Live Screenings 2021

29 September

Liberty (Dir. Leo McCarey, US, 1929) + other L&H shorts (Screening format – not known, 20 mins). Liberty sees Laurel and Hardy making a successful prison break but mixed up trousers and an escaped crab somehow leads them to the top a partially completed skyscraper! Find out more at laurel-and-hardy.com Presented as part of the Pocket Film Festival. With live improvised banjo accompaniment by Dan Walsh. Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford Link

30 September

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 as part of the Pocket Film Festival. With live improvised organ accompaniment by Darius Battiwalla. St Mary’s Church, Stafford Link

October

2 October

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 Presented as part of the Pocket Film Festival. With live improvised accompaniment by the Meg Morley Trio. Oddfellows Hall, Stafford Link

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 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 Aaron Hawthorne (organ) and Rosie Lavery (soprano). Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow Link

3 October

Back To God’s Country (Dir. David Hartford/Nell Shipman, Can, 1919) (Screening format – not known, 73 mins) The first, most successful and earliest surviving feature film made in Canada by Canadians, Back to God’s Country tells the story of Delores LeBeau, who goes on a treacherous journey to the Arctic with her husband on a vessel captained secretly by the man who murdered her father. In a tense and action-packed sequence, Delores must save her husband from the malicious Rydal and survive in the unfamiliar Arctic conditions. Nell Shipman was a unique trailblazer of Canadian silent film. She produced, wrote, and directed as well as maintaining a menagerie of up to 200 animals which she wrangled herself on her film shoots. As with many early female film pioneers, Shipman’s contribution to film history remains largely overlooked. Although she went on to produce and direct several successful Hollywood productions, her bankruptcy in 1924 meant the loss of her beloved animals and her departure from the film industry. Find out more at moviessilently.com With live musical accompaniment by Jonny Best. Midlands Art Centre, Birmingham Link

8 October

The Immigrant (Dir, Charles Chaplin, US, 1917) (Screening format – not known, 22mins) Charlie Chaplin’s next-to-last Mutual Studios 2-reeler is as funny as his other 11 Mutual entries, though there’s a stronger inner lining of poignancy. En route by boat from an unnamed country, immigrant Chaplin tries to make the best of the nausea-inducing rough seas. He then befriends fellow emigree Edna Purviance and her ailing mother. Months pass: Chaplin meets Purviance in a restaurant. Quickly ascertaining that her mother has died, Chaplin appoints himself Purviance’s protector. He even promises to pay for the meal; after all, he’s just found a silver dollar on the street. But when the dollar lands on the ground with a leadlike thud, Chaplin realizes he’s as broke as ever–and now he’s at the mercy of blood-in-his-eye head-waiter Eric Campbell. Find out more at charliechaplin.com With live piano accompaniment by Gabriela Montero. King’s Place, London N1 Link

10 October

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 at wikipedia.org. With live musical accompaniment by Sam Enthoven and Arkadiusz Potyka. Art House, Crouch End Link

12 October

The Farmer’s Wife (Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, Br, 1928) (Screening format – not known, 107mins) The Farmer’s Wife is a touching and funny romantic comedy directed by the young Alfred Hitchcock, who would go on to be the world famous master of suspense and creator of films such as Psycho, The Birds, and North by Northwest. This is a rare opportunity to see one of Hitchcock’s early films made in a far lighter vein. Samuel Sweetland (Jameson Thomas), a Devonshire farmer, is alone; his beloved wife Tibby has just died and his daughter has married and left home. He lives in the old farmhouse with his loyal housekeeper, Minta. Just before she died, Tibby told Samuel that he must look for love and marry again once she is gone. So one day Samuel decides to do just that, confident that women will be fighting each other off to marry him. Samuel is brought down to earth quickly however, as the women he picks out have very different ideas – it turns out that finding a wife is more complicated than he first thought. Find out more at ithankyouarthur.blogspot.com. Presented as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival. With live piano accompaniment by Jonny Best. Arts Centre, Leyburn Link

13 October

Nanook of the North (Dir. Robert J Flaherty, US, 1922) (Screening format – not known, 79 mins) Robert Flaherty’s classic film tells the story of Inuit hunter Nanook and his family as they struggle to survive in the harsh conditions of Canada’s Hudson Bay region. Enormously popular when released in 1922, Nanook of the North is a cinematic milestone that continues to enchant audiences. Filmed from 1920-1921 in Port Harrison, Northern Quebec, Flaherty brought an entirely unknown culture to the western world. It describes the trading, hunting, fishing and migrations of a group barely touched by industrial technology. Nanook of the North was widely shown and praised as the first full-length, anthropological documentary in cinematographic history, but it is a film around which controversy still rages, particularly over Flaherty’s inclusion of staged sequences. In a sad footnote, the hunter at the centre of the film Allakariallak (dubbed Nanook by Flaherty) died of starvation not long after the film’s release. Find out more at www.rogerebert.com. Presented as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival. With live musical accompaniment by the Frame Ensemble Square Chapel, Halifax Link

14 October

15 October

Piccadilly (Dir E A Dupont, UK, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 92 mins) A film noir before the term was in use, uncredited German director E.A. Dupont’s Piccadilly is one of the true greats of British silent films, on a par with the best of Anthony Asquith or Alfred Hitchcock during this period. Valentine Wilmot (Jameson Thomas) owns a nightclub featuring dancers Mabel (Gilda Gray) and Vic (Cyril Ritchard). After a confrontation with Wilmot, Vic quits performing at the club. When the joint starts losing business, a desperate Wilmot hires former dishwasher Shosho (Anna May Wong) as a dancer. She is an instant hit and forms a rapport with Wilmot, which makes both Mabel and Shosho’s friend (King Ho Chang) jealous, leading to a mysterious murder. A stylish evocation of Jazz Age London, with dazzlingly fluid cinematography and scenes ranging from the opulent West End to the seediness of Limehouse. One of the pinnacles of British silent cinema, Piccadilly is a sumptuous show business melodrama seething with sexual and racial tension – with an original screenplay by Arnold Bennett. Find out more at screenonline.org.uk . Presented as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival. With live piano accompaniment by Jonny Best. Community Theatre, Saltburn-by-the-Sea. Link

16 October

Funny Business: Laurel & Hardy and friends – Triple Bill of Comedy Start your Saturday afternoon with a triple-bill of slapstick silent film comedy with live piano. Alongside hapless duo Laurel and Hardy are one of early Hollywood’s most inventive female comedians, Mabel Normand, and the subtle, acrobatic beauty of Buster Keaton. (Film titles TBC). Presented as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival. With live piano accompaniment by Jonny Best. Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds Link

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 . Presented as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival. With live musical accompaniment by the Chapel FM Jazz Collective. Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds Link

Piccadilly (Dir E A Dupont, UK, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 92 mins) A film noir before the term was in use, uncredited German director E.A. Dupont’s Piccadilly is one of the true greats of British silent films, on a par with the best of Anthony Asquith or Alfred Hitchcock during this period. Valentine Wilmot (Jameson Thomas) owns a nightclub featuring dancers Mabel (Gilda Gray) and Vic (Cyril Ritchard). After a confrontation with Wilmot, Vic quits performing at the club. When the joint starts losing business, a desperate Wilmot hires former dishwasher Shosho (Anna May Wong) as a dancer. She is an instant hit and forms a rapport with Wilmot, which makes both Mabel and Shosho’s friend (King Ho Chang) jealous, leading to a mysterious murder. A stylish evocation of Jazz Age London, with dazzlingly fluid cinematography and scenes ranging from the opulent West End to the seediness of Limehouse. One of the pinnacles of British silent cinema, Piccadilly is a sumptuous show business melodrama seething with sexual and racial tension – with an original screenplay by Arnold Bennett. Find out more at screenonline.org.uk . Presented as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival. With live piano accompaniment by Neil Brand. Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds Link

Chicago (Dir. Frank Urson & Cecil B.DeMille (uncredited), US, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 118mins ) Seventy-five years before Bob Fosse’s Oscar-winning musical version of Maurine Watkins’ successful stage play, Cecil B. DeMille’s production company made this saucy silent film version. Phyllis Haver is hugely entertaining as the brazen Roxie Hart “Chicago’s most beautiful murderess” – a woman so pathologically shallow she sees notoriety for a murder rap as an opportunity to secure her fortune. Egged on by her crooked lawyer (“they’ll be naming babies after you”) Roxie neglects her long-suffering loyal husband and sets about milking her celebrity status for all she’s worth. The sequence in the prison is an absolute delight – particularly the rivalry between Roxie and fellow-murderess Velma (played by DeMille’s mistress, Julia Faye), as are the climactic courtroom scenes. A cracking, satire on fame and the media, this fun-filled tale of adultery, murder and sin (so sinful that DeMille – known for his Biblical epics – was at pains to keep his name off the credits) is as fresh and relevant as ever. Find out more at wikipedia.org . With live piano accompaniment from John Sweeney. Hippodrome Cinema, Bo’Ness Link

17 October

Funny Business: A compilation of slapstick comedy featuring Laurel & Hardy and friends. Renowned composer, musician and TV presenter Neil Brand selects a triple-bill of his favourite silent film slapstick, featuring Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chase, and Charlie Bowers.. Presented as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival. With live piano accompaniment by Neil Brand. Abbeydale Picture House, Sheffield Link

Back To God’s Country (Dir. David Hartford/Nell Shipman, Can, 1919) (Screening format – not known, 73 mins) The first, most successful and earliest surviving feature film made in Canada by Canadians, Back to God’s Country tells the story of Delores LeBeau, who goes on a treacherous journey to the Arctic with her husband on a vessel captained secretly by the man who murdered her father. In a tense and action-packed sequence, Delores must save her husband from the malicious Rydal and survive in the unfamiliar Arctic conditions. Nell Shipman was a unique trailblazer of Canadian silent film. She produced, wrote, and directed as well as maintaining a menagerie of up to 200 animals which she wrangled herself on her film shoots. As with many early female film pioneers, Shipman’s contribution to film history remains largely overlooked. Although she went on to produce and direct several successful Hollywood productions, her bankruptcy in 1924 meant the loss of her beloved animals and her departure from the film industry. Find out more at moviessilently.com Presented as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival. With live musical accompaniment by Jonny Best (piano) and Trevor Bartlett (percussion). Abbeydale Picture House, Sheffield Link

Cat And The Canary (Dir. Paul Leni, US, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 82mins) The Cat and the Canary, originally a stage play, weaves a tale now very familiar to lovers of the horror genre. Cyrus West, a millionaire, died a presumed madman. His will is only to be read 20 years following his death. The heir? A 20-something girl by the name of Annabelle West. However, the will has an odd condition – since the greed of West’s family drove him to madness (like cats surrounding a canary), Annabelle must be deemed psychologically sound, or the money turns over to a secret heir named in an envelope held by Mr. Crosby, the lawyer overseeing the will reading. Mr. Crosby soon goes missing, with Annabelle the only witness to his disappearance. Is Annabelle spiraling into insanity? Or is the mystery heir pushing her there? The film takes us on a twisty whodunit, one of the very first of the genre, and indubitably one of the few that withstands the test of time. Directed by German expressionist film-maker Paul Leni, his first Hollywood film after having been recruited by producer Carl Laemmle for Universal, and remade three times in the sound era, this silent version is considered the definitive rendering. Find out more at silentfilm.org. Presented as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival. With live piano accompaniment by Neil Brand. Abbeydale Picture House, Sheffield Link

