Coming up: a slate of pre-holiday silent film screenings, then a road trip to Cleveland

A lobby card for 'So's Your Old Man' (1926), which I'll accompany on Sunday, Jan. 18 at the Cleveland Cinematheque.

Welcome to the holiday preview edition of this blog, in which I try to catch up after several weeks of being just too busy to update it.

First, the big news is that the glamorous showbiz life of a silent film accompanist will take me to Cleveland, Ohio for a pair of screenings in January.

That's right! On Saturday, Jan. 17, I'll accompany the recently restored 'Algol: A Tragedy of Power' (1920) at the 51st Annual Sci-Fi Marathon, staged each year by the Case Western Reserve University Film Society.

Then, on Sunday, Jan. 18, I'll do music at the Cleveland Cinematheque, where they're screening a 35mm print of 'So's Your Old Man' (1926) starring a silent W.C. Fields. 

I encourage my fans in the area to check out both these events. I'm sure we can accommodate all two or three of you. More details of the "Cleveland Mid-Winter Lake Effect Silent Film Victory Tour" (get your T-shirts now!) can be found on my Upcoming Silent Film Screenings page. 

Also, while I'm in Cleveland, I encourage everyone to join me on Saturday, Jan. 17 for an early dinner at 'L'Albatros Brasserie,' my favorite restaurant in the entire Great Lakes basin. It's the not-so-secret reason I'm really making the trip to Cleveland in the dead of winter. 

Not sure of the time but seriously, if anyone would like to join in, email me at jeffrapsis@gmail.com and we'll make it happen.

But before any of that, December brings a bouquet (can you tell I'm already thinking of spring?) of silent film screenings closer to home:

• On Sunday, Dec. 7 (hey, that's today!) at 4 p.m., I'll accompany 'The Man Who Laughs' (1928) at the Natick Center for the Arts in Natick, Mass. More details about that screening are in the press release pasted in below.  

• On Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m., I'll do music for a screening of Buster Keaton's great comedy/drama 'Our Hospitality' (1923) at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, Mass.

• And on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. it's a holiday-themed program featuring Mary Pickford's 'Tess of the Storm Country' (1922) at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H.

Hope you'll be able to make a silent film screening with live music part of your holiday season.

Okay, details of 'The Man Who Laughs' (1928) below. Happy holidays, and to all a 'Silent Night'!

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An original lobby card promoting 'The Man Who Laughs' (1928).

MONDAY, DEC. 1, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

'The Man Who Laughs' (1928) to screen with live music on Sunday, Dec. 7 in Natick, Mass.

Creepy silent film thriller anticipated 'Frankenstein' and 'Dracula,' inspired the look of Batman's nemesis 'The Joker'

NATICK, Mass. — Based on a Victor Hugo novel, it paved the way for early horror classics such as 'Dracula' (1931) and 'Frankenstein' (1931).

It was 'The Man Who Laughs' (1928), a silent film thriller that inspired the look of Batman's nemesis 'The Joker.'

The rarely screened film will be shown with live music on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. at TCAN Center for the Arts, 14 Summer St., Natick, Mass.

The screening, the latest in the Center for the Art's silent film series, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent films.

Admission is $12 per person for members; $14 for non-members. Tickets are available online at www.natickarts.org or at the door.

'The Man Who Laughs,' directed by Paul Leni and starring Conrad Veidt, is a silent thriller about a disfigured man forced to wear an insane grin all his life.

The movie was a popular and ground-breaking silent film adaptation of a sprawling Victor Hugo novel set in 17th century England. 

Veidt stars as Gwynplaine, a child born of English nobility. After his father is executed, a cruel King James II orders a royal surgeon to hideously disfigure young Gwynplaine's face into a permanent smile, so that he may always laugh at his father's foolishness.

Abandoned and shunned, young Gwynplaine is left to make his way on his own. He learns to conceal his face from strangers, befriending Dea, a blind girl who is not aware of his disfigurement.

The pair are then adopted and put to work by a traveling impresario, who makes use of Gwynplaine's startling face in his theatrical productions.

Gwynplaine and Dea grow to adulthood and eventually fall in love, but complications arise when Gwynplaine's noble lineage is revealed, entitling him to his father's estate—provided he marry another woman of noble birth.

 

Conrad Veidt and Olga Baclanova in a scene from 'The Man Who Laughs' (1928).

Veidt, who starred earlier in the German expressionist horror classic 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' (1919), played the role of Gwynplaine by using a prosthetic device inside his mouth to force his face into a hideous grin and display outsized teeth.

This striking look was later adapted by Batman creator Bob Kane as a model for the physical appearance of iconic villain 'The Joker.'

Critics have praised 'The Man Who Laughs' for its dark visual style and daring story content.

