How my former life as an opera singer led to this weekend's screening of 'Steamboat Bill Jr.'

Buster Keaton and Ernest Torrence in 'Steamboat Bill, Jr.' (1928).

Before doing live music for silent films, my musical performing outlet was opera.

Yes, opera—the real thing, fully staged, with people singing at the top of their lungs. 

Those people included me. For a time in the 2000s, I was fortunate to perform a wide range of chorus roles in productions staged by Granite State Opera. It was fun!

Let's see. I was a soldier in 'Carmen,' a priest/slave in 'The Magic Flute,' the notary in 'The Barber of Seville' (in which I got to sing in a quartet), a servant in 'The Marriage of Figaro,' an angry villager in 'Rigoletto,' and more. 

The company, led by Phil Lauriat, would perform original productions of two operas each year. Phil would bring in acclaimed professionals for the lead roles. For the chorus, he'd rely on auditioned local people, a group that I became part of after writing a feature story on the troupe.

(Although not professionally trained, I've done a lot of singing since junior high. I peaked early, with my performance as Billy Bigelow in my senior class musical, 'Carousel.' At least I can still carry a tune.)

The opera experience was always intense, as Phil would have the leads for only two weeks prior to a performance. The chorus would rehearse for a few weeks prior, but you were expected to know the music and be "off book" when staging and blocking began, usually just 10 days before curtain.

Perhaps the highlight of my on-stage operatic career was, ironically, a totally silent role: that of the waiter in the Cafe Momus in Act II of 'La Boheme.' 

I played the part like Charlie Chaplin, scurrying around the set, skidding on the turns, and waving my arm towel around. I had to carry and serve on stage a real roast chicken (delivered fresh to the theater prior to each performance), which allowed for a lot of fun pantomime.

Perhaps the highlight came when Musetta smashes a plate as part of the scene. The plates (from a set purchased at Goodwill) were scored to break into just a few pieces, and each time I would have to skitter about with a broom and dustpan to clean up the shards. 

Each time, invariably a piece would wind up beneath Musetta's wide skirt, requiring me to approach her and lift it up to get the remaining chunk. I would time it for maximum comic effect, without interrupting the drama of the scene. 

For that, I earned a bow at the final curtain!

Granite State Opera, alas, folded in 2008, a victim of the financial crisis at the time. (Opera is expensive!) It was about that time that I began accompanying silent films, which would soon leave little time for opera.

But it was a wonderful experience, and allowed me to get very close to major musical works in a way that was impossible to obtain from passive listening. There's no better way to experience the drama of the final act of 'Carmen' than to be standing right next to the principal singers in full voice!

Now, all these years later, the two worlds occasionally intersect. That's the case this weekend, when I accompany 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928) on Sunday, March 23 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Concord, N.H. (Showtime is 2 p.m.; a lot more info is in the press release below.)

It just so happens that the church's music director is one of my opera chorus colleagues, John Spring. 

John and I, and all the chorus singers, will always share a foxhole-like bond that comes from the intense way Granite State staged productions. I hadn't seen him in awhile when he stopped by the Aviation Museum of N.H. (site of my day job) earlier this year to catch up.

A longtime mail carrier as well as excellent singer and trumpet player, John's post-retirement gigs include serving as music director at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Concord, N.H. 

And John had a crazy idea: how about staging a silent film with live music right in the sanctuary?

And so, my former life as an opera singer has now come full circle with a screening of Buster Keaton's 'Steamboat Bill, Jr.' (1928) on Sunday, March 23. 

I want to thank John and everyone at St. Paul's for the opportunity to do live music and present this classic film to everyone this weekend.

And not to worry: although Buster does sing 'The Prisoner's Song' on screen, I'll keep my big yap shut.

Below is more info about the film and screening. See you in church!

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Original promotional art for 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928)

MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • [email protected]

Buster Keaton's 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' to screen on Sunday, March 23 at 2 p.m. in Concord, N.H.

Public welcome! Classic silent film comedy to be shown with live music at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 21 Center St.

CONCORD, N.H.—He never smiled on camera, earning him the nickname of "the Great Stone Face." But Buster Keaton's comedies rocked Hollywood's silent era with laughter throughout the 1920s.

See for yourself with a screening of 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928), one of Keaton's landmark movies, on Sunday, March 23 at 2 p.m. at St Paul's Episcopal Church, 21 Centre St., in downtown Concord. 

The screening will feature live music for the movie by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10 per person suggested.

Light refreshments will be served after the screening.

The show is intended to give area movie-goers the opportunity to experience early cinema as it was intended: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.

In 'Steamboat Bill Jr.,' Buster plays the bumbling son of a riverboat’s rough captain. When a rival brings a newer boat to the river, the family is forced to face competition, just as Buster is forced to ride out a cyclone threatening to destroy the community.

Can Buster save the day and win the hand of his girlfriend, who happens to be the daughter of his father's business rival?

The film includes the famous shot of an entire building front collapsing on Keaton, who is miraculously spared by a conveniently placed second-story window.

Keaton, who grew up performing with the family vaudeville act, was known for never smiling on camera, an important element of his comic identity. A trained acrobat who learned at an early age how to take falls, Keaton did all his own stunts on camera in the era before post-production special effects.

Critics continue to hail Keaton’s timeless comedy as well as his intuitive filmmaking genius. In 2002, Roger Ebert wrote of Keaton that “in an extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, he worked without interruption on a series of films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies.”

Keaton, who never attended school, did not think of himself as an artist but as an entertainer using the new medium of motion pictures to tell stories and create laughter.

The screening of 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent film presentations.