Au Bonheur des Dames (aka Ladie’s Paradise) (Dir. Julien Duvivier, Fr, 1930) (Screening format – not known, 90mins) Set within the glamourous world of a Parisian department store, Julien Duvivier’s long-forgotten masterpiece was one of the last silent films to be made in France and is ripe for rediscovery. Dita Parlo, a German actress who later appeared in Jean Vigo’s L’Atalante (1934) and Jean Renoir’s The Grand Illusion (1937), plays a wide-eyed innocent from the country who is relocated to the city of lights and is lured away from her uncle’s small shop by the richness of the department store. While Duvivier’s film celebrates the richness of Parisian life, it is, at the same time, a damning portrait of rampant consumerism and the demise of small, local shops. Directed by the iconic director of future celebrated French classics such as La belle Equipe (1936), Pépé le Moko (1936) and Un Carnet deBal (1937), Julien Duvivier’s breathtaking Au Bonheur des Dames will leave you laughing, crying and asking for more. Find out more at silentfilm.org. Presented as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival. With live musical accompaniment by the Frame Ensemble . Abbeydale Picture House, Sheffield Link

A Page of Madness (aka Kurutta Ippēji) (Dir.Teinosuke Kinugasa, Jap, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 73mins) A man (Masao Inoue) takes a job as a caretaker at a mental asylum in order to be near his wife (Yoshie Nakagawa). Although his wife suffers genuine mental anguish, the man believes he can rescue her , but all is not quite as it seems….Considered lost for some 45 years, Kinugasa thankfully found the print in his garden shed in the early 1970s. A Page of Madness is a visually stunning, and technically dazzling work of surrealism. Teinosuke utilizes flashbacks, rhythmic intercutting, and impressionistic symbolism in this independently produced, experimental, avant-garde work with its cinematic technique equal to if not superior to that of contemporary European cinema and very much reminiscent of Robert Weine’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). The film contained no intertitles as it was intended to be exhibited with live narration delivered by a benshi who would stand to the side of the screen and introduce and relate the story to the audience. Find out more at midnighteye.com . Presented as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival. With live musical accompaniment by In The Nursery . Abbeydale Picture House, Sheffield Link

21 October

22 October

Early Film Pioneers: Cecil Hepworth To see the real world in films was a pleasurable thrill for cinema audiences at the beginning of the twentieth century, and, as a result, the production of non-fiction films reached an all-time high, both in terms of quality and quantity. Out of all of the film pioneers featured in this season, Cecil Hepworth (1874-1953) is the longest surviving writer, director and producer within the British film industry which he helped establish. In 1899 he converted a small house in Walton-on-Thames into a studio, making it his base for every film project he did for the next 25 years. During that period, Hepworth would cover many traditional aspects of early filmmaking at the time, producing actuality films covering every form of life during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, as well as some of the first British comedy shorts and even drama features. Some of these subjects will be covered in this screening of Through Three Reigns, the early compilation film which was completed in 1922. This lengthy programme put together by Hepworth himself was largely made from films in his own collection and is a look back at history as recorded by the cinematograph. Presented by the Royal Photographic Society and South West Silents. With live piano accompaniment by Meg Morley. Arnos Vale, Bristol . Link

Souls On The Road (aka Rojô no reikion) (Dir. Minoru Murata, Jap, 1921) (Screening format – 35mm, 112 mins) One of the very few Japanese films of its period to survive today, this is a pioneering example of Western-influenced cinema by a studio, Shochiku, committed to the modernisation of Japanese film. Minoru Murata was one of the most important figures in early Japanese cinema but as the majority of his 36 films are lost and he died prematurely in 1937, his work has largely been over looked. Starting out as an actor in the ‘shingeki’ movement which aimed to bring modern, naturalist theatre to Japanese stages, Murata subsequently became an exponent of ‘Pure Film’ which sought to create a new, more modern Japanese cinema, as opposed to the overly theatrical, kubuki influenced productions of the time. The narrative of Souls on the Road is adapted from two foreign literature sources – Gorky’s play The Lower Depths and the German novel Mother Road, the End of a Youth by Wilhelm August Schmidtbonn. Influenced also by the work of D.W. Griffith, Murata cuts between the stories of four interconnected groups of people – a failed violinist who returns home to his family with a wife and daughter in tow, two escaped convicts hiding out in the woods, the local master and his servants including a young woodcutter played by the director, and a wealthy young girl. Find out more at acinemahistory.com With live piano accompaniment. BFI Southbank, London Link

