From 'My Friend From India' to two films starring elephants—hey, is this a theme?

Okay, since getting back from San Francisco on Monday, the music hasn't stopped.

Just the other night (Tuesday, Nov. 10), I accompanied a screening of 'My Friend from India,' an obscure 1927 comedy starring Franklin Pangborn.

The show was part of a monthly series at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library where I challenge myself to do music for films I've never heard of before.

'My Friend from India' certainly fit that category. I knew of Franklin Pangborn from his many character roles later on. But I had no idea he's had "leading man" status, if only briefly, in earlier days—and in what turned out to be a farce comedy, no less.

We had about 30 people on hand and reaction was muted but steady—not exactly a sensational rediscovery, but worth putting on the screen to find out.

Me, I thought it was surprisingly enjoyable, although I'm not expecting a big Pangborn resurgence to occur anytime soon.

India, by the way, is home to elephants. And next up is a program devoted to them.

Tonight (Thursday, Nov. 12) at the Flying Monkey in Plymouth, N.H., I'm accompanying two films with performing pachyderms in lead roles.

(Monkeys, elephants, musicians: we're part of the animal kingdom.)

First up is 'Soul of the Beast' (1923), a melodrama starring the gorgeous Madge Bellamy, ham actor Noah Beery, a cast of dozens, and "Oscar" the Elephant in his one big screen role.

This is hands-down the silliest silent film I've ever encountered, and I'm really looking forward to experiencing it with audience reaction.

Hope they're not selling old fruit and vegetables at the concession stand in the lobby!

I discovered this title when planning out an "animal" series two summers ago at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre. It was a hit, although definitely of the "so bad it's good" school of entertainment.

I won't say anything else, other than to point out that the recent trend in "cringe-inducing" comedy has nothing on 'Soul of the Beast.'

But then we straighten out and fly right with 'Chang' (1927), a superb film shot on location in the jungles of Siam, which nowadays goes by the name of Thailand.

This semi-documentary (in which elephants play a leading role) includes absorbing footage of local village life in that part of the world.

It's all woven together to tell one family's story of survival in the wilderness, and was good enough to get nominated in the now-discontinued category of "Unique and Artistic Production" at the first-ever Academy Awards ceremony. (It lost to F.W. Murnau's 'Sunrise.')

But filmmakers Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack were winners in the sense that they wrested a film from the jungle that showed the potential for the movies to take audiences to places they would otherwise never see in person.

I hope to see you in person at tonight's screening. And bring some peanuts to feed the elephants!

Below is the text of a press release about both films.

* * *

This color layout is a lot more compelling than anything that happens on screen in 'Soul of the Beast.'

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

Flying Monkey to screen two silent epics with elephants in lead roles

Pachyderm-themed double feature: 'Soul of the Beast' and 'Chang' with live music on Thursday, Nov. 12

PLYMOUTH, N.H. — They couldn't speak, but that was no handicap in the silent film era.

They were the great animal stars of early Hollywood: dogs, horses, and even elephants, who were as popular as any human performer when the movies were young.

See for yourself how animal stars helped establish the popularity of motion pictures as the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center screens a double feature of two silent films featuring early Hollywood's biggest stars of all—enormous elephants in leading roles.

Both films give performing pachyderms ample opportunity to display their dramatic range on camera.

'Soul of the Beast' (1923) stars Oscar the Elephant, who accompanies a circus runaway fleeing her mean stepfather. Together, they astonish the rustic inhabitants of rural Quebec.

Co-starring in this fast-paced North Woods melodrama are well-known human actors Madge Bellamy and Noah Beery.

A photo taken during the shooting of 'Chang' (1927). No one in pith helmets actually appears on screen.

In 'Chang, A Drama of the Wilderness' (1927), shot on location in rural Siam (now Thailand), a native family in the back country battles the jungle for survival.

Chang includes an abundance of footage captured documentary-style by the filmmakers on location in the jungles of Southeast Asia.

The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production at the first Academy Awards in 1929, the only year when that award was presented.

Live music for both screenings will be performed by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis.

Rapsis will improvise the music, creating it live as each film is running.