Rapsis will create the accompaniment on the spot, improvising music as the movie unfolds to enhance the action on the screen as well respond to audience reactions. He will perform the music on a digital synthesizer capable of producing a wide range of theatre organ and orchestral textures.

"Live music was an integral part of the silent film experience," Rapsis said. "Because most films at the time weren't released with sheet music or scores, studios depended on local musicians to come up with an effective score that was different in every theater. At its best, this approach created an energy and a connection that added a great deal to a film's impact. That's what I try to recreate," Rapsis said.

Buster Keaton's classic comedy 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928) will be screened with live music on Sunday, March 23 at 2 p.m. at St Paul's Episcopal Church, 21 Centre St., in downtown Concord.

Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10 per person suggested. For more information, call (603) 224-2523 or visit www.stpaulsconcord.org.

This weekend: Lois Weber Film Festival, Buster Keaton, and 'Underworld' plus notes from this year's Kansas Silent Film Festival

A lobby card promoting Joseph Von Sternberg's gangster flick 'Underworld' (1928).

Coming up this weekend: I'm accompanying two screenings in the Boston area, and then a pioneering gangster flick in New Hampshire.

Here's the lineup:  

• Saturday, March 8, 2025, 12 noon to 10 p.m.: 3rd Annual Lois Weber Film Festival, Capitol Theatre, 204 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington, Mass. Scheduled to be shown as part of the two-hour opening ceremony starting at noon: "Hypocrites" (1915) directed by Lois Weber. Admission charges vary by segment; open ceremony is free, with donation of $15 per person suggested. For updates and more info, check out the festival's website at loisweberfilmfestival.org.

• Saturday, March 8, 2025, 7 p.m. "Seven Chances" (1925) starring Buster Keaton. Buster is about to be saved from bankruptcy by an unexpected inheritance of $7 million—but only if he gets married by 7 p.m. that very day. One of Keaton's best comedies, climaxed by one of the great chase scenes in all film, silent or otherwise. Silent film with live music on a Wurlitzer theater organ at the Stoneham Town Hall Auditorium, 35 Central St., Stoneham, Mass. Admission $8 per person.

• Sunday, March 9, 2025, 2 p.m.: "Underworld" (1928) starring George Bancroft, directed by Josef von Sternberg; Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Director Josef von Sternberg's groundbreaking tale of big city mobsters, widely considered the father of all gangster pictures. Tale follows crime boss "Bull" Weed (George Bancroft) as he battles rival 1920s gangsters. Incredible black-and-white photography; winner of first-ever Oscar for original story by Ben Hecht. Silent film with live music at a theater where movies have been shown since 1912. Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged. 

More info about the 'Seven Chances' and 'Underworld' screenings will be pasted in below, as I've sent out press releases for both. 

But for now, a few notes on attending the most recent Kansas Silent Film Festival, which took place on Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1 at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.

This was the 26th consecutive year I've attended the Kansas festival, going back to my first time in 2000 and including the off-year of 2021, when it was cancelled due to the pandemic so we held our own home-brewed version in New Hampshire. 

I was asked to play for a relatively small number of films: just two short comedies and one light-hearted feature, 'Something New' (1920) starring Nell Shipman. The upside of that was getting to hear all the great accompanists brought in for this year's program, including Ben Model, Rodney Sauer and the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, plus local stalwarts Marvin Faulwell, Bob Keckeisen, and Bill Beningfield.

Of the eight feature films shown during the festival, five were titles I'd never seen before. And this was after accompanying films for nearly 20 years now, so it shows how much material is out there to be discovered. 

Of those I haven't seen before, I'm most eager to program 'The Johnstown Flood' (1926) at one of my local screenings. The one feature I accompanied, 'Something New,' was essentially an hour-long commercial for the 1919 Maxwell automobile. 

While it got a good reaction, I can't see much interest in programming it unless I do a silent film for a vintage auto group—or for a Jack Benny fan club.

Jack Benny and his 1923 Maxwell touring car.

The proportion of films that were new to me was surprisingly high, as the Kansas festival has in the past focused on mainstream or well-known audience crowd-pleasers from the silent era. 

What makes it all worthwhile, I think, is that the screenings are all free and open to the public, and the audience is not all hardcore film buffs. Instead, they get a good cross-section of the general public—similar to the audience that these films were intended for. 

So it's one of the few places I know of where the silent-movie-going experience is recreated as it was 100 years ago, when these films first played in theaters.

Another reason to go was to perform what I call my 'Ritual of Creative Renewal,' which involves the solemn consumption of fried pickle spears at the Hanover Pancake House early on Saturday morning during the festival. 

The Hanover Pancake House anchors the south end of Topeka's downtown.

A plate of breaded fried pickle spears, served with ranch dressing.

This is a little hard to explain, but I've done this every single year since I first attended the Kansas Silent Film Festival in 2000. 

For me it's come to embody an acknowledgement that life remains full of possibilities. I will outline why in more detail in future writings about my silent film adventures—a project that's currently underway. 

For now, thanks to all the great folks in and around Topeka who labor all year round to make this festival happen. It's a wonderful community of people that I'm honored to be a part of. Only 359 days until next time!

And now, press releases for two upcoming screenings: 'Seven Chances' on Saturday, March 8 (accompanied by one of New England's few remaining Wurlitzer theatre organs!) and 'Underworld on Sunday, March 9. See you at the movies!

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Buster Keaton and a church full of would-be brides in 'Seven Chances' (1925.)

