Post Turkey Day screening: W.C. Fields in 'So's Your Old Man' on Sunday, Dec. 1 in Wilton, N.H.

Outside the Coolidge Corner's marquee prior to 'Thief of Bagdad.'

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, among the many things I have to be thankful for is making it through 'The Thief of Bagdad' last Tuesday night. I accompanied the film just hours after having a stent removed following last week's kidney stone surgery.

'Bagdad' had been scheduled for the Coolidge Corner's 'Sounds of Silents' series long before the kidney stone decided to make an appearance. It just worked out that the stent removal (a follow-up to the surgery itself) wound up getting scheduled for the same day as the film.

But the show must go on! So driving into Boston, I was already thinking ahead to places in the film where I could set up an atmospheric loop on the synthesizer, which would enable me to quickly escape to the men's room if needed.

Well, turns out I had no problems. Actually, I think getting absorbed in doing music for this sprawling, ambitious picture helped minimize any distracting pain or lingering discomfort, which is a phenomenon I've noticed before.

If I'm suffering, say, a bad cold, whatever symptoms I have seem to recede or disappear entirely when I'm accompanying a film. They'll return afterwards, but during the time I'm at the keyboard it's like a reprieve.

Some say laughter is the best medicine. I say it's creating live music for a silent film screening!

And I'll get to do it again on Sunday, Dec. 1 when I accompany 'So's Your Old Man' (1926) at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. More info is in the press release pasted in below.

It's a silent comedy starring W.C. Fields, so lucky me: I'll get the therapeutic benefits of both laughter and silent film accompaniment.

Happy Thanksgiving and see you at the movies!

*    *    *

An original lobby card for 'So's Your Old Man' (1926) starring W.C. Fields.

MONDAY, NOV. 18, 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Town Hall Theatre to screen rare silent film starring comic icon W.C. Fields

'So's Your Old Man' shows legendary performer as younger man; program on Sunday, Dec. 1 accompanied by live music

WILTON, N.H.—He was a performer who could be recognized by just the nasal twang of his voice.

But prior to reaching iconic fame in talking pictures, W.C. Fields successfully starred in a popular series of silent feature films for Paramount Pictures and other studios in the 1920s.

Rediscover the non-talking W.C. Fields in 'So's Your Old Man' (1926) one of his best silent pictures, in a Thanksgiving Day weekend screening on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Live musical scoring will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10 per person suggested to defray expenses. 

In 'So's Your Old Man' (1926), Fields plays Sam Bisbee, inventor of a new shatter-proof windshield glass and regarded as a crackpot by the townsfolk.

After a demonstration of his glass to auto executives goes awry, he faces ridicule and shame. On the way home, Bisbee encounters a woman he thinks is trying to commit suicide, and so prevents her.

 

W.C. Fields (right) in a scene from 'So's Your Old Man' (1926).

The woman is really Princess Lescaboura, member of a family of European royalty, who later arrives in Bisbee's home town to thank him, upending Bisbee's life and setting the small town aflame with gossip. The film includes a version of Fields' famous "golf" routine.

The film was remade as a talkie in 1934, with W.C. Fields again starring, under the title 'You're Telling Me!' In 2008, 'So's Your Old Man' was added to the U.S. National Film Registry.

W.C. Fields remains famous today for his comic persona as a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist with a snarling contempt for dogs, children and women.

Although Fields achieved lasting fame as a movie star in talking pictures of the 1930s, his long career encompassed decades on the vaudeville stage as well as a series of silent film roles in the 1920s.

"People find it hard to think of W.C. Fields in silent films, but he was actually quite successful," Rapsis said. "As a vaudeville performer and juggler, Fields cultivated a form of visual comedy and pantomime that transferred well to the silent screen.

"Also, as a middle-aged man during the silent film era, he was able to play a family father figure—the kind of role that wasn't open to younger comic stars such as Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton," Rapsis said.

In all, Fields starred in 10 silent features in the mid-1920s. Several are lost; in those that survive, Fields sports a thick mustache, part of his vaudeville costume as a "vagabond juggler" which he dropped in later years.

W.C. Fields (at right) includes his legendary golf routine in 'So's Your Old Man' (1926).

The film was made not in Hollywood, but at the Paramount studios in Astoria, Queens, a popular production facility for New York-based stage performers who also appeared in film.

For the music, Rapsis improvises in real time, while the film is running, using a digital synthesizer that allow him to recreate the "movie score" texture of a full orchestra.

"Improvising a score live is a bit of a high-wire act, but it allows me to follow and support the film a lot more effectively than if I was buried in sheet music," Rapsis said.

"Instead, I'm free to follow the film right in the moment. Each time it's different, which lends a certain energy and immediacy and excitement to the experience."

'So's Your Old Man,' a silent comedy starring W.C. Fields, will be screened with live music on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10 per person suggested to defray expenses. For more information, call the theater at (603) 654-3456.

Godfrey Daniels—W.C. Fields a humanitarian? But that's what we found out last Sunday

Dr. Harriet A. Fields, granddaughter of W.C., outside the Somerville Theatre, with her visit noted on the marquee.

More than a century after his first appearance on film, W.C. Fields still packs 'em in. And he still sends 'em home happy!

That's one thing I learned from our show this past Sunday at the Somerville Theatre: a double bill of two Fields silent features, plus some rare clips and short films.

A big turnout of nearly 200 fans, some wearing Fields hats, roared at the films, which are rarely screened and have been overshadowed by his later work in talkies.

I also learned a lot from Dr. Harriet Fields, the comedian's granddaughter and our guest for the weekend. (Harriet, who has her own career in health care and education, serves as Vice President of W.C. Fields Productions, Inc., which maintains a Web site at www.wcfields.com.)

All along, I assumed Fields' popularity rested on his acerbic response to life: the retorts, the cynicism, the kicking of children, and—later in his career—threatening the wooden ventriloquist's dummy Charlie McCarthy with bodily harm during their prolonged radio feud.

Fields with Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy in the golden age of radio. Yes, Bergen's ventriloquist act was a big on-air hit.

I had lumped Fields into the same category as, say, Groucho Marx. W.C. was an outrageous figure who did and said stuff we'd all like to do.

But Harriet opened my eyes to a crucial facet of Fields that underpins the way we respond to what he does. It's the warmth and humanity that lies just below the surface.

This is what really drives the comedy in most of his roles.

And you know, she's right.

In most of his roles, Fields is at heart a good man faced with a giant-sized helping of the obstacles all of us face, then and now.

And a big part of the comedy that ensues comes from the empathy this generates. We've all been there. And we know what he's thinking, because we've thought those thoughts ourselves.

So the comedy of Fields transcends insult and cynicism, and is actually rooted in character. It's his desire to achieve respect of those around him, or to not lose it, that make the comedy timeless.

This was certainly the case with the two rarely screened silent features we ran on Sunday, July 10 at the Somerville.

An original lobby card for 'So's Your Old Man' (1926).

In 'So's Your Old Man' (1926) Fields plays a small town inventor whose unbreakable auto glass proves an epic flop, exposing him to scorn and ridicule of his friends and neighbors.

In 'It's the Old Army Game' (1926), he's a pharmacist (again in a small town) who gets caught up in a real estate scam that threatens to bankrupt the entire community.

(Both films were shown via beautiful 35mm prints on loan from the Library of Congress. I can't say enough about what a difference this makes in recreating the silent film experience.)

Interesting how both films place Fields in that most-demanding of milieus, the repressive small town where gossip seems to be a varsity sport.

And yes—as Dr. Fields pointed out, in both films a daughter who believes in him and supports him despite all that happens.

The dynamic is especially strong in another silent, 'Running Wild' (1927), in which Fields lacks the respect of his shrewish second wife, but has a daughter from his first wife who worships him.

In each of these stories, Fields shows he's capable of inspiring loyalty in at least someone. So you want him to triumph, if only to validate the faith of his loyal daughters.

When screened as intended (in a theater, with live music), these comedies produce gales of laughter. And after our screenings on Sunday, people told me they were surprised at how good they were.

Well, I think that's in part because the laughter is related to the universal human condition. It's a close relative of the work of Laurel & Hardy. There's a warmth present that drives the comedy, and also makes it timeless.

It's also capable of crossing cultural boundaries. Harriet is fond of recounting how she recently screened vintage Fields comedies to audiences in the African nation of Rwanda, where she's done a lot of professional work in the field of health care education.

Despite the complete lack of a shared culture, people loved the movies.

Why? Because the comedy of Fields, at its heart, is derived from things that transcend cultural differences, and qualities that unite us as humans: family, friendship, loyalty, perseverance.

A still from 'So's Your Old Man' (1926).