"'The Man Who Laughs' is a melodrama, at times even a swashbuckler, but so steeped in Expressionist gloom that it plays like a horror film," wrote Roger Ebert in 2004. "The film is more disturbing than it might have been because of Leni's mastery of visual style."

Director Leni, originally trained as an artist, made ample use of shadows and darkness in 'The Man Who Laughs,' which set the stage for many legendary Universal horror classics soon to follow, including 'Dracula' (1931) and 'Frankenstein' (1931).

'The Man Who Laughs' (1928) will be screened with live music on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. at TCAN Center for the Arts, 14 Summer St., Natick, Mass.

Admission is $12 per person for members; $14 for non-members. Tickets available online at www.natickarts.org or at the door. For more info, call (508) 647-0097.

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!

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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.

Finish Labor Day weekend with W.C. Fields in 'Running Wild' Monday, 9/2 in Greenfield, Mass.

A mustachioed W.C. Fields and co-star Mary Brian in a promotional lobby card for 'Running Wild' (1927).

Finish out this Labor Day weekend with a silent comedy starring W.C. Fields—a performer few think of as silent.

Fields plays the head of a family, sort of, in 'Running Wild' (1927), a silent comedy I'm accompanying on Monday, Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Garden Cinemas in downtown Greenfield, Mass.

If you can't imagine W.C. Fields without his trademark nasal twang, I encourage you to check out this film. 'Running Wild' is one a series of silent comedy features starring Fields that were very popular, and which hold up well today.

Although he later achieved true comic immortality in talking features, Fields in his younger years had toured the globe for decades as a performer who specialized in comic juggling and pantomime.

Such skills translated well to the visual medium of the movies, in which he appeared as early as 1915, although he remained primarily a stage performer in the 1920s, often based in New York and headlining lavish reviews.

His first major film role came in 'Sally of the Sawdust' (1925), a circus comedy/drama directed by D.W. Griffith.

Fields' screen presence was enough to prompt Paramount to star him in a series of family comedies released during the remainder of the silent era. Most were filmed on Long Island during the day, allowing Fields to honor his New York stage commitments.

'Running Wild' (1927) is one of the entries, with Fields playing the henpecked husband of a blended household in a kind of 1920s 'Modern Family.'

I hope you'll join us to see how Fields could get laughs without relying on verbal wisecracks. More details in the press release below. See you there!

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A lobby card promoting 'Running Wild' (1927) starring W.C. Fields.

MONDAY, AUG. 19, 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Garden Cinemas to screen rare silent film starring W.C. Fields

'Running Wild' (1927), uproarious comedy to be screened Monday, Sept. 2, shows legendary performer in his earlier prime

GREENFIELD, Mass.—He was a performer who could be recognized just by the sound of his voice.

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

See the non-talking W.C. Fields for yourself in 'Running Wild' (1927), one of Fields' most highly regarded silent pictures, in a screening on Monday, Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Greenfield Garden Cinemas, 361 Main St., Greenfield, Mass..

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

Admission is $10.50 adults, $8:50 for children, seniors, and students. Tickets are available online or at the door.

W.C. Fields remains famous for his comic persona as a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathetic character despite his 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.

"People find it hard to think of W.C. Fields in silent films, but he was actually quite successful in them," said Rapsis, who will accompany the film using a digital synthesizer.

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, 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.

In all, Fields starred in 10 silent features in the mid-1920s. Several of these films 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.

A lobby card promoting W.C. Fields in 'Running Wild' (1927).

In 'Running Wild,' Fields plays Elmer Finch, a cowardly and henpecked husband who is disrespected by his stepson, his co-workers, and even the family dog.

But every dog has his day, and Finch's comes when he undergoes hypnosis, which transforms him into a swaggering take-no-prisoners alpha male.

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

The Garden Cinema's silent film series aims to recreate the full silent film experience, with restored prints projected on the big screen, live music, and the presence of an audience. All these elements are essential to seeing silent films they way they were intended, Rapsis said.

"If you can put it all together again, these films still contain a tremendous amount of excitement," Rapsis said. "By staging these screenings of features from Hollywood's early days, you can see why people first fell in love with the movies."

The next installment in the Garden's silent film series will be 'Running Wild' (1927), to be screened with live music by Jeff Rapsis on Monday, Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Greenfield Garden Cinemas, 361 Main St., Greenfield, Mass. Admission is $10.50 adults, $8:50 for children, seniors, and students.

Tickets at the door; advance tickets are available at www.gardencinemas.net. For more information, call the box office at (413) 774-4881.
 

Tonight (Thursday, 6/8) in Ogunquit, Maine: W.C. Fields is 'Running Wild' with live music

W.C. Fields sporting the 'stache he wore in the 1920s.

A silent W.C. Fields? Unimaginable, you say?

