Next up: 'Risky Business' (1925) on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine

Outside Brandon Town Hall on Saturday, Sept. 12 prior to accompanying 'Spies' (1928).

This week, I accompany 'Risky Business' (1925) in Ogunquit, Maine, Buster Keaton's 'Seven Chances' (1925) in Plymouth, N.H., and then—a new one for me—Abel Gance's 'J'Accuse!' (1919) in Wilton, N.H.

The press release for 'Risky Business' is below. It's a nifty comedy that holds up well, I think. So if you're anywhere close to Ogunquit, Maine, I hope you'll join us at the Leavitt Theatre, which continues to celebrate its 100th season.

This past weekend's adventures included accompanying 'Spies' (1928), Fritz Lang's sprawling espionage epic, on Friday night in Brandon, Vt. 

It's the 14th season we've been screening silent films with live music in the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, and the audiences keep on coming!

It's the longevity of the series that prompted me to program 'Spies' this year. I told Friday night's audience that 'Spies' wouldn't work if we hadn't been "training" ourselves for the past 14 years, which got a nice laugh.

The film lends itself to some big musical gestures. Although all went well, it's become increasingly clear that my trusty Roland speakers are no longer up to the task. After dragging them all over creation for nearly 20 years, they've just about had it.  

They can no longer carry bass notes without fluttering, and notes in the treble range don't sound as smooth as they used to. 

So time to get new speakers! Hope to have them in hand prior to hauling out to Pittsburgh next month, when I'll accompany 'The Big Parade' (1925) as part of the Pittsburgh Silent Film Festival.

Speakers weren't a problem this past Saturday at the Harvard Film Archive, where I played the house grand piano for Yasujiro Ozu's 'I Was Born, But...' (1932).

Some of the young cast members in 'I Was Born, But...' (1932).

The piano (I forget the make) had just been tuned that week, and was a dream to play! I hadn't been asked to do music for any HFA programs in quite some time, so it was great to be back.

The screening made use of the archive's own 35mm print, which led to the screening's only mishap.

At the very end of the movie, with maybe less than a minute of footage left, the screen just went dark. 

Just black. No warning, no nothing.

I knew we were very close to the end, and I was already winding up the music so it would come to a stop in a very light and elegant way.

So when the screen went blank, I assumed the print was missing the last few feet, which sometimes happens. I kept the music going for just a bit, but then artfully climbed to the keyboard's upper registers, bringing the score to a halt.

This was followed by a generous ovation from those in attendance. I found myself waiting for house lights to come up so I could acknowledge it.

But the lights stayed off, and the applause was starting to die down—and then the film started up again!

So we got the final minute, and once again I climbed the keyboard to attempt an elegant finish, Take 2.\

Later I was told the print was riddled with splices, but that it had held until the last possible minute, when it jumped the sprockets.

There was another strange mishap right at the start, when something happened that I'd never experienced before.

The HFA's house piano light was attached over the keyboard. Just 15 seconds into the film, the spring-loaded clip let go, causing the lamp to be catapulted into the darkness somewhere off to my right.

Fortunately, I had my junky old brass piano light was standing by on the other side of the keyboard. 

So I just reached over and switched that on,  and away we went.

Shortly after, an audience member brought the errant light back to the keyboard. I was still working, so now it became the back-up.

Final note: I often open up piano benches because you never know what you'll find. At the HFA, the bench was clearly weighed down by something with substantial heft to it.

Inside I found...two copies of the 2007 Greater Boston Yellow Pages, each as big as 

So if you're ever attending a Harvard Film Archive screening and need to look up a good plumber, I know just what you should do.

Okay, onward to 'Risky Business' (1925) at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine. Press release below. Hope to see you there!

*     *     * 

An original lobby card promoting 'Risky Business' (1925).

TUESDAY, AUG. 26, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

'Risky Business' to screen in Ogunquit—but NOT the version starring Tom Cruise

Leavitt Theatre celebrates 100th season by screening vintage 1925 silent comedy 'Risky Business' with live music on Wednesday, Sept. 17

OGUNQUIT, Maine—It's not the 1980s version with Tom Cruise, but a 1925 comedy/drama about a rich socialite in love with a poor country doctor.

It's 'Risky Business,' starring 1920s starlets Vera Reynolds and Zasu Pitts, to be screened on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1 in Ogunquit, Maine.

The screening will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating scores for silent films.

Tickets are $15 general admission and available at the door.

The Leavitt is celebrating its 100th anniversary, having served the community continuously since 1925. To honor this long record, the venue has programmed a season of vintage silent movie classics from 1925 with live music.

The series gives area film fans a chance to see movies from the pioneering days of cinema as they were intended to be shown—on the big screen, with an audience, and accompanied by live music.

"Put the whole experience back together, and you can see why people first fell in love with the movies," Rapsis said.

In 'Risky Business,' widowed Mrs. Stoughton wants a good match for her only daughter, Cecily, for whom she's chosen the rich and debonair Richard Coults-Browne. 

Cecily, however, only has eyes for the handsome and compassionate country doctor Ted Pyncheon. 

