London and South East

3 June

The Kid (Dir. Charles Chaplin, US, 1921) (Screening format – not known, 68mins) Chaplin’s first full-length feature is a silent masterpiece about a little tramp who discovers a little orphan and brings him up but is left desolate when the orphanage reclaims him. Beneath the comedy, there are definitely some more serious thematic elements at work and and the film is noted for its pathos. In that regard, the opening inter-title proves to be true: “A picture with a smile — and perhaps, a tear.”Chaplin directed, produced and starred in the film, as well as composed the score. Find out more at wikipedia.org . With live musical accompaniment from The Lucky Dog Picturehouse. The Oval Tavern, Croydon Link

Monte Cristo (Dir. Louis Fescourt, Fr, 1929) (Screening format – DCP, 218mins) For those who were stunned at seeing Fescourt’s seven hour version of Les Miserables (1925) at the Barbican in April this is a chance to catch up with another of his epic works. Based on the Dumas novel The Count of Monte Cristo, it features romance, terrible injustice and revenge in a series of gorgeous locations, including the Mediterranean, Paris, Marseilles and the terrifying Chateau d’If, where the hero Edmond Dantés (Jean Angelo) is falsely incarcerated by a corrupt official. But learning of a vast hidden fortune, he manages to escape, acquires the money and begins to prepare an elaborate revenge on his betrayers, using his new identity, ‘the Count of Monte Cristo’. Find out more at filmsdefrance.com . With live musical accompaniment. BFI Southbank, London Link

4 June

The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed) (Dir. Carl Koch and Lotte Reiniger, Ger, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 72 mins) Based on the classic collection of stories “Arabian Nights,” the film tells the story of an evil African sorcerer who tricks a young prince named Achmed into riding a wild magical flying horse which he does not know how to control. The evil sorcerer assumes that the Prince will eventually get thrown from the flying horse and plunge to his death. However, Prince Achmed manages to tame the flying horse and instead gets whisked away into a series of adventures that include encounters with Aladdin, the Witch of the Fiery Mountains, the beautiful Princess Pari Banu and of course a showdown with the evil African sorcerer. This German animated fairy-tale film is the oldest surviving animated feature film. It features a silhouette animation technique co-director Reiniger had invented which involved manipulated cutouts made from cardboard and thin sheets of lead under a camera. The technique she used for the camera is similar to Wayang shadow puppets, though hers were animated frame by frame, not manipulated in live action. For more information see methodshop.com With live musical accompaniment by students of the Guildhall Electronic Studio. Barbican, London Link

Der Müde Tod (aka Destiny, aka Behind the Wall) (Dir. Fritz Lange, 1921) (Screening format – DCP, 98mins) Der Müde Tod (literally The Weary Death) has often been overlooked even amongst Lang’s earlier work but it is a film rich in expressionist imagery and featuring innovative special effects work. It has been hugely influential, with directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Ingmar Bergman and Luis Buñuel citing it as a direct influence on their own work. In the film, a young woman (Lil Dagover) confronts the personification of Death (Bernhard Goetzke), in an effort to save the life of her fiancé (Walter Janssen). Death weaves three romantic tragedies and offers to unite the girl with her lover, if she can prevent the death of the lovers in at least one of the episodes. Thus begin three exotic scenarios of ill-fated love, in which the woman must somehow reverse the course of destiny: Persia, Renaissance Venice, and a fancifully rendered ancient China. Find out more at silentfilm.org. The new restoration of Der Müde Tod by Anke Wilkening on behalf of the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung preserves the original German intertitles and simulates the historic colour tinting and toning of its initial release. The film is accompanied by a recently-composed recorded score by Cornelius Schwehr. Curzon Soho, London Link