MONDAY, FEB. 17, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • [email protected]

Buster Keaton comedy 'Seven Chances' (1925) on Saturday, March 8 at Stoneham Town Hall

Silent film presentation with live music features classic race-to-the-finish romantic farce

STONEHAM, Mass.—He never smiled on camera, earning him the nickname of "the Great Stone Face." But Buster Keaton's comedies rocked Hollywood's silent era with laughter.

See for yourself with a screening of 'Seven Chances' (1925), one of Keaton's landmark feature films, on Saturday, March 8 at 7 p.m. at Stoneham Town Hall Auditorium, 35 Central St., Stoneham, Mass. 

Admission to this family-friendly event is $8 per person; $5 for members of the Stoneham Community Action Network.

Live music for the screening will be provided on the town's Wurlitzer theatre organ by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis.

Adapted from a stage play, 'Seven Chances' finds Buster learning that he'll inherit $7 million if he's married by 7 p.m. on his 27th birthday—that very day!

Buster's hurried attempts to tie the knot on his own go awry. But then a newspaper story changes the game, creating an avalanche of would-be brides who relentlessly pursue Buster as he searches for his one true love before the deadline.

'Seven Chances' was the first screen adaptation of the now-familiar story, since used in movies ranging from the Three Stooges in 'Brideless Groom' (1947) to Gary Sinyor's 'The Bachelor' (1999), a romantic comedy starring Chris O'Donnell and Renee Zellwinger.

The program will also include a Keaton short comedy, 'The Goat' (1921).

Keaton, along with Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, stands today as one of the silent screen's three great clowns. Some critics regard Keaton as the best of all; Roger Ebert wrote in 2002 that "in an extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, (Keaton) worked without interruption on a series of films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies."

A remarkable pantomime artist, Keaton naturally used his whole body to communicate emotions from sadness to surprise. And in an era with no post-production special effects, Keaton's acrobatic talents enabled him to perform all his own stunts, including some spectacular examples in 'Seven Chances.'

In reviving Keaton's 'Seven Chances,' organizers aim to show silent film as it was meant to be seen—in restored prints, on a large screen, with live music, and with an audience.

"All those elements are important parts of the silent film experience," said Rapsis, who will accompany the film. "Recreate those conditions, and classics of early Hollywood such as 'Seven Chances' leap back to life in ways that audiences still find entertaining."

Similar to theatre organists from the silent film era, Rapsis improvises the complete score in real time during the screening.

"Creating a movie score on the fly is kind of a high-wire act, but it can often make for more excitement than if everything is planned out in advance," Rapsis said.

Organized by the Stoneham Community Action Network, the screening is sponsored by the Stoneham Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Buster Keaton's 'Seven Chances' (1925) will be screened with live music on Saturday, March 8 at 7 p.m. at Stoneham Town Hall Auditorium, 35 Central St., Stoneham, Mass. 

Admission $8 per person; $5 for Stoneham Community Action Network members. Tickets available at the door.

*    *    *

Evelyn Brent and Clive Brook in a scene from 'Underworld' (1928).

MONDAY, FEB. 17, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • [email protected]

'Underworld' to screen with live music at Town Hall Theatre on Sunday, March 9

Oscar-winning silent crime drama directed by Josef von Sternberg was forerunner of Hollywood 'gangster' movies

WILTON, N.H.—'Underworld' (1927), a silent drama that spurred a boom in 'gangster' movies, will be screened with live music on Sunday, March 9 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.

The film will be accompanied live by silent film musician Jeff Rapsis.

'Underworld,' directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring George Bancroft, is notable for being the first major motion picture to portray a criminal in a sympathetic light instead of as a villain. Its popularity touched off a Prohibition-era boom in Hollywood gangster pictures that reached its peak following the stock market crash of 1929.

The story of 'Underworld' follows gangster Bull Weed (George Bancroft), who becomes entangled in a love triangle involving a reformed drunkard, “Rolls Royce” (Clive Brook) whom he takes on as his right-hand man, and Bull’s girlfriend “Feathers” (Evelyn Brent). Bull Weed's imprisonment leads to a dramatic climax.

Bancroft's performance in 'Underworld' set the stage for memorable characterizations of gangster protagonists by Jimmy Cagney ('Public Enemy,' 1931), Paul Muni ('Scarface,' 1932), and Edward G. Robinson ('Little Caesar,' 1930), which all follow directly on from the model created by 'Underworld.'

The film's script, by Chicago newspaperman Ben Hecht, earned an Oscar for Best Screenwriting at the first-ever Academy Awards. The film is also noted for director von Sternberg's innovative use of black-and-white photography, which presaged many film noir techniques in following decades.

Director Von Sternberg was obsessed by light, and developed methods of “painting” his compositions with the arrangements of lamps, scrims, and reflectors on the set. Today he is remembered most for having used that skill in a series of films he made with Marlene Dietrich, starting with 'The Blue Angel' (1930) and continuing in six more star vehicles made in Hollywood, including 'Morocco' (1930) and 'Shanghai Express' (1932).

'Underworld' will be accompanied by live music by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist who performs at venues across the region and beyond.

Using a digital synthesizer to reproduce the texture of the full orchestra, Rapsis will improvise the score on the spot during the screening.

"Films such as 'Underworld' were created to be shown on the big screen and in a theater as a shared experience," Rapsis said. "With an audience and live music, they still come to life in the way their makers intended them to.

"So silent film screenings at the Town Hall Theatre are a great chance for people to experience films that caused people to first fall in love with the movies," he said.

'Underworld' (1927) will be shown on Sunday, March 9 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.

 

Next: Valentino in 'The Sheik' (1921) on Monday, March 3 in Greenfield, Mass.; notes from the 50th annual Boston Sci-Fi Marathon

Rudolph Valentino and Agnes Ayres in a scene from 'The Sheik' (1921).