In the medium of silent film, the way Fields handles these issues seem even more universal. And that was one reason that Sunday's program was such a delight.

And it was loooong! We started at 2 p.m., and didn't finish until about 6:30 p.m.!

In addition to the two features, we ran rare 35mm prints of some Fields sound films: 'The Pharmacist' (1932), an excerpt from 'Tales of Manhattan' (1942) (which featured Phil Silvers with hair), and a curious educational film from 1933, 'How to Break 90 #3, Hip Action' in which golf pro Bobby Jones explains how improper hip motion adversely affects the backswing.

In 'Hip Action,' Fields is seen wandering a golf course, and at one point juggles golf balls. But most of the film was devoted to detailed advice on improving one's golf swing, so I'm glad it came near the end of the program.

Many thanks to Harriet for being such a wonderful guest, and such an eloquent advocate for her grandfather's work.

Dr. Harriet Fields greets fans following our marathon program on Sunday, July 10.

In case you missed the Somerville show, Harriet is scheduled to be a guest at the next Kansas Silent Film Festival, slated for late February, 2017. And yes, at least one (and maybe more) of the Fields silent features will be on the program. I'll be there, and I hope you'll make it, too.

Or if you're in Rwanda, check your local listings. Either way, mark your calendars!

Harriet and me outside the Somerville Theatre, posing in traffic.

(P.S. For another perspective, check out this blog post by an attendee.)

Hosting W.C. Fields' granddaughter for show at Somerville Theatre on Sunday, July 10

Dr. Harriet Fields, granddaughter of W.C.

One of the perks of doing silent film music is that you occasionally get to rub elbows with descendants of the on-screen luminaries.

Yes, the stars themselves may be gone, but their families are with us—living links of a sort to the vanished era of movies without soundtracks.

Many take an active role in tending the legacy of their famous fore-bearers, the family of W.C. Fields being one of the best examples.

The four Fields grandchildren collectively manage W.C. Fields Productions, Inc., and they continue to cultivate interest in their grandfather's long and storied career.

Part of that legacy was the substantial amount of work Field did during the silent film era. Few people realize it today because his later "talkie" appearances are what ensured his immortality.

But the silent films hold up well, and I'm pleased to say they'll be front and center of a program we're running at the Somerville Theatre on Sunday, July 10.

And I'm ever more pleased to say our special guest will be Dr. Harriet Fields, the only granddaughter of W.C., who will be on hand to speak of her granddad's achievements and answer questions.

The program is highlighted by pristine 35mm prints (from the Library of Congress) of two of the best Fields silents: 'So's Your Old Man' and 'It's the Old Army Game,' both from 1926.

But, courtesy the detective work of master projectionist David Kornfeld, we also have prints of Fields' first-ever movie appearance in 'Pool Sharks' (1915) as well as other goodies.

It promises to be a memorable program. And the lousy weekend forecast (rainy and damp) in these parts bodes well for attendance.

So I hope you can join the Field-centric fun, which starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 10 at the Somerville Theatre. More info in the press release below.

* * *

A lobby card for W.C. Fields in 'So's Your Old Man.'

THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2016 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Somerville Theatre to screen rare silent films starring comic icon W.C. Fields

• Program on Sunday, July 10 hosted by Dr. Harriet Fields, comedian's granddaughter and advocate for his work

• Double feature shows legendary performer in earlier prime as younger man; program accompanied by live music

SOMERVILLE, Mass.—He was a performer who could be recognized by just the nasal twang of his voice.

But prior to reaching iconic fame in talking pictures, W.C. Fields starred successfully in a popular series of silent feature films for Paramount Pictures and other studios in the 1920s.

Rediscover the non-talking W.C. Fields in and 'So's Your Old Man' (1926) and 'It's The Old Army Game' (1926), two of Fields' best silent pictures, in a double-bill screening on Sunday, July 10 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.

Both films will be screened using 35mm prints from the U.S. Library of Congress. General admission to the double feature is $15 per person.

Special guest for the event will be Dr. Harriet A. Fields, granddaughter of W.C. Fields. Dr. Fields, a longtime advocate of her grandfather's work, will share stories of her family and answer questions about W.C. Fields, his achievements, and his films.

Dr. Fields currently serves as vice president of W.C. Fields Productions, Inc., which maintains a Web site at www.wcfields.com.

Live musical scoring for the movies will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis.

W.C. Fields remains famous today for his comic persona as a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist with a snarling contempt for dogs, children and women.