23 October

A Page of Madness (aka Kurutta Ippēji) (Dir.Teinosuke Kinugasa, Jap, 1926) (Screening format – DCP, 73mins) A man (Masao Inoue) takes a job as a caretaker at a mental asylum in order to be near his wife (Yoshie Nakagawa). Although his wife suffers genuine mental anguish, the man believes he can rescue her , but all is not quite as it seems….Considered lost for some 45 years, Kinugasa thankfully found the print in his garden shed in the early 1970s. A Page of Madness is a visually stunning, and technically dazzling work of surrealism. Teinosuke utilizes flashbacks, rhythmic intercutting, and impressionistic symbolism in this independently produced, experimental, avant-garde work with its cinematic technique equal to if not superior to that of contemporary European cinema and very much reminiscent of Robert Weine’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). The film contained no intertitles as it was intended to be exhibited with live narration delivered by a benshi who would stand to the side of the screen and introduce and relate the story to the audience. Find out more at midnighteye.com . With live musical accompaniment. BFI Southbank, London Link

I Was Born, But…… (Dir. Yasujiro Ozu, Jap, 1932) (Screening format, DCP, 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 recorded Ed Hughes and New Music Ensemble score. BFI Southbank, London Link

24 October

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 organ accompaniment by Donald McKenzie. Musical Museum, Brentford Link

27 October

House on Trubnaya (Dir. Boris Barnett, 1928) (Screening format – not known, 64mins) Boris Barnet’s Dom na Trubnoi, Mezhrabpom-Rus (The House on Trubnaya) is a masterpiece of Soviet silent cinema. It is a delightful comedy of manners that satirises contemporary life in Moscow during the height of the New Economic Policy (NEP, 1921-28). The film celebrates the changing character of Moscow while offering a sharp social commentary on the contradictions of the shifting Soviet state. Blending slapstick with the formalism of the Soviet avant-garde, the film achieves outstanding narrative dynamism and finely observed character portrayals. This is the story of a city and the trials and tribulations of a young peasant girl, Parasha (Vera Maretskaya), who comes to Moscow with her pet duck in search of her uncle but discovers the injustices of the petite-bourgeoisie. When Mr. Golikov (Vladimir Fogel), owner of a hairdressing salon, looks for a housekeeper who is modest, hard-working and non-union, Parasha looks to be a suitable candidate but occupants of the house on Trubnaya are shocked when Parasha demonstrates her genuine revolutionary spirit and affirms her proletarian rights by joining the domestic workers union! Another classic Russian comedy from Boris Barnett, a real delight. Find out more at silentfilm.org Presented by the Kennington Bioscope. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link

29 October

Phantom of the Moulin Rouge (aka Le fantôme du Moulin Rouge) (Dir Rene Clair, Fr, 1925) (Screening format – not known, 90 mins) After two short films, Entr’acte and Paris qui Dort (both 1924) Rene Clair went on to direct this, his first feature length film. The Phantom of the Moulin Rouge continues with the same mischievously surreal themes of his first two short films with the story of a man, frustrated in his romantic ambitions, who becomes the victim for a scientific experiment in which a strange doctor separates the soul of the man from his body. Disembodied and invisible, the man whiles away his time playing practical jokes but eventually seeks to return to his own body. However, that body has now been discovered by the police and the doctor charged with murder. Will soul and body ever be reunited. Perhaps not in the same class as later Clair silents such as The Italian Straw Hat or Les Deux Timides (both 1928) this is an amusing tale, especially in this UK premier of a newly restored version. Find out more at imdb.com. A collaborative presentation by Bristol Ideas, South West Silents and Arnolfini. With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne and Elizabeth Jane Baldry. Arnolfini, Bristol Link

