innocent amusements, but is easily taken in by a gold-digging con artist.

For the film's original release, Paramount's publicity machine played up the story's scandalous nature and contemporary relevance.

"A theme so powerful and so certain of overwhelming popularity," trumpeted ads promoting 'Padlocked.' "What a sweeping revelation of this restless age—and how superbly produced, with every possible box office value!"

'Padlocked' boasted several well-known names among its creative team.

Director Allan Dwan, already a Hollywood veteran, would go on to direct such classics as 'Sands of Iwo Jima' (1949) starring John Wayne.

'Padlocked' was an early example of the work of cinematographer James Wong Howe, who would later be nominated for 10 Academy Awards for cinematography, winning twice for 'The Rose Tattoo' (1955) and 'Hud' (1963).

 

A scene from Paramount's drama 'Padlocked' (1926).
 

The film, part of the Somerville's 'Silents, Please!' series, will be shown via a 35mm print produced by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, which restored the film in 2023.

'Padlocked' hadn't been screened since its original release in1926; a sole surviving print was found in the Czech National Film Archive. Titles were translated back to English and other work restoration work done so the film could be made available to U.S. theaters.

"This is one reason why we continue to program silent films," said Ian Judge, the Somerville's creative director. "Rediscoveries from the silent era are being made all the time. We aim to give movie-goers the chance to experience these classic films as intended—on the big screen, with live music, with an audience, and shown using 35mm prints whenever possible."

To help bring 'Padlocked' to life at the Somerville, silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis will create a soundtrack that mixes 1920s-style tunes with elements of contemporary movie scoring.

" 'Padlocked' is a great film for music," Rapsis said. "It has several lively cabaret scenes that I think today's audiences will find highly entertaining."

'Padlocked' (1926), a Paramount drama unseen since its original release, will be shown on Sunday, Aug. 10 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.

Admission $17 adults; $13 members; $12 seniors/children. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.somervilletheatre.com or call the box office at (617) 625-5700.

2024 Silent Film Season in Brandon, Vt. concludes Saturday, Nov. 16 with 'Barbed Wire' (1927)

A lobby card for Paramount's 'Barbed Wire' (1927) starring Pola Negri.

This Saturday, it's up to Brandon, Vt. (about 2.5 hours) for the final screening of the 2024 season: 'Barbed Wire' (1927), a World War I drama that kind of bridges the season between Veterans Day and the holiday season.

It's also the final screening of silent films organized by the Friends of the Town Hall, a volunteer group that's worked for a quarter-century to rescue and restore Brandon's vintage 19th century town hall after a long period of abandonment and neglect.

The group is disbanding after this season, with the town recreational department taking over management of the venue. I'm pleased to say arrangements are in place for another season of monthly silent film programs starting in May 2025.

But I will certainly miss working with the Friends of the Town Hall volunteers and their long-tenured leader, Dennis Marden. He's the one who got me to start coming to Brandon back in 2010, and he's kept things fun and lively ever since.

He and his group have also transformed the formerly forbidding facility into a warm, inviting and versatile community center. Through physical improvements (like adding heat!) to bringing in a wide range of programming (yes, silent films, too!), their labors have given the Brandon community a great big gift—a vibrant gathering place that most communities can only dream of.

The imposing exterior of Brandon Town Hall, which dates from the 1860s.
 

The interior of Brandon Town Hall set up for an event. 

And my feeling is that in this day and age, we need places to gather and have shared experiences more than ever.

So if you happen to be within sledding distance of Brandon, Vt. this Saturday, why not join us for the shared experience of Pola Negri in 'Barbed Wire' (1927)? 

Lots more info in the press release below...

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A vintage one-sheet promoting the World War I drama 'Barbed Wire' (1927).

MONDAY, NOV. 11, 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Silent film classic 'Barbed Wire' at Brandon Town Hall on Saturday, Nov. 16

Drama starring Pola Negri set in World War I prison camp to be screened with live music; highlighted by unusual Christmas scene

BRANDON, VT. — A rarely shown World War I prison camp drama with an unusual Christmas sequence will fill the big screen when 'Barbed Wire' (1927) is revived on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at 7 p.m. at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Route 7, in Brandon, Vt.

'Barbed Wire,' a silent drama starring Pola Negri and Clive Brook, will be screened with live music by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist.

All are welcome to this family-friendly event. Admission is free, with free will donations accepted in support of ongoing Town Hall renovations.

Set in rural France, 'Barbed Wire' dramatizes the human conflicts that occurred throughout Europe during what was known as 'The Great War.'

In a small village, Mona Moreau (Pola Negri) and her aging father work their farm to feed the brave young men fighting for France. But when their farm is commandeered to build a camp for German POWs, they must feed the prisoners as well.

In the beginning, Mona resents the German prisoners she is forced to feed, but soon she begins to empathize with them. Mona's sympathies begin to raise the suspicion of her neighbors and worst of all, she fears she may be falling in love with handsome prisoner Oskar Muller (Clive Brook).