When Cecily announces her engagement to the doctor, her mother still believes she knows best—and decides a taste of country life is just the medicine to bring her little girl back around to her way of thinking.

Vera Reynolds started in movies as a Bathing Beauty for Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios, and starred in a number of short films before appearing in features such as 'Prodigal Daughters' (1923), directed by Sam Wood, and Cecil B. DeMille's 'Feet of Clay' (1924).

Zasu Pitts began her career on the stage; she was a notable comic actress in movies during the silent and talkie eras, and best known for her roles in 'Better Times' (1919) and for an unusual dramatic role in Erich Von Stroheim's epic 'Greed' (1924). She continued to appear in films into the 1960s, with a bit part in 'It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.' (1963).

Alan Hale was both a director and a prolific character actor who worked in silents and early talkies. His notable roles include Little John in 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1938) and Danger in 'It Happened One Night' (1934). His son, actor Alan Hale Jr., played the Skipper in the 1960s television sitcom 'Gilligan's Island.'

'Risky Business' was released by Cecil B. DeMille's Producers Distributing Corporation.

Following 'Risky Business' on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m., other programs in this year's Leavitt silent film series include:

• Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, 7 p.m.: "Phantom of the Opera" (1925). Long before Andrew Lloyd Webber created the hit stage musical, this silent film adaptation starring Lon Chaney helped place 'Phantom' firmly in the pantheon of both horror and romance. See it if you dare!

See the original silent comedy/drama 'Risky Business' (1925), to be shown with live music by Jeff Rapsis on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123; admission is $15 per person, general seating. For more information, visit www.leavittheatre.com. 

 

 

Coming Sunday, 1/23: 'Nanook of the North' (1922), plus report from Detroit and Cleveland

'Spies' (1928), which received a memorable screening on Thursday, Jan. 13 at Cinema Detroit.

Just returned to home base in New Hampshire after a road-trip that took me 1,775 miles to performances in Detroit and Cleveland. 

Right now I feel more like a long-haul trucker than a silent film accompanist!

But the trip was well worth it, as each show was successful on several fronts.

Congrats to Cinema Detroit and the Cleveland Cinematheque for bringing their audiences the experience of silent cinema with live music.

And thanks to their audiences for coming out (during the recent pandemic spike, no less) in numbers healthy enough to make the whole effort worthwhile.

In Detroit, an audience of about 40 people turned out for Fritz Lang's espionage epic 'Spies' (1928), which just one person in the group had ever seen before. 

And that one person, a true Lang devotee, had never seen it in a theater with live music. 

So that's why he flew all the way from New York City just to experience it on the big screen, thus easily taking the "traveled the farthest" prize. (Not including the accompanist.)

Paula and Tim Guthat of Cinema Detroit pitched 'Spies' as an alternative to Lang's much-better-known 'Metropolis' (1927), which they feel has frequent screenings has rendered over-familiar, overshadowing his other work of the period.

I think they have a point. And Lang pulled through, with 'Spies' holding the screen for 2½ hours without a single person leaving. 

One reason for this is that 'Metropolis' and 'Spies' and another sprawling Lang late silent, 'Woman in the Moon' (1929), all share a common feature. 

Each is about very different things, but underneath they're all old-fashioned melodramas.

Yes! Despite their surface differences, each is driven by a pot-boiling page-turning barn-burner of a story. And like the D.W. Griffith epics, the narrative pulls the audience through. The story is structured so that you simply must keep watching. You can't help it. 

That's what happened last Thursday night (Jan. 13) at Cinema Detroit. You could tell—people were hooked. That, coupled with Lang's incredible visual story-telling, made for a memorable evening in a darkened theatre.

It went so well, the Guthats are thinking about screening another lesser-known Lang, such as the aforementioned 'Woman in the Moon.' I hope they do! 

Why? Not just because I would love to do music for it (although that's one reason), but also because the Lang pictures are great examples of films that really must be seen in a theatre with an audience for it to have its full effect. 

It was the same thing the next evening (Friday, Jan. 14) in Cleveland. 

Raymond Griffith shows off some dance steps in 'Hands Up!'

At the Cinematheque, a 35mm print of Raymond Griffith's 'Hands Up!' (1926) was greeted with continuous laughter right from the start. As with most silent comedy, being part of an audience that's enjoying the on-screen action gives you permission to laugh as well.

And if all goes well, you might just get that wonderful spontaneous combustion of laughter that's one of the great glories of the silent cinema, even today. 

And that's what we got at the Cinematheque. Once Griffith taught a tribe of Native Americans to forsake their wardance for the Charleston, there was no turning back. 

This was followed by a quieter but no less appreciative response for a screening of Ernst Lubitsch's 'The Marriage Circle' (1924), which I'd never accompanied before. 

In this case, I think audience members don't expect to find this kind of polished and sophisticated society comedy in silent pictures. For most people, silent comedy = Buster Keaton or the Keystone Cops.

But there it was! Long before Hollywood began cranking out so-called "screwball" comedies in the 1930s, it was producing polished society farces in quantity, starring the likes of Ronald Colman or (in 'The Marriage Circle') Adolphe Menjou. 

