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The Silent Clowns Film Series
Fall/Winter 2023
Series produced and
accompanied by Ben Model
Films programmed by Steve Massa and Ben Model

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Saturday, Sept 9, 2023
at 2:30pm
NYPL
Library
for the Performing
Arts - New York NY
Alice Howell:
"Every One a Howell"
Alice Howell
was one of the great silent
clowns of the silent screen – a frizzy-haired
forerunner of Lucille
Ball and Carol Burnett – who combined
feminine delicacy with out-and-out
slapstick rough-house. Entering
fims
in 1914, she quickly became
so popular with the character
of a slightly addled working-class
girl that she was launched
into her own starring series.
Our salute is made up of Distilled
Love (1920), Her Lucky
Day (1920), A
Convict’s Happy Bride (1920)
and Under a Spell (1925).
New
restorations presented
courtesy of Undercrank
Productions and
The Library of
Congress
Click
here to
register in
advance
for this
show
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Saturday,
October
21, 2023
at
2:30pm
NYPL Library for the Performing
Arts - New York NY
Buster
Keaton in "Sherlock, Jr."
(1924)
While The
General (1926) and The
Navigator (1924) are possibly
Buster Keaton’s best known films,
Sherlock, Jr. (1924) may be
his most groundbreaking and
original comedy, where he plays
with the very grammar of filmmaking.
A nominal spoof of detective
films,
it features hilarious
gags, breathtaking stunts,
and many “how did he do that?”
moments. Opening the program
is a Keaton favorite, the
two-reeler The
Goat (1921).
New
restoration of
SHERLOCK,
JR. provided
by Cohen Media
Collection.
Click here to
register
in advance
for this show.
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Saturday, Nov 4, 2023
at
2:30pm
NYPL Library for
the
Performing Arts -
New York
Marion
Davies in
"Beverly
of Graustark" (1926)
Marion Davies is
best-remembered today as the
consort of wealthy newspaper tycoon
William Randolph Hearst. What’s
overlooked is that she was a wonderful
comedienne and terrific
mimic who
made a number of sly and sophisticated
comedies. Beverly of Graustark
(1926) was made at her peak, and
features a gender-bending
plot where Marion has to
pose as her male cousin the
Prince of Graustark – which leads to
many comedic and romantic complications.
A selected short subject opens
the bill.
Film restored
by the
Library of Congress, provided
by Undercrank Productions
Click
here to register in
advance
for this
show |

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Saturday, December 9, 2023
at
7:30pm
NYPL Library
for the
Performing Arts -
New York
Animal
Magnetism:
The Silent
Comedy
Menagerie
Animals were very
popular in silent films
because the lack of sound made it easy for trainers to
instruct the bestial Barrymores and put
them through their paces on camera. Some frugal
producers were able to develop stars
without egos who would literally work for
peanuts. For our selection of comedy
critters we have Brownie the Wonder Dog, Numa
the lion, and the Dippy-Doo-Dads in Circus
Clowns (1922), Go
West (1923) It’s the Cats
(1926) and The
Lion’s Whiskers (1925)
Films provided by Undercrank Productions,
the Library of
Congress, Fabulous
Fleischer Cartoons Restored, and D&D
Productions.
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The Silent Clowns
Film Series
Summer 2023
Series produced and
accompanied by Ben Model
Films programmed by Steve Massa and Ben Model

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MANHATTAN
SCREENINGS
|
BROOKLYN
SCREENINGS
|
NYPL LIBRARY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Bruno Walter Auditorium
111 Amsterdam Ave (between 64th & 65th
Streets)
Mask-wearing is strongly encouraged but not
required
ADMISSION: FREE
To attend the Feb or April shows, please
register in
advance via links below or by calling
212-712-7237
Guaranteed seating is only available for
“Friends of the Silent Clowns” members (see
info below).
Members can email: tickets@silentclowns.org,
or call 212-712-SCFS to reserve seats
(must arrive at the venue by 2:15pm).
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COBBLE HILL CINEMAS • 265
Court Street
(corner of Bergen & Butler Streets, F
train to Bergen St)
Mask-wearing is encouraged but not required
ADMISSION:
General Public: $10 all adults
$5 seniors and kids under 12
Tickets available online at the Cobble Hill
Cinemas
website (listings coming soon) or at their box
office
“Friends of the Silent Clowns” members: FREE
Members MUST reserve tix before show date:
tickets@silentclowns.org, or call 212-712-SCFS
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NYPL Library for the
Performing Arts - New York NY
Saturday, June 10, 2023
at 2:30pm
Ernie
Morrison and Our Gang
One of the most
endearing (not to mention
enduring) comedy series ever was
Our Gang, which ran theatrically
from 1922 to 1944, and then
started a whole new lease on life
as “The Little Rascals” on
television in the 1950s. The
catalyst for the series was Ernie
Morrison, a talented child
comedian who’s the subject of this
tribute program. Our special guest
Ina Archer, Artist and Media
Conservator, presents Ernie and
the Gang in new restorations of Fire
Fighters ('22),
The Champeen ('23)
and Dogs of War ('23).
presentation
of Dogs
of War
provided by
ClassicFlix; Fire
FIghters and The
Champeen are
from
the collection of Jon
Mirsalis, presentation
provided
by
ClassicFlix,
Click/tap
here to reserve tickets
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Cobble Hill
Cinemas - Brooklyn NY
Wednesday, July
19,
2023 at
7:30pm
The Oddest
Couple: Laurel & Hardy
After years of
solo film work, Stan Laurel and
Oliver Hardy came together in 1927
at the Hal Roach Studio. By the
next year they’d become an organic
team where human foibles and the
frustrations of everyday life were
magnified a hundred times over.
They are still recognizable today
for Laurel’s cry and grin, and for
Hardy’s slow-burn and delicate
gestures, not to mention for their
shared derbies and contrasting
shapes and sizes. Our salute to
this iconic pair is made up of the
1929 shorts Liberty,
Wrong Again, and Big
Business.
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The Silent Clowns
Film Series
Winter-Spring
2023
Series produced and
accompanied by Ben Model
Films programmed by Steve Massa and Ben Model

|
NYPL Library for the Performing
Arts - New York NY
Saturday, February 11, 2023
at 2:30pm
Harry
Langdon in "Tramp, Tramp,
Tramp"
(1926)
Harry Langdon
made his movie debut in 1923, and
his career blazed
brightly until 1928. Forgotten for
many years, today he’s
considered one of the era’s most
original clowns. After a big
success in shorts for Mack Sennett
he moved into features. TRAMP,
TRAMP, TRAMP (1926) was the first
for his own company and
co-stars a young Joan Crawford as
Harry’s love interest.
Plus a selected short subject.
We
will be screening Walter
Kerr's personal 16mm
print of "Tramp,
Tramp, Tramp". Kerr's
landmark book "The
Silent Clowns"
devotes a number of
chapters to
Langdon's films.
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Cobble Hill
Cinemas - Brooklyn
NY
Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at
7:30pm
Buster
Keaton in "Steamboat Bill, Jr."
(1928)
Keaton’s
last independent film before he joined the MGM
assembly line is one of his best. Famous
for the shot of the house facade falling
on Buster, as iconic as Lloyd hanging from the
clock or Chaplin eating his shoe, it features
great gags, breathtaking
stunts, and wonderful
performances by Ernest Torrence and
perky Marion Byron. Plus a selected
short subject.
Click here to
purchase tickets for
this show.
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NYPL
Library
for the Performing
Arts - New York
Saturday, April 8, 2023
at
2:30pm
Edward
Everett Horton: Silent Comedian?
Remembered today
for his fussy persona in sound films,
Edward Everett Horton doesn’t come to
mind as
a silent slapstick comedian—but he
was! Although
overlooked, Horton had a
substantial career in silent comedy
which culminated in a series of eight
two-reelers produced by no less than
Harold Lloyd. This program
presents three of the very best—FIND
THE KING (1927),
SCRAMBLED WEDDINGS (1928) and
DAD’S CHOICE (1928).