Well, see for yourself at a screening of 'Running Wild' (1927), one of the comedian's best silent feature films.

The screening is tonight (Thursday, June 8) at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Theatre in downtown Ogunquit, Maine.

Tickets are $10 per person; more info is in the press release pasted in below.

But what I'd like to emphasize is that yes, W.C. Fields really was very successful in motion pictures, even without his trademark nasal twang.

Those who grew up watching the 1930s and 1940s Fields talkies on TV will always think of him first as the older gentleman with the cynical attitude and a fondness for adult beverages.

But Fields was in show business long before the movies. As a youth in the early years of the century, his juggling act took him all over the world.

The act was silent, to a large extent. So Fields honed his skills in pantomime, which turned out to be perfect training for success in the silent cinema.

He was in films as early as 1915, but didn't take the plunge in any serious way until winning a key role in D.W. Griffith's circus melodrama 'Sally of the Sawdust' (1925).

W.C. Fields as a juggler, no less, with Carol Dempster in 'Sally of the Sawdust' (1925).

Afterwards, he was signed by Paramount to play lead roles in a series of comedies featuring the then-middle-aged Fields as a kind of frustrated everyman.

It was in films such as 'So's Your Old Man' (1926) and 'The Old Army Game' (1926) that Fields ensured such indignities as disrespectful families, howling children, unappreciative bosses, clueless customers, and just plain hard luck.

To me, it's like his silent-era adventures directly led to the more cynical outlook in his talking pictures later on.

In any case, 'Running Wild' is a flick worth catching. It contains great comedy, plus it's also a window into attitudes about child-rearing and discipline that today would probably get a parent arrested.

Oh, the good old days!

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The poster for this season's silent film program at the Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine.

FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2017 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more info, contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit hosts silent film series with live music

Classic comedies, action-packed dramas highlight schedule; featured stars include W.C. Fields, Buster Keaton, and John Barrymore

OGUNQUIT, Maine—Classics of the silent film era will return to the big screen at Ogunquit's Leavitt Theatre, which is hosting a season of vintage cinema with live music in the historic facility.

The series gives area film fans a chance to see great 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.

Most screenings are on Thursday evenings. Next up is a 'Running Wild' (1927), a rare silent comedy starring W.C. Fields. Showtime is Thursday, June 8 at 7 p.m.

In 'Running Wild,' Fields plays a hen-pecked husband saddled with a disrespectful family and stuck in a dead-end job.

Things change suddenly when Fields inadvertently comes under the spell of a vaudeville hypnotist, who transforms him into a hard-charging aggressive alpha-male, with unexpected consequences.

Although he later achieved lasting fame in talking pictures, Fields was a major performer during the silent film era, starring in a series of popular features for Paramount Pictures.

The Leavitt's silent film series runs through October, concluding with a Halloween screening of the early horror classic 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' (1920), to be shown on Saturday, Oct. 28.

Admission for each screening is $10 per person.

The series includes comedies, adventure films, a silent film version of 'The Wizard of Oz' (1925), the recently rediscovered original big-screen adaptation of 'Sherlock Holmes' (1916), and the first-ever vampire movie, 'Nosferatu' (1922).

"These are the films that first made people fall in love with the movies, and we're thrilled to present them again on the big screen," said Peter Clayton, the Leavitt's long-time owner.

The Leavitt, a summer-only moviehouse, opened in 1923 at the height of the silent film era, and has been showing movies to summertime visitors for nine decades.

The silent film series honors the theater's long service as a moviehouse that has entertained generations of Seacoast residents and visitors, in good times and in bad.

"These movies were intended to be shown in this kind of environment, and with live music and with an audience," Clayton said. "Put it all together, and you've got great entertainment that still has a lot of power to move people."

Live music for each program will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based performer and composer who specializes in scoring silent films.

In accompanying silent films live, Rapsis uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of the full orchestra. He improvises the music in real time, as the movie is shown.

In scoring a movie, Rapsis creates music to help modern movie-goers accept silent film as a vital art form rather than something antiquated or obsolete.

"Silent film is a timeless art form that still has a unique emotional power, as the recent success of 'The Artist' has shown," Rapsis said.

Other films in this year's series include:

• Thursday, June 29 at 7 p.m.: 'Daredevil Aviation Double Feature.' Join fellow flyboys and flygals for a double feature of vintage silent film featuring 1920s biplane action.

• Thursday, July 13 at 7 p.m.: 'The Wizard of Oz' (1925) starring Larry Semon. Early silent film version of Frank L. Baum's immortal tales features silent comedian Larry Semon in a slapstick romp that also casts Oliver Hardy as the Tin Man. Oz as you've never seen it before!

• Thursday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m.: 'Sherlock Holmes' (1916) starring William Gillette. Recently discovered in France after being lost for nearly a century, see this original 1916 adaptation of Sherlock Holmes stories as performed by William Gillette, the actor who created the role on stage.