30 October

A Page of Madness (aka Kurutta Ippēji) (Dir.Teinosuke Kinugasa, Jap, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 73mins) A man (Masao Inoue) takes a job as a caretaker at a mental asylum in order to be near his wife (Yoshie Nakagawa). Although his wife suffers genuine mental anguish, the man believes he can rescue her , but all is not quite as it seems….Considered lost for some 45 years, Kinugasa thankfully found the print in his garden shed in the early 1970s. A Page of Madness is a visually stunning, and technically dazzling work of surrealism. Teinosuke utilizes flashbacks, rhythmic intercutting, and impressionistic symbolism in this independently produced, experimental, avant-garde work with its cinematic technique equal to if not superior to that of contemporary European cinema and very much reminiscent of Robert Weine’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). The film contained no intertitles as it was intended to be exhibited with live narration delivered by a benshi who would stand to the side of the screen and introduce and relate the story to the audience. Find out more at midnighteye.com . Presented by South West Silents. With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne. Introduced by Miranda Gower-Qian (Diversity & Inclusion Professional + Event Producer BFI). Arnolfini, Bristol Link

Dragnet Girl (Dir. Yasujiro Ozu, 1933) (Screening format – not known, 110mins) Tokiko is an office typist who is more pleased at catching the attention of the owner’s son than he knows. That’s because her real boyfriend is Joji, a washed up boxer turned gangster and her employers present a great opportunity to make some money for them both. However, when Kazuko, the innocent sister of Hiroshi, a hopeful new member of the gang, comes to Joji to plead with him to send Hiroshi away, the gangster is attracted to her. However, Tokiko is jealous and determined to win Joji back no matter what the cost…..Yasujiro Ozu’s cool and clever gangster film is one of Japanese cinema’s masterpieces. Dazzlingly stylized, spirited and kinetic, Dragnet Girl is also an intimate, compassionate study of young people caught in the cultural cross fire. For all its snappy and whimsical homages to Warner Brothers gangster flicks (check out all of those background Hollywood gangster film posters), this is still an Ozu film, ending not with gunshots or kisses but with a still life in an empty room. Find out more at silentfilm.org Presented by South West Silents. With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne. Introduced by Dr Mark Bould (Associate Professor of Film and Literature at University of the West of England) Arnolfini, Bristol Link

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, improvised musical accompaniment by organist Darius Battiwalla. St Thomas, Heptonstall Link

31 October

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 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 piano accompaniment by Lillian Henley. Palace Cinema, Broadstairs 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 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. Presented by Pitshanger Pictures. With live organ accompaniment by Henry Tozer. Link

Body And Soul (Dir. Oscar Micheaux, US, 1925) (Screening format – digital, 102 mins) Paul Robeson made his film debut in this key work from pioneering black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. One of a number of ‘race’ films produced for America’s segregated southern audiences, Body and Soul features an all-black cast, led by Robeson in a twin role as both a scheming convict posing as a reverend, attempting to swindle his congregation of their offerings, and his long-lost twin brother. The themes of morality and civility that run through the film are typical tropes of the race film, but Micheaux’s film has a potent force enhanced by Robeson’s undoubted star charisma. Micheaux’s original cut was nine-reels long, but he was forced to cut footage after complaints about the story’s supposed sacrilegious elements. The five-reel version is the one that survives today. Find out more at homemcr.org With live piano accompaniment. BFI Southbank, London Link

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 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 organ accompaniment by Donald McKenzie. Town Hall, Birmingham Link

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, improvised musical accompaniment by Leeds City Organist Darius Battiwalla. Howard Assembly Room, Leeds Link

Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (Dir. Benjamin Christensen, Swe., 1922) (Screening format – not known, 105mins) A fictionalized documentary with dramatic reconstructions showing the evolution of witchcraft, from its pagan roots to its confusion with hysteria in modern (1922) Europe. Based partly on Christensen’s study of the Malleus Maleficarum, a 15th-century German guide for inquisitors, Häxan is a study of how superstition and the misunderstanding of diseases and mental illness could lead to the hysteria of the witch hunts. Although it won acclaim in Denmark and Sweden when first released, Haxan was heavily censored or banned outright in many countries. But it is now considered to be Christensen’s finest work, a witches’ brew of the scary, the grotesque, and the darkly humorous. Find out more at thedevilsmanor.blogspot.co.uk . With live musical accompaniment from Jane Gardner (piano) and Hazel Morrison (percussion). Hippodrome Cinema, Bo’Ness Link

November

2 November

5 November

Crainquebille (Dir. Jacques Feydar, Fr, 1922) (Screening format – not known, 76 mins) An ageing Parisian vegetable peddler gets caught in the cogs of a corrupt legal system after resisting attempts by a policeman to move him on from his pitch of 40 years in Les Halles. After serving his prison sentence, he is shunned by his regular customers and falls into poverty and alcoholism. Contemplating suicide, he is saved by the intervention of young newspaper seller who encourages him to make a fresh start and forget the past. Based on a short story by Anatole France, the film stands out both for its realistic cinematic technique in the market scenes and the nightmarish fantasy scenes as the protagonist is overwhelmed by the legal system and was a popular and critical success. D.W. Griffith, upon seeing Crainquebille, declared “I have seen a film that, for me, symbolizes Paris. That man with his barrow load of vegetables – what a striking image – and how forceful! And Feraudy – great, powerful acting! A fine work, beautiful, compelling, bold!” while the New York Times selected Crainquebille as one of the best films of the year. Find out more at imdb.com A collaborative presentation by Bristol Ideas, South West Silents and Arnolfini. With live piano accompaniment by Meg Morley. Arnolfini, Bristol Link

6 November

Orphans Of The Storm (Dir. D W Griffith, US, 1921) (Screening format – not known, 143mins) Based on the 1874 French play “Les Deux Orphalines” by Adolphe d’Ennery and Eugène Cormon, Lillian and Dorothy Gish star as the resourceful Henriette and the blind Louise, who leave their countryside home for Paris in hopes of having Louise’s sight restored. Spied by the lecherous Marquis de Praille (Morgan Wallace), Henriette is abducted and the women are tragically separated in a city on the brink of revolution. With the help of a kind-hearted nobleman (Joseph Schildkraut), Henriette endeavors to find the helpless Louise, but cruel fate repeatedly thwarts her efforts. Director Griffith exploits their heart-wrenching dilemma with masterful skill, crowning the drama with political intrigue, spectacle, and his usual degree of social moralizing (baldly stating in the opening titles the parallels between the French Revolution and the then-recent Russian Revolution, and the dangers of falling into anarchy and Bolshevism as the French Revolution had fallen into anarchy and radicalism). This multi-layered epic draws to its white-knuckle climax outside the old city gates in Paris, beneath the gleam of the guillotine’s scarlet blade. Orphans of the Storm provided Lillian Gish with her final role for Griffith, bringing to a close the long and fruitful collaboration that began in 1912 with An Unseen Enemy (Lillian’s and Dorothy’s Film Debut). Find out more at catalog.afi.com A collaborative presentation by Bristol Ideas, South West Silents and Arnolfini. With live piano accompaniment by Meg Morley. Arnolfini, Bristol Link

7 November

11 November

The Crowd (Dir. King Vidor, US, 1928) (Screening format – not known, 98 mins) One of the last great masterpieces of the silent era, The Crowd combines awe-inspiring camerawork with a thrilling, often tender realism that would influence the great postwar directors, King Vidor’s pioneering film follows John and his wife Mary as they struggle against the de-humanising effects of ordinary life in the city, and strive to set themselves apart from the crowd. More akin to the neorealism of European films, The Crowd offers a rare morbid view of society far removed from the upbeat, lively fare reflected in most American silent films of the era. Vidor won universal acclaim for his innovative methods of illustrating the harsh, impersonal aspects of urban existence. The cinematography by Henry Sharp (much of it shot on location in New York City with hidden cameras) earned enthusiastic praise for his innovative style and amazing camera angles. Under pressure from MGM, Vidor reluctantly filmed an upbeat alternate ending, where John inherits a fortune and ends living in the lap of luxury, but this was thankfully rejected by preview audiences and his more ambivalent finale prevailed. Find out more at afi.com. Commissioned and produced by Opera North as part of Leeds International Film Festival. With a new score written and performed live by exploratory jazz pianist Matthew Bourne. Howard Assembly Room, Leeds Link

