Live Screenings – November 2023 – Silentfilmcalendar.org

1 November

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (Dir. F W Murnau, 1922) (Screening format – not known, 96mins) Nosferatu is one of the most iconic films of the German expressionist era, let alone cinema itself. In this first-ever screen adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, a simple real-estate transaction leads an intrepid businessman deep into the superstitious heart of Transylvania. There he encounters the otherworldly Count Orlok (portrayed by the legendary Max Schreck, in a performance the very backstory of which has spawned its own mythology) who soon after embarks upon a cross-continental voyage to take up residence in a distant new land… and establish his ambiguous dominion. The film was an unauthorised adaption of Stoker’s ‘novel with names and other details changed because the studio could not obtain the rights to the story. 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. Brilliantly eerie, with imaginative touches which later adaptions never achieved and featuring some of the most iconic images in cinema history, Nosferatu continues to haunt modern audiences with its unshakable power of gothic imagery and blood curdling suspense.. Find out more at www.rogerebert.comWith live musical accompaniment by Chris Green. Merlin Theatre, Frome Link

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Dir.Wallace Worsley, US, 1923) (Screening format – not known, 117mins) A classic silent film, full of drama, frights, romance, and excitement – Quasimodo’s story is told with the thrilling addition of a live score – bringing this extraordinary movie to life like never before. Quasimodo is ordered to kidnap a gypsy girl, Esmerelda, by his wicked master, and an unlikely friendship forms between them. However, the reclusive hunchback is tested to his limits when Esmerelda is framed for attempted murder, and must fight back against the powers that have subjugated him. Victor Hugo’s tragic tale of the deformed bellringer and his love for Esmeralda, a doomed gypsy girl, has been filmed so many times and it’s not hard to see the film’s ageless appeal. While some movie lovers who cite the 1939 Charles Laughton version as their favorite interpretation, the general consensus is that Chaney remains the definitive Quasimodo. Find out more at wikipedia.org. With live organ accompaniment by Aaron Hawthorne. The Plaza, Stockport Link

2 November

Safety Last (Dir. Fred C Newmeyer/Sam Taylor, US, 1923) (Screening format – not known, 73mins) A boy (Harold Lloyd) moves to New York City to make enough money to support his loving girlfriend (Mildred Davis), but soon discovers that making it in the big city is harder than it looks. When he hears that a store manager will pay $1,000 to anyone who can draw people to his store, he convinces his friend, the “human fly,” (Bill Strother) to climb the building and split the profit with him. But when his pal gets in trouble with the law, he must complete the crazy stunt on his own. The image of Harold Lloyd hanging desperately from the hands of a skyscraper clock during Safety Last! is one of the great icons of film history (although it was achieved with a certain amount of film trickery) and this remains one of the best and best loved comedies of the silent era. Find out more at rogerebert.com. With live organ accompaniment by Donald Mackenzie. Thorngate Hall, Gosport Link

Film Orchestrated: Silent Slapstick The Brixton Chamber Orchestra is back with a captivating programme of silent comedy, each accompanied live by a 15-piece orchestra. This event marks the eagerly awaited second installment of BCO’s residency at Brixton’s iconic Ritzy cinema, following their successful Halloween screening of Dreyer’s Vampyr and Disney’s Skeleton Dance in 2022. Get ready for hilarious classic sketches from the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, enhanced by a unique blend of historical soundtracks, live improvisation, and fresh compositions. They’ll also be screening René Clair’s masterpiece of early surrealist cinema, Entr’acte, performing the original soundtrack by Erik Satie. With live musical accompaniment by the Brixton Chamber Orchestra. Introduced by comedian Darran Griffiths. Ritzy Cinema, Brixton Link (and every ticket comes with a free can of beer from sponsors Brixton Brewery).

3 November

Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Dir. Robert Wiene, 1920) (Screening format – not known, 77 mins) In the village of Holstenwall, fairground hypnotist Dr Caligari (Werner Krauss) puts on show a somnambulist called Cesare (Conrad Veidt) who has been asleep for twenty three years. At night, Cesare walks the streets murdering people on the doctor’s orders. A student (Friedrich Feher) suspects Caligari after a friend is found dead and it transpires that the doctor is the director of a lunatic asylum. Fueled by the pessimism and gloom of post-war Germany, the sets by Hermann Warm stand unequaled as a shining example of Expressionist design. Find out more atwikipedia.org. With live musical accompaniment by Minima. Mill Arts Centre, Banbury Link

4 November

Drifters (Dir. John Griersen, UK, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 61 mins) Drifters, the story of the North Sea herring fleets from Yarmouth and Lowestoft to Shetland, broke new ground in 1929. Filmed mainly at sea in all weathers, but with studio sets for some interior scenes, it established Grierson’s style of “creative interpretation of actuality” which came to characterise the British school of documentary film-making. Directed and edited by Grierson and photographed by Basil Emmott. The film was successful both critically and commercially and helped kick off Grierson’s documentary film movement. Find out more at imdb.com . With live piano accompaniment by Forrester Pyke. Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling Link

Poker Faces (Dir. Harry A Pollard, US, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 80mins) In order to secure a lucrative contract, businessman Jimmy Whitmore (Edward Everett Horton) hires a woman to pose as his wife at a business dinner when his own wife can’t make it. Unfortunately, the woman he hires is the wife of an insanely jealous prizefighter. And to further complicate matters, Jimmy’s wife (Laura La Plante) has secretely and unknowingly got a job with Jimmy’s boss, something he has specifically forbidden her from doing, so she is desperate that he doesn’t find out. Poker Faces was a well received comedy on its first release and hasen’t lost any of its charm or laughs over the years. Find out more at catalog.afi.comPresented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Laughter Weekend. Introduced by Matthew (‘Lost Laugh’) Ross. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, LondonLink

Kontinental Komics A selection of short comedies (in 35mm & digital) featuring some of the biggest (but often now sadly forgotten) silent stars from Europe, hand picked from the BFI collection. Comedy mayhem should ensue with these silent rarities featuring, amongst others, Andre Deed, Ferdinand Guillaume, Leontine, Marcel Perez, Raymond Frau and Zoe (aka Little Chrysia). Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Laughter Weekend. Introduced by Tony Fletcher. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, LondonLink

A Tribute to Mr Wyatt The KenBio’s Laughter Weekends, and many other events like them, wouldn’t have happened without silent film curater, collector, writer, historian and all round expert David Wyatt, who sadly passed away in October 2022. This presentation will be a loving tribute to the man, from his friends and colleagues and will include rare footage and memories of David, as well as clips from his favourite films and some surprises for the audience too. Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Laughter Weekend. Introduced by Chris Bird. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, LondonLink

The Three Must-Get-Theres (Dir. Max Linder, US, 1922) (Screening format – not known, 55mins) The wonderful Max Linder in one of his rarely seen comedy features, in which he parodies the Fairbanks version of the Alexander Dumas classic. The film co-stars Bull Montana and Jobyna Ralston and was directed by Linder himself. A great chance to see the comedian that Chaplin called “the Master”, in action in what is now regarded as a riotous comedy masterpiece. Sadly, this was the last film directed by Max Linder in the USA. Like his two previous American films it was neither a critical or popular hit. Disillusioned, Linder returned to Europe where he would only direct one more film before his suicide in 1925. Find out more at frenchfilms.org. Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Laughter Weekend. Introduced by Lisa Stein Haven, Professor of English at Ohio University and acknowledged Linder expert. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, LondonLink

Rare Roach A collection of rarities from the Hal Roach studios, featuring Our Gang, Laurel & Hardy and the UK premiere of the complete The Way of All Pants (1927) starring Charley Chase and directed by Leo McCarey in which Chase is delivering a pair of trousers that a woman has ordered for her husband. She asks him to try them on himself, so that she can see how they fit. But as he is in the middle of changing, the husband arrives home…..setting of a tidal wave of trouser changing chaos. Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Laughter Weekend. Introduced by Hal Roach expert Richard M Roberts. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, LondonLink

The Cameraman (Dir. Edward Sedgwick/Buster Keaton, US, 1928) (Screening format – not known, 67mins) Buster (Buster Keaton) meets Sally (Marceline Day), who works as a secretary for the newsreel department at MGM, and falls hard. Trying to win her attention, Buster abandons photography in order to become a news cameraman. In spite of his early failures with a motion camera, Sally takes to him as well. However, veteran cameraman Stagg (Harold Goodwin) also fancies Sally, meaning Buster will need to learn how to film quickly before he loses his job. Find out more at slantmagazine.com Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Laughter Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link