• Thursday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m.: 'Go West' (1925) starring Buster Keaton. Buster's ranch comedy about the stone-faced comedian and his enduring romance with—a cow! Rustle up some belly laughs as Buster must prove himself worthy once again.

• Thursday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m.: 'Nosferatu' (1922). Experience the original silent film adaptation of Bram Stoker's famous 'Dracula' story. Still scary after all these years—and some critics believe this version is not only the best ever done, but has actually become creepier with the passage of time.

• Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m.: 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' (1920) starring John Barrymore; Just in time for Halloween! John Barrymore plays both title roles in the original silent film adaptation of the classic novella by Robert Louis Stevenson. A performance that helped establish Barrymore as one of the silent era's top stars.

All programs are at 7 p.m. and admission is $10 per person.

'Running Wild' (1927), a comedy starring W.C. Fields, will be shown on Thursday, June 8 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Fine Arts Theatre, 259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123; admission is $10 per person, general seating.

For more information, visit www.leavittheatre.com. For more info on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

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.)

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.

Brush with silent film fame: a few thoughts on meeting Ken Winokur of Alloy Orchestra

Alloy in action: that's Ken Winokur back behind the bedpan, playing percussion, with colleagues Terry Donahue on accordion and Roger Miller on keyboard.

Just prior to yesterday's screening of two silent W.C. Fields features, I was introduced to one of the big names in silent film music: Ken Winokur of the Alloy Orchestra!

The night before, Ken's group had done their new score for 'Son of the Sheik' (1926) at the Somerville Theatre, where I was doing my program the next afternoon.

Imagine that—a commercial movie theater running separate and big silent film programs on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon! Geez, we're fortunate to have the Somerville Theatre in our area.

I was thrilled to meet Ken, who with colleagues Terry Donahue and Roger Miller has been attracting big audiences to silent films for many years now.

(How big? I understand they had 600 people at the Somerville on Saturday night, way more than what we get for the Sunday afternoon shows. And at a higher ticket price, too!)

He was there to take in the Fields films, which he said he hadn't seen before. Turns out he lives not far from the Somerville, so I guess it was only a matter of time before our paths crossed.

Ken was a pleasure to talk to. We shared a few thoughts about synthesizers and how much gear Alloy has to move in and out of theaters. But that's about all we had time for before the lights went down.

And yes, knowing that a silent film music guy of Ken's stature is in the audience is enough to make me a little self-conscious when sitting down at the keyboard.

But I think of it as good experience in pushing myself into that "silent film accompaniment" zone, where the film takes over and I find I stop being nervous no matter who's in the room.

Luckily, that happened pretty quickly yesterday afternoon with 'Sally of the Sawdust.' And Ken sent me a note this morning with some nice comments about the music. Thanks, Ken!

I first heard Alloy back in the mid-1990s when they did music for Keaton's 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928) at the Portsmouth (N.H.) Music Hall.

This was before I was doing accompaniment. But at the time, it made a huge impression, and it helped steer me back into the field. (I had collected vintage film way back as a teenager, but had moved on to other interests after college. Besides the opposite sex, that is.)

Later, I went to a couple of programs Alloy did in Northhampton, Mass. One of my best memories from that time was taking a retired (and recently widowed) newspaper colleague in his 80s down there for a screening of Harold Lloyd's 'Speedy' (1928), which he remembered seeing as a boy. Alloy did a magnificent job, and it was a great night!

Over the years, Winokur's group has drawn criticism from some film buffs who don't favor Alloy's approach to scoring silents.

That's unfortunate, as I feel there's room for a lot of different approaches. And in many cases, new music is what brings many first-timers to a silent film screening.

In my case, I like to think Winokur and his colleagues helped "loosen my ears" regarding silent film music. They helped me understand the value of coming up with new (and not necessarily period authentic) music to help bring these timeless works of art alive for contemporary audiences.

Yes, there are some very talented musicians who specialize in recreating the musical cues played when the films were first released. And there's tremendous value in that, too.

But there's also a lot to be said for creating new music that connects with people and, again, helps bring other audiences into the silent film tent.

That's what Alloy has been doing for the past quarter century, and I hope they continue for a long time to come.

After all, the chance for each era to create new music for these movies is one of the great glories of the silent film art—one that will help keep interest strong, and these films before the public, as years and decades continue to pass, I think.

If you're interested in learning more about the Alloy Orchestra, check out their Web site. They tour all over the country, and even internationally, so at some point there should be a show near you.

Next up for me is a presentation to the New Hampshire Creative Club this Wednesday, and then a screening of 'Tarzan and the Golden Lion' (1927), one of the best surviving Tarzan silents, on Thursday, March 12 at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center in Plymouth, N.H. More on that in a separate post.

