Flying to Florida for 'The Flying Fleet,' then back to Boston for 'The Blot' at the Lois Weber Festival

Ramon Novarro poses with a prop in 'The Flying Fleet' (1929).

Heading down to the Sunshine State this morning for an unusual gig: doing live music for a screening of 'The Flying Fleet' (1929) at the Leeward Air Ranch in Ocala, Fla. 

What's going on is that awhile back I was up for auction as part of a fundraising event for the non-profit Aviation Museum of N.H., where I serve as Executive Director.

And the winning bidder, a longtime supporter of the museum, suggested that the best use of her "prize" would be for me to do my silent film accompaniment thing for residents of Leeward, where several Aviation Museum people have second homes. 

The suggestion was contingent on "when you're in Florida," with the only flaw in that being that I'm never in Florida. But a winning bid is a winning bid, and so, thanks to Rapid Rewards points, I'm now sitting at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport waiting for the 5:35 a.m. flight to Baltimore, then connecting to Orlando, where the temperature today is in the mid-80s.

So this evening, 'The Flying Fleet' will screen in the community center of the Leeward Air Ranch, with live accompaniment by me. (Get ready for a lot of 'Anchors Aweigh.') 

An original lobby card promoting 'The Flying Fleet' (1929).

Although no masterpiece, it's actually a great film for aviation buffs because it's filled with scenes of U.S. Navy flying as it was in the late 1920s. Filmed in partnership with the U.S. Navy, it includes scenes filmed on the U.S.S. Langley, the nation's first aircraft carrier—actually a converted coal barge.

And then the next morning, I'll zip back up north and be at my desk at the Aviation Museum before noon. Ah, the glamorous life of a silent film accompanist!

Next up after that is music for 'The Blot' (1921), the opening night attraction of the 4th Annual Lois Weber Film Festival, taking place this year at the West Newton Cinema in West Newton, Mass.

A trade publication ad promoting 'The Blot' (1921).

Conceived in the spirit of pioneering female filmmaker Lois Weber, the festival ... well, here's the official description: "The Lois Weber Film Festival is a female-forward 501(c)3 dedicated to promoting gender equality in the film industry by celebrating the legacy of silent film pioneer Lois Weber and the history of women in film, past, present, and future."

So it's not the usual silent film audience. But you can't have a festival named after Lois Weber and not show one of her films, and so each year I've been invited to accompany her work as part of the "Red Carpet Opening Night" festivities. 

It's my observation that most of those in attendance, although filmmakers themselves, have rarely experienced silent cinema in a theater with live music. So these screenings fall into the category of "so old it's new to us" category. 

And each time I've done this, the reactions have been overwhelmingly positive, with many comments along the lines of "It was so much better than I expected." And something about this inspires me to really bring my A Game, knowing that it's the first time many of those present have experienced silent cinema. 

Not that I don't always try my best at every screening. But it's definitely the case where the presence of an audience that's into the film, reacting to it and discovering something new, can influence the accompaniment just as much as what's on screen.

After that, following a relatively quiet period, things pick up with no less that eight screenings in 11 days leading up to Easter, including a spate of Cecil B. DeMille biblical epics—one silent 'Ten Commandments' (1923) and a couple showings of 'King of Kings' (1927).

Meanwhile, the one-quarter of me that's Irish wishes you all a happy St. Patrick's Day, and also somewhere in there spring arrives—a welcome development after an unusually cold and snowy winter in our part of the world.

Maybe I'll bring some of the Florida weather back with me! 

'The Flying Fleet' coming in for a landing at Aviation Museum of N.H. on Thursday, May 23

Ramon Novarro stars in 'The Flying Fleet' (1929), MGM's silent drama about U.S. Navy aviators.

For me, one of the great joys of presenting silent film is showing vintage movies to people with interests outside cinema itself.

People really into cars, for instance, get a kick out out MGM's late silent 'Speedway' (1929), an auto race drama filmed on location at the actual Indy 500 track.

In my adventures accompanying silent film, one of the best examples of this unexpected interest was a program I did up in Vermont some years ago.

A local woman who attended was so taken by the horsemanship displayed on screen that she agreed to financially back a silent film series as long as the films had plenty of horses.

And so it came to pass. And although the benefactress is no longer with us, the series continues to this day, and in her memory I always try to program titles in which horsemanship is on display.

So another great example of this "interest other than cinema" phenomenon is coming up this week, when I'll accompany 'The Flying Fleet' (1929), an MGM drama about U.S. Navy aviators, at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire.

The screening is Thursday, May 23 at 7 p.m. More information is in the press release below. I encourage you to attend, even if you're not a naval history buff, as it's a well-made but rarely screened late silent drama that holds up pretty well, I think.

For me personally, this promises to be an unusual show because it combines my silent film musical moonlighting with my day job, which happens to be director of the Aviation Museum.

So it's a convergence of sorts. Maybe I won't have to clone myself after all.

Okay, press release below. Hope to see you filling out the ranks at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire's screening of 'The Flying Fleet'!