7 June

In Spring (Dir. Mikhail Kaufman, Ukr/USSR, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 54mins) In Spring is a masterpiece of Ukrainian avant-garde cinema, a non-fiction film made by Mikhail Kaufman, brother of the rather better known Dziga Vertov. Following the brothers joint work on Man With A Movie Camera (1929) creative differences led to them going their own seperate ways. According to Kaufman “That year with Vertov we diverged in views for good and all and began to work independently. I was armed with a movie camera and had a multitude of methods concerning reflection of life. Regarding the topic of spring, I actually stumbled upon it by accident.” In Spring was Kaufman’s first solo project and is a cinematic poem to arrival of spring in nature as well as a new life in a society. With the first use of hidden camera it also offers a rare glimpse on everyday life in Soviet Ukraine during the New Economic Policy and the Soviet “indigenisation” programme. The film was long considered lost until a copy was discovered in 2005 at an archive in Amsterdam. Find out more at imdb.com . Presented by the Ukrainian Institute, London in partnership with Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre and Bertha DocHouse as part of a series to mark “A Century of Ukrainian Revolutions: 1917-2017”. The screening will be followed by a talk by Stanislav Menzelevskyi, a Programme Director from the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre, Ukraine’s largest cinemateque. With recorded soundtrack composed by Oleksandr Kokhanovsky. Bertha Doc House, Bloomsbury, London WC1 Link

8 June

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lange, 1927) (Screening format –DCP , 149 mins ) Made in Germany during the Weimar period, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and follows the attempts of Freder (Gustav Frohlich), the wealthy son of the city’s ruler, and Maria (Brigitte Helm), a poor worker, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes of their city. Filming took place in 1925 at a cost of approximately five million Reichmarks, making it the most expensive film ever released up to that point. It is regarded as a pioneering work of science fiction and is among the most influential films of all time. Following its world premiere in 1927, half an hour was cut from Fritz Lang’s masterpiece and lost to the world. Eighty years later a spectacular discovery was made when the footage was found in a small, dusty museum in Buenos Aires. The film was then painstakingly reconstructed and digitally restored so that at last audiences could see the iconic futuristic fairy tale as Lang had envisioned it. Find out more at silentfilm.org With recorded Gottfried Huppertz score. In a double bill with Terminator (Dir. James Cameron, US, 1984) Picturehouse, Central, London Link

9 June

Der Müde Tod (aka Destiny, aka Behind the Wall) (Dir. Fritz Lange, 1921) (Screening format – DCP, 98mins) For film details see 4 June above. With recorded soundtrack. BFI Southbank, London Link NB The film is also being shown at this venue on 10 (x3), 11 (twice), 12 (x3), 13 (x3), 14 (x3), 15 (twice), 16 (twice), 17 (x3), 18 (x3), 19, 20, 21 and 22 June

10 June

Are Parents People? (Dir. Malcolm St. Clair, US 1925) (Screening format – 16mm, 70mins). The teenage daughter (Betty Bronson) of a wealthy couple (Florence Vidor and Adolphe Menjou) is horrified to find out that her parents, who spend most of their time fighting with each other, are planning to divorce. She schemes to get them back together by pretending to fall for a dimwitted actor, hoping that her parents will unite to prevent the “romance”. Find out more at wikipedia.org Presented as part of the Third Annual Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Festival. Introduced by Kevin Brownlow. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

Grass: A Nation’s Battle For Life (Dir. Merian C. Cooper/Ernest B. Schoedsack, US, 1925) (Screening format – 16mm, 71 mins) Grass follows a tribe of nomads known as the Bakhtiari on their gruelling annual 48 day trek across inhospitable terrain from Turkey to Iran to their flock’s summer pastures. Venturing through deserts, mountains, rivers and snowy wastelands in search of the life-sustaining grasslands, the Bakhtiari’s 50,000 strong caravan – complete with 500,000 cattle and goats – becomes the sole focus of the camera’s gaze. Find out more at wikipedia.org . Presented as part of the Third Annual Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Festival. Introduced by Kevin Brownlow. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