They just didn't have dialogue. But that didn't stop talented performers such as Colman or Menjou from saying all they needed via facial expressions, gestures, pantomine, and the artfully turned head or raised eyebrow. (And the occasional craftily-written intertitle.)

Both venues, by the way, were closed for 16 months (16 months!) starting in March 2020 at the pandemic's onset. Can you believe it?

That both endured the prolonged closure, and are now riding out the current surge with creative programming that includes silent pictures with live music, gives me a lot of confidence.

In an age where new options such as in-home streaming are gaining in popularity, I feel sure that as long as we have cinema, there will be an audience for motion pictures to be shown in a theater.

By the way, the reason I drove out there (rather than flew) is that for these performances I used my Korg digital synthesizer, which isn't exactly air-travel-friendly even with its sturdy (but monstrously heavy) carrying case.

And there's all the sound equipment and cabling I lug around. It's nothing I can't fit into my Subaru Forester with room to spare, but a LOT to send through the nation's air transport system. 

More to come, including a screening of 'Nanook of the North' later this month at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the film's release. 

The film is showing on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 2 p.m. More info in the press release below. 

And there will be cake! 

*  *  *

A vintage poster for the documentary 'Nanook of the North' (1922).

MONDAY, JAN. 10, 2022 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Pioneering documentary 'Nanook of the North' to screen at Wilton Town Hall Theatre

Ground-breaking silent film to be shown with live music on Sunday, Jan. 23 to celebrate 100th anniversary of release

WILTON, N.H.—It's hailed as one of the first films to show the potential of the movie camera to take audiences to distant lands.

It's 'Nanook of the North' (1922), a ground-breaking movie about life among Eskimos above the Arctic Circle, to be screened on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $10 per person to help cover expenses.

The classic silent documentary will be shown with live music by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis.

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

Remarkably matter-of-fact in its depiction of the everyday struggle to stay alive in the Arctic hinterlands of Canada’s Hudson Bay, 'Nanook of the North' shows Flaherty’s interest in his Inuit subjects in each carefully framed shot.

'Nanook' was completed only after film from a previous expedition caught fire and was destroyed. Flaherty had to repeat his entire visit to the frozen north to reshoot the movie.

'Nanook' unfolds as a series of long takes interspersed by occasionally poetic intertitles, all of which serve to highlight seemingly mundane tasks required for survival in the frigid terrain.

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

A scene from 'Nanook of the North' (1922).

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

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

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

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

The screening is part of the Town Hall Theatre's ongoing series honoring the 100th anniversary of significant motion pictures that debuted in 1922.

Programs will include all of 1922's five highest-grossing titles, each shown on the big screen with live music, as well as century-old oddities, short films, cartoons, and more.

"Putting these films back on the big screen is a great way to celebrate the 100th anniversaries of some terrific motion pictures," said Rapsis, the silent film accompanist who will create live music for all screenings.

"These are films that set the standard for Hollywood, and still retain their power to entertain, especially when shown in a theater with live music and an audience," Rapsis said.

Upcoming programs in the Town Hall's 100th anniversary series include:

• Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022 at 2 p.m.: Rudolph Valentino in 'Blood and Sand.' Film's 'Latin Lover' in his first starring role, as a sexy bullfighter in this 1922 romantic thriller.

• Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022 at 2 p.m.: 'When Knighthood was in Flower.' Marion Davies goes medieval in this epic big budget costume picture from 1922 that put her on the map as a top Hollywood star.

• Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 2 p.m.: Norma Talmadge in 'Smilin' Through.' In honor of St. Patrick's Day, a 1922 romantic drama set in the Emerald Isle.

• Sunday, March 27, 2022 at 2 p.m.: Douglas Fairbanks in 'Robin Hood.' Celebrate the 100th anniversary of this blockbuster adaptation. Massive sets, great action, and Doug Fairbanks in the lead made this the top grossing film of 1922!

• Sunday, April 3, 2022 at 2 p.m.: Chaney/Houdini Double Feature. In 'Flesh and Blood' (1922), escaped convict Lon Chaney hides out in Chinatown and plots revenge. In 'The Man From Beyond' (1922) illusionist Harry Houdini plays an Arctic adventurer frozen for 100 years!

• Sunday, April 17, 2022 at 2 p.m.: Emil Jannings in 'Othello' The Bard's immortal tragedy brought to the screen in this early German version. Silent Shakespeare in honor of the author's 458th birthday.

Following the screening of 'Nanook of the North,' cake will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

‘Nanook of the North' (1922) will be shown live music on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $10 per person to help defray expenses. For more info, call (603) 654-3456 or visit www.wiltontownhalltheatre.com.

Announcing the '2022 Mid-Winter Lake Erie Silent Film Tour' in Detroit and Cleveland. Really!

'Spies' (1928), which I'm accompanying at Cinema Detroit on Thursday, Jan. 13.

Yes, really! Order the tour t-shirts before they're all gone.

Seriously: in mid-January, I'll be heading to the other side of the Appalachians to accompany silent film screenings at venues in Detroit and Cleveland. 