5 November

The Floor Below (Dir. Clarence G Badger, US, 1918)(Screening format – not known, 78mins) The survival rate of Mabel Normand’s features is patchy to say the least. This rarity, directed by Clarence G Badger survives in the Eye Filmmuseum and is a great example of her Goldwyn output at that time. A cub reporter Patricia O’Rourke (Normand), a good-natured prankster who works as a copy girl for the Sentinel, angers her co-worker Stubbs and is about to lose her job when the managing editor offers her one more chance. Her assignment is to explain the clue that links the Hope Mission, a derelict home run by millionaire Hunter Mason and his secretary, Monty Latham, with a series of local robberies. Sent undercover to get the story, she falls for the man she is investigating. But does she get the story? The film will be preceded by an exceedingly rare pre-Sennett short, that Mabel made for Vitagraph in 1911. Find out more at imdb.com. Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Laughter Weekend. Introduced by Michelle Facey. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, LondonLink

Animal Magnetism It’s an old rule among actors to never work with babies or animals as they’re natural scene stealers. But because of this quality animals played an important part in silent comedy – continually used for cute, throwaway gags, and even as stars of their own series. Film historian Steve Massa, makes a welcome return to our video stage, with a special presentation all about the animal stars of the silver screen, featuring many rare facts, photos and film clips. This will also include the premier of a new reconstructed restoration of a classic comedy featuring Numa the lion! Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Laughter Weekend. Introduced by Steve Massa. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link

Only on 8mm Although we often hear about new 35mm discoveries made by the major archives, there are a great many films that only survive on smaller, more “domestic” formats. The home movie gauge of 8mm was used as a way of selling movie films to the general public, back in the pre-video days and this presentation will feature some comedies that, as far as we can find out, only survive in this format. Please remember that these films are not going to look their sharpest, but we hope the rarity and the comedy delights within will make them shine in other ways! Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Laughter Weekend. Introduced by Glenn Mitchell and Dave Glass. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link

Play Safe (Dir. Joseph Henabery, US, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 50mins) A gang of bad guys menace Monty’s (Monty Banks) girlfriend, played by Virginia Lee Corbin . She hides in a freight car and a misstep sends the otherwise-empty train out of the station with the lever pushed to full speed. As the train gains speed, Monty attempts a daring rescue. An oncoming locomotive, a water tower, a steep grade, a frayed rope and a broken plank between cars complicate the hero’s task. Although long remembered for the climatic runaway train sequence, the film was not particularly successful. An abridged two-reel version was shown in the United States as Chasing Choo Choos and the original version fell into obscurity and has not been screened for nearly a hundred years! But, using film elements from the Library of Congress, Blackhawk Films and Gosfilmofond, KenBio today present the premiere of the reconstructed and restored feature, in all of it’s sparkling, heart pounding glory. Find out more at strictly-vintage-hollywood.blogspot.com. Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Laughter Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link

New Discoveries & Restorations At the time of writing this, KenBio have the problem of having too much stuff to show! This means you’ll see the cream of the crop. Films to be shown at the moment include some 28mm rarities, including Lyons & Moran and Larry Semon, an unknown Paul Parrott & Sid Smith delight, a Bobby Burns and Walter Stull discovery, and the new Blackhawk restoration of the Charley Chase comedy Are Brunettes Safe?… and there’ll be more if they have time! This will be film that no one has seen for a hundred years!! Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Laughter Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link

Laurel and Hardy and Friends This is another KenBio event growing into a very special event. For example, they’ve just had confirmed that they’ll be showing a promotional short the boys made, that even the most ardent Laurel & Hardy fan won’t have seen before (thanks to Serge Bromberg at Lobster Films!), along with a pile of other rarities and discoveries that should make every fan sit up and smile. With the additional showing of one complete restored silent and sound film too, starring our favourite comedy team of all time, this will be the best tribute to the boys (and David Wyatt) the KenBio can possibly provide. Hold on to your (bowler) hats! Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Laughter Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link

Blackmail (Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1929) (Screening format – digital, 84mins) 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 (and subsequently re-issued in a sound version). 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 With live musical accompaniment. BFI Southbank, London Link

Neil Brand Presents Laurel And Hardy After the national success of his long-running show ‘Neil Brand Presents Buster Keaton’, the composer/writer/broadcaster/musician returns with an all-new show about the immortal comedy duo recently portrayed in the hit film ‘Stan and Ollie’. Fully illustrated with stills, clips (both silent and sound) and Neil’s superlative piano accompaniment and culminating in two of the Boys’ best silent short films, Big Business and Liberty, this is a show that promises gales of laughter throughout, as well as getting under the skin of two warm, funny men who continue to make the world laugh when it needs it most. With live piano accompaniment by Neil Brand. Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne Link

6 November

9 November

10 November

The Flying Scotsman (Dir. Castleton Knight, UK, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 50mins) A part-silent, part-talkie thriller set largely on the Flying Scotsman express between London and Edinburgh. A disgruntled railwayman (Alex Hurley) attempts to wreck the train after he is sacked after being caught drinking by the train’s driver Bob White (Moore Marriot), who is working his last day before retirement. White’s daughter Joan (Pauline Johnson) is also on the train, having fallen for White’s new fireman, Jim (Ray Milland). As well as being Milland’s first starring role, the film is also notable for all the stars doing their own stunts, including Pauline Johnson who was doubly challenged by wearing high heels while hanging off the side of the train. Find out more at heyuguys.com . With live organ accompaniment by Donald Mackenzie. Caid Hall, Dundee Link

11 November

Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde (Dir. John S. Robertson ,US, 1920) (Screening format – not known, 79mins) Not the first cinematic version of Stevenson’s famous story but one of the most memorable with John Barrymore’s classic transformation scenes, a mixture of facial and bodily contortions as well as make–up. He tends to be hammy as the leering beast of a thug but brings a tortured struggle to the repressed doctor, horrified at the demon he’s unleashed, guilty that he enjoys Hyde’s unrestrained life of drinking and whoring and terrified that he can no longer control the transformations. Martha Mansfield co-stars as his pure and innocent sweetheart, and Nita Naldi (the vamp of Blood and Sand) has a small but memorable role as the world-weary dance-hall darling who first “wakens” Jekyll’s “baser nature”. The film uses elements from a 1887 stage version of Stevenson’s original novella by Thomas Russell Sullivan. A huge box office success on its release. Find out more at moviessilently.com With live organ accompaniment by Donald MacKenzie. The Astoria Centre, Corstorphine, Edinburgh Link

Big Parade (Dir. King Vidor, US, 1925) (Screening format – not known, 151mins) One of the earliest films produced by a newly formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, The Big Parade was a huge box office smash (MGM’s highest grossing silent feature) and cemented King Vidor as a prestige filmmaker. The story of idle American James Apperson (John Gilbert), who is deployed to Europe when the USA join WWI, its plot points were heavily borrowed from 1924 Broadway play What Price Glory?. The Big Parade wraps every WWI trope – the unlikely hero, the French girl, the comradeship, the horrors of battle – into a tidy narrative. But these were not yet clichés in 1925 and it’s easy to see why this powerful, funny, romantic anti-war film, scripted by Laurence Stallings and Harry Behn, became a model against which all WWI dramas would be measured, it is a film full of strange, wonderful moments and impressive scenes of battle. Find out more at sensesofcinema.com Presented by the Northern Silents. With live musical accompaniment by Trevor Bartlett (percussion) and Jonny Best (piano) Stoller Hall, Manchester Link

12 November

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 masterwork 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. Assembly Rooms, Melbourne, Derby Link

13 November

The Mark Of Zorro (Dir. Fred Niblo, US, 1920) (Screening format – not known, 85mins) Don Diego Vega (Douglas Fairbanks) masquerades as an ineffectual fop to bamboozle his enemies and conceal his secret persona: ‘Zorro’: avenger of the oppressed. The first King of Hollywood – dashing, athletic Fairbanks, pretty much defined the swashbuckling genre with this rip-roaring adventure flick. Featuring horseback stunts, witty chase sequences and sword fighting, this entertaining romp achieves a satisfying blend of humour and heroics that remains the benchmark for action films today. Find out more at silentfilm.org Presented by South West Silents. With live musical accompaniment by pianist Meg Morley. St George’s, Bristol Link