New restorations
presented courtesy of Undercrank
Productions
and The Library of Congress
*Click
here to register in
advance
for this
show* |

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Cobble
Hill Cinemas - Brooklyn
NY
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
at
7:30pm
Harold
Lloyd in "The Kid Brother"
(1927)
Known as the “third
genius” of silent
comedy, Harold Lloyd was always first at
the box office. THE KID BROTHER
(1927) was Lloyd’s penultimate
silent film, and while not as well-known
as SAFETY LAST (1923) or THE
FRESHMAN (1925) it’s one of
hisgreatest films. Harold matches the
lyrical with
slapstick in a rural coming-of-age story.
Plus THE
WHIRLWIND (1923) starring Joe Rock.
Film presented courtesy of
Harold Lloyd Entertainment
Click Here
to purchase
tickets
for this show.
Silent Clowns
members can
reserve free seats by
emailing us.
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The Silent Clowns
Film Series
2022 return to
in-person programming!
Series produced by Ben
Model
Fall 2022 season programmed by Bruce
Lawton
Live
piano accompaniment by Ben Model
Film notes by Steve Massa

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PLEASE NOTE: The NYPL Library for the
Performing Arts no longer requires proof of
vaccination – mask-wearing
is strongly encouraged but not required.
Anyone who wishes to attend our shows should
register in advance on the Library for the
Performing Arts’ Eventbrite web page for each program.
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Saturday, July 16, 2022
at 2:30pm
"Charley
Chase: Crowd-Pleaser"
After a
hiatus of 2+ years, the Silent
Clowns Film Series is thrilled
to be back – live and in-person
at the Bruno Walter Auditorium!
To celebrate our return, and our
series’ 25th anniversary, we
present fan favorite Charley
Chase in four hilarious two-reel
comedies: SOLD AT AUCTION ('23),
HIS WOODEN WEDDING ('25),
DOG SHY ('26) and
the rarely seen MOVIE NIGHT ('29).
Program will
be presented on 16mm film,
sourced from the Library for
the Performing Arts’ Reserve
Film and Video Collection.
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Saturday, September 10, 2022
at
2:30pm
Buster
Keaton in "Our Hospitality" (1923)
*new
restoration by Lobster Films*
(rescheduled from March 2020)
Trains frequently play
important parts in Keaton films,
particularly today's OUR HOSPITALITY
('23). Buster's second feature film is
set in 1831 and has him take a slow
train from rural New York City to end up
embroiled in the middle of a Hatfield
and McCoy feud. Also on the program is
THE LOVE NEST (1923), which finds Buster
on another travel-odyssey in his last
short before diving into features.
Digital
presentation of new
restoration by Lobster
Films, courtesy of
Kino Lorber
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Saturday, November
12, 2022
at
2:30pm
Charlie
Chaplin: An Essanay Afternoon
(rescheduled from
April
2020)
This
Chaplin program
focuses on his second
year in films
at Essanay. Not content to have his screen
character be a figure
of fun, today's
bill of HIS NEW
JOB ('15),
BY THE SEA ('15),
THE BANK ('15), and
POLICE ('16),
illustrates Charlie's
development into
a comic underdog, hero, and lover.
Chaplin's inspiration
and hard work produced films that
remain fresh
and funny for audiences of all ages.
Digital
presentation of new
restorations by Lobster
Films, courtesy of
Flicker Alley
*Click
here to register in
advance
for this
show*
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The Silent Clowns Film
Series
Winter-Spring 2020
programming
Series
produced by Ben Model
Series programmed
by Bruce Lawton
Live piano
accompaniment by Ben Model
Film notes by
Steve Massa

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Saturday, January 11,
2020 at 2:30pm
W.C. Fields
in "So's Your Old Man"
(1926)
special
guest speaker:
Dr. Harriet Fields,
granddaughter of W.C. Fields
When anyone thinks of W.C. Fields they
immediately hear
his nasal drawl and muttered asides, but
Fields made his
first movies
in the silent era and we�re happy to
present his
rare 1926 feature SO�S YOUR OLD MAN.