A Sunday afternoon screening of 'Grandma's Boy' (1922) follows at the Townsend (Mass.) Public Library, and then it's off to the last-ever Cinefest gathering in Syracuse, N.Y., where I'll be one of eight accompanists on hand for this four-day event.

Having that many accompanists in one place has gotta be some kind of a record. Perhaps we'll play musical chairs!

Sunday, March 8: Rare double feature of W.C. Fields silent films shown in 35mm!

People are often surprised to learn that W.C. Fields was a popular movie star during the silent film era.

How could that be? Wasn't his voice, that unmistakeable nasal twang, an essential element of his appeal?

But he was popular in silent films. And you can see why by coming to a great double feature of two of his best surviving silents this weekend.

It's on Sunday, March 8 at 2 p.m. at the great Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.

We're showing 'Sally of the Sawdust' (1925), a circus melodrama directed by D.W. Griffith, of all people, in which Fields plays a loveable con artist who adopts a young girl and raises her in the rough-and-tumble world of the big top.

It'll be followed by 'Running Wild' (1927), a classic family farce in which Fields plays a henpecked husband who undergoes a sudden transformation to alpha male.

Both films will be shown in 35mm, their original format, with prints courtesy the U.S. Library of Congress.

I'm told by the Somerville's projectionist extraordinaire David Kornfeld that the print of 'Running Wild' looks terrific. (That's Fields in 'Running Wild' at left.) He hasn't inspected 'Sally' in detail yet, but says at first glance it looks good.

Live music will be provided by yours truly.

It's an interesting pair of films that shows a slightly younger and more agile Fields playing two very different roles in two very different movies.

'Sally' is pure Griffith hokum, but then no one did melodrama better. In the film, Fields is called upon to play a wide range of emotions, and it's interesting to see what he could do with this kind of a role.

But it's light stuff, with plenty of scenes where Fields gets to show off his silent film comedy and pantomime chops.

Also of interest in 'Sally' is that it gives us a chance to see Fields doing his juggling act while still in his prime.

Versions of this film that I've seen often seem to cut out some of the juggling footage, so I'm interested to see if the LOC print has more material. It's possible.

But it's 'Running Wild' that I'm really looking forward to, as it's a great audience picture.

In running this before, I've found it starts strong with an absolutely hilarious depiction of dysfunctional family life, and then only gets better as the plot unfolds.

After being snow-bound for the better part of six weeks, the Boston area needs a laugh. And I can think of no more surefire way to produce that than inviting you to take in 'Running Wild' at the Somerville Theatre this Sunday afternoon.

Hope to see you there! For more info, check out the text of the press release below:

* * *

A mustachioed W.C. Fields and starlet Carol Dempster star in 'Sally of the Sawdust' (1925).

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 25, 2015 / 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

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 'Sally of the Sawdust' (1925) and 'Running Wild' (1927), two of Fields' best silent pictures, in a double-bill screening on Sunday, March 8 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.

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.

"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.

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."

W.C. Fields and Carol Dempster in 'Sally of the Sawdust.'

In 'Sally of the Sawdust' (1925), Fields plays Professor Eustache McGargle, a good-natured circus juggler and con man who finds himself responsible for Sally (Carol Dempster), an orphaned girl whose mother has died.

Raised by McGargle, Sally grows up to become a popular performer. But when the show arrives in the town where her mother's relatives now live, Sally is forced to choose between the man who raised her and the wealthy family that wants to reclaim her as their own.

'Sally of the Sawdust,' based on the 1923 stage musical 'Poppy,' gives Fields ample opportunity to display his juggling talents, a staple of his vaudeville act. The film was directed by D.W. Griffith, a rare detour into light comedy from a filmmaker known for pioneering epic dramas such as 'The Birth of a Nation' (1915) and 'Orphans of the Storm' (1921).

In 'Running Wild' (1927), Fields plays Elmer Finch, a cowardly and henpecked husband disrespected by his stepson, his co-workers, and even the family dog.

But every dog has his day, and Finch's comes when he undergoes hypnosis, which transforms him into a swaggering take-no-prisoners alpha male.

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.

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.

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."

Following the W.C. Fields program, the Somerville has scheduled the following silent films to be shown in 35mm in the venue's main theater. All will be screened with live music by Jeff Rapsis.

• Sunday, April 5, 2 p.m.: 'The Ten Commandments' (1923). Spend Easter Sunday taking in Cecil B. Demille's original silent version of the Biblical blockbuster. A landmark epic that set the stage for scriptural spectacle, but also a film with major differences from DeMille's remake three decades later.

• Sunday, May 3, 2 p.m.: 'The Cameraman' (1928) starring Buster Keaton. In one of his best pictures, silent comedy legend Buster Keaton plays a would-be newsreel cameraman. A great romantic comedy and a remarkable "inside" look at the early movie biz as only Keaton could provide.