Pray for nice weather! Here's the line-up:

On Thursday, Jan. 13, it's Fritz Lang's 'Spies' (1928) at Cinema Detroit, an independent moviehouse in the Motor City.

On Friday, Jan. 14, I'll accompany Raymond Griffith in 'Hands Up!' (1926) and Ernst Lubitsch's 'The Marriage Circle' (1924) at the Cleveland Cinematheque.

And on Saturday, Jan. 15, it's music for 'Der Golem' (1920), the early German thriller that's part of this year's annual 36-hour (yes!) sci-fi marathon at Case Western University, also in Cleveland.

(More details on each screening are in the listings below.)

If you're within canoeing range of Lake Erie, please come join us for what promises to be a feast of worthy cinema. (Yes, I know Detroit isn't technically on Lake Erie, but close enough.)

Raymond Griffith demonstrates some up-to-date dance moves in 'Hands Up!' (1926), which I'm accompanying on Friday, Jan. 14 at the Cleveland Cinematheque.

This excursion represents something of a milestone. It's my first film accompaniment outing beyond New England since the pandemic hit back in March 2020.

And yes, it's all just an excuse for me to dine at L'Albatros in the University Heights neighborhood of Cleveland. Oh my God, the best French restaurant in North America! And probably South America.

Also, while in Cleveland I hope to hear local pianist George Foley and his colleagues play through uptempo 1930s tunes at one of their usual haunts. Nothing makes me happier than this kind of music played live. George, hope to see (and hear!) you.

Back to the movies: it's a great privilege to be hitting the road to do live music for such a strong line-up of titles. 

And in Detroit! And Cleveland! In January! How much glamour is one expected to cope with?

Well—not everyone can make it to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival or to Pordenone. So I'm delighted to help bring the silent film experience to the public in other places.

Many thanks to the venues for inviting me to perform, and for keeping silent film with live music as part of their programming.

A special thank you to the Case Western Reserve University Film Society, which got the ball rolling by agreeing to bring me back two years after I appeared in January 2020, just before the pandemic hit. 

That put me in Cleveland, where John Ewing of the Cinematheque was kind enough to program the Griffith and Lubitsch titles, which had been on the venue's schedule for spring 2020 before everything shut down.

And thanks to Paula Guthat of Cinema Detroit for taking a chance with Lang's sweeping espionage epic 'Spies' (1928), which I love accompanying and always plays like a house afire. People of Detroit: make a point of attending this one!

And I've got to hand it to Paula, as they're really promoting the heck out of 'Spies.' Check out their home page.

Okay, here's a detailed round-up of the "2022 Lake Erie Tour." Attend all four and you'll earn...the satisfaction of beating the odds. Plus I'll save you something from my charcuterie board at L'Albatross.

Until then, I'll be checking the long-term forecast. See you in the Midwest!

• Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, 7:30 p.m.: "Spies" (1928); Cinema Detroit, 4126 3rd Ave., Detroit, Mich.; (313) 482-9028; www.cinemadetroit.com. Tickets $15, $13 for members. Director Fritz Lang's tale of espionage was the forerunner of all movie spy sagas, packed with double agents, hi-tech gadgets, beautiful (and dangerous) women, and an evil genius with a plan to take over the world, mwah-ha-ha-ha! Made immediately after Lang filmed 'Metropolis,' the futuristic classic, with many of the same performers in the cast. Silent film with live music at Detroit's independent movie theater, located downtown in a former furniture store.

• Friday, Jan. 14, 2022, 7 p.m.: "Hands Up!" (1926) starring Raymond Griffith; Cinematheque at the Cleveland Institute of Art, 11610 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio; (216) 421-7450. Uproarious comedy in which a southern spy must work every angle to prevent a shipment of western gold from reaching Union forces. Featuring the sublime pantomime skills of silent comic Raymond Griffith, who really couldn't talk in real life, and so developed a whole repertoire of gestures to communicate—excellent training for silent cinema! Silent film with live music at Cleveland's premier venue for great movies.

• Friday, Jan. 14, 2022, 8:45 p.m.: "The Marriage Circle" (1924) directed by Ernst Lubitsch; Cinematheque at the Cleveland Institute of Art, 11610 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio; (216) 421-7450. It's the World According to Lubitsch: in Vienna, Dr. Franz Braun (Monte Blue) and his wife, Charlotte (Florence Vidor), are exceptionally happy in their marriage until Charlotte's best friend, Mitzi (Marie Prevost), starts flirting with Franz. Mitzi's suspicious husband, Professor Josef Stock (Adolphe Menjou), hires a detective to investigate her infidelities, and the inquiry soon begins to focus on Franz. Silent film with live music at Cleveland's premier venue for great movies.

• Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, approximately 6:30 p.m.: "Der Golem" (1920) at the 47th Annual Sci-Fi Marathon presented by the Case Western Reserve University Film Society, 10900 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. Live music for 'Der Golem,' a featured attraction in this year's annual 36-hour (!) sci-fi marathon at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. In 16th-century Prague, a Rabbi creates a giant creature from clay, called the Golem. Using sorcery, he brings the creature to life in order to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution, but then complications ensue. Early German fantasy movie based on Central European folklore anticipates Frankenstein story.

Four days, three states, three screenings: On the road with Spies, Peter, Thief in 35mm

Here's me posing with 'The Thief of Bagdad' ready to roll in one of the Somerville's two Norelco 35mm projectors.

A few notes from a crazy burst of accompaniment: one that saw three big shows in four days. And in three separate states no less. And all this while I'm in the midst of doing underscoring for a high school production of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' at a nearby high school. So before it all disappears in a blur, a thought or two...

• Thursday, May 9 brought Fritz Lang's 'Spies' (1928) at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse in Plymouth, N.H., about a hour's drive north of home base. Healthy crowd of about 45 on hand for a film that's not one of the big titles, but I think should be. It's certainly a big film for music, not just in terms of length (2½ hours) but also in terms of possibilities. In scoring it, basically I wrung the hell out of two main themes: an "espionage" motif that I thought of as the "male" theme, and a nice flowing tune I recently come up with that worked great as the "female" melody.

The music fell together quite nicely, with lots of powerful modal stuff lending an elemental quality to the whole thing. Afterwards, two separate people came up and said they'd never been to a silent film screening with live music in a theater before, and had no idea at the level of tension and excitement that was possible. Indeed, 'Spies' is structured so that the last half hour is one exciting sequence after another. So overall, very satisfying.

• Saturday, May 11 saw 'Peter Pan' (1924) as the opening title in this season's silent film series at Brandon (Vt.) Town Hall, which is a 2½-hour haul one-way. But I don't mind because it's a great place for silent films, the organizers and the audience are all terrific people, and I love Sal's, an excellent little Italian restaurant I found on West Street in downtown Rutland. (Prior to the show, I had the chicken corn chowder.)

Usually attendance at the first screening of the season is light, but this time we more than doubled last year's figure with about 80 people on hand. A lot of kids came, including one little girl who sat right behind me and, shortly after the film began, dumped a whole bag of Skittles onto the wooden floor. Some rolled under me, but no harm done. First time I've ever had to deal with candy during a performance!

I don't know what it is, but Brandon is such an easy place to do accompaniment. I feel so comfortable there, and easily fall into the "zone." Saturday night was no exception: I've done 'Peter Pan' many times and have what I think is a good set of material for it. But even so, it was one of those nights where one good moment followed another. And that "audience participation" sequence, where Peter urges the audience to clap to save Tinkerbell, went over big time! It was all top-notch, everything worked out great, and people were so appreciative. It was a wonderful reminder of why I continue to do this.

• And the non Sunday, May 12 (Mother's Day!), I did music for a screening of 'The Thief of Bagdad' (1924) in 35mm at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, Somerville, Mass. (Just outside Boston, about an hour south for me.) Another 2½-hour epic, but this time projected on actual film (the print was from noted film scholar and restorationist David Shepard) via the expert booth technique of David Kornfeld, projectionist extraordinaire.

The show—the opening installment in what we hope will be a monthly series of silents in 35mm with live music—attracted a relatively sparse crowd (it's a big theater) of maybe 60 or 70 people. But they were a lively group, and it was a pleasure to hear the reaction to "Thief," which I think is a great film for an audience.

Unfortunately, for this one, I wasn't in the zone as much as I like to be. I don't know if it was performance fatigue or what, but I just wasn't on top of the film in several places. Also, it took me awhile to settle on material; I eventually wound up using some of the 'Spies' material from a few nights earlier, which to me is taking the easy way out. :(

Also, we hooked up the sound in a different way this time, and I wasn't quite happy with the levels and balance. David, way up in the balcony, said it sounded fine, and that was as far as we got, as he had a million other things to attend to beyond working with me. But I felt the on-stage speakers (responsible for 80 percent of the sound, it seemed) were distorting the low notes played at any volume. And the overall sound quality just wasn't as crisp as I like it.

We didn't have a lot of time pre-show to futz with anything, so I just went with it. But I can say now—if you do anything for 2½ hours, make sure it's something you enjoy doing. The fact that I couldn't just forget about the sound, and was always somewhat bothered by it, served to crowd out the music-making part of my brain, and I'm afraid the inspiration was occasionally somewhat lacking.

Note to self: Skittles don't matter. Quality of sound does.

Next up: This Friday, doing my annual silent film show at Antrim (N.H.) Town Hall for students of Great Brook Middle School. it's the fourth year, and these kids are turning into real silent film aficianados. (Note to programmers: Keaton wins hands down in popularity.) Also, in a change of pace, I'm doing musical underscoring for three performances of a stage version of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' at Merrimack (N.H.) High School. It's like accompanying silent film, except instead of film, it's real live people, and instead of them being silent, they talk. So the challenge is to keep the music low enough so it doesn't cover any dialogue, and also to support the story and shifts of mood. Should be a great show!

And then later this month I have two "new" films—new to me, that is, in the sense that I've never done live music for them. On Friday, May 24, it's 'Battleship Potemkin' (1925) at Red River Theatres in Concord, N.H., and on Sunday, May 26, it's 'Tell It To The Marines' (1926) starring Lon Chaney, in our annual Memorial Day tribute at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre. More on those later!