The First French New Wave, featuring Sur un air de Charleston (Charleston Parade) (Dir. Jean Renoir, Fr, 1927) (Screening format – 35mm, 17mins) Apparently shot in just three days, this surreal, erotic silent short shows a native white girl (Catherine Hessling) teaching a futuristic African airman the Charleston dance. Find out more at unifrance.org . Entr’acte (Dir. René Clair, Fr, 1924) (Screening format – 35mm, 22mins) A classic of avant-garde cinema, Entr’acte was made as an intermission piece for a Dada theater work that premiered in Paris The individual shots and the connections between them resulted in what Clair described as “visual babblings.” Key figures of the contemporary Parisian art appear in the film in absurd comic cameos, including Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp. Find out more at openculture.com . La Souriante Madame Beudet (The Smiling Madame Beudet) (Dir. Germaine Dulac, Fr, 1923) (Screening format – 16mm, 38mins) One of the first feminist movies, The Smiling Madame Beudet is the story of an intelligent woman trapped in a loveless marriage. Her husband is used to playing a stupid practical joke in which he puts an empty revolver to his head and threatens to shoot himself. One day, while the husband is away, she puts bullets in the revolver……..Find out more at houseofmirthandmovies.wordpress.com . Presented as part of the Third Annual Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Festival. Introduced by Jon Davies. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

Feel My Pulse (Dir. Gregory La Cava, US, 1926) (Screening format -16mm, 86mins) Barbara Manning (Bebe Daniels) visits an island sanitarium inherited from her Uncle. The cowardly caretaker has turned the place over to a gang of rumrunners, led by William Powell, to use as their headquarters but she mistakenly believes that the rumrunners and an undercover newspaper reporter (Richard Arlen) are patients! This is one of Bebe Daniels’ best surviving comedies. Find out more at moviessilently.com . Presented as part of the Third Annual Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Festival. Introduced by Kevin Brownlow. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

Sables (aka Sands of Destiny aka Sand) (Dir. Dimitri Kirsanoff, Fr, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 70mins) In Algiers a womn and her daughter are abandoned by the husband who has left them for his mistress. The daughter seeks to avoid the divorce of her parents by finding her father but she is caught up in a sandstorm and her car has an accident. A follow-up to Kirsanoff’s better known film Ménilmontant (1926) and again starring his wife Nadia Sibirskaya (right). Find out more at wikipedia.org . Presented as part of the Third Annual Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Festival. Introduced by Jon Davies. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link [NB This is a late change to the KenBio Festival programme.]

The Love of Jeanne Ney (Dir. G W Pabst, Ger, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 100mins) . Jeanne (Édith Jéhanne) flees Russia as the civil war encroaches, as does her lover Andreas Labov (Uno Henning) having murdered Jeanne’s father! Also on the run is the scheming Khalibiev (Fritz Rasp). All the characters meet up in Paris along with Jeanne’s amorous uncle, a private detective, and the uncle’s blind daughter Gabrielle (Brigitte Helm) who Khalibiev is seducing her for her money in a melodramtic story of murder, theft and double-cross. Oh, and there’s also a diamond swallowing parrot to watch out for! Perhaps not one of Pabst’s best, but interesting nevertheless. Find out more at altfg.com. Presented as part of the Third Annual Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Festival. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link [NB This is a late change to the KenBio Festival programme.]

11 June

The Safety Curtain (Dir.Sidney A. Franklin, US, 1919) + shorts (Screening format – 16mm, 60mins) Puck (Norma Talmedge), is a British music-hall dancer forced to ply her trade to pay for the drunken excesses of her brutish husband, circus strongman Vulcan (Anders Randolph). When the theater catches fire, Puck lowers the asbestos safety curtain all by herself, saving hundreds of lives. She herself is rescued by handsome Captain Manyon (Eugene O’Brian), and when Vulcan is reported dead she marries Manyon. But that is just the start of her troubles….Find out more at imdb.com . Presented as part of the Third Annual Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Festival. Introduced by Kevin Brownlow. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

The Skipper’s Wooing (Dir. H Manning-Haynes, GB, 1922) (Screening format – not known, 70mins) Another in the series of delightful, gentle comedies made by director Manning-Haynes from the stories of W W Jacobs. In this one, a schoolmistress sets rival lovers to find her father who is hiding in belief that he is a murderer. Find out more at imdb.com . Presented as part of the Third Annual Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Festival. Introduced by Bryony Dixon. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link [NB This is a late change to the KenBio Festival programme.]

