NB. Uncertainty over further Covid related lock-downs means that screenings may be cancelled at short notice. Please check with the venue if you plan to attend any of these screenings.
14 December
The Woman That Men Yearn For (aka Die Frau, nach der man sich sehnt, ) (Dir, Curtis Bernhard, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 78mins) The dreamy Charles Leblanc (Oskar Sima), about to marry into a wealthy steel-making family, glimpses Stascha (Marlene Dietrich) and her companion Karoff (Fritz Kortner) as they pause for a drink at a bar in his small southern France town. They meet again on the train taking him and his wife on their honeymoon. Overwhelmed by Stascha’s sexuality, and ignoring his distraught new wife, Leblanc agrees to help her escape from the domineering Karoff, setting in motion a chain of obsessive, destructive events. Long before von Sternberg brought us Dietrich as Lola Lola in The Blue Angel, the actress had already created her femme fatale persona with this, her first starring role. Although made on something of a shoestring budget and wholly studio shot, the film benefits from excellent direction from Bernhardt, Dietrich smoulders superbly and the rest of the cast are excellent. Unfortunately the film was released just as audiences were clamouring for sound films and as a result it was not particularly successful. But this is a welcome opportunity to see this rarely screened classic which marked an important milestone in Dietrich’s career development Find out more at silentfilm.org With recorded score by Pascal Schumacher. BFI Southbank, London Link
20 December
The Woman That Men Yearn For (aka Die Frau, nach der man sich sehnt, ) (Dir, Curtis Bernhard, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 78mins) The dreamy Charles Leblanc (Oskar Sima), about to marry into a wealthy steel-making family, glimpses Stascha (Marlene Dietrich) and her companion Karoff (Fritz Kortner) as they pause for a drink at a bar in his small southern France town. They meet again on the train taking him and his wife on their honeymoon. Overwhelmed by Stascha’s sexuality, and ignoring his distraught new wife, Leblanc agrees to help her escape from the domineering Karoff, setting in motion a chain of obsessive, destructive events. Long before von Sternberg brought us Dietrich as Lola Lola in The Blue Angel, the actress had already created her femme fatale persona with this, her first starring role. Although made on something of a shoestring budget and wholly studio shot, the film benefits from excellent direction from Bernhardt, Dietrich smoulders superbly and the rest of the cast are excellent. Unfortunately the film was released just as audiences were clamouring for sound films and as a result it was not particularly successful. But this is a welcome opportunity to see this rarely screened classic which marked an important milestone in Dietrich’s career development Find out more at silentfilm.org With recorded score by Pascal Schumacher. BFI Southbank, London Link
Funny Business – An hour of silent comedy gems featuring Laurel & Hardy and Charlie Chaplin. Film Titles to be confirmed. Presented by the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival to commemorate the centenary of the opening of the Abbeydale Picture House. With live piano accompaniment by Jonny Best. Abbeydale Picture House, Sheffield Link
The Brilliant Biograph: Earliest Moving Images of Europe (1897-1902) Immerse yourself in the sights and sensations of Europe a hundred and twenty years ago. These fifty one-minute films each record a minute of real life from over a century ago. Filmed across Europe from Vatican City, Venice, Amsterdam, and Berlin, to Newcastle, Windsor, and Southampton, each film is a time-capsule from the vanished world of Victorian Europe. Shot on extra-large 68mm film in the unique Mutoscope camera, the images have an eye-popping sharpness and dazzling detail. These fifty films are from the unique collections of 68mm Mutoscope and Biograph films in the collections at Eye Filmmuseum (Netherlands) and the British Film Institute. Presented by the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival to commemorate the centenary of the opening of the Abbeydale Picture House. With live musical accompaniment by Frame Ensemble featuring Irine Røsnes (violin), Liz Hanks (cello), Trevor Bartlett (percussion) and Jonny Best (piano). Abbeydale Picture House, Sheffield Link
The General (Dir. Buster Keaton/Clyde Bruckman, US, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 75mins) Widely considered one of the greatest films ever made and one of the most revered comedies of the silent era, Buster Keaton’s effortless masterpiece sees hapless Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray (Keaton) facing off against Union soldiers during the American Civil War. When Johnny’s fiancée, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), is accidentally taken away while on a train stolen by Northern forces, Gray pursues the soldiers, using various modes of transportation in comic action scenes that highlight Keaton’s boundless, innovative wit and joyful, lighthearted dexterity, to reclaim the train and thereby save the South. Find out more at busterkeaton.com . Presented by the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival to commemorate the centenary of the opening of the Abbeydale Picture House. With live musical accompaniment by Jonny Best (piano) and Trevor Bartlett (percussion). Abbeydale Picture House, Sheffield Link
The Woman That Men Yearn For (aka Die Frau, nach der man sich sehnt, ) (Dir, Curtis Bernhard, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 78mins) The dreamy Charles Leblanc (Oskar Sima), about to marry into a wealthy steel-making family, glimpses Stascha (Marlene Dietrich) and her companion Karoff (Fritz Kortner) as they pause for a drink at a bar in his small southern France town. They meet again on the train taking him and his wife on their honeymoon. Overwhelmed by Stascha’s sexuality, and ignoring his distraught new wife, Leblanc agrees to help her escape from the domineering Karoff, setting in motion a chain of obsessive, destructive events. Long before von Sternberg brought us Dietrich as Lola Lola in The Blue Angel, the actress had already created her femme fatale persona with this, her first starring role. Although made on something of a shoestring budget and wholly studio shot, the film benefits from excellent direction from Bernhardt, Dietrich smoulders superbly and the rest of the cast are excellent. Unfortunately the film was released just as audiences were clamouring for sound films and as a result it was not particularly successful. But this is a welcome opportunity to see this rarely screened classic which marked an important milestone in Dietrich’s career development Find out more at silentfilm.org Presented by the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival to commemorate the centenary of the opening of the Abbeydale Picture House. With live musical accompaniment by Frame Ensemble featuring Irine Røsnes (violin), Liz Hanks (cello), Trevor Bartlett (percussion) and Jonny Best (piano). Abbeydale Picture House, Sheffield Link
Silentfilmcalendar.org 