This Mother's Day, give Mom... a bare-chested Douglas Fairbanks!

One word for it is 'synchronicity.' Another might be 'overscheduling.'

Whatever term you use, three big films in four days is a lot. But then you can never have too much of good silent film, I think, and the three coming up (in three different states, no less) are real doozies. And I mean that in a good way.

Here's a quick roster, followed by the complete press release for the first one up:

• Thursday, May 9, I'm doing music for a screening of Fritz Lang's 'Spies' (1928), the prototype of all espionage films. Showtime is 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center in Plymouth, N.H. This is a terrific audience film and I'm really looking forward to scoring it live, as I think I finally understand all the various plot strands and how they intersect. Admission $10 per person.

• Saturday, May 11, it's music for 'Peter Pan' (1924), the original film adaptation of J.M. Barrie's immortal stage play. Showtime is 7 p.m. at the lovely Brandon Town Hall in Brandon, Vt. Free admission, but donations are accepted to help ongoing renovations. It's the opening night of this year's monthly silent film series at Brandon Town Hall, a great place to take in a vintage movie. Acoustics are splendid, and practically the whole town turns out!

• Sunday, May 12, it's down to the big city to do music for a 1 p.m. matinee of 'The Thief of Bagdad' (1924), the epic fantasy starring Douglas Fairbanks, to be screened in 35mm at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square. (Somerville is part of Boston, Mass.) Very excited about this, as it's the first of another monthly silent film series, this one involving only 35mm prints. Best tag line of the year: "This Mother's Day, Treat Mom to Two and a Half Hours of a Barechested Douglas Fairbanks."

In the middle of all this, I'm working with students at Merrimack (N.H.) High School to create music for their stage production of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame.' We'll do three performances next week, but rehearsals are nearing an end so I'm over there several more times this week and next.

Synchronity? Over-scheduling? Here's a better term: Crazy.

And here's the full press release for tomorrow night's screening of 'Spies' (1928). If you've never seen this one in a theater, it's worth the drive up to Plymouth.

* * *
THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2013 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

'Spies' (1928) to screen with live music on Thursday, May 9 at Flying Monkey

Silent film thriller was model for James Bond; called "granddaddy" of all espionage movies

PLYMOUTH, N.H. — It was the movie that pioneered the espionage genre, complete with secret documents, hi-tech gadgets, an evil mastermind, and a beautiful but dangerous woman. It was 'Spies' (1928), an action-packed silent thiller, and will be shown with live music for one screening only on Thursday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H.

Live music will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. Admission is $10 per person.

'Spies,' made by German director Fritz Lang at the end of the silent era, served as a blueprint for all espionage story-telling to come in movies and, later, on television. It is especially notable for the many ways it anticipated the James Bond films, in which a government's secret agent matches wits with a criminal mastermind.

Newly restored to its original length, 'Spies' has emerged as a flawlessly constructed spy thriller from the peak of the silent film era. Hugely influential, Lang's passion for meticulous detail combines with masterful storytelling and editing skills to form a relentless story of intrigue, espionage, and blackmail.

An international spy ring, headed by Haghi (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), uses technology, threats, and murder to obtain government secrets. As master spy and also president of a bank, Haghi leads a double life, using instruments of modern technology to spearhead a mad rush for secrets to assert his power over others.

Battling Haghi is the government's Agent 326 (Willy Fritsch), himself a master of disguise. Can Agent 326 stop Haghi's plot before it disrupts the world's balance of power?

Putting on the screen for the first time many elements of the modern spy thriller, 'Spies' remains remarkably fresh and captivating more than 80 years since its first release. Lang carefully reveals the elaborate methods of the spies as they move through his unknown city, no doubt creating a mirror of troubled Weimar Germany, where the film was shot.

Made by Lang's own production company and, like the classic films 'M' (1931) and Metropolis (1927), written by Lang with his wife Thea von Harbou, 'Spies' is "the granddaddy of decades of intrigue epics. In its rigorous austerity, it remains the most modern of the bunch," wrote Elliott Stein of The Village Voice.

'Spies' features many of the same performers featured in 'Metropolis,' Lang's famous futuristic fantasy, including Klein-Rogge, who portrayed the scientist 'Rotwang' in the earlier movie. 'Spies' also stars Austrian actress Gerda Maurus as the mysterious woman who could prove to be the undoing of Agent 326.

The Flying Monkey originally opened 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 variety 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.

Live music for 'Spies' will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis, who uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the sound and texture of the full orchestra.

"'Spies' is a wonderful film for music," said Rapsis, who improvises accompaniment using themes or melodies he composes beforehand. "In addition to telling great stories, Lang's films are also visually interesting, and so they lend themselves to music to heighten the drama and tension," Rapsis said.

'Spies' is appropriate for family audiences, although it includes intense scenes that may frighten very small children. The film is two-and-a-half hours long.

The screening of 'Spies' is part of the Flying Monkey's monthly silent film series, which gives today's audiences a chance to experience the great films of Hollywood's early years as they were intended: in restored prints, in a theater on the big screen, and with live music and an audience.