Filmed at Paramount�s
Long Island Studio (today�s
Kaufman-Astoria Studio),
the picture contains lots of Queens
locations, as well as
Fields� famous Ziegfeld Follies golf
routine. Opening is W.C.�s
film debut �
1915�s POOL SHARKS..
This
program will be presented on 16mm
film.
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Saturday, February 8, 2020
at 2:30pm
Harold
Lloyd in "Girl Shy" (1924)
Remembered
today as the �third genius� of
silent comedy, Harold
Lloyd was first at the
box-office
in the 1920s. GIRL SHY ('24)
is not as well known as SAFETY
LAST! ('23)
or THE
FRESHMAN ('25), but is
equally as funny, and was the
initial independent
production for the Harold Lloyd
Corporation. Extra added
attraction MISS FATTY�S SEASIDE
LOVERS ('15) has
Lloyd learning his craft in
support of Roscoe "Fatty"
Arbuckle.
This
program will be
presented on 16mm film.
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**
CANCELLED DUE TO COVID PANDEMIC
**
Saturday,
March 14,
2020 at
2:30pm
Buster
Keaton in "Our Hospitality" (1923)
*new
restoration by Lobster
Films*
Trains frequently
play important parts in Keaton films,
particularly
today�s OUR HOSPITALITY ('23).
Buster�s second feature film
is set in 1831 and has him take a slow
train from rural
New York City to end up embroiled in the middle of
a Hatfield
and McCoy feud. The
train and
Buster (watch for him) turn up in our
closer short
THE IRON MULE ('25).
This stars
Al St. John
and was directed and written by Keaton's mentor
Roscoe Arbuckle.
Digital presentation
of new restoration by Lobster
Films, courtesy of Kino Lorber
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**
CANCELLED DUE TO COVID PANDEMIC
**
Saturday, April 11, 2020 at 2:30pm
Charlie
Chaplin: An Essanay Afternoon
This
131st Chaplin birthday celebration
focuses on his
second year in lms at
Essanay. Not content to have his screen
character be a figure
of fun, today�s bill of HIS NEW JOB
('15),
BY THE SEA ('15),
THE BANK ('15), and
POLICE ('16),
illustrates Charlie�s development into a
comic underdog, hero, and lover.
Chaplin�s inspiration
and hard work produced films that
remain fresh
and funny for audiences of all ages.
Digital
presentation of new
restorations by Lobster
Films, courtesy of
Flicker Alley
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Fall-Winter
2019
"Wonder Women
of the Silents"
This season, we
spotlight a choice selection of some
of the brightest and most
charismatic female stars to grace
the silent screen with their
presence. While the plot elements
and scenarios for leading females
were often limiting and cut from the
same cloth, (finding positions,
warding off mashers, yearning and
looking for the ideal mate) the
scintillating personalities of these
women - infused with wit, charm and
moxie
- most often transcended their
obvious "sex appeal" or "IT"
qualities. These pioneers of the
cinema paved the way not only for
the screwball and determined
actresses to come (think Carole
Lombard and Barbara Stanwyck) but
continue to inform today's
strongest and nuanced female
portrayals (such as Gal Godot's
enchanting 'Wonder
Woman').
Series
programmed by Bruce Lawton
Live piano
accompaniment by Ben Model
Film notes by Steve
Massa

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Saturday, Sept 14
at
2:30pm
Clara Bow
has�"It"
(1927)
Clara Bow is remembered as �the It Girl,� and this is the film that started it
all. Magnetic and vivacious, Bow burned brightly
on the screen for only ten years. Besides IT ('27) she starred mostly
in comedies like MANTRAP
('26) and RED
HAIR ('28), as well as
the blockbuster
aviation drama WINGS ('27).
Unhappy in sound
films, she
retired at age 28 in 1933.
Slapstick Diva par
excellence Alice Howell kicks o the show in
her two-reeler
CINDERELLA CINDERS ('20).