Next local screening is Monday, March 3 at 6:30 p.m., when I'll accompany Rudolph Valentino in 'The Sheik' (1921) at the Garden Cinemas in Greenfield, Mass.

More about Rudy and the film in the press release pasted in below. 

First, a few notes from this past weekend.

On Saturday, I had the privilege of creating music for a screening of F.W. Murnau's 'Sunrise' (1927) at the Jane Pickens Theatre in Newport, R.I.

About 75 people showed up for this day-after-Valentine's Day screening, which was a surprisingly strong turnout given that a messy winter storm was in the process of arriving at show time.

For this, I got to tell my story of how a friend of mine came to a screening of this film, but thought he was seeing the futuristic fantasy 'Metropolis.' (1927).

Because 'Sunrise' starts out in a stylized urban setting that actually does look weirdly futuristic, and because all of silent film looks a bit alien to untrained eyes, I can see how this could happen.

Afterwards, his question to me was: "What kind of a futuristic amusement park has pigs sliding down a chute and getting drunk on wine?" 

Snow was falling by the time I headed back to New Hampshire. The drive usually takes two hours but thanks to the weather it was 3½ hours. Well, at least I got to hear a whole Boston Symphony concert live from Symphony Hall: Herbert Blomstet at age 97 conducting two symphonies: Schubert's No. 6 and the Brahms No. 1.

I wonder what either composer would have thought of someone listening to their music via an FM radio receiver while driving a motor vehicle at night through a snowstorm. It might have seemed like some kind of science fiction to them.

And that brings us to Sunday's performance: a live score for 'Algol: Tragedy of Power' (1920), a German sci-fi drama that was shown as part of this year's annual 24-hour Boston Science Fiction Marathon.

The Marathon, or 'Thon as some call it, will occasionally program a silent title, and for some time now it's been my privilege to be invited to accompany it.

It's quite a lively audience, with attendees shouting things at the screen and generally whooping it up. I had a great time mashing up some tunes to create a score to help bring the film to life. 

A few scenes from this year's Sci-Fi Marathon, which was the 50th annual edition.

 

Sci Fi Festival Director Garen Daly chats with someone via Facetime...

 

Lobby of the Somerville Theatre between screenings.

 

The view from the keyboard, or from one side of the keyboard, anyway.

 

Me in front of "Some" theatre...

I will say it's a special thrill to finish a film like 'Algol' and to have a theater just erupt, even if the people in it are there to make noise. 

I ran up on stage to take a bow or two, and then took the opportunity to shout back:

"I saw that yesterday there was a symposium to discuss whether or not the Boston Sci-Fi Marathon would ever get to its 100th anniversary," I said.

"I certainly hope so! Because this is a celebration that brings people together, and now more than ever we need things to bring us together. May this marathon live long and prosper!" Or something like that.

Okay, next week I'll be heading out to Topeka, Kansas for this year's Kansas Silent Film Festival (more on that when I get there), and after that it's Rudolph Valentino in 'The Sheik' at the Garden Cinemas in Greenfield, Mass. 

More about that in the press release below. See you there!

*    *    *

Hey where's Rudy? An original poster for 'The Sheik' (1921).

MONDAY, FEB, 17, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • [email protected]

Valentino in 'The Sheik' on Monday, March 3 at Garden Cinemas

Exotic romance starring iconic silent film actor to be show with live musical accompaniment

GREENFIELD, Mass.—He was the cinema’s first sex symbol, causing hordes of female moviegoers to flock to his pictures throughout the 1920s. He starred in films designed to show off his Latin looks, his smoldering eyes, and his dancer’s body.

He was Rudolph Valentino, who remains an icon for on-screen passion long after his untimely death in 1926 at age 31.

See the Hollywood legend for yourself when 'The Sheik' (1921) starring Rudolph Valentino is screened on Monday, March 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the Garden Cinemas, 361 Main St., Greenfield, Mass.

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

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

Rudolph Valentino in the title role of 'The Sheik' (1921).

In 'The Sheik,' Valentino plays Paris-educated Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan, who arranges brides for wealthy Arabs. 

The high-spirited Lady Diana Mayo (Agnes Ayres), learning that the sheik will be in the city of Biskra, Algeria, playfully decides to disguise herself as a dancing girl to become one of the prospective brides. 

Hearing that Diana will be touring the Sahara Desert, Ahmed abducts her, intending to make her fall in love with him, with unexpected consequences.

An Italian immigrant who arrived penniless at Ellis Island in 1913, Valentino rose to superstar status in the silent era. But he was more than a pretty face—during his career, critics praised Valentino as a versatile actor capable of playing a variety of roles; his achievements included popularizing the Argentinian tango in the 1921 drama ‘Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.’

But Valentino's brief stardom was defined by the ‘Sheik’ roles, which brought a new level of exotic sexuality to the movies, causing a sensation at the time. In theaters, women openly swooned over Valentino’s on-screen image, especially in roles such as the ‘Sheik,’ which featured elaborate costumes. 

At its peak, his popularity was so immense that it inspired a backlash among many male movie-goers, who decried Valentino’s elegant image and mannerisms as effeminate.

Valentino’s sudden death in 1926 fueled his status as a legendary romantic icon of the cinema. For years, a mysterious woman dressed in black would visit his grave at the Hollywood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, leaving only a single red rose.

Valentino was aware of his effect on audiences, saying that “Women are not in love with me but with the picture of me on the screen. I am merely the canvas upon which the women paint their dreams.”