"If you've never seen a silent film in a theater with live music and an audience, this is a great way to experience the medium at its best," Rapsis said. "When you put all the elements together, silent film still has an ability to stir up an audience in a way that no other medium can."

Upcoming silent films at the Flying Monkey include:

• Thursday, June 13, 6:30 p.m.: "The Gaucho" (1927). The leader of a band of outlaws in Argentina must help save a religious shrine from being taken over and closed by a corrupt general. Audience favorite and change of pace for acclaimed swashbuckling superstar Douglas Fairbanks, who tries his hand playing a darker role than usual. Admission $10 per person.

'Spies' (1928) will be screened on Thursday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H. Admission is $10 per person. For more information, visit www.flyingmonkeynh.com or call (603) 536-2551.

The Flying Monkey runs silent film programs with live music each month. For more information about the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

Shedding some light on 'Spies' (1928)

It was no secret that we screened Fritz Lang's espionage thriller 'Spies' (1928) this afternoon, as you can see by the signs outside the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre, and even on nearby Route 101:

Alas, the weather was wonderful, as you can also see in the pictures—the first full day of autumn boasted sparkling sun, blue sky, a light breeze, and dry air.

So you might conclude that attendance was low, and you would be right.

I think we had maybe 40 folks show up, a much lower turnout than usual. Not sure if it really was the weather, or because 'Spies' just isn't a draw, or something else. I think the film is a terrific piece of work, and a fun film for music, and it did get a good reaction from those who were on hand. But I would still like to see it in a truly crowded theater, so it remains on my list to do elsewhere and see what happens.

Speaking of what happens, I was pleased to see Dennis Markavarich, long-time owner/operator of the Wilton Town Hall Theatre, go on the record this past week with his plans to keep the theater open even as Hollywood converts its first-run output to digital media. You can read the full story in the Milford Cabinet, a local paper.

The Town Hall Theatre, which Dennis has run since 1972, is my favorite movie theater anywhere, and that's not because Dennis lets us run a monthly silent film program there. For first-run movies, Dennis takes pride in running shows in which the focus and the bulb brightness and all the details of presentation are always taken care of. He even has a red curtain that he opens and closes, in a nod to a practice that was once standard. The popcorn is great and not overpriced. His seats are big and comfy, with some rescued from old movie palaces that are no more. Also, movies have been shown there since 1912, so the place has a kind of vibe that you somehow don't get in your local multiplex.

In one nod to changing times, the theater does have a Facebook page. On it, someone described the Wilton Town Hall Theatre as the "red castle of celluloid dreams," and I can't think of a more magical way of putting it. It really does look like a castle, too. Here's a snapshot of the exterior I took prior to our screening of 'Spies,' with the building lit up by the late afternoon sun:

We're entering our fourth year of screening silents at Wilton, and I do hope we can continue to go on indefinitely. I think of it as my "home base," and nowhere else do I feel quite as comfortable as the Town Hall Theatre.

Dennis, of course, goes to a lot of trouble to make the place comfortable. New Hampshire summers can get pretty hot and sticky, and the building was erected in 1886, long before central air. So Dennis gets by the warmer months with a battery of wall units augmented by a collection of fans that get deployed throughout the warmer months.

So you know summer is truly over when Dennis hauls out all the fans and preps them for cold storage. Hence this shot of me after 'Spies' surrounded by, yes, some of fans:

We do get regulars, but each screening also brings a few new faces. Because 'Spies' was preceded by a 2 p.m. screening of the new film 'The Master,' we had to wait around the lobby for it to end before I could go in and set up my stuff. While standing there chatting with the usual suspects, I noticed some new folks, but didn't get a chance to speak to them.

To my delight, one of the newbies came up afterwards and introduced herself as a woman from England who was visiting our corner of the world and staying in Hancock. We chatted for a few moments, but I was my usual completely brain-dead self just after doing a film score (and a long one at that), so I can't recall anything else. So: Hey, English gal roistering in Hancock! If you're out there, please get in touch with me at jeffrapsis@gmail.com

I was also delighted when a woman came up afterwards with her two sons, who were aged maybe 9 and 11. I had seen them coming in and wondered what they'd make of this film, which is unusual fare even for die-hard silent film fans. Turns out it was their first-ever silent film, and they loved it! And that alone made the whole effort worth it, with the English gal with the charming accent a wonderful bonus.

Coming up next is another biggie—a screening of 'The Thief of Bagdad' (1924) on Wednesday, Sept. 26 at Red River Theatres in Concord, N.H. as part of the theater's fifth anniversary. More on that in a separate post. But it's one of my favorite silents and I do hope we fill the 55-seat screening room.

Sunday, Sept. 23: 'Spies' (1928) in Wilton, N.H.;Fritz Lang's ground-breaking espionage epic

Our print ad for a screening of 'Spies' (1928) on Sunday, Sept. 23.

I'm thrilled to be doing music this weekend for 'Spies' (1928), a film that I didn't know at all until the Kansas Silent Film Festival this past February. The movie, presented there in its shortened version, was Fritz Lang's follow-up to 'Metropolis' (1927), and after seeing it I just had to do it. And so we will—the long version, all 2½ hours of it—at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 23 at 4:30 p.m.

