The Silent Clowns Film Series

Jewels & Gems:
Rare Prints from
Private Collections

We've devoted this season to spotlighting some of the unsung heroes of film preservation – the private collectors. The Silent Clowns Film Series would never have gotten off the ground, much less continued year after year, without the friendly cooperation of those whose passion and obsession for early films - and whose devotion to saving them, giving them homes, and sharing them with others, matches our own. The rare prints on display this season are thanks to the kindness of Rick DeCroix of Streamline Films, Jack Roth - "Grand Sheik & Keeper of the Celluloid" for The Sons of the Desert of NYC, and Rick Scheckman & Mark Trost of F.I.L.M. Archives. Our heartfelt thanks to them for making this season possible by allowing their precious and valuable prints 'out to play'.

Our winter/spring 2010 line-up:	Share
Sunday, February 21 at 2pm Films from the Jack Roth Collection If Mack Sennett was "The King of Comedy" then Hal Roach was its "Crown Prince." After starting as an extra in 1914, Roach was instrumental in making Harold Lloyd a comedy star, and along the way developed a school of comedy that consisted of recognizable everyday people trapped in outlandish and embarrassing situations. Today’s selection of 1927 releases includes the Stan Laurel vehicles DUCK SOUP, EVE'S LOVE LETTERS and WHY GIRLS LOVE SAILORS, plus Max Davidson in JEWISH PRUDENCE and Charley Chase in THE STING OF STINGS.
Sunday, March 14 at 2pm Films from the Streamline Films Collection: Johnny Hines was a very popular clown who made many Harold Lloyd-type of comedy features in the 1920s, but is unjustly overlooked today. CONDUCTOR 1492 (’24) gives a good look at Hines’ ability with sight-gags, not to mention his engaging smile, and breezy personality. Opening for the feature is Glenn Tryon, another neglected clown, in the Hal Roach short WHOSE BABY ARE YOU? (’25).
Sunday, March 21 at 2pm More films from the Streamline Films Collection When the cinema began every film was a short subject, but as the industry grew so did the length of its films and shorts became a pre-feature special attraction. Comedy shorts were a standard part of the typical theatre bill, and this program provides a wide sampling of the art form. Our line-up is Ben Turpin in LOVE’S OUTCAST ('21), UP ON THE FARM ('25) with Lee Moran, Lupino Lane in MOVIELAND ('26), WHAT! NO SPINACH? ('26) with Harry Sweet, and Snub Pollard as THE OLD SEA DOG (’22).
Sunday, April 11 at 2pm Films from the F.I.L.M. Archives Collection Throughout the silent era there were numerous "fun factories" that specialized in producing and distributing silent comedy one and two-reelers. From giants like Sennett and Christie to micro units like Tenneck – they all worked overtime to supply a steady stream of movie laughter. Our cross-section of producers include Harry Cohn (Sid Smith in A DOG-GONE MIX-UP, ’21,), Larry Darmour (Mickey McGuire in MICKEY’S CIRCUS, '27), William Fox (Arthur Housman in JUST A HUSBAND, '27), Louis, Adolph, & Max Weiss (Ben Turpin in THE EYES HAVE IT, '28), and Hal Roach (Snub Pollard in STRICTLY MODERN, '22, and Stan Laurel in COLLARS AND CUFFS, '23).
Sunday, April 25 at 2pm More films from the F.I.L.M. Archives Collection Known as “The King of Comedy,” Mack Sennett was actually the Henry Ford of slapstick, as he was the first person to create a film studio devoted to turning out comedies on an assembly-line schedule. The main targets for the rough and rowdy Sennett crew were order, pomposity, and social standing. Having discovered most of the big names in the genre, today’s sampling highlights the year 1926 and stars such as Billy Bevan, Ralph Graves and Ben Turpin in the shorts WHISPERING WHISKERS, HUBBY’S QUIET LITTLE GAME, YANKEE DOODLE DUKE, WHEN A MAN’S A PRINCE, and ICE COLD COCOS.

Our fall/winter 2009 line-up:
(please note our new theater location)

	Sunday, October 11 at 2pm Comedy on the Bum - or - The Elegance of Indigence Tramps (a.k.a. “Knights of the Road”) were popular comic characters on stage, in comic strips, and in early films. While Charlie Chaplin used it for his regular screen persona, most of the other big name comics spent some time cinematically "on the bum". Today’s down-and-outers include Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in Fatty's New Role ('15), Charlie Chaplin’s Easy Street ('17), Harold Lloyd in From Hand To Mouth ('19 ), Buster Keaton’s The Goat ('21), and Fiddlesticks ('27) with Harry Langdon.
	Sunday, October 25 at 2pm Daytime for Nightmares: Lloyd takes on healthcare! Keaton takes on Wall St! Remembered today as the "third genius" of silent comedy, Harold Lloyd was always first at the box office. Dr. Jack ('22), although not as well known as Grandma's Boy ('22) or The Freshman ('25), is equally funny and presents Harold as a country doctor who uses scares and thrills to help a young rich girl get rid of parasitic doctors. Also on this Halloween program is Buster Keaton surrounded by eerie goings-on in The Haunted House ('21).
	Sunday, November 8 at 2pm Slapstick Show-Biz Part One: Stagecraft Shenanigans Since most of the silent film comedians came from the stage, it was only natural that they would use their theatre background and experiences for comic material. Tough company managers, over-ripe melodramas and fly-by-night theatre troupes are some of the subjects at hand today in the Thanhouser company’s The Soap Suds Star (215), Charlie Chaplin’s The Property Man ('14), The Play House ('21) with Buster Keaton, Charley Chase’s Bromo and Juliet ('26), and Lupino Lane in Drama Deluxe ('27).
	Sunday, November 22 at 2pm Slapstick Show-Biz Part Two: Chaos on the Set The second part of our Show-Biz programs finds our silent clowns poking fun at themselves and their style of filmmaking. Nothing could be simpler or handier (not to mention cheaper) than using their own studios as background for slapstick antics, which today gives us precious behind-the-scenes glimpses of where and how these films were made. On the bill is Everett True Breaks into the Movies ('16), Charlie Chaplin’s Behind the Screen ('16), Hey There ('18) with Harold Lloyd, Our Gang’s Dogs of War ('23), and The Daredevil ('23) starring Ben Turpin.
	Sunday, December 6 at 2pm – at the Museum of the City of N.Y. Laurel & Hardy: U-Pick 'Em! Audience Favorites After years of solo work, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy came together at the Hal Roach Studio in 1927.In their comedies human foibles and the frustrations of everyday life were magnified a hundred times over. Now you have the opportunity to select which of their silent shorts you’d like to see. Vote online on our website, and the four finalists will be screened at this show! Click here to go to our online voting page to send in your picks!