Although Fields achieved lasting fame as a movie star in talking pictures of the 1930s, his long career encompassed decades on the vaudeville stage as well as a series of silent film roles in the 1920s.

W.C. Fields co-starred with a young Louise Brooks in 'It's the Old Army Game.'

"People find it hard to think of W.C. Fields in silent films, but he was actually quite successful," Rapsis said. "As a vaudeville performer and juggler, Fields cultivated a form of visual comedy and pantomime that transferred well to the silent screen.

"Also, as a middle-aged man during the silent film era, he was able to play a family father figure—the kind of role that wasn't open to younger comic stars such as Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton," Rapsis said.

In all, Fields starred in 10 silent features in the mid-1920s. Several are lost; in those that survive, Fields sports a thick mustache, part of his vaudeville costume as a "vagabond juggler" which he dropped in later years.

The Fields double feature is the latest installment of the Somerville Theatre's monthly "Silents, Please!" series, designed to showcase the silent era's best feature films the way they were intended to be shown—using actual 35mm film prints projected on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.

"If you can put all these elements together, the films come to life in a way that's surprising to modern audiences," said Ian Judge, the Somerville's general manager. "Our silent film series has been very successful at attracting an audience, we're thrilled to continue it on a monthly basis."

In 'So's Your Old Man' (1926), Fields plays Sam Bisbee, inventor of a new shatter-proof windshield glass and regarded as a crackpot by the townsfolk. After a demonstration of his glass to auto executives goes awry, he faces ridicule and shame. On the way home, Bisbee encounters a woman he thinks is trying to commit suicide, and so prevents her.

The woman is really Princess Lescaboura, member of a family of European royalty, who later arrives in Bisbee's home town to thank him, upending Bisbee's life and setting the small town aflame with gossip. The film includes a version of Fields' famous "golf" routine.

The film was remade as a talkie in 1934, with W.C. Fields again starring, under the title 'You're Telling Me!" In 2008, 'So's Your Old Man' was added to the U.S. National Film Registry.

A lobby card for 'It's the Old Army Game.'

In 'It's The Old Army Game' (1926), Fields portrays Elmer Prettywillie, a small-town pharmacist beset with large-scale frustrations—his nagging sister and her brat of a kid; annoying customers; self-centered, middle-aged women; and uncooperative inanimate objects of all kinds.

Prettywillie’s lovely shop assistant (legendary silent beauty Louise Brooks) gets the harried shopkeeper even further over his head, when she encourages him to take part in a land-selling scheme being promoted by a slick salesman (George Parker).

The druggist helps the salesman make a heap of cash, selling his parcels of land; but when a detective hauls the salesman out of town, it’s Elmer who is left holding the bag.

The result is a timeless domestic farce that foreshadows Fields' later talking films and continues to delight audiences when screened as intended: in a theater, with live music and an audience.

Both features were made not in Hollywood, but at the Paramount studios in Astoria, Queens, a popular production facility for New York-based stage performers who also appeared in film.

Fields appears as an even younger man in 'Pool Sharks' (1915), a short comedy also on the program. The film marks the first appearance of Fields on screen, and will be included as a bonus extra in the Somerville's program.

The program will also include rare 35mm prints of several Fields short subjects with synchronized sound.

Fields (at left) during the golf routine that concludes 'So's Your Old Man.'

For the silent films, Rapsis improvises the music in real time, while the film is running, using a synthesizer that allow him to recreate the "movie score" texture of a full orchestra.

"Improvising a score live is a bit of a high-wire act, but it allows me to follow and support the film a lot more effectively than if I was buried in sheet music," Rapsis said. "Instead, I'm free to follow the film right in the moment. Each time it's different, which lends a certain energy and immediacy and excitement to the experience."

A W.C. Fields silent double feature, with special guest Dr. Harriet A. Fields, will be screened in 35mm with live music on Sunday, July 10 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theater, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass. Admission is $15 adults, $12 students/seniors; general admission seating. For more information, call (617) 625-5700 or visit http://www.somervilletheatreonline.com. For more info on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

This weekend: a double shot of W.C. Fieldsat the Library of Congress / Packard Center

Vintage lobby card for 'So's Your Old Man' (1926) starring W.C. Fields.

On Saturday afternoon, I'll fly down to Washington, D.C., then drive about an hour south into the Virginia countryside.