13 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 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. Village Hall, Tutbury Link

15 November

A Page of Madness (aka Kurutta Ippēji) (Dir.Teinosuke Kinugasa, Jap, 1926) (Screening format – DCP, 73mins) A man (Masao Inoue) takes a job as a caretaker at a mental asylum in order to be near his wife (Yoshie Nakagawa). Although his wife suffers genuine mental anguish, the man believes he can rescue her , but all is not quite as it seems….Considered lost for some 45 years, Kinugasa thankfully found the print in his garden shed in the early 1970s. A Page of Madness is a visually stunning, and technically dazzling work of surrealism. Teinosuke utilizes flashbacks, rhythmic intercutting, and impressionistic symbolism in this independently produced, experimental, avant-garde work with its cinematic technique equal to if not superior to that of contemporary European cinema and very much reminiscent of Robert Weine’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). The film contained no intertitles as it was intended to be exhibited with live narration delivered by a benshi who would stand to the side of the screen and introduce and relate the story to the audience. Find out more at midnighteye.com . With recorded Alloy Orchestra score . BFI Southbank, London Link

17 November

The Eagle (Dir. Clarence Brown, US, 1925) (Screening format – 16mm, 80mins) Based on the novel Dubrovsky by Alexander Pushkin, Rudolph Valentino stars as the title character, a young Russian Cossack officer who rejects the Czarina’s (Louise Dresser) amorous attention and is promptly branded a deserter in this silent tale of love and revenge. On the eve of his dismissal he learns of his father’s ruin–his father had sent a letter pleading for the Czarina’s aid against Kyrilla (James Marcus), a gluttonous and treacherous neighbor who has stolen the family’s estate. Sentenced to death with a reward on his head for shunning the lusty Czarina, Vladimir escapes into the countryside and becomes the Black Eagle, a dashing masked vigilante who seeks to avenge the death of his father. But things get complicated when he falls in love with Mascha Troekouroff (Vilma Banky), Kyrilla’s daughter. Escaping for once his ‘Latin Lover’ persona, Valentino delivers a charismatic and seductive performance in this full-scale romantic adventure that shines with early Hollywood’s technical advancements and stylish production values. Find out more at iamhist.net. Presented by the Kennington Bioscope. Introduced by Kevin Brownlow. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link

28 November

I Was Born, But…… (Dir. Yasujiro Ozu, Jap, 1932) (Screening format, DCP, 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. BFI Southbank, London Link

December

8 December

The Eagle’s Mate (Dir. James Kirkwood, US, 1914) (Screening format – 35mm) The Eagle’s Mate is a Mary Pickford vehicle long considered lost until a print was acquired by George Eastman House in 2000. Pickford’s first film with actor/director James Kirkwood, The Eagle’s Mate was adapted from a novel by Anna Alice Chapin about a girl abducted by a disreputable mountain family and forced into marriage. In a contemporary review, Variety described Pickford as ‘one of the few picture actresses, or actors for that matter, who can interject personality into a negative. She breathes the role taken, and it fits her, up, down and all around … The Eagle’s Mate is a lively feature without a real kick – but it has Mary Pickford, better than the best kick or punch that could have been put in …’ Kicks and punches were not the issue when a 1918 revival ran into censorship problems in Chicago (and elsewhere) over its violent content; cuts were instead ordered because of shootings and a fight scene in which a man’s mouth is torn. Find out more at wikipedia.orgPresented by the Kennington Bioscope. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link

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The silent film listing site

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