“These films are still exciting experiences if you can show them as they were designed to be screened,” said Rapsis, the accompanist for the screening. “There’s a reason people first fell in love with the movies, and we hope to recreate that spirit. At their best, silent films were communal experiences in which the presence of a large audience intensifies everyone’s reactions.”

Silent films with live music are screened at the Garden Cinemas the first Monday of each month. Upcoming titles include:

• Monday, April 7, 2025, 6:30 p.m.: "The Lost World" (1925) starring Wallace Beery. First-ever movie adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary tale of British explorers who discover pre-historic creatures still thriving atop a remote South American plateau. Great entertainment; ground-breaking special effects by the same team that later created 'King Kong' mesmerized early movie audiences and remain impressive today.

‘The Sheik’ (1921) will be shown on Monday, March 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the Garden Cinemas, 361 Main St., Greenfield, Mass. Admission is $10.50 adults, $8:50 for children, seniors, and students. Tickets available at the door; advance tickets are available at www.gardencinemas.net. For more information, call the box office at (413) 774-4881.

This weekend: 'Sunrise' in Newport on Saturday, then 'Algol' at 50th annual Boston Sci-Fi Marathon

Emil Jannings as would-be world ruler Robert Herne in 'Algol' (1920).

It's a rare chance to see 'Sunrise' (1927) in the late afternoon.

That's because I'll accompany the Academy Award-winning silent drama on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 4:30 p.m. at the Jane Pickens Theatre in downtown Newport, R.I. 

More info about the film and the screening is in the press release pasted in below.

And the next day brings one of my most unusual gigs: the annual Boston Sci Fi Marathon, which starts on Sunday, Feb. 16 at noon and runs straight through to Monday, Feb. 17 at noon.

I'll be there to accompany 'Algol: Tragedy of Power' (1920), a bizarre German film thought lost for decades until it was rediscovered in recent years and is now available for viewing.

'Algol' is being shown late Sunday afternoon: not sure of the exact time as that depends on how far behind (or ahead) the marathon is running. 

It's the 50th year of this event, which I've appeared at several times before and it's always a hoot. There's no better audience for silent film that a theater fill of insomniac sci-fi fans.

Alas, tickets aren't available for individual films during the marathon, which is a $100 all-or-nothing proposition. But the line-up includes LOTS of great titles, and there's nothing like seeing them in this kind of communal environment.

Interested? Below are links, although I notice the online ticket portal incorrectly says the marathon starts at Sunday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. It really starts at noon—and there's also a pre-show scene of people lining up in front of the Somerville before doors open to get first dibs on favorite seats.

Boston Sci-Fi Marathon line-up

Tickets for Boston Sci-Fi Marathon

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An original poster for 'Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans' (1927).
 

MONDAY, JAN. 20, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • [email protected]

Academy Award-winning drama 'Sunrise' to screen on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Newport's Jane Pickens Theatre

Silent film won three honors at first-ever Academy Awards, including 'Best Actress' for Janet Gaynor; show features live musical accompaniment

NEWPORT, R.I.—Silent film on the big screen with live music returns to the Jane Pickens Theatre with the Academy Award-winning romantic drama 'Sunrise' (1927) on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 4:30 p.m.

The screening of 'Sunrise,' starring Janet Gaynor and George O'Brien, will take place at the Jane Pickens Film and Event Center, 49 Touro St. in historic downtown Newport.

Admission is $17 per person. Tickets available online at https://janepickens.com or at the door.

The screening will feature live music by Jeff Rapsis, the Jane Pickens Theatre's silent film accompanist.

Gaynor, a popular female star of the silent film era, won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in 'Sunrise.' The movie took top honors in cinematography and was also recognized for "Unique and Artistic Production" at the inaugural awards.

'Sunrise' tells the story of a young country couple (played by Gaynor and O'Brien) whose marriage is threatened by the presence of a woman from the city (Margaret Livingston) who convinces the man to abandon his wife. Will the young husband go through with a plan to kill his wife? Will true love overcome the obstacles of temptation and the promise of short-term pleasure?

George O'Brien and Margaret Livingston in a scene from 'Sunrise' (1927).

'Sunrise' was directed by F. W. Murnau, a German filmmaker and one of the leading figures in German Expressionism, a style that uses distorted art design for symbolic effect. 'Sunrise' was made when Murnau was invited by studio chief William Fox to make a film in Hollywood.

The resulting movie features enormous stylized sets that create an exaggerated, fairy-tale world. The city street set alone reportedly cost over $200,000 to build, a huge sum at the time. Much of the exterior shooting was done at Lake Arrowhead, Calif.

Full of cinematic innovations, the groundbreaking cinematography (by Charles Rosher and Karl Struss) featured moving cameras and impressive tracking shots. Titles appear sparingly, with long sequences of pure action and most of the story told in Murnau's signature visual style. The extensive use of forced perspective is striking, particularly in a shot of the city with normal-sized people and sets in the foreground and smaller figures in the background by much smaller sets.

The story of 'Sunrise' is told as a visual allegory with few specific details. The characters have no names, and the setting is not named in order to make the tale more universal and symbolic.

Janet Gaynor and George O'Brien in a scene from 'Sunrise' (1927).

With a full title of 'Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans,' the film is regarded as one of the high points of the silent cinema. In 1988, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress for films that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The Sight and Sound poll of 2012 for the British Film Institute named 'Sunrise' the fifth-best film in the history of motion pictures by critics, and 22nd by directors.

Critics continue to hail 'Sunrise' as one of the best films of all time.

"F.W. Murnau's 'Sunrise' conquered time and gravity with a freedom that was startling to its first audiences," wrote Roger Ebert in 2004. "To see it today is to be astonished by the boldness of its visual experimentation.