It's amazing to me that 'Spies' pretty much invented the espionage genre all in one go. It's all there: the beautiful but dangerous woman, the high-tech gadgets, the evil criminal, the government agent who is a master of disguise. 'Spies' contains the DNA of every spy thriller for decades to come, and is a template for many of James Bond's adventures. Pretty impressive.

But I find the same thing is true with 'Woman in the Moon' (1929), Lang's voyage-to-the-moon drama and his last silent film. This picture contains the DNA of every trashy sci-fi epic—the ethnic scientist, the female scientist and her two handsome rivals, the little boy who stows away on the space craft. So score another genre for Lang.

More info on 'Spies' is in the press release, the text of which I'm pasting in below...

* * *

MONDAY, SEPT. 17, 2012 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com
'Spies' (1928) to screen with live music on Sunday, Sept. 23 in Wilton, N.H.
Silent film was model for James Bond, called "granddaddy" of all espionage movies

WILTON, N.H. — It was the movie that pioneered the espionage genre, complete with secret documents, hi-tech gadgets, an evil mastermind, and a beautiful but dangerous woman. It was 'Spies' (1928), an action-packed silent thiller, and will be shown with live music for one screening only on Sunday, Sept. 23 at 4:30 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main Street, Wilton N.H.

Live music will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. Admission is free, with donations accepted to help defray expenses.

'Spies,' made by German director Fritz Lang at the end of the silent era, served as a blueprint for decades of espionage story-telling to come in movies and, later, on television. It is especially notable for the many ways it anticipated the James Bond films, in which a government's secret agent must match wits with a criminal mastermind.

Newly restored to its original length, 'Spies' is a flawlessly constructed labyrinthine spy thriller. Hugely influential, Lang's passion for meticulous detail combines with masterful storytelling and editing skills to form a relentless story of intrigue, espionage, and blackmail.

An international spy ring, headed by Haghi (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), uses technology, threats, and murder to obtain government secrets. As master spy and president of a bank, Haghi leads several lives using instruments of modern technology to spearhead a mad rush for secrets — secrets that assert his power over others.

Battling Haghi is the government's Agent 326 (Willy Fritsch), himself a master of disguise. Can Agent 326 stop Haghi's plot before it disrupts the world's balance of power?

Putting on the screen for the first time many elements of the modern spy thriller, Spione remains remarkably fresh and captivating over 80 years since its first release. Lang carefully reveals the elaborate methods of the spies as they move through his unknown city, no doubt creating a mirror of troubled Weimar Germany, where the film was shot.

Made by Lang's own production company and, like the classic films 'M' (1931) and Metropolis (1927), written by Lang with his wife Thea von Harbou, 'Spies' is "the granddaddy of decades of intrigue epics. In its rigorous austerity it remains the most modern of the bunch," wrote Elliott Stein of The Village Voice.

'Spies' features many of the same performers featured in 'Metropolis,' Lang's famous futuristic fantasy, including Klein-Rogge, who portrayed the scientist 'Rotwang' in the earlier movie. 'Spies' also stars Austrian actress Gerda Maurus as the mysterious woman who could prove to be the undoing of Agent 326.

Live music for 'Spies' will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis, who uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the sound and texture of the full orchestra.

"'Spies' is a wonderful film for music," said Rapsis, who improvises accompaniment using themes or melodies he composes beforehand. "In addition to telling great stories, Lang's films are also visually interesting, and so they lend themselves to music to heighten the drama and tension," Rapsis said.

'Spies' is appropriate for family audiences, although it includes intense scenes that may frighten very small children. The film is two-and-a-half hours long.

The screening of 'Spies' is part of the Wilton Town Hall Theatre's monthly silent film series, which gives today's audiences a chance to experience the great films of Hollywood's early years as they were intended: in restored prints, in a theater on the big screen, and with live music and an audience.

"If you've never seen a silent film in a theater with live music and an audience, this is a great way to experience the medium at its best," Rapsis said. "When you put all the elements together, silent film still has an ability to stir up an audience in a way that no other medium can."

Upcoming silent films at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre include:

• Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012, 4:30 p.m.: "The Hands of Orlac" (1924). A concert pianist, Paul Orlac (Conrad Veidt), loses his hands in a railway accident. Replacement hands are transplanted onto him in an experimental procedure, but the hands are those of a recently-executed murderer. The pianist is then tortured by panic attacks and irrational fears. Admission free, donations encouraged.

• Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012, 4:30 p.m.: Silent film comedy. Cap off Thanksgiving Day weekend with a program of sure-fire hits from comedy's golden era! Belly-laugh at the antics of Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, and a few masters you may never have heard of. What better way to work off those holiday pounds? Admission free, donations encouraged.

'Spies' (1928) will be screened on Sunday, Sept. 23 at 4:30 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H. Admission is free, with donations accepted to defray expenses. For more information, visit www.wiltontownhalltheatre.com or call (603) 654-3456.

The Wilton Town Hall Theatre runs silent film programs with live music the last Sunday of every month. For more information about the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.