* * *

The USS Langley, the nation's first-ever aircraft carrier, makes several appearances in 'The Flying Fleet'(1929).

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2019 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jrapsis@nhahs.org

Aviation Museum offers vintage Hollywood-style Memorial Day tribute

'The Flying Fleet,' MGM silent drama about U.S. Navy aviators, to screen with live music on Thursday, May 23

LONDONDERRY — Get in the spirit of Memorial Day weekend with a vintage silent film drama about U.S. naval aviators that's a window into what it was like to serve one's country between the World Wars.

'The Flying Fleet' (1929), a star-studded MGM drama filmed on location at key U.S. Naval bases, will be screened on Thursday, May 23 at 7 p.m. at the Aviation Museum of N.H., 27 Navigator Road, Londonderry, N.H.

The movie, made with the full cooperation of the U.S. Navy and filled with scenes of vintage air and seaplanes in action, will be shown with live music provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis.

Admission for this special event is $20 per person; $15 for Aviation Museum members. The screening is a fund-raiser for the Aviation Museum's partnership with the Manchester School of Technology that will enable students build an actual airplane in the 2019-20 school year.

"As we approach Memorial Day weekend, this is a terrific way to remember those who served by looking back at what it was like for the generation between the two world wars," Rapsis said.

Ramon Navarro (center) and fellow cadets show plenty of 1920s beefcake in 'The Flying Fleet' (1929).

Starring MGM heartthrob Ramon Novarro, 'The Flying Fleet' follows the story of six graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis who make a solemn pact to all become Navy pilots.

The film follows the cadets through training with scenes filmed on location at bases in San Diego, Calif., and Pensacola, Fla. Scenes were also filmed aboard the USS Langley, the nation's first aircraft carrier. The Langley, an aging coal transport ship, was outfitted with an enormous upper-level deck in 1922.

But it's not just airplanes and ships. In 'The Flying Fleet,' two of pilots fall for the same gal (Anita Page) off base, causing a rivalry that plays out in dramatic plot twists and action both on the ground and in the air.

Promotional art for 'The Flying Fleet,' starring Anita Page and Ramon Novarro.

Page, a young MGM starlet who had appeared in Laurel & Hardy comedies, would soon retire from the screen, only to return late in life in several low budget horror films released after 2000. She died in 2008 at age 98.

The teaming of up-and-coming Anita Page and heartthrob Ramon Novarro was considered good box office. In a 2002 interview, Page recalled that Novarro was "... something to dream about. I mean he was so good looking."

A highlight of 'The Flying Fleet' is an appearance of "The Three Sea Hawks," a famous aerobatic team of the era. Drawn from a U.S. Navy squadron at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, the team used three Boeing F2B-1 and F2B-2 fighters. Its first demonstration in January 1928 at San Francisco gave rise to a popular nickname: "Suicide Trio" although officially the team was called "Three Sea Hawks."

Look! In the sky! It's a cameo appearance by 'The Three Seahawks.'

'The Flying Fleet' was made with U.S. Navy cooperation, with the note appearing in the opening credits: "Dedicated to the officers and men of NAVAL AVIATION whose splendid co-operation made this production possible." The film was the first major Hollywood production to use Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego.

Popcorn and drinks will be available for purchase, and the screening will mark the debut of the Aviation Museum's vintage candy concession counter.

The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to preserving aviation history in the Granite State, providing educational outreach programs that encourage student interest in aeronautics and related fields, and organizing programs that bring together the state's diverse aviation community.

The Museum is located at 27 Navigator Road, Londonderry, N.H. The museum is open Friday & Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m. For more information, call (603) 669-4820 or visit the www.aviationmuseumofnh.org.

'The Flying Fleet' (1929) starring Ramon Novarro and Anita Page will be screened with live music on Thursday, May 23 at 7 p.m. at the Aviation Museum of N.H., 27 Navigator Way, Londonderry, N.H. Admission $20 per person; $15 for members. The screening is a fund-raiser for the Aviation Museum's partnership with the Manchester School of Technology that will enable students build an actual airplane in the 2019-20 school year.

Ralph Graves and Ramon Novarro undress each other in 'The Flying Fleet' (1929). Want to see more? Attend the screening!

'The Flying Fleet' leaps surprisingly off the runway

Ramon Novarro puts some glamour back into aviation in 'The Flying Fleet.'

It happened again! A silent film that I had my doubts about leaped to life when shown in a theater with an audience.

In this case, it was 'The Flying Fleet' (1929) the late MGM silent about U.S. Navy aviators starring Ramon Novarro, Ralph Graves, and Anita Page. (Can you imagine a movie star today with a name like 'Ralph Graves?') The plot: six Annapolis graduates all hope to be pilots. Who will make it? Who won't? And how will Anita Page get in the way?

Our monthly silent film screenings in Wilton, N.H. are on the last Sunday of each month, which means they usually fall on Memorial Day weekend. So I try to use the occasion to pay tribute to our country's military. So when picking titles last fall, 'The Flying Fleet' seemed a good bet: not the usual fare, but something worth reviving.