Socialist Cinema including; The Shadow of a Mine (aka. Ums tägliche Brot, aka Our Daily Bread) (Dir. Phil JutziGer, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – 35mm, 45mins) Produced by the left wing Volksfilmverband and using a docudrama format, the film highlights the hardships faced by Sileasian coal miners. The film was screened in Britain by the London Workers’ Film Society in December 1929. This is now the only print of the film which survives. Find out more at wikipedia.org ; The Four Musicians of Bremen (Dir. Walt Disney, US, 1922) (Screening format – 35mm, 8mins ) Freely adapted from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, four animal musicians, a horse, cat, dog and rooster set out on a quest to find fame by playing their own music. Unfortunitly every where they go, trouble follows, whether they are being chased by town folk, a sword fish, or being attacked by an army. This was the second full-length short cartoon ever produced by Walt Disney. Find out more at imdb.com and; That Sharp Note (Dir. Allan Dwan, US, 1916) (Screening format – 35mm, ) Starring John Sheehan Alfred Santell John Steppling. No further information. Presented as part of the Third Annual Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Festival. Introduced by Tony Fletcher. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

Women Playing Comedy Including; Hypnotizing the Hypnotist (Dir. Laurence Trimble, US, 1911) (Screening format – 35mm, 7 mins) A battle between professional and amateur hypnotists, starring Florence Turner. Find out more at imdb.com Should Men Walk Home ( Dir. Leo McCarey, US, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 20mins) Mable Normand, the queen of silent comedy, teamed with Creighton Hale as jewel thieves who crash a society party. Eugene Pallette plays the dumb detective trying to catch them and Oliver Hardy has a small but funny role as one of the guests. Find out more at letterboxd.com . Satan Junior (Dir. Viola Dana, US, 1919) (Screening format – TBC, 45mins) Diana (Viola Dana) is a high spirited woman who sets her mind on entrapping playwright Paul Worden (Milton Sills), but he sees her as nothing but an unruly child. So Diana has to use every trick in the book to win him over. Find out more at tcm.com. Presented as part of the Third Annual Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Festival. Introduced by Dave Wyatt. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

Before the Blue Angel featuring The Woman One Longs For (aka Die Frau, nach der man sich sehnt, aka The Three Lovers) (Dir, Curtis Bernhard, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – DVD, 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 . Plus an extract from Ship of Forgotten Men (Dir. Maurice Tourneur, 1929) (Screening format – 16mm) In her last silent film before The Blue Angel, Dietrich plays a wealthy heiress, rescued from the seas by a cargo ship full of crooks and villains. Find out more at imdb.com . Presented as part of the Third Annual Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Festival. Introduced by Michelle Facey and Kevin Brownlow. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

The Unholy Three (Dir. Tod Browning, US, 1925)(Screening format – 16mm, 86mins) Truly a bizarre and unique melodrama from master of the macarbe, Tod Slaughter. Three sideshow performers leave their circus life to become “The Unholy Three.” Echo (Lon Chaney) the ventriloquist assumes the role of a kindly old grandmother who runs a shop selling parrots (yes, really!!). Tweedledee (Harry Earles) the dwarf, becomes her grandbaby, and Hercules the strongman (Victor MacLaglen) is their assistant. When the parrots they sell don’t talk, the three visit the customer’s houses to decide whether they are worth robbing and a crime wave commences. But when they hire mild mannered clerk Hector (Matt Moore) and Echo’s girlfriend Rosie (Mae Busch) falls in love with him, trouble looms. Oh, and watch out for the giant gorilla!! Find out more at tcm.com . Presented as part of the Third Annual Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Festival. Introduced by Kevin Brownlow. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

