14 May

The Kid   (Dir. Charlie Chaplin, 1921) + The Champion (Dir. Charlie Chaplin, 1915)  (Screening format – not known, 53/33 mins)  The Kid is Chaplin’s first feature length film and a masterful blending of comic genius and sentimentality.   In the film,  Edna Purviance deposits her new baby with a pleading note in a limousine and goes off to commit suicide. The limo is stolen by thieves who dump the baby by a garbage can. Charlie the Tramp finds the baby and makes a home for him. Five years later Edna has become an opera star but does charity work for slum youngsters in hope of finding her boy. Will Edna find the child and will the little tramp get the girl?  As Chaplin says,  “A comedy with a smile–and perhaps a tear” .  Find out more at imdb.com.    In The Champion,  Charlie finds a “good luck” horseshoe just as he passes a training camp advertising for a boxing partner “who can take a #beating.” After watching others lose, Charlie puts the horseshoe in his glove and wins. The trainer prepares Charlie to fight the world champion. Will he win and more importantly will he get the girl.    The Kid is believed to have been the first film ever shown at The Kinema when it opened in 1922.   It will be shown today as part of The Kinema’s 95th Anniversary celebrations with the original recorded soundtrack as composed  by Chaplin.  The Champion will be accompanied live by Alan Underwood at The Compton Organ.  The Kinema in the Woods, Woodhall Spa, Lincs  Link

20 May

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 Pulham Orchestra, conducted by Margery Baker.  Diss Church, Diss. Link

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