This
screening of �IT� is made possible
courtesy of Photoplay Productions. Grateful
thanks to Kevin Brownlow & Patrick
Stanbury.
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Saturday,
Oct 12 at 2:30pm
Mad About�Mabel!
Although Mabel Normand is the most
famous female
name in silent comedy history,
her films
are rarely shown
and she's
sometimes better remembered for the
scandals she
was linked to instead of her deft
comedic talents and lively
screen presence. To highlight both her
dramatic and
comic skills, we're
presenting her shorts MABEL, FATTY
AND THE LAW ('15)
and SHOULD MEN
WALK HOME? ('27), as
well as her 1921 Goldwyn feature
WHAT HAPPENED TO ROSA.
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Saturday, Nov 9
at 2:30pm
Colleen
Moore as�"Irene"
(1926)
One of the most popular silent screen
stars, Colleen Moore arrived in Hollywood
at age fourteen
in 1916, and by 1923 was a star. With her
trademark bobbed hair-do, she appeared in stories
such as ELLA CINDERS ('26), ORCHIDS AND
ERMINE ('27), and this season's IRENE ('26) where she played
a feisty working girl who gets her Prince Charming by
the end of the picture. Opening for Ms.
Moore is Martha Sleeper in her only
starring comedy SURE-MIKE! ('25).
Appreciative thanks:
Joseph Yranski & Mark Heller.
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Saturday,
December 21 at 2:30pm
Dorothy
Gish
as�"Nell
Gwyn" (1926)
Although not as well
remembered as her sister Lillian, Dorothy
Gish was a popular star who appeared in
dramas, but specialized in light comedy.
Starting out in films with Lillian as a
teenager under the guidance of D.W.
Griffith, Dorothy moved on to starring
vehicles such as PEPPY POLLY ('19) and THE
COUNTRY FLAPPER ('22). Today, few of her
films have survived, so we're proud to
present NELL GWYN ('26), one of four
features made in England at the end of the
silent era which gave her the opportunity
to use all of her considerable talents.
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Summer
2019
"1929:
The Stop
of the Silents"
As sound began to invade Hollywood
studios in the late 1920s, the still young
medium of motion pictures had reached
an apex. The
language of pictorial
storytelling, sans recorded sound, had
fully developed into something
rather glorious, with those, both in
front of and behind the camera,
all at the height of their artistic
and creative powers. Yet it came to pass
that 1929 was (for the most part) the
final
year in which silent and sound
product co-existed. While silents were
being phased out and the new craze
and technology took over, the industry
had to develop and learn a new language.
Here we sample some of the silents' most
sublime swansongs.
This
is season is dedicated
to Ron Hutchinson (1951-2019) who
passionately saved
so much from the
silent-to-sound era.
Series
programmed by Bruce Lawton
Live piano
accompaniment by Ben Model,
Makia Matsumura or Bernie
Anderson
Film notes by Steve
Massa
Series
produced by Ben Model

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Saturday, May 11
at
2:30pm
"Spite
Marriage" (1929)
Not only was SPITE
MARRIAGE Buster Keaton's
nal silent feature, but also his last
opportunity to work with a modicum of freedom
before MGM clamped
down on him with the arrival of sound.
Little-seen and under-appreciated, this overlooked gem
includes some of Keaton's
most famous routines which
he would recreate on stage and television into
the 1960s. Opening the
show for Buster is Koko the Clown in one of
his last silents, KOKO'S CONQUEST. Guest piano accompanist: Makia
Matsumura.
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Saturday,
June 8 at 2:30pm
Laurel
& Hardy: Holding Their Own
Laurel & Hardy came together as a
team in 1927, after years of solo work,
and by 1929
had become screen icons recognized
around the world. Already familiar with
their contrasting
shapes and shared derbies, as well as
Laurel's
grin and cry and Hardy's slow-burn and
delicate gestures, audiences loved them
and were ready to follow their
transition to
sound. Today's
selection of 1929 shorts� WRONG AGAIN,
BIG BUSINESS, DOUBLE
WHOOPEE, and BACON GRABBERS � is the
climax of their silent screen career. Special
guests: Jonathan M. Smith and Bob
Greenberg as Stan & Ollie.