13 June

The Lucky Dog (Dir. Jess Robbins, US, 1921) + Never Weaken (Dir. Fred C Newmeyer/Sam Taylor, US, 1921) (Screening format – not known, 24/19 mins) In The Lucky Dog, a hapless hero (Laurel), is befriended by a stray dog. The hero and his dog then (literally) bump into a robber (Hardy) who is holding someone up. The dog then makes friends with a poodle and the poodle’s lady owner (Florence Gillet) makes friends with our hero. But that’s just the start of his problems. Although this was their first film together, it would be some years before Laurel and Hardy became the famed comedy partnership we know them as today. Find out more at wikipedia.org . In Never Weaken, our hero (Harold Lloyd) works in an office on a tall building next to his girlfriend (Mildred Davis). He assumes they will be married, but overhears her talking to a man who says to her, “Of course I will marry you.” Distraught, he decides to commit suicide, blindfolding himself and setting up a gun which will fire when he pulls a string attached to the trigger. But after putting on the blindfold….of course, being Harold Lloyd not everything will go smoothly, but it will certainly be funny. Find out more at imdb.com With live piano accompaniment by Kit Massey. The Jamboree, Limehouse, London Link

14 June

Kid Auto Races at Venice (Dir. Henry Lehrman, US, 1914), The Pawnshop (Dir. Charlie Chaplin, US,1916) and A Dog’s Life (Dir. Charlie Chaplin, US, 1918) (Screening format – not known, 6/25/33 mins) In Kid Auto Races at Venice, Charlie, dressed as a tramp for the first time, goes to a baby-cart race in Venice, California. He causes a great deal of trouble and confusion, both on off the track (getting in the way of the cameraman) and on (interfering with the race). He succeeds in irritating both the participants and the public. This was the film in which Chaplin’s ‘little tramp’ character makes his first film appearance although the first film to be produced that featured the character was actually Mabel’s Strange Predicment (Dir. Mabel Normand, US, 1914), shot a few days before Kid Auto Races but released two days after it. In The Pawnshop, Chaplin plays an assistant in the shop run by Henry Bergman. He engages in a slapstick battles with his fellow pawnshop assistant, deals with eccentric customers, and flirts with the pawnbroker’s daughter. One customer, posing as a jewelry buyer, pulls a gun and tries to rob the place and Charlie saves the day. In A Dog’s Life, Charlie befriends a stray dog ‘Scraps’, and together they manage to steal some sausages from a lunch wagon. When destitute Charlie sees no chance of winning the girl (Edna Purviance) Scraps digs up a money-filled wallet buried by crooks. But their problems aren’t over yet. Presented to mark the unveiling of a Blue Plaque in Brixton at a house lived in by Charlie and Sydney Chaplin between 1908 and 1910. Introduced by comedian Paul Merton, with live musical accompaniment. Ritzy, Brixton Link

17 June

Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F Percy Smith (Dir. Stuart A Staples, UK, 2016) (Screening format – DCP, 55mins) Smith was an early 20th-century pioneer of cinematography, employing often bizarre, home-made methods of time lapse and micro-filming to capture the worlds of insects and other miniature organisms. Minute Bodies is an interpretative edit that combines the original footage with a new contemporary score, creating a hypnotic, alien yet familiar dreamscape and sharing in the sense of wonder Smith must have felt as he peered through his own lenses to see these micro-worlds for the first time. Find out more at theguardian.com . With live musical accompaniment by Tindersticks. Barbican, London Link

19 June

20 June

Phantom Of The Opera (Dir. Rupert Julian, 1925) (Screening format – not known, 103mins) A title that needs no introduction, The Phantom of the Opera has spawned many remakes, remasters and sequels. This original film version, produced with moments of early Technicolour, sees Lon Chaney, the ‘Man of a Thousand Faces’ perform one of his most iconic roles. His ghastly make-up and outrageous performance made this title a benchmark in the American silent film era. The film was a critical and commercial success upon release, and still stands as an important film in cinematic history to this day, with press quotes from the time labelling the film an ‘ultra-fantastic melodrama’ (New York Times), ‘produced on a stupendous scale’ (Moving Picture World) and ‘probably the greatest inducement to nightmare that has yet been screened’ (Variety). The mysterious phantom (Lon Chaney) is a vengeful composer living in the catacombs under the Paris Opera House, determined to promote the career of the singer he loves (Mary Philbin). Famed for the phantom’s shock unmasking, incredible set designs and the masked ball sequence, it still packs a punch. Find out more at wikipedia.org. With live musical accompaniment by acclaimed musicians Minima. The Point, Eastleigh. Link