Rapsis, who uses original themes to improvise silent film scores, said great silent film dramas such as 'Sunrise' used their lack of dialogue to create stories that concentrated on the "big" emotions such as Love, Despair, Anger, and Joy. Because of this, audiences continue to respond to them in the 21st century, especially if they're presented as intended — with a live audience and live music.

"Dramas such as 'Sunrise' were created to be shown on the big screen as a communal experience," Rapsis said. "With an audience and live music, they come to life as their creators intended them to. So the screenings at Newport's Jane Pickens Theatre are a great chance to experience films that first caused people to fall in love with the movies," he said.

'Sunrise' will be shown with live music on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 4:30 p.m. at the Jane Pickens Film and Event Center, 49 Touro St. in historic downtown Newport.

Admission is $17 per person. Tickets available online at https://janepickens.com or at the door. 

 Janet Gaynor and George O'Brien in 'Sunrise' (1927).

Changed date for 'The Strong Man' this weekend; classic comedy now showing on Saturday, Feb. 8, plus Boston Globe coverage of 'The Flying Ace'

Harry Langdon in 'The Strong Man' (1926), now showing on Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Town Hall Theater in Wilton, N.H.

Alert! This weekend's screening of 'The Strong Man' (1926) at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. has been changed to Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m.

Let's get fancy and paste in some JavaScript to create blinking text, like it's 1999 all over again.

'THE STRONG MAN' RESCHEDULED TO SATURDAY, FEB. 8!

Originally scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 9, the screening had to be moved a day earlier. So if you'd like to see what's widely regarded as Harry Langdon's best feature film, come on Saturday, Feb. 8.

More details about the film and the show are in the press release pasted in below. 

Before that, however, I need to thank Boston Globe film critic Odie Henderson for a terrific preview of last Sunday's screening of 'The Flying Ace' at the Somerville Theatre, and also for a follow-up essay published this past Wednesday.

It's rare these days for what's left of local media to devote resources to covering cinema. And it's rarer still for anyone to pay attention to vintage film. 

But Odie, who's been the Globe's film writer and critic for a few years now, took an interest in 'The Flying Ace,' writing about the film both before and after the screening.

Check out his preview, which ran on the front of the Globe's Weekend section:

The results of this kind of attention can be gratifying. Nearly 200 people turned out for the matinee screening, which took place on Sunday, Feb. 2 in the Somerville's main theatre. 

In introducing 'The Flying Ace,' I asked how many people had seen Odie's piece in the Globe? Nearly every hand shot up! (A lot of people also had seen coverage on the website of WBUR, a Boston-area NPR station.)

Odie attended the screening, and wrote a follow-up about the experience that included some kind words about my accompaniment:

"As Rapsis played the final notes of his outstanding, boisterous, and improvised accompaniment, I realized just how well his score complemented the film."

Thanks, Odie! Your work helped this film and our screening reach a lot more people that it otherwise might have.

*    *    *

Harry Langdon finds himself over a barrel in 'The Strong Man' (1926).

MONDAY, JAN. 27, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • [email protected]

Frank Capra's very first movie highlights Town Hall Theatre silent film program on Saturday, Feb. 8

Screening features Harry Langdon's classic comedy 'The Strong Man' shown with live music; fun family activity suitable for all ages

WILTON, N.H. — Silent film with live music returns to the Town Hall Theatre in February with the showing of an uproarious comedy starring Harry Langdon.

The screening of 'The Strong Man' on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m., gives families a chance to enjoy a fun activity suitable for all ages. The Town Hall Theatre is located at 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10 per person suggested to defray expenses.

Due to scheduling requirements, the screening date differs from the Town Hall Theatre's usual Sunday afternoon silent film time slot.

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

Directing 'The Strong Man' was young first-timer Frank Capra, who would later go on to create such Hollywood classics as 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' (1939) and 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1946).

'The Strong Man' tells the story of a World War I soldier (Langdon) who, following his discharge, finds work as assistant to a circus strong man. As the act travels the country, Langdon continually searches for a girl he corresponded with while stationed overseas in the military.

The search leads to a town controlled by Prohibition-era gangsters, which forces Harry to test the limits of his own inner strength even as he looks for his dream girl. Can Harry triumph over the bad guys? And is love more powerful than brute strength?

The feature-length film showcases the unique child-like personality of Langdon, who is largely forgotten today. For a brief time in the 1920s, however, he rivaled Charlie Chaplin as Hollywood's top movie clown.

Langdon's popularity, which grew quickly in the last years of the silent era, fizzled as the movie business abruptly switched to talkies starting in 1929.

'The Strong Man' was selected in 2007 for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

In recent years, 'The Strong Man' has been recognized as a major achievement of the silent film era—a satisfying and timeless balance of emotion and comedy.

"A little tragedy and a lot of laughs can be seen in 1926's The Strong Man," wrote critic Richard von Busack in 2007. "Director Frank Capra's energy and sturdy plot sense counterpoint Langdon's wonderful strangeness."

A trade ad promoting the release of Harry Langdon's 'The Strong Man' (1926).

'The Strong Man' will be accompanied by live music by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist who performs at venues across the region and beyond.

"These films were created to be shown on the big screen as a communal experience," Rapsis said. "With an audience and live music, they still come to life in the way their makers intended them to.

"The silent film screenings at the Town Hall Theatre are a great chance for people to experience films that first caused people to first fall in love with the movies," he said.

Frank Capra's 'The Strong Man' will be screened with live music on Saturday, Feb. 8 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.