Why? To accompany a pair of W.C. Fields silent features, of course!

Did you think I was visiting Luray Caverns?

Although that might make sense, as Luray Caverns is home to the "Great Stalacpipe Organ," something I remember from stacks of brochures we'd collect during family roadtrips.

Hey, has anyone ever considered a silent film showing down there?

Titles at the Packard Center Theater in Culpeper, Va. are 'So's Your Old Man' (1926) and 'Running Wild' (1927); show time is Saturday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Thanks to Rob Stone and his colleagues at the Library of Congress Packard Center for inviting me again to accompany a program.

I went down there earlier this year to accompany a Gloria Swanson program, and then again for the most recent "Mostly Lost" festival of unidentified silent material.

It's a real privilege to work with folks such as Rob and Mike Mashon and so many others at the Library of Congress who work to preserve our nation's media history and heritage.

I see what they do, and feel a little bit better about filing my federal income tax return.

And because much of what they curate was pop culture in its day, there's occasionally some overlap with celebrities, who sometimes donate their archives to the Library of Congress.

Earlier this year, Rob was the point man in the Packard Center's acquisition of the personal archive of Jerry Lewis, who donated his personal film collection, including home movies and rare outtakes.

The process culminated in Lewis visiting Culpeper last month (darn, just missed him), to tour the Packard Center and do a performance at the State Theatre, a restored venue in town.

Lewis with Rob Stone, not Dean Martin.

Although the actual Library of Congress is in downtown D.C., the sprawling Packard Campus is where physical film and audio materials are curated, cataloged, and stored.

And in the case of film, it's where rare prints are shown to the public. The nicely appointed Packard Theater runs a heavy schedule of vintage screenings of a wide range of titles.

Saturday night's double-bill is part of a weekend Fields program, portions of which will be introduced by the great gentleman's granddaughter, Dr. Harriet Fields.

If she's on hand for the silents, expect me to attempt to get her to pose for a snapshot. I mother used to say: never pass up a chance to be photographed with vintage film royalty.

I've done both of these films before, and I've found the Fields silents really hold up well.

Although he wasn't a truly cinematic silent clown such as Chaplin or Lloyd, his films were popular, and they still get big laughs today.

I'm not sure how much of this is due to our familiarity with the character he played later on in talkies, in which we actually hear his unforgettable delivery.

If you've ever heard Fields talk, it's hard not to imagine his nasal inflections in his silent pictures when reading title cards. Ahhh, yaaassss.

So if you're in the D.C. area, come out to Culpeper to check out some real comedy, as opposed to what goes on elsewhere in places like, say, Congress.

And if you get an early start, you might have time to hear the Great Stalacpipe Organ at Luray Caverns.

Hitting the road: Performing in California, Virginia, Ohio—and my international debut

A poster for 'Regeneration' (1915), which I'm accompanying on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont, Calif.

Okay, with Halloween 2015 in the books, it's time to shake the cobwebs off my boots and see the world! (With apologies to Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey in 'It's a Wonderful Life.')

In the next few weeks, I'll be accompanying silent film screenings in several far-flung locations.

Before listing the details, let me say thanks in advance to everyone at all these venues.

People have been very generous in their encouragement of what I do, in the form of providing opportunities to create music for silent film screenings in so many different places.

To mention just a few names: Dorothy Bradley of the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Rob Stone of the Library of Congress Packard Center, Maggie Perrino at the Carnegie Center in Cincinnati, John Ewing at the Cleveland Cinematheque, and Alicia Fletcher at the Revue Cinema in Toronto, Canada.

The interior of the Niles screening room, which looks very much as it would have when it was opened as an Edison Theater in 1913.

I'm humbled by this support. I'm also thrilled because sitting in the dark and making music to moving images has emerged as a way for me to keep my sanity. I'm a junkie and I need my fix.

Actually, It's my public creative outlet and now my compulsion, and at this point (more than 100 shows this year) I don't know what I'd do without it.

I sometimes think of silent film accompaniment a "wellness activity." It really should be covered by Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

So to all who've invited me to perform—thank you! In addition to giving me a chance to practice this unusual craft, you're saving me thousands on therapy.

Okay, about the upcoming shows...

I didn't actually plan this out. The long-distance screenings (outside my New England base) just sort of piled up one after another.

But now I look at the calendar to find myself heading out all over the place. And I think of back to high school when I felt studying music wasn't the right plan for me.