• Sunday, June 7, 2 p.m.: 'Play Safe' (1927) and 'Show People' (1928). A double feature of two comedies from the silent era's peak. 'Play Safe' includes one of most hair-raising train chase sequences ever filmed, while 'Show People' is director King Vidor's sly and self-referential Valentine to the era of silent movie-making.

• Sunday, July 5, 2 p.m.: 'The Big Parade' (1925) starring John Gilbert, Renee Adoreé. Director King Vidor's intense drama about U.S. doughboys sent to World War I France, where the horror of trench warfare changes their lives forever. Among the first Hollywood films to depict realistic battlefield action; still maintains its power to shock.

A W.C. Fields double feature, including 'Sally of the Sawdust' (1925) and 'Running Wild' (1927), will be screened in 35mm with live music on Sunday, March 8 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.

Encore screening of 'Nosferatu' (1922) tonight (Friday, 11/14) at Red River, Concord, N.H.; Plus, W.C. Fields as an abusive husband?

He knows if you've been sleeping, he knows if you're awake...

If the prospect of Christmas in six weeks isn't enough to terrify the bejesus out of you, then come see this evening's screening of 'Nosferatu' (1922).

It's an encore presentation of the pioneer silent horror film, prompted by a sold-out screening prior to Halloween.

We'll be running 'Nosferatu' tonight (Friday, Nov. 14) at 7 p.m. at Red River Theatres in Concord, N.H. Live music by yours truly.

More info in the press release below.

But first, a few words on last night's screening of 'Running Wild' (1927), a silent comedy starring W.C. Fields as a hen-pecked husband who undergoes a drastic change of personality following an encounter with a vaudeville hypnotist.

This film, screened before a small but enthusiastic audience at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center in Plymouth, N.H., is a perfect example of a silent film not regarded as any kind of classic, but which really comes to life and holds up well when shown in the right environment.

By that, I mean screened in a theater, with live music, and with an audience. Take any of those elements away, and you're likely to rob any silent film of much of its intended impact.

That was certainly true with 'Running Wild.' All it takes is a few people laughing to prompt others to join in. And before you know it, you have that great silent comedy bonfire of laughter going.

In terms of accompaniment, I've found an important element to keep the bonfire going is to not overplay the music. If it's too loud, an audience can't hear itself laughing, and so the spontaneous combustion never sets in. Once it does, however, you can grow the music with it.

I'm especially excited by the audience reaction to 'Running Wild' because the transfer we used last night was from a 16mm print. So the visual quality was okay, but not pristine. Even so, that didn't seem to impede the audience response at all, which was generous throughout.

We're running this same film at the Somerville Theatre next year, but using a 35mm print from the Library of Congress. So I have high hopes that the visual quality will be at a whole other level, which ought to really help this film go over even better. We'll see. It's part of a double bill of W.C. Fields silents on Sunday, March 8 at the Somerville, the other being 'Sally of the Sawdust' (1925).

Either way, 'Running Wild' is also a great example of a film that's perhaps more interesting to us now that when it was first released.

In this case, attitudes toward male and female roles have changed so much that what's presented as normal in a domestic comedy such as 'Running Wild' comes across as utterly astonishing to audiences today.

In the world of 'Running Wild,' a businessman is supposed to be physically intimidating as a matter of course, and also be willing to resort to violence in a moment's notice. Just look at what it takes to collect a disputed bill!

In the case of 'Running Wild,' as in so many other silent films, this alternate view of reality enriches the experience, I think. Not only does it add to the comedy, but it shows a viewer how different things were not that long ago.

And that, to me, serves to underscore the idea that very few things in life remain fixed as we move from generation to generation. Change is constant—in attitudes, in fashion, technology, in the roles we play, in what's acceptable behavior, and so much more.

Family man or abusive husband?

Near the end of 'Running Wild,' look at the way Fields treats his wife and then his stepson. He physically intimidates both, wrecking the house in the process, and actually flogs the kid during an extended beating that doesn't stint on the violence. Wow!

And this action is presented in support of Fields as a good husband and a man worthy of respect! After Fields manhandles and bullies his wife enough to cause her to faint, the first thing she says to him upon awakening is to tell him he's "so wonderful."

Apparently no "anger management" classes at the local community college.

However you feel about Fields' behavior, and even factoring in for comedy, it suggests that domestic violence wasn't just the norm, but it was expected and even necessary in a well-run household. Yes, there's some satire involved (he's 'Running Wild, after all), but underlying it all is a very different vision of what's acceptable under one's roof.

Was it better? Can we learn something from seeing it depicted in a film like this, however exaggerated it might have been for comic effect? Have we lost anything in moving on from this vision?