 

Harry Langdon encounters the mysteries of the opposite sex in 'The Strong Man' (1926).
 

This weekend: 'Battling Butler' in Campton, N.H., then 'The Flying Ace' in Somerville, Mass.

The front page of this week's 'Weekend' section of the Boston Globe.

Our planned screening of 'The Flying Ace' (1926) on Sunday, Feb. 2 at the Somerville Theatre has generated significant interest from Boston media.

On Friday, the Boston Globe made it the cover story of their Weekend Section, with a preview by critic Odie Henderson going in-depth about the film as well as the live music I'll be doing.

(The screening is at 2 p.m at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville.; a press release with more info is pasted in below.)

On the same day, WBUR (a big-time NPR station in Boston) ran a substantial story by reporter Amelia Mason about the cultural climate that produced "race" films such as 'The Flying Ace,' which was intended for segregated cinemas of the era.

Here's a link to the Boston Globe piece. And here's the WBUR story.

I'm grateful to both journalists for their interest in the film as well as my work, and to their respective media outlets for the willingness to devote resources to covering this corner of Boston's cultural scene. Thank you!

And thank you (in advance) to all for making the trek to the Somerville to see this picture the way it was intended: on the big screen, in a great-looking print, with live music, and (most importantly) with an audience.

The main difference this time is that the audience, unlike when the film was originally released, will likely include some non-Black film-goers. I think that's a good thing—and I believe the people who produced 'The Flying Ace' nearly 100 years ago would agree. 

Prior to this, I'm heading north this afternoon for one of my favorite gigs of the season: the Campton (N.H.) Historical Society's Annual Pot Luck Supper and Silent Movie Night.

This year's attraction: Buster Keaton's boxing comedy 'Battling Butler' (1926), preceded by a communal supper made up of dishes that everyone brings in. (That's the actual admission price: something for the pot luck.)

Buster Keaton trains in the boxing ring; from 'Battling Butler' (1926).

If you're in the vicinity and want to join in, everyone's welcome. Supper begins at 5 p.m.; the film program usually starts by 6:30 p.m. or so. It's at the Campton Town Historical Society, Route 149 in Campton, N.H. Bring a dish—and your appetite!

*     *     *

Original trade advertisement for 'The Flying Ace' (1926).

MONDAY, JAN. 27, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • [email protected]

Honoring Black History Month

Somerville Theatre to screen rare vintage crime thriller with all-Black cast

'The Flying Ace' (1926), added to U.S. National Film Registry, to be shown with live music on Sunday, Feb. 2

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — Can discrimination exist in an America where everyone is Black?

That's among the questions posted by 'The Flying Ace' (1926), a rare surviving example of movies produced early in the 20th century for Black audiences in segregated cinemas.

'The Flying Ace,' named to the U.S. National Film Registry in 2021, will be screened in honor of Black History Month on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.

Admission $17 adults; $13 members; $12 seniors/children. Tickets are available at somervilletheatre.com or at the door. 

The screening will feature live music by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist.

'The Flying Ace' was produced by Norman Studios in Jacksonville, Fla., using professionals such as Laurence Criner, a veteran of Harlem’s prestigious all-black theater troupe the Lafayette Players, but also many non-professionals for minor roles.

In 'The Flying Ace,' Criner plays Capt. Billy Stokes, a World War I fighter pilot known as "The Flying Ace" because of his downing of seven enemy aircraft in France.

Returning home to resume his former job as a railroad detective, he's assigned to locate a stationmaster who's gone missing along with the $25,000 company payroll.

While investigating, Stokes begins romancing the stationmaster's daughter Ruth (Kathryn Boyd), causing a rivalry with another suitor which leads to a break in the case.

With Ruth's safety now at risk, Stokes' dogged pursuit of the suspects leads to climax highlighted by a dramatic airborne chase which calls upon his piloting prowess.

Films such as 'The Flying Ace' were shown specifically to African-American audiences in areas of the U.S. where theaters were segregated.

Norman Studios was among the nation's top film production companies making feature length and short films for this market from the 1920s to the 1940s.

Featuring all-Black casts in stories meant to inspire and uplift, such films were popular with African-American audiences at the time. In Norman Studios films, the stories often took place in a world without the racial barriers that existed at the time.

In 'The Flying Ace,' Capt. Stokes is a pilot returning home from serving honorably in World War I—but Blacks were not allowed to fly aircraft in the U.S. military until 1940.

In an essay for the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, critic Megan Pugh wrote that Capt. Billy Stokes "...is a model for the ideals of racial uplift, fulfilling aspirations that Black Americans were not yet allowed to achieve."

"At a time when Hollywood employed white actors in blackface to play shuffling servants and mammies, the Norman Film Manufacturing Company...hired all-black casts to play dignified roles."

 

Kathryn Boyd and Laurence Criner star in 'The Flying Ace' (1926).
 
"Instead of tackling discrimination head-on in his films, Norman created a kind of segregated dream world where whites—and consequently, racism—didn’t even exist," Pugh wrote.

"While it’s impossible to measure the influence The Flying Ace had on its viewers, it is reasonable to assume that audiences found its lead character inspirational. Billy Stokes was a black male hero who would have never made it onscreen in a Hollywood movie of the time," Pugh wrote.

Filmed in the Arlington area of Jacksonville, Fla., 'The Flying Ace' is a unique aviation melodrama in that no airplanes actually leave the ground. The mid-air scenes were filmed in a studio in front of neutral backdrops.