"When the score gets made up on the spot, it creates a special energy that's an important part of the silent film experience," said Rapsis, who uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of a full orchestra for the accompaniment."

Rapsis acknowledged that audiences may be surprised to learn that elephants could play leading roles in early pictures. But movies starring animals of all types were a staple of early Hollywood.

"At their heart, these pictures capitalized on people's love of animals to produce great entertainment," Rapsis said. "They still work, and really do come to life when shown in a theater with live music and an audience."

"Also, because of the passage of time, they're perhaps even more interesting today than they were when first released," Rapsis said.

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.

Movies of all types, however, 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.

'Soul of the Beast' (1923) and 'Chang' (1927) will be shown on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H. Admission $10 per person. For more info, call (603) 536-2551 or visit www.flyingmonkeynh.com.

"Jaw-dropping stupidity": Alas, no Oscars for Oscar the Elephant in 'Soul of the Beast'

Madge Bellamy and Oscar the Elephant star in a tender scene from 'Soul of the Beast' (1923), a totally ridiculous but completely fascinating silent film melodrama.

This weekend at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre, we wrap up our summer-long series of silent films starring animals. And we do it with a jumbo-sized double bill.

On Sunday, Sept. 7 at 4:30 p.m., we bring you a pair of films featuring the biggest movie stars of all...elephants!

Yes, elephants. Cue the puns about it being a "really oversized show."

And just as elephants are large, so is the gap in quality between our two features: 'Soul of the Beast' (1923) and 'Chang' (1927).

In 'Soul of the Beast' (1923), Madge Bellamy and Oscar the Elephant co-star in a rural circus melodrama that's hands-down the nuttiest silent film I've ever seen, never mind attempted to accompany.

In contrast, 'Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness' (1927) is such impressive filmmaking that it was nominated for an Academy Award in the "Unique and Artistic Production" category.

Ironic: one film stars an 'Oscar,' while the other actually got nominated for one. But I don't think you'll have any trouble telling the two apart.

'Soul of the Beast' follows the story of a circus runaway (Bellamy) who flees her mean stepfather/ringmaster, taking along her beloved trained elephant companion.

Together, they wander the Canadian wilderness, embarking on unlikely misadventures that are so mind-boggling I can't begin to describe them here.

Instead, let me quote a rare online review of this obscure picture from the www.silentera.com Web site:

"Sometimes intentionally comic, this film is laughable even when it attempts to be serious. ... Ultimately, we must say that 'Soul of the Beast' is not-so-much ado about nothing, but it nonetheless remains inexplicably watchable due in toto to its jaw-dropping stupidity."

Wow! Not exactly a rave.

Even so, I urge you to see 'Soul of the Beast,' as it compels the kind of fascination generated by all bad art, and with car accidents, too: it's strangely mesmerizing and hilarious and tragic, all at the same time. It will haunt you for days, as it has me.

It's as if legendary "bad film" director Edward D. Wood, Jr. had been working in the 1920s. You will never see anything like it.

The same can be said of 'Chang,' but in a good way. Shot on location in the remote jungles of Siam (now Thailand), it's an unusual blend of documentary and narrative movie.

Over a period of many months, co-directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack patiently gathered remarkable footage of wild animals in the jungle, including many scenes never before caught on film. (In an age when we're used to seeing close-up of wildlife, it's hard to imagine how exciting this must have been to early film-goers.)

And they then interwove this footage with a fictional story of a native family (played by local non-actors) meant to show man's never-ending struggle for survival in the wilderness. Yes, the story itself was fiction, but everything else about the family's life was rendered exactly as it would have been found a century ago in rural Thailand.

As such, it's a remarkable record of a way of life that had been unchanged for centuries, but which today is pretty much lost. And I have to say, this hybrid combination is still surprisingly compelling.

I first encountered 'Chang' several years ago at the Kansas Silent Film Festival, when it was screened with solo piano accompaniment by Rodney Sauer of the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

I had never heard of it. But I remember being swept up by the movie's story, which builds to quite an intense climax. I'm sure part of this was due to Rodney's excellent accompaniment.

But another element, I think, was the simple honesty of the film-making. No trick photography or special effects are used. Instead, everything in the film was real, meaning that it actually happened in front of a camera.

Notwithstanding the fictional storyline, everything in 'Chang' is displayed to us just as it would have appeared had we found ourselves in the jungles of southeast Asia in 1927.

And I think that's as big as any elephant we'll encounter at Sunday's double feature. Why? Because it creates a bond between moviemaker and viewer that's rooted in the fidelity of the camera.

Knowing what we are seeing actually took place (instead of being rendered on a hard drive, for example) lends a level and honesty and interest to a film that I think definitely makes a difference, at least in my experience seeing and accompanying movies in theaters filled with people.

So why did Hollywood just suffer its worst box office summer in a generation? Why is attendance down? Maybe the elephant in the room, so to speak, is that many of today's films are too disconnected from the basics of cinema by digital rendering and other sophisticated tools that get in the way of the fundamental promise of film: the belief that what we're seeing in front of us with our own eyes is actually happening and worth believing.

At its heart, cinema is reality reshaped. And, after accompanying hundreds of silent films and witnessing the audience reaction to them, I think it's very important not to forget that "reality" part.

So if nothing else, an older and seemingly primitive film such as 'Chang' can remind us of the simple power of cinema basics: using a camera to record scenes, and then arranging them for maximum coherence and impact.

'Chang' is worth seeing on that account alone—even if you have to first suffer through 'Soul of the Beast' to do so.

Canines and equines and pachyderms, oh my! 3 weeks of silent animal stars in Wilton, N.H.

Leader the Dog stars in 'The Return of Grey Wolf' (1923), showing on Sunday, Aug. 31 at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre.

Our summer-long series of silent films starring animals will conclude with an unprecedented series of screenings over the next three Sundays!

It's quite a jump from our usual pace of one silent film program each month at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre.

But with great animal performers filling the big screen with amazing feats all summer long, I kinda wanted to do a trick or two myself.

Plus, I unearthed so many great (if unknown) titles that deserved a spot on the program. So we had to add a few extra shows to fit everything in.

And the result is that for the next three Sundays, we're screening no less than eight separate titles, all of which I've never accompanied before.

One reason for so many titles is that the animal films have come down to us in versions that tend to run short: most are well under an hour, so doing three at once isn't too much of a stretch.

The reason they're short, by the way, is that a lot of these obscure titles were sold for home use in 16mm prints that were often edited down from the full-length versions shown in theaters.

In many cases, the 16mm prints are all that survived over the years. The original 35mm prints, produced on highly unstable cellulose nitrate stock, have long since decomposed.

As you may know, something like 80 percent of all silent film is lost forever. So we're fortunate indeed, I think, to be able to see what remains of the work of such yeoman (or yeo-animal) performers as Champion the Dog, Rex the Wonder Horse, Oscar the Elephant, and so many other once-popular box office names.

The fact that many are slightly trimmed makes them even more action-packed than they might have been originally. Yes, they're sometimes a little loopy in the plot department, but probably no more so than they were all along.

One curious semi-local connection: a surprising number of animal films are set in rural Quebec!

One of the strangest is 'Return of the Grey Wolf' (1923), in which we get titles telling us that Leader the Dog and his canine pals are saying "Woof! Woof!" and so on. (That is, until the doggy dialogue is "translated" into English, with lines such as "Gee, great to see the gang!") The film runs on Sunday, Aug. 31.

And let me put in a special plug for Oscar the Elephant, who stars in 'Soul of the Beast' (1923), one of the titles on the Sept. 7 program. I have to say that I've never seen a more bizarre feature film from the silent era. I had never heard of Oscar before I started planning this series, but I'm so glad to finally make his acquaintance in the one picture of his known to have survived.

What's it about? I don't want to spoil the fun other than to say, yes, it takes place in French-speaking Canada. Let's just say it's what might have been the result if cult film director John Waters had come onto the scene about 50 years earlier than he did.

Really looking forward to seeing how an audience responds to this one. I hope you'll be willing to join the fun for 'Soul of the Beast,' and all the films coming up in the three-week finale to our animal series.

For more specific info, here's the press release from earlier this month.

* * *

Looks like early film comedy icons Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are going to the dogs.


TUESDAY, AUG. 12, 2014 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Going to the dogs — and horses
and monkeys and elephants, too

► Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre announces finale of summer-long 'All-Star Animal Silent Film Extravaganza'

► Venue to run big-screen critter classics on three consecutive Sundays: Aug. 24, Aug. 31, and Sept. 7

WILTON, N.H. — They couldn't speak, but that was no handicap in the silent film era.

They were the great animal stars of early Hollywood: amazing dogs, horses, and even elephants who were as popular as any human performer when the movies were young.

In fast-paced action pictures, they chased down villains, rescued their owners, and saved the day with no dialogue needed.

See for yourself how animal stars helped establish the popularity of motion pictures as the Wilton Town Hall Theatre completes its summer-long retrospective of the great non-human performers of early cinema.

The popular series will conclude with programs on three consecutive Sunday afternoons: Aug. 24, Aug. 31, and Sept. 7.

"Animal pictures were hugely popular during the silent era, and it's easy to see why," said Dennis Markaverich, long-time owner/operator at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre. "They're full of action and adventure, and it's been a real thrill to see them back on the big screen this summer."

Live music for all screenings will be performed by Jeff Rapsis of Bedford, N.H., one of the nation's leading silent film accompanists.

The three-week finale begins on Sunday, Aug. 24 with three films starring dog performers who were lesser known, but no less talented than big names such as Rin Tin Tin.

• Sunday, Aug. 24, 4:30 p.m.: "More Forgotten Dogs." A trio of films featuring popular canine performers whose stars have faded. In 'Tracked' (1928), Ranger the Dog stands accused of killing sheep and must go on the lam; 'The Sign of the Claw' (1926) features Peter the Great, a German Shepherd star whose career was cut short by a tragic accident; and 'Sky Rider' (1928) finds Champion the Dog taking flight in an airplane drama.

• Sunday, Aug. 31, 4:30 p.m.: "A Triple Feature: Two Dogs and a Horse." Another thrilling triple feature! 'His Master's Voice' (1925) finds Thunder the Dog (that's him at left) helping human co-star George Hackathorne overcome his cowardice on the battlefield; in 'The Return of the Grey Wolf' (1923), Leader the Dog comes to the aid of his master, a fur trapper blinded in an accident; and in 'Guardians of the Wild' (1928), Rex the Wonder Horse returns to help the good guys fight the bad guys over the fate of a pristine patch of wildernessd.

• Sunday, Sept. 7, 4:30 p.m.: "Really Big Stars: An Elephant Double Feature." We finish our look at the silent era's animal stars with a double feature of films with elephants in leading roles! 'Soul of the Beast' (1923) stars Oscar the Elephant, who accompanies a circus runaway fleeing a mean stepfather. Together, they astonish the rustic inhabitants of rural Quebec. In 'Chang' (1927), shot on location in rural Siam (now Thailand), a native family in the back country battles the jungle for survival. Note: the Sept. 7 program was originally scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 17 but was moved to Sunday, Sept. 7 due to a scheduling conflict.

All shows are free and open to the public, with a suggested donation of $5 per person to help defray expenses.

"At their heart, these pictures capitalized on people's love of animals to produce great entertainment," Rapsis said. "They still work, and really do come to life when shown in a theater with live music and an audience. Also, because of the passage of time, they're perhaps even more interesting today than they were when first released."

Movies in the Town Hall Theatre's silent film series were popular when first seen by audiences in the 1920s, but are rarely screened today in a way that allows them to be seen as intended. They were not made to be shown on television, cell phones, or other personal media; in reviving them, the Town Hall Theatre runs them using top quality restored prints, on a large screen, with live music, and before a live audience.

The three-week finale to the "All-Star Animal Summer Silent Film Extravaganza" starts on Sunday, Aug. 24 at 4:30 p.m at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H. Admission is free, with a donation of $5 per person suggested to help defray expenses. For more info, call (603) 654-3456 or visit www.wiltontownhalltheatre.com. For more info on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.