14 November

Dickens In Silent Film A collection of early silent adaptations of the works of Charles Dickens. Films to be shown include Nicholas Nickleby, The Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist! Presented by the Lucky Dog Picture House. With live musical accompaniment. Wilton’s Music Hall, London Link

The Mark Of Zorro (Dir. Fred Niblo, US, 1920) (Screening format – not known, 85mins) Don Diego Vega (Douglas Fairbanks) masquerades as an ineffectual fop to bamboozle his enemies and conceal his secret persona: ‘Zorro’: avenger of the oppressed. The first King of Hollywood – dashing, athletic Fairbanks, pretty much defined the swashbuckling genre with this rip-roaring adventure flick. Featuring horseback stunts, witty chase sequences and sword fighting, this entertaining romp achieves a satisfying blend of humour and heroics that remains the benchmark for action films today. Find out more at silentfilm.org With live musical accompaniment by pianist Meg Morley. Turner Sims Concert Hall, Southampton Link

15 November

Underground (Dir. Anthony Asquith, GB, 1928) (Screening format – not known, 84 mins) In 1920s London, during a normal hectic day on the Underground, mild mannered Northern Line porter Bill (Brian Aherne) falls for shop worker Nell (Elissa Landi). But their relationship is threatened by power station worker Burt (Cyril McLaglan) who also has eyes for Nell. Consumed by jealousy, Burt plots to discredit Bill with a plan that results in a daring chase through London’s underground and across rooftops of the city. Although Underground was only Asquith‘s second film he handles the melodramatic story with confidence and great sophistication. Underground is a rare study of 1920s working-class London, and offers a fascinating and historically interesting glimpse of its public transport system. Find out more at screenonline.org.uk Presented by the Lucky Dog Picture House. With live musical accompaniment. Wilton’s Music Hall, London Link

16 November

Battleship Potemkin (Dir. Sergei Eisenstein, 1925) (Screening format – not known, 75mins) Considered one of the most important films in the history of silent pictures, as well as possibly Eisenstein’s greatest work, Battleship Potemkin brought Eisenstein’s theories of cinema art to the world in a powerful showcase; his emphasis on montage, his stress of intellectual contact, and his treatment of the mass instead of the individual as the protagonist. The film tells the story of the mutiny on the Russian ship Prince Potemkin during the 1905 uprising.Their mutiny was short-lived, however, as during their attempts to get the population of Odessa to join the uprising, soldiers arrived and laid waste to the insurgents. Battleship Potemkin is a work of extraordinary pictorial beauty and great elegance of form. It is symmetrically broken into five movements or acts. It is the fourth sequence, “The Odessa Steps,” which depicts the massacre of the citizens, that thrust Eisenstein and his film into the historical eminence that both occupy today. It is unquestionably the most famous sequence of its kind in film history, and Eisenstein displays his legendary ability to convey large-scale action scenes. The shot of the baby carriage tumbling down the long staircase has been re-created in so many subsequent films. Find out more at classicartfilms.com Presented by the Lucky Dog Picture House. With live musical accompaniment. Wilton’s Music Hall, London Link

19 November

Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler (Dir. Fritz Lang, Ger, 1922) (Screening format – not known, 130mins) Lang’s epic but fast-moving two-parter, about an all-powerful underworld genius and master of disguise creating all kinds of chaos in Berlin, is one of the earliest and greatest conspiracy thrillers. Part 1 introduces arch fiend Dr. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), a gambler, hypnotist, master of disguises and all-around criminal mastermind who develops the economic upheaval and social bacchanalia at the heart of Weimar-era Berlin. During this time Mabuse also turns his attention to a new target, Edgar Hull (Paul Richter), the son of a millionaire industrialist who Mabuse hopes to manipulate for his own ideas of chaos. On the heels of Mabuse is State prosecutor Norbert von Wenk (Bernhard Goetzke) who dedicates all of his time and effort to tracking down the allusive Dr. Mabuse was the prototype for the sort of evil genius super-villains that would later become common in movies, whether it be in the James Bond pictures or in comic book adaptations like Superman and Batman. A truly legendary silent film, Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler had a major impact on the development of the crime thriller, building upon the work of the pioneering French film serialist Louis Feuillade (Les Vampires) and firmly establishing it as a significant film genre. Find out more atwikipedia.org With live piano accompaniment. Institut Francais, London Link(NB Part 2 screens at the same venue on 26 November)