But when I finally looked at it this month to get ideas for music, I was less than impressed. What a dud! Undeveloped characters, little drama, even less romance, a few forced "comedy" scenes, and primitive aviation sequences, at least compared to 'Wings.' Uck!

Then, with final exams where I teach, there wasn't time to send out the usual press materials. And finally, as Memorial Day weekend drew closer, it was clear we'd be blessed with spectacular weather in our part of the world, which is usually murder for an afternoon silent film screening.

So imagine my surprise on Sunday, May 27 when a fairly good crowd turned up on a brilliant sunny day to take in this relic. And to my further surprise, the film really did work!

In terms of music, things went well right from the start: a rousing chorus of 'Anchors Aweigh,' a tune that threaded its way into a lot of what followed. (I avoided other tunes, such as the 'Wild Blue Yonder' tune, because they draw too much attention from the movie and also people notice if I hit a wrong note.)

An early scene in the doctor's office when the cadets get checked out built nicely using bouncy accompaniment and chords with augmented fourths, which always seem to indicate busy-ness and things happening. But 'The Flying Fleet' really soared (pun intended) when the aviation scenes started.

Not sure why I didn't sense this when previewing the film, but these scenes are full of motion and tremendously exciting, and I love doing music for them. I was especially happy with how the music developed in the first sequence, when the trainee pilots get their first ride in a plane. It just grew organically, getting more energetic and intense as the action progressed, and then got dissonant when one of the hopefuls developed a major case of air sickness.

And the real value of improv came out near the end, when (SPOILER ALERT), following a crash at sea, an injured character decides he's too much of a burden on his fellow aviators and slips into the sea while they sleep. The music, in a minor key and with 'Anchors Aweigh' as the bass line, just grew and grew with the sequence, but I pulled back right before the character slides into the water, which really emphasized the drama of the moment. And then I could come in again strongly when the other characters awoke and realized what had happened. Tremendously exciting cinema, if I do say so myself.

The ending of 'The Flying Fleet' was still completely unsatisfying: we hear that the heros get medals of honor, but don't see anything, and Anita Page shows up on a hospital vessel, prompting one of our audience members to ask loudly: "How did she get on the ship?!" (A good question.) And yes, some of the scenes still included Czech, untranslated from the source print, lending a surreal aspect to the film. (Was the U.S. Navy using Czech for coded transmissions in the 1920s?)

But the film's impact was undeniable. The whole saga of the six fellows, and who would make it as a pilot and who wouldn't, and then what would happen, really stuck to the screen and really held the audience. So score another one for silent film when shown in its native habitat: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience!

'Some Things Never Change' Department: In introducing 'The Flying Fleet,' I played up the idea that the film was interesting today in part because it showed how things were done in the U.S. Navy in times past. I think my exact line was "It shows the U.S. Navy 80 years ago, but it might as well be 800 years ago."

Well, blow me down if a U.S. Navy vet didn't come up afterwards and say that it's all still pretty much exactly the same, including the Hotel Coronado in San Diego. The only thing that's changed, he said, was the Pensacola training base, which was apparently wiped off the map by a hurricane at some point. Other that that, it's still the same, although the aircraft have been updated.

I stand corrected. And so now 'The Flying Fleet' is of interest to modern audiences because it shows us how some things haven't changed.

Honor Memorial Day with 'The Flying Fleet' on Sunday, May 27 in Wilton, N.H.

I'm behind in getting out press materials for upcoming screenings, but here's a quick preview of our screening this weekend of 'The Flying Fleet.' It's a 1929 drama starring Ramon Navarro, Ralph Graves, and Anita Page, and we're running it on Sunday, May 27 at 4:30 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. Admission is free, and it's a nice way to tip our cap to all who've served in the U.S. armed forces.

Though the film focuses on the U.S. Navy, it's really about aviation, at least as it was practiced by that branch at the time. And yes, although it's a romantic drama, "...the real stars of this movie, made with the full cooperation of the Navy, are the planes and the flying."

That's according to a review on the Web site DVD Talk. Continuing on: "The plot is pretty thin but the aviation sequences more than make up for that. At the time this film was made bi-planes were state of the art and it's amazing to see the ground crew hand-cranking the engines to get them started. Even the advanced plane that is to be flown to Hawaii is a four-person twin engine craft with open cockpits. The crew has to communicate by passing hand written messages, the navigator takes sightings with a sextant, and the communications officer sends updates in Morris Code. It seems so primitive from this point in time."

Here's a link to the full review if you want more details. So it's not 'Wings' (the classic flying film from 1927), but 'The Flying Fleet' is a rarely screened aviation adventure that I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Hope to see you there!

And here's an interesting note: Anita Page, just 18 years old at the time 'The Flying Fleet' was made, remained with us all the way up until 2008, when she died at the ripe old age of 98, one of the last surviving stars of the silent era.

'The Flying Fleet' (1929) will be screened with live music on Sunday, May 27 at 4:30 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre, 60 Main St., Wilton, N.H. Admission is free; donations accepted. For more information on the theater, visit www.wiltontownhalltheatre.com.