21 June

Tom’s CineTrip: The Three Ages of Buster Keaton. “A comedian does funny things. A good comedian does things funny.” Buster Keaton. Join film maker, historian and enthusiast, Thomas Hamilton for a fascinating roller coaster journey through the rise, fall and rise again of the most creative of the silent comedians, Buster Keaton, an incredibly modest genius, who proved as indefatigable in life as his character was on screen. From the first moment he ambled on stage at the stage at age 18 months, curious as to what his parents were up to, Buster Keaton possessed the uncanny ability to convulse audiences with laughter. It was a gift that would never fail him through the next 7 decades, although life dealt him some harder knocks than his films did. The evening includes an illustrated talk, some rare clips and a Q & A session. Sanctum Soho Cinema, Soho, London Link

22 June

Silent Comedy Legends Films being screened include Liberty (Dir. Leo McCarey, US, 1929), a Laurel and hardy classic in which Stan and Ollie are prison escapees. In their haste to change into street clothes, they wind up wearing each other’s pants, and a crab accidentally finds its way into Stan’s trousers, causing him problems with nipping. A cop chases them to a construction site, where they escape by riding an elevator to the top floor of an unfinished building, but thats just the beginning of their troubles… and One Week (Dir. Buster Keaton/Edward F Cline, US,1920) in which Buster Keaton and his wife Sybil Seely attempt to build a kit-house given to them as a wedding gift. But when a rejected suitor secretly re-numbers all the pieces, chaos ensues… plus other classic silent comedies. Presented as a fund-raiser for the Crystal Palace International Film Festival. With live musical accompaniment from The Lucky Dog Picturehouse. Stanley Halls, London, SE25 Link

23 June

How To Become A Benshi ! In conjunction with the Barbican’s screening of Yasujiro Ozu’s I was Born, But… organised as part of The Japanese House exhibition, the Japan Foundation presents a special evening exploring the art of Benshi. Following an introductory talk by silent cinema specialist Pamela Hutchinson, Katsudo-Benshi Hideyuki Yamashiro and Silent Film Pianist Mie Yanashita will perform a clip from Orochi (1925) recreating an authentic Benshi experience. As part of his illustrated talk, Yamashiro will discuss Benshi as a contemporary occupation as well as the unique appeal of Japanese silent cinema. This fascinating event will also offer a few audience members the chance to take to the stage and perform the role of Benshi under instruction from Yamashiro himself! Foyles Book Shop, London Link

24 June

The Epic of Everest (Dir. John Noel, UK, 1924) (Screening format – not known, 85mins) The third attempt to climb Everest culminated in the deaths of two of the finest climbers of their generation, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, and sparked an on-going debate over whether or not they did indeed reach the summit. Filming in brutally harsh conditions with a hand-cranked camera, Captain John Noel captured images of breathtaking beauty and considerable historic significance. The film is also among the earliest filmed records of life in Tibet and features sequences at Phari Dzong (Pagri), Shekar Dzong (Xegar) and Rongbuk monastery. But what resonates so deeply is Noel’s ability to frame the vulnerability, isolation and courage of people persevering in one of the world’s harshest landscapes. Find out more at silentlondon.co.uk . With live musical accompaniment by The Lucky Dog Picture House. The Oval Tavern, Croydon Link

