13 January
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, UK, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 91 mins ) In The Lodger, a serial killer known as “The Avenger” is on the loose in London, murdering blonde women. A mysterious man (Ivor Novello) arrives at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Bunting looking for a room to rent. The Bunting’s daughter (June Tripp) is a blonde model 
and is seeing one of the detectives (Malcolm Keen) assigned to the case. The detective becomes jealous of the lodger and begins to suspect he may be the avenger. Based on a best-selling novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes, first published in 1913, loosely based on the Jack the Ripper murders, The Lodger was Hitchcock’s first thriller, and his first critical and commercial success. Made shortly after his return from Germany, the film betrays the influence of the German expressionist tradition established in such films as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) and Nosferatu (1922). Find out more at silentfilm.org With live musical accompaniment by Minima. Assembly Rooms, Melbourne Link
14 January
Nosferatu (Dir. F W Murnau, 1922) (Screening format – not known, 96mins) A German Expressionist horror masterpiece starring Max Shreck as the vampire Count Orlok. The film was an unauthorised adaption of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ with names and other details changed because the studio could not obtain the rights to the novel. Stoker’s heirs sued over the adaption and a court ruling ordered that all copies of the film be destroyed. However, a few prints survived and the film came to be regarded as an inspirational master work of the cinema. In the film, Count Orlok travels across Europe leaving a trail of death in his wake. Brilliantly eerie, with imaginative touches which later adaptions never achieved. Find out more at wikipedia.org With live musical accompaniment by Minima. Contemporary, Nottingham Link
21 January
The Kid (Dir. Charles Chaplin, US, 1921) + short (Screening format – not known, 68/? mins) 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 by Wurlitza. Calstock Arts, Calstock Link
27 January
Go And Get It (Dir. Marshall Niehan/Henry Roberts Symonds, US, 1920) (Screening format – digital, 70mins) Go and Get It, is a silent horror film long thought to be ‘lost’. However, a 35mm print, the 
original Italian 35mm nitrate release print, turned up recently in the archives at Cineteca Milano. The film itself is considered the fore-runner of the ‘killer gorilla’ horrors that would feature so heavily in the decades to come, with mad Dr. Ord putting a criminal’s brain into an ape. What could possibly go wrong?! The film opens with publisher Gordon conspiring with a rival publisher to sabotage his newspaper in order to gain full control. Helen Allen, the owner, who inherited the newspaper from her father, has some suspicions and, wanting to investigate, she gets hired under a false name. She is helped by reporter Kirk Connelly, on the trail of a ferocious murderer. Find out more at catalog-afi-com Presented by the the Gothique Film Society. With live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney. Cinema Museum, Lambeth Link
29 January
The Unknown (Dir. Tod Browning, US, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 63 mins) To escape the police, Alonzo (Lon Chaney) , who has two thumbs on one hand, poses in a sideshow as an armless wonder. He falls in love with Estrellita, and when detected by her father, he kills him. Then, discovering that the girl abhors the touch of a man’s hands, he has both his arms amputated. Returning, he finds to his dismay that she has fallen in love with 
Malabar, the strong-man. Is all lost for Alonzo….The Unknown was the sixth of ten collaborations between Chaney and director Tod Browning. Its circus theme was a favorite of Browning’s, both on and off screen. Chaney was already “The Man of a Thousand Faces” when he appeared in The Unknown but in this film Chaney didn’t need to rely on heavy make-up to transform himself for a role. For The Unknown, Chaney reported, “I contrived to make myself look like an armless man, not simply to shock and horrify you but merely to bring to the screen a dramatic story of an armless man.” Find out more at moviessilently.com . With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne and Martin Pyne. Barbican, London Link
Silentfilmcalendar.org 