Interesting questions that make 'Running Wild' an interesting cultural artifact.

But a few things don't change. Most of us still center our lives around family. Most of us struggle with balancing life's priorities. Most of us struggle with temptation, with moral dilemmas, with questions that have vexed humanity for centuries. Most of us, if we're truly alive, will experience the BIG emotions of life from time to time: Love, Hate, Joy, Anger, Despair, and so on.

And as more years pass, even a mild domestic comedy such as 'Running Wild' can provide an increasingly clear window into what about life changes and what remains constant. What's ephemeral, and what's lasting. What will change, and what won't.

Even as it still makes us laugh! Imagine that!

* * *

Actor Max Schreck plays the title role in F. W. Murnau's 'Nosferatu' (1922).

MONDAY, NOV. 3, 2014 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Encore screening of 'Nosferatu' at Red River Theatres on Friday, Nov. 14

Sold-out Halloween show prompts follow-up screening of pioneer classic horror movie on the big screen with live music

CONCORD, N.H.—If you missed out for Halloween, you have another chance to get frightened.

'Nosferatu' (1922), the first screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel 'Dracula,' will be screened with live music on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. at Red River Theatres, 11 South Main St., Concord, N.H.

The show has been scheduled as an encore presentation following a sold-out pre-Halloween screening at Red River.

The film will include live music performed by New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. Admission is $10 per person.

"Last month's screening of 'Nosferatu' proved popular enough to sell out," said Shelly Hudson, Red River's executive director. "So we scheduled this encore screening to provide another chance to see this great film presented with live music."

'Nosferatu' (1922), directed by German filmmaker F.W. Murnau, remains a landmark work of the cinematic horror genre. It was among the first movies to use visual design to contribute to an overall sense of terror. To modern viewers, the passage of time has made this unusual film seem even more strange and otherworldly.

It's an atmosphere that silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis will try to enhance in improvising live music on the spot for the screening.

"The original 'Nosferatu' is a film that seems to get creepier as more time goes by," said Rapsis, a resident of Bedford, N.H. who ranks as one of the nation's leading silent film accompanists.

In 'Nosferatu,' German actor Max Schreck portrays the title character, a mysterious count from Transylvania who travels to the German city of Bremen to take up residence. A rise in deaths from the plague is attributed to the count's arrival. Only when a young woman reads "The Book of Vampires" does it become clear how to rid the town of this frightening menace.

Director F.W. Murnau told the story with strange camera angles, weird lighting, and special effects that include sequences deliberately speeded up.

Although 'Nosferatu' is suitable for all family members, the overall program may be too much for very young children to enjoy.

Modern critics say the original 'Nosferatu' still packs a powerful cinematic punch.

“Early film version of Dracula is brilliantly eerie, full of imaginative touches that none of the later films quite recaptured,” Leonard Maltin wrote recently. Critic Dave Kehr of the Chicago Reader called 'Nosferatu' "...a masterpiece of the German silent cinema and easily the most effective version of Dracula on record.”

Red River Theatres, an independent cinema, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to screening a diverse program of first-run independent films, cult favorites, classics, local and regional film projects, and foreign films.

The member-supported theater’s mission is to present film and the discussion of film as a way to entertain, broaden horizons and deepen appreciation of life for New Hampshire audiences of all ages.

Upcoming events in Red River's silent film programming include:

• Friday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m.: 'Charlie Chaplin Comedy Night.' Spend part of Thanksgiving weekend with the Little Tramp on the 100th anniversary of his first screen appearances. The whole family will enjoy restored prints of some of Chaplin's most popular comedies shown the way they were intended: on the big screen, with live music, and an audience.

An encore presentation of ‘Nosferatu’ will take place on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Jaclyn Simchik Screening Room at Red River Theatres, 11 South Main St., Concord, N.H. Admission is $10 per person; for more info, call (603) 224-4600 or visit www.redrivertheatres.org. For more information about the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

Next up at Flying Monkey on Thursday,11/13: Silent comedy 'Running Wild' with W.C. Fields

Besides playing for a silent film program, I also got to cross the Golden Gate Bridge sitting in the back of my brother-in-law's Camaro with the top down.

I'm now back home after accompanying Mary Pickford in 'The Little American' (1917) this weekend at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum out in San Francisco, Calif.

It's a vintage propaganda film that sure makes me want to join up and fight those dirty Jerrys, or, in the words of Albert Peterson, "whoever's dirty this time."

In the small world department, 'The Little American' includes a good-sized role for New Hampshire native Walter Long, here playing a vile German officer.

The folks at the Niles Essanay Museum are marking something of a milestone, by the way: their show on Saturday, Nov. 15 marks 500 consecutive weeks of silent film programs.