25 June

I Was Born, But…… (Dir. Yasujiro Ozu, Jap, 1932) (Screening format, 35mm, 90mins) This early comedy from Yasujirô Ozu focuses on the Yoshii family – dad Kennosuke, his homemaker wife, and two sons Keiji and Ryoichi – who have just moved from Tokyo’s crowded city centre to a suburban development. Straight away the two boys start slugging it out to find a place in the pecking order among the neighbourhood kids. One of those deposed by their wily antics is Taro, son of Mr Iwasaki, the owner of the company where Kennosuke works as a humble salaryman. Then one night the Yoshii family are invited round to the Iwasaki’s, where the boys are mortified to see their dad dutifully kowtowing to his boss: “You tell us to become somebody, but you’re nobody. Why do you have to bow so much to Taro’s father?” Kennosuke’s attempts to explain the realities of the adult world to his sons leads to some soul-searching of his own. One of the few surviving examples of Ozu’s silent period filmmaking, like his later films this one focuses on the internal dynamics of a single family unit as a way of drawing out broader generalisations about contemporary Japanese society, and uses the low-angle camera shots of domestic interiors that would become his stylistic trademark. Find out more at silentfilm.org . With live musical accompaniment and Benshi narration. Barbican, London. Link

26 June

Blackmail (Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1929) & One Week (Dir. Buster Keaton/Eddie Cline, 1920) (Screening format – not known, 84/19mins) In Blackmail, Alice White is the daughter of a shopkeeper in 1920’s London. Her boyfriend, Frank Webber is a Scotland Yard detective who seems more interested in police work than in her. Frank takes Alice out one night, but she has secretly arranged to meet another man. Later that night Alice agrees to go back to his flat to see his studio. The man has other ideas and as he tries to rape Alice, she defends herself and kills him with a bread knife. When the body is discovered, Frank is assigned to the case, he quickly determines that Alice is the killer, but so has someone else and blackmail is threatened. Alfred Hitchcock’s sinister, suspenseful tale of crime and romance is one of the last British silent films to be made. With his traditional cameo appearance in the first reel, to a spectacular moonlit chase through the British Museum in the final reel, Blackmail is a classic thriller from the Master of Suspense. Find out more at screenonline.org.uk One Week sees Buster and his new bride struggling with a pre-fabricated home unaware that his bride’s former suitor has renumbered all of the boxes. Find out more at wikipedia.org . With live piano accompaniment by David Gray and Jessica Tan. Royal Academy of Music, Marylebone, London Link

27 June

29 June

Battle of the Somme (Dir.Geoffrey Malins, 1916) (Screening format – not known, 77mins) The Battle of the Somme gave its 1916 audience an unprecedented insight into the realities of trench warfare, controversially including the depiction of dead and wounded soldiers. It shows scenes of the build-up to the infantry offensive including the massive preliminary bombardment, coverage of the first day of the battle (the bloodiest single day in Britain’s military history) and depictions of the small gains and massive costs of the attack. The Battle of the Somme remains one of the most successful British films ever made. It is estimated over 20 million tickets were sold in Great Britain in the first two months of release, and the film was distributed world-wide to demonstrate to allies and neutrals Britain’s commitment to the First World War. It is the source of many of that conflict’s most iconic images. It was made by British official cinematographers Geoffrey Malins and John McDowell. Though it was not intended as a feature film, once the volume and quality of their footage had been seen in London, the British Topical Committee for War Films decided to compile a feature-length film. Find out more at wikipedia.org. Presented as part of the Somme100Film Centenary Tour. Accompanied by a live performance from the Waltham Forest Youth Orchestra, conducted by Michael Whittaker. Walthamstow Assembly Hall, Walthamstow, London E17 Link

The Cure + Easy Street + The Immigrant (Dir, Charles Chaplin, US, 1917) (Screening format – not known, 31/19/22 mins) Three classic Charlie Chaplin films, screened on the centenary of their first release. In The Cure, Charlie checks into a help spa to cure his alcohol addiction…but brings a suitcase of booze along with him! In Easy Street the reformed little tramp becomes a police constable who must fight a huge thug who dominates an inner city street. The Immigrant sees the little tramp arriving in America, finding the girl of his dreams but then having trouble paying for a meal. Presented as part of the St Jude’s Music and Literacy Festival. With live musical accompaniment from the Orchestra of St Pauls under artistic director Ben Palmer, performing Carl Davis’ score live to the films . St Jude’s on the Hill, London NW11 Link

NB. Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure that the information contained in these listings is accurate, silentfilmcalendar.org can take no responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies. You are strongly advised to confirm with the venue that the event remains as detailed, particularly if traveling any distance to attend.

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