Although 'The Flying Ace' may appear crudely made to modern audiences, in 2021 the movie was named to the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Of films produced for Black-only audiences in segregated theaters, very few survive. 'The Flying Ace' is unusual in that it survives complete, and in pristine condition. The film was included in 'Pioneers of African American Cinema," a DVD collection released in 2016 by Kino-Lorber.

A live musical score for 'The Flying Ace' will be created by accompanist Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based performer who specializes in music for silent film presentations.

Rapsis said the Red River screening is a rare chance to see the film as it was meant to be experienced—on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.

'The Flying Ace' (1926), a silent crime melodrama with an all-Black cast, will be shown in honor of Black History Month on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.

Admission $17 adults; $13 members; $12 seniors/children. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.somervilletheatre.com or call the box office at (617) 625-5700.

Up next: Greta Garbo in 'Wild Orchids' on Wednesday, Jan. 29 in Manchester, N.H.

A photo showing the Alton Bay Ice Runway in 2015.

It's so cold in New Hampshire that for the first time in three years, the Alton Bay Ice Runway has opened!

That's right: the only FAA-approved ice runway in the lower 48 states—in an inlet of New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee—was declared open last week when the ice reached the requisite 12 inches of thickness.

So it's been perfect weather for a screening 'Way Down East' (1920), the D.W. Griffith melodrama in which Lillian Gish winds up on ice floes in the Connecticut River—not that far from the Alton Bay Ice Runway, as the crow flies.

If the story was set a little later in the development of aviation, Richard Barthelmess could have rescued Ms. Gish by taking off from the ice runway in his trusty Sopwith Camel and swooping down to whisk her to safety.

Well, it's a thought.

At our screening on Sunday afternoon at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H., 'Way Down East' proved once again Griffith's ability to lay out a story that pulls an audience along the same way the on-screen ice floes carry Lillian Gish to the edge of the mighty waterfall.

It's a fun film to accompany. It's such a hokey story, and yet the audience reaction in far-off 2025 was every bit as lively, I imagine, as audiences when the film was brand new. People of course cheered at the waterfall rescue, and the triple wedding that ends of the film produced genuine gales of laughter.

Looking ahead: a chance to warm up comes in the form of a screening of 'Wild Orchids' (1929), a steamy romantic thriller starring Greta Garbo that I'll accompany on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St. in downtown Manchester, N.H. 

It's one of the last MGM silents, made long after the studio had otherwise converted to talkies. But execs were worried that Garbo's heavily accented voice would ruin her box office appeal, and so kept her silent for as long as possible. 

Well, surprise! Turns out Garbo's husky delivery actually added to her mystique, and her career sailed on uninterrupted. Until, that is, she started turning up in places like a David Letterman Top 10 List.

But the good thing about this was that we got a whole additional year's worth of silent pictures out of Garbo, made at a time when silent filmmaking was at its peak, technically speaking. 

See for yourself—and warm yourself up while you're at it— with a screening of 'Wild Orchids' this Wednesday night. More details in the press release below.

*    *    *

Greta Garbo and Nils Asther star in 'Wild Orchids' (1929).

MONDAY, JAN. 20, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • [email protected]

Greta Garbo stars in steamy silent film thriller on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at Rex Theatre

'Wild Orchids' (1929), one of MGM's final silent film releases, to be screened with live music at downtown Manchester, N.H. venue

MANCHESTER, N.H.—Chase away the mid-winter chill with a steamy movie featuring early Hollywood icon Greta Garbo.

Warm up with 'Wild Orchids' (1929), an intense romantic thriller starring Garbo, to be screened with live music at the Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester, N.H.

'Wild Orchids,' one of the last silent films of MGM studios, will be shown on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025 at 7 p.m.

General admission is $10 per person; tickets are available at the door or online at www.palacetheatre.org.

 

Live music will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis.

A tale of forbidden romance, 'Wild Orchids' opens with an older businessman (John Lewis) taking his young wife (Greta Garbo) on a business trip to the South Pacific.

Aboard ship, she witnesses a wealthy passenger (Nils Asther) brutally whipping a servant. The violent man notices Garbo and resolves to meet her.

Things get complicated, however, when the man turns out to be a royal heir crucially important to the business affairs of Garbo's husband.

Emotions boil over in the tropical heat, leading to a dramatic showdown in the jungle over Garbo's ultimate fate.

An original trade publication ad promoting 'Wild Orchids' (1929).

Released during the movie industry's chaotic transition from silent film to synchronized dialogue, 'Wild Orchids' proved a hit.

The silent film earned $1.1 million, making it one of the year's top 10 box office attractions.

Although MGM was already releasing talking pictures, the studio kept starring Garbo in silent pictures due to concerns about her heavy accent.

Originally from Sweden, in Hollywood Garbo quickly rose to silent film stardom based on her acting ability and her unique look.

Garbo spoke English, but with a Scandinavian accent, causing concerns that the public would reject her in talking pictures.

When she finally spoke on-screen, Garbo's distinctive delivery and husky accent added to her popularity, to the great relief of studio bosses.

Nils Asther and Greta Garbo in a scene from 'Wild Orchids' (1929).

A live musical score for 'Wild Orchids' will be performed by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis.

Rapsis specializes in creating music to help silent films connect with modern-day audiences.

"As one of the last commercial silent films produced, 'Wild Orchids' shows how fluent Hollywood had become at telling stories visually, rather than through dialogue," Rapsis said.

"These films were intended to be seen on the big screen, with live music, and—most importantly—with an audience. Put it all back together, and films like 'Wild Orchids' really leap back to life."

'Wild Orchids' (1929) will be shown on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester, N.H.

General admission is $10 per person; tickets are available at the door or online at www.palacetheatre.org. 

For more information, call (603) 668-5588.