The relationship is opposed by the townspeople, who ostracize the girl's family, setting in motion dramatic events shaped by war, prejudice, forbidden love, and shared humanity.

"The ending of 'Barbed Wire' astounds viewers today because of the bitter lessons it tries to extract from the wartime experience, and how applicable they are to our world right now, so many years later," Rapsis said.

"At the time, society had just been through a global conflict fueled by hatred, bigotry, and intolerance, and people knew what that led to. They knew. And we can learn from them still," Rapsis said.

An original lobby card for 'Barbed Wire' (1927).

Directed by Rowland V. Lee for Paramount Pictures, a highlight of 'Barbed Wire' is a sequence in which the German prisoners celebrate a traditional Teutonic Christmas, by turns solemn and rowdy, despite being incarcerated.

Accompanist Jeff Rapsis specializes in creating music that bridges the gap between an older silent film and the expectations of today's audiences.

Using a digital synthesizer that recreates the texture of a full orchestra, he improvises scores in real time as a movie unfolds, so that the music for no two screenings is the same.

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

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

The screening is sponsored by Jean and Harold Somerset, Nancy and Gary Meffe, Bethany and Andrew Menkart, and the American Legion Post 55, Brandon.

'Barbed Wire' will be shown with live music on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at 7 p.m. at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Route 7, in Brandon, Vt. All are welcome to this family-friendly event. Admission is free, with free will donations accepted in support of ongoing Town Hall renovations. 

Two more screenings for 2017—but first...accolades from an unexpected source

Two programs this week will finish out the 2017 performance calendar: a Buster Keaton show in Plymouth, N.H. on Wednesday, Dec. 13 and an intense Pola Negri drama (with a Christmas twist!) in North Andover, Mass. on Thursday, Dec. 14.

But first: this morning I was looking over the just-announced Golden Globe nominations, playing my usual game of "How many of these movies have I never even heard of?" Little did I suspect that this same day would bring recognition my way.

Although not on the level of the Golden Globes, I was pleased to receive word today that the Boston Society of Film Critics has included me in a 2017 commendation for efforts at silent film accompaniment in and around Beantown, a.k.a. the Athens of America, a.k.a. The Hub of the Universe. (All three actual nicknames for Boston.)

The honor was presented jointly to me and fellow accompanists Martin Marks and Robert Humphreville:

To Boston-based musicians and silent-film-music scholars Martin Marks, Robert Humphreville and Jeff Rapsis, whose live accompaniment at silent-film screenings have delighted Boston audiences for many years. Their artistry was particularly sublime this year during the silent component of The Harvard Film Archive’s “That Certain Feeling … The Touch of Ernst Lubitsch,” a series requiring music for broad comedies, extravagant adventures and subtle dramas.

Well, thank you, Boston Society of Film Critics! What a nice way to wind up an eventful year.

I understand the Society holds an annual banquet in February. If I attend, I promise an insider's look at this glamorous event. "Sorry Academy Awards—I've already accepted an invite from the Boston Society of Film Critics! Maybe next year!"

But before we get to next year, let's finish this one. What's coming up?

Buster and Ernest Torrence hanging around in 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928).

• On Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 6:30 p.m., take a break from holiday stress with Buster Keaton's 'Steamboat Bill, Jr.' (1928) at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H.

This is the one where Buster stands in a street during a cyclone while the front end of a building comes down around him.

Does he make it? If you haven't seen it, I don't want to spoil it for you. Admission $10 per person.

After something like seven years, this is the final installment of the Flying Monkey's silent film series.

In 2018, we're switching to a schedule of silent film screenings every three months or so.

Original promotional artwork for 'Barbed Wire' (1927).

• On Thursday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m., it's Pola Negri and Clive Brook in 'Barbed Wire' (1927), a Paramount World War I drama with a big Christmas scene in the middle of it.

It's screening at the Rogers Center for the Arts, on the campus of Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass.

I first saw this flick just last February, at the Kansas Silent Film Festival in Topeka, Kansas.

I had never heard of 'Barbed Wire,' but it turned out to be a powerful drama with a strong story and a lot of great scenes.

So once again, I am struck with now rich the silent era is, or was—that one can explore it for years, and still uncover unknown treasures.

In the case of 'Barbed Wire,' it also has the diminutive Clyde Cook (not to be confused with leading man Clive Brook) in a nice comedy relief role.

And the big Christmas scene? Well, all I'll say is that it takes place in a prisoner-of-war camp for captured German soldiers.

So it may not be the silent era's answer to 'It's a Wonderful Life.'

But it's still a darned good flick, and I look forward to doing music for it for the first time later this week.

Admission is free and the Roger Center silent film series is usually well attended. So it's a good place to experienced the "big audience" part of early cinema.

Hope to see you there!