It was my pleasure and privilege to play for show Number 499! Hope to get back out there again really soon! (With my brother-in-law working for Facebook in Menlo Park, there's a sporting chance.)

'The Little American' was a personal milestone for me, too: it was the 200th silent feature film for which I've accompanied. A list of them all is online here.

Okay, coming up is a real treat for fans of vintage film comedy.

On Thursday, Nov. 13, we're showing 'Running Wild' (1927), a domestic comedy starring the great W.C. Fields.

Yes, it's hard to imagine Fields without his trademark nasal twang and vocal inflections.

So when I accompany one of the Fields silent features, I like to tell people they're about to experience W.C. Fields "as you've never heard him before."

If you could use a laugh, I encourage you to join us this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey in Plymouth, N.H.

All the Fields silents seem to hold up well in live performance—perhaps in part because many of us already know the character.

See (but don't hear) for yourself at this week's screening of 'Running Wild.' Details in the press release below.

* * *

W.C. Fields (with mustache) at about the time 'Running Wild' (1927) was filmed.

MONDAY, NOV. 3, 2014 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Flying Monkey to screen rare silent film starring W.C. Fields

'Running Wild' (1927), uproarious comedy to be screened Thursday, Nov. 13, shows legendary performer in his earlier prime

PLYMOUTH, N.H.—He was a performer who could be recognized just by the sound of his voice.

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

See the non-talking W.C. Fields for yourself in 'Running Wild' (1927), one of Fields' most highly regarded silent pictures, in a screening on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H. General admission is $10 per person.

Live music will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis, a resident of Bedford, N.H. and one of the nation's leading silent film musicians.

W.C. Fields remains famous for his comic persona as a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathetic character despite his 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.

"People find it hard to think of W.C. Fields in silent films, but he was actually quite successful in them," 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, 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.

In all, Fields starred in 10 silent features in the mid-1920s. Several of these films 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.

In 'Running Wild,' Fields plays Elmer Finch, a cowardly and henpecked husband who is disrespected by his stepson, his co-workers, and even the family dog.

But every dog has his day, and Finch's comes when he undergoes hypnosis, which transforms him into a swaggering take-no-prisoners alpha male.

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

The Flying Monkey's silent film series aims to recreate the full silent film experience, with restored prints projected on the big screen, live music, and the presence of an audience. All these elements are essential to seeing silent films they way they were intended, Rapsis said.

"If you can put it all together again, these films still contain a tremendous amount of excitement," Rapsis said. "By staging these screenings of features from Hollywood's early days, you can see why people first fell in love with the movies."

Upcoming movies include a love story starring silent screen romantic idol Gloria Swanson, and early Tarzan film, a classic Buster Keaton comedy, and an adaptation of 'The Count of Monte Cristo' that was thought lost for decades.

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 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.

Live music is a key element of each silent film screening, Rapsis said. Silent movies were never shown in silence, but were accompanied by live music made right in each theater. Most films were not released with official scores, so it was up to local musicians to provide the soundtrack, which could vary greatly from theater to theater.

"Because there's no set soundtrack for most silent films, musicians are free to create new music as they see fit, even today," Rapsis said. "In bringing a film to life, I try to create original 'movie score' music that sounds like what you might expect in a theater today, which helps bridge the gap between today's audiences and silent films that are in some cases nearly 100 years old."

After a mid-winter hiatis, the Flying Monkey's silent film series will continue in 2015 with these upcoming titles:

• Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015, 6:30 p.m.: 'Don't Change Your Husband' (1919) starring Gloria Swanson, directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Just in time for Valentine's Day! A riotously dated look at marriage through the eyes of a woman who is bored with her oafish onion-eating husband and decides to take action.

• Thursday, March 12, 2015, 6:30 p.m.: 'Tarzan and the Golden Lion' (1927). You won't hear his iconic yell, but everything else about the Tarzan legend is present in this rip-roaring action adventure that plays like an early version of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.'

• Thursday, April 9, 2015, 6:30 p.m.: 'The Three Ages' (1923) starring Buster Keaton. Keaton's first feature-length comedy interweaves tales of romance from three epochs: the Stone Age, the Roman Empire, and "Modern Times," meaning 1920s California. See why Buster is regarded as one of the great clowns of the silent era.

• Thursday, May 14, 2015, 6:30 p.m.: 'The Count of Monte Cristo' (1922) starring John Gilbert. The original screen adaptation of the Andre Dumas swashbuckler about a man unjustly imprisoned who later seeks revenge. A film thought lost for decades until a print surfaced in the Czech Republic!

The next installment in the Flying Monkey's silent film series will be 'Running Wild' (1927), to be screened with live music by Jeff Rapsis on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H. Tickets are $10 per person. For more information, call (603) 536-2551 or visit www.flyingmonkeynh.com. For more information about the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.