I never dreamed that one day I'd be traveling the country making music this way.

The fun begins this weekend in the San Francisco area:

• Saturday, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m.: 'Regeneration' (1915) starring Rockcliffe Fellowes and Anna Q. Nilsson; the Edison Theatre at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, 37417 Niles Boulevard, Niles, Calif. A gem of a film directed by Raoul Walsh near the start of his career depicting the grim life of the streets in New York City. Early feature-length Fox drama thought lost for many years but rediscovered in the 1970s. Wonderful vintage Edison theater from 1913 now fully restored; shows silent films with live music every week. Suggested admission $5 per person for members, $7 for "not yet members."

And then the weekend after that, I'm down at the Packard Theater in Culpeper, Va. for a double-bill of W.C. Fields, part of a Fields retrospective being run by the Library of Congress:

• Saturday, Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m.: 'Running Wild' (1927) and 'So's Your Old Man' (1926) starring W.C. Fields; Packard Campus Theater, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, Library of Congress Packard Campus, 19053 Mount Pony Road, Culpeper, Va; http://www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/schedule.html. A double feature of Fields silent comedy.

In 'Running Wild,' meek Elmer Finch (W.C. Fields), browbeaten both at home and at work, volunteers to subject himself to a vaudeville hypnotist. While under the mesmerizing spell, his personality undergoes a dramatic and aggressive transformation.

In 'So's Your Old Man' (1926), Fields plays inventor Samuel Bisbee, who is considered a vulgarian by the town's elite. His road to financial success takes many hilarious detours. Free and open to the public, but children 12 younger must be accompanied by an adult. Open seating is on a “first come, first served” basis.

After Thanksgiving comes my first-ever bona fide "tour." I drive out to Cincinnati for a program at the Carnegie Center in Covington, Kentucky (just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati), then bomb up to Cleveland for two days of screenings at the Cleveland Cinematheque. The next day, it's my international debut at Toronto's Revue Cinema.

• Thursday, Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m., 'Holiday Silent Film Program'; Silent film program at The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center, 1028 Scott Boulevard, Covington, Kentucky. (859) 491-2030; www.thecarnegie.com. On the program: a selection of short films, and then the great Mary Pickford feature 'Tess of the Storm Country' (1922), which has an ending that's perfect for the holidays.

• Friday, Dec. 11, 7:30 p.m., 'Three's A Crowd' (1927) starring Harry Langdon plus 'Big Business' (1929) starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy; Cinematheque at the Cleveland Institute of Art, 11610 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio; (216) 421-7450. Holiday-themed program of silent film with live accompaniment. 'Three’s a Crowd' (shown in 35mm) was the directorial debut of Harry Langdon, the baby-faced comedian considered the fourth great clown (after Chaplin, Keaton, and Harold Lloyd) of the American silent screen. Special admission $12; members, CIA I.D. holders, age 25 & under $9; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

• Saturday, Dec. 12, 6:55 p.m., 'Passing Fancy' (1933) directed by Yasujiro Ozu; Cinematheque at the Cleveland Institute of Art, 11610 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio; (216) 421-7450. Winner of Japan’s Kinema Junpo Award for best film of 1933, 'Passing Fancy' is a touching tale of a poor, widowed, illiterate, middle-aged (but warm-hearted) brewery worker, his feisty 8-year-old son whom he is raising alone, and a young woman who comes between them. One of Yasujiro Ozu’s last—and best—silent films. With Chishu Ryu. Subtitles, shown in 35mm. Special admission $12; members, CIA I.D. holders, age 25 & under $9; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

• Sunday, Dec. 13, 4 p.m., 'Woman in the Moon' (1929) directed by Fritz Lang; The Revue Cinema, 400 Roncesvalles Ave, Toronto, ON M6R 2M9, Canada; (416) 531-9950; http://revuecinema.ca/ A grand sci-fi adventure about the first rocket ship to the moon. The rarely-screened final silent feature from German filmmaker Fritz Lang (director of 'Metropolis'), 'Woman in the Moon' laid the groundwork for all of the great outer space movie tales to come, complete with melodramatic plot and eye-popping visuals. And, in a surprisingly contemporary twist, the moon rocket is built and launched not by a government, but by private entrepreneurs! Ponder a vision of the future as imagined by one of yesterday's great moviemakers. (Note: the abridged version, not the full-length film.)

And after that, I drive back home to continue to procrastinate about holiday cards and shopping.