The Crucified (Dir. Boris Orlický, Cz, 1921) (Screening format – digital, 59mins) This classic silent Czech film offers a fascinating, if troubling, representation of Jews and antisemitism in 19th century Europe. Tormented by his childhood memory of his Jewish mother being crucified during a pogrom, her illegitimate son, now a student, is determined to find out what has happened to her. Find out more at filmovyprehled.cz Presented as part of the Jewish Film Festival. With live musical accompaniment featuring a newly commissioned electronic score from Dizzock & False Trance. JW3, London NW3 Link

Salome (Dir. Charles Bryant, US, 1923) (Screening format – not known, 74mins) This is a film adaptation of the Oscar Wilde play of the same name and is a loose retelling of the biblical story of King Herod and his execution of John the Baptist at the request of Herod’s stepdaughter, Salome, whom he lusts after. The film stars Alla Nazimova who, though largely forgotten today, was an international sensation in the early 20th century. Born in Yalta in 1879, she studied acting at Constantin Stanislavski’s Moscow Arts Theatre in the 1890s. In 1907, she found acclaim on Broadway, where her groundbreaking performances in European Modernist plays by Anton Chekov, August Strindberg and Henrik Ibsen generated millions of dollars. Six years later, Metro put Nazimova under contract at $13,000 per week, making her the highest-salaried actress in the industry. The highly stylized costumes, exaggerated acting, minimal sets, and absence of all but the most necessary props in Salome make for a screen image much more focused on atmosphere and on conveying a sense of the characters’ individual heightened desires than on conventional plot development and as such it has been labelled by some as one of the first ‘art films’ to be made in the US. But for all its style, the film was a popular failure and a financial disaster for Nazimova who had bankrolled its production and from which she never really recovered. But in the years since, its weirdly beautiful atmosphere and aesthetic – combining Art Nouveau, modernism and the glamour of Hollywood’s Golden Age – have led to its growing recognition as an exotic gem, and a cornerstone of camp. To find out more see www.loc.gov. Presented by South West Silents, With live musical accompaniment by Meg Morley. Pound Arts, Corsham Link

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. Crayford Community Hall, Castle Cary Link

21 November

The Signal Tower (Dir. Clarence Brown, 1924) (Screening format – digital, 70 mins) In The Signal Tower, Dave Tolliver (Rockliffe Fellowes), a signal-man on a mountain railroad, takes in his new relief operator, Joe Standish (Wallace Beery), as a lodger. But Standish is a drunk with an eye for the ladies. One stormy night while Dave is at work frantically trying to prevent a runaway goods train from crashing into a passenger express, an alcohol-fueled Standish decides to make a play for Dave’s wife, Sally (Virginia Valli). This highly-charged silent film drama features a truly terrifying performance from Wallace Beery as Standish that drives the story to a spectacular dramatic climax. Find out more at imdb.com . Introduced by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival’s Rob Byrne. With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne. Aula Maxima, University College, Cork Link

23 November

25 November

26 November

Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler (Part 2) (Dir. Fritz Lang, Ger, 1922) (Screening format – not known, 140mins) Lang’s epic but fast-moving two-parter, about an all-powerful underworld genius and master of disguise creating all kinds of chaos in Berlin, is one of the earliest and greatest conspiracy thrillers. Part 2 sees Rudolf Klein-Rogge return as the very dangerous Dr. Mabuse, the criminal mastermind whose nefarious machinations provide the cover for many a masterful crime set with the backdrop of Weimar Germany. A film of cold-blooded murder, opiate narcosis and cocaine anxiety, Lang’s film maintains an unrelenting power all the way to the final act which culminates in the terrifying question: “WHERE IS MABUSE?!”. A truly legendary silent film, Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler had a major impact on the development of the crime thriller, building upon the work of the pioneering French film serialist Louis Feuillade (Les Vampires) and firmly establishing it as a significant film genre. Find out more atwikipedia.org With live piano accompaniment. Institut Francais, London Link

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