Piano accompaniment by Ben
Model.
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Saturday, July 13 at
2:30pm
Domestic
Disturbances
The Hal Roach Studios was
known as �The Lot
of Fun,� and during the silent era developed the house
style where human foibles and the frustrations
of everyday life were
magnifed a hundred
times over. A PAIR OF TIGHTS, UNACCUSTOMED AS
WE ARE, MOVIE NIGHT and SATURDAY'S LESSON represent the
studio's silent
summation as it was poised to continue its
comic focus into the new sound medium. Guest piano accompanist:
Bernie
Anderson.
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Saturday,
August 10 at 2:30pm
"The Iron
Mask"
(1929)
After coming from the
stage and beginning his film
career in comedy,
Douglas Fairbanks became the ultimate 1920s
screen swashbuckler in
enormous hits like THE MARK OF ZORRO ('20)
and THE BLACK PIRATE ('26).
For his final
silent epic, THE IRON MASK, Fairbanks reprised
his favorite role of D'Artagnan in a sequel to
his THE THREE MUSKETEERS ('21), creating perhaps
the most sumptuous and elaborate of his movie adventures.
Koko the Clown is back in his animated adventure KOKO'S HYPNOTISM. Guest piano
accompanist: Bernie
Anderson |

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January � April 2019
We
open our 2019 season with a parade
of birthday salutes (beginning
with a "encore sendoff" for
the ever-popular Harold
and Charley) as well as a 95th
anniversary screening of one
of the silent era's most
groundbreaking epic action fantasies
� willed into being by its exuberant
producer-star, Douglas
Fairbanks. Let the festivities
begin!
Series
programmed by Bruce
Lawton
Live piano
accompaniment at all shows by
Ben
Model (except
where noted)
Film notes by
Steve Massa
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Saturday, January 12
at
2:30pm
"Safety
Last" (1923)
Last season's tribute to Harold
Lloyd and Charley Chase spills over into
this program where
we present SAFETY
LAST! ('23)
� not only Lloyd's
most famous film, but the image of
Harold hanging from the clock is one of the most indelible bits
of movie iconography. Charley Chase opens in
his early Keystone
PEANUTS AND BULLETS ('15)
and his Roach one-reeler STOLEN GOODS ('24).
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Saturday,
February 9 at 2:30pm
Larry
Semon: The Frenetic Fool
Look up "silent movie clown" in the
dictionary and you're liable
to see Larry Semon's picture
� the bowler hat, chest-high balloon
trousers, wind-up toy movements, and pasty
white face. There
are explosions, chases, crashes, and
spectacular falls aplenty in
DUNCES AND DANGERS ('18),
FRAUDS AND FRENZIES ('18), THE SAWMILL
('22),
HER BOYFRIEND ('24),
and KID SPEED ('24).
Look for Stan
Laurel and
Oliver Hardy in early roles.
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Saturday, March 9 at 2:00pm
(note earlier
start time!)
"The Thief
of Bagdad"
Douglas
Fairbanks had been a popular light comedian
on stage and screen, but starting with 1920's THE MARK OF ZORRO he
became the movie's
premiere swashbuckler. The Arabian
Nights fantasy THE THIEF OF BAGDAD ('24) is perhaps his
greatest adventure,
and is a visual extravaganza � complete with
a magic chest, flying
carpet, fire-breathing
dragon, and princess in distress.
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Saturday,
April 13
at
2:30pm
It's
Mutual!
� A Charlie Chaplin 130th
Birthday Tribute
Our salute to the
crowned genius of film
comedy focuses on his
much loved Mutual period with a rare
screening of the first
episode of Brownlow & Gill's acclaimed
documentary UNKNOWN
CHAPLIN ('83).
Enticing Mutual outtakes are showcased that reveal
Chaplin's
working methods. Also with the Mutual "bookends"
THE FLOORWALKER ('16)
and THE ADVENTURER
('17).
Piano
accompaniment at this show by Bernie Anderson.
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