Silent Film Screenings

It can be very difficult to find screenings of silent films. This page is intended to help people locate silent film screenings in their local area. Please let me know at pringle@csse.monash.edu.au if you are aware of any other screenings not mentioned on this page.

The Silents Are Golden web site has a very good web site listing Silent Movie Screenings. I strongly recommend that you check it out.

Australia Silent Film Schedule
Canada Silent Film Schedule
Denmark Silent Film Schedule
Slovenia Silent Film Schedule
USA Silent Film Schedule
Festivals
Miscellaneous
Television

Australia

Adelaide: Capri Theatre

The Capri Theatre is owned and operated by the Theatre Organ Society of Australia [South Australian Division] Inc. The theatre houses a 4 manual 29 rank Theatre Pipe Organ which is used to accompany the short silent films which are sometimes shown as part of the society's Club Nights, which are held on the second Monday of each month. They also hold Theatre Organ Concerts on Sunday afternoons about every six to eight weeks during the year. Full-length silent movies are screened about once a year at these concerts.

More information about this event as well as the Theatre Organ Society of Australia [SA Div] Inc, the Capri Theatre and Theatre Organ CD's, may be found at their Web site at http://www.ozemail.com.au/~roscol/ or, contact:-

Buster Keaton (accompanied by Blue Grassy Knoll)

The Melbourne jazz group Blue Grassy Knoll provide live accompaniment to mainly Buster Keaton films. I saw them a number of years ago in Melbourne and they were wonderful (as was the Buster Keaton film they had)... I have no hesitation in recommending these shows.

There is more information available from their MySpace page, http://www.myspace.com/bluegrassyknoll

Hobart Film Society

The Hobart Film Society regularly has silent films in their schedule. More details are available at their web page at http://www.tased.edu.au/tasonline/hfilmsoc/

Majestic Theatre, Pomona, Queensland

The Majestic Theatre is a 1921 silent movie house with regular screenings of silent films. Accompaniment is provided live on the theatre's Wurlitzer Pipe Organ by organists Ron West and Andrew Zieren. Visit their website at http://www.themajestictheatre.com.au/

admin@themajestictheatre.com.au

National Film and Sound Archive

ScreenSound (formerly The National Film and Sound Archive) has the occasional silent film in their calendar.

Sydney

Saturday Feb 11 sees a number of silent films with live accompaniment at the Sutherland Entertainment Auditorium. Download the brochure with full detials.

11:00AM Saturday, February 11: 2 Charlie Chaplin shorts (The Rink (1916), The Adventurer (1917) and Buster Keaton's Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928)
7:30PM Saturday, February 11: Douglas Fairbanks in his sensational classic, The Mark of Zorro (1920)

Australia's Silent Film Festival presents two sensational six-week Festivals of restored silent classics in February-April 2012.

Tuesdays, 7:30pm: Master Directors of the Silent Era

Sundays, 2pm: The Golden Comedy Era of Silent Cinema

Tickets per session $14.90/$12.90 concession

Book Online at http://www.govindas.com.au/page/movie_times.htm

The Redcliffe Picture Palace

The Redcliffe Picture Palace regularly screens early Australian feature films, documentaries and actuality/home movie film in both 35mm and 16mm formats. Screenings are held on Sundays at 1pm, bus groups of 20 to 50 by arrangement. Cost is $7 per session including morning/afternoon tea & biscuits.

Canada

Montreal, Quebec: Cinematheque Quebecoise

Cinematheque Quebecoise in Montreal shows about 5 to 10 silent movies each month, some of them accompanied by piano. More information can be found at their web site at http://www.cinematheque.qc.ca/

Toronto, Ontario: Toronto Film Society

The Toronto Film Society has their annual Raiding the Vaults at Eastman House in Rochester NY the first weekend in August with at least five feature and several shorts of silent film accompanied with live piano with Phillip Carli. They also have available to devotees or film history students their extensive archive of film notes on silent film.

Denmark

Danish Film Institute

The Danish Film Institute shows at least two silents a month. Their program can be found at http://www.dfi.dk/ (non-English site).

Slovenia

Slovenska Kinoteka

Slovenska Kinoteka (Slovenian Cinematheque, the international film museum and archive in Ljubljana, Slovenia) has had tens of thousands of screenings including numerous silent films. Silent films are always screened at their proper speed. There is more information provided.

http://www.kinoteka.si/

http://www.kinoteka.si/english/

USA

Boonton NJ - The Darress Theatre

Every couple of months the Darress Theatre holds silent film screenings with live organ accompaniment.

Boston, Massachusetts: Hub of the Universe

The Knight Auditorium, Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts (approximately 20 miles west of downtown Boston) has several silent films each year, accompanied by their 1925 theater organ.

The programs are produced by Pipe Organ Pops, 8 Skyline Dr., Billerica, Massachusetts 01821-1117. Telephone: 978-670-1269.

Desert Classic Film Society, Yucca Valley, CA

57482 Onaga Trail, Yucca Valley, CA

Part 2 in the Valentino Mystique Series features one of Rudolph Valentino's greatest films, The Eagle from 1925.

Vladimir Dubrouvsky, a lieutenant in the Russian army, catches the eye of Czarina Catherine II. He spurns her advances and flees, and she puts out a warrant for his arrest, dead or alive. Vladimir learns that his father's lands have been taken by the evil Kyrilla Troekouroff, and his father dies. He dons a black mask, and becomes the outlaw The Black Eagle. He enters the Troekouroff household disguised as a French instructor for Kyrilla's daughter Mascha. He is after vengeance, but instead falls in love with Mascha.

Also on the bill, a short film made by a young David O. Selznik entitled Valentino and his 88 Beauties. This features candid footage of Valentino judging a beauty contest.

Before the show and at intermission classical singer Richard Severa will perform songs written about Rudolph Valentino with live piano accompaniment.

Also at intermission, hand-tinted glass slides of Valentino's films will be shown.

Mini-Lecture by film historian Christopher Perry will feature information about Valentino's life and movie career.

7pm, March 16, 2012: The Eagle (1925)

Desert Classic Film Society, Yucca Valley, CA

57482 Onaga Trail, Yucca Valley, CA

The Bijou Cinema presents a special presentation of F.W. Murnau's silent masterpiece, Nosferatu - A Symphony of Horror.

This 1922 German film was the original film version of Dracula, with Max Schreck's performance considered by many to be the greatest Dracula ever.

Live musical accompaniment will be provided by 2 members of the Photoplay Orchestra. This ensemble group specializes in authentic live music and live sound effects for silent movie presentations.

The sound effects will be provided by Henry Lozano, the "Mad Doctor of Sound Effects". The sound effects will be created with mechanical devices-the same way they were created in the silent film era.

The Photoplay Orchestra has performed and produced silent movie shows at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood, The William S. Hart Estate, 2002 Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Show, the Black Tie Gala at the Riverside Film Festival, and the California Museum of Photography.

Before the show and during intermission, hand-tinted glass slides from the silent era will be projected.

National Public Radio Film Critic Randy Fischer will provide a mini-lecture on the movie. A vintage film print will be screened.

Admission for this special presentation is $10 per person. Seating is limited. Reservations strongly encouraged.

7pm, February 10, 2012: Nosferatu - A Symphony of Horror (1922)

Guttenberg, New Jersey

The Galaxy Theatre, located at 7000 Boulevard East in Guttenberg, NJ, USA has acquired and restored a Kimball 3 Manual 12 rank theatre pipe organ. This organ was originally built and installed in the Bagdad Theatre in Portland Oregon back in 1927. The organ has had many homes since then, but is now back in a theatre where it is played every Friday and Saturday night prior to the start of the feature. In addition, the Galaxy Theatre is offering an afternoon series of silent movies with live organ accompaniment. The Galaxy Theatre's phone number is (201) 854-6540 for the recording, and (201) 854-6554 for the box office during theatre hours. They are online at http://www.galaxy-movie-theatre.com/

Be sure to call the theatre for any last minute changes. All films are presented in 35mm when available. See http://www.galaxy-movie-theatre.com/silent/silent.html

Lincoln Theatre, Belleville Il

The Lincoln Theatre in Belleville Il shows silent films from time to time. They have a 3 manual 15 rank hybred organ especially designed for the theatre to provide live accompaniment.

Live Cinema Calendar

Live Cinema Calendar is a must see with detailed listings of silent motion picture screenings with piano, organ, orchestral or other live musical accompaniment.

Los Angeles Silent Movie Theatre

The Silent Movie Theatre has screenings of silent movies the entire year round. Full information is available at their website at http://www.silentmovietheatre.com/

Potomac Valley Theatre Organ Society

The Potomac Valley Theatre Organ Society, a chapter of ATOS, routinely features silent movies accompanied by their Wurlitzer Pipe Organ at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Their web page is http://www.pvtos.org

San Jose, Towne Theatre

The Towne Theatre has silent films all year round with live accompaniment on their 1,100 pipe Mighty Wurlitzer Organ. Most programs are on Sundays with a pre-show organ concert.

cameranet@aol.com

Stanford Theater, Palo Alto

The Stanford Theater is a beautiful 1925 theatre which often has silent films screened.

The After Quartet

The After Quartet is an ensemble dedicated to the live interpretation of silent films. They do their own music and performance.

Full details are at their web site www.afterquartet.com

The Harvard Film Archive

The Harvard Film Archive includes silent films in their program. Most include live accompaniment on the piano. To obtain their calendar, write to:

Weinberg Center for the Arts

The 1926 Weinberg Center for the Arts (originally the Tivoli) has silent movies with live accompaniment. To be placed on their mailing list call (301) 228-2828. It can be found at:

www.ozsilentfilmfestival.com.au

Master Directors of the Silent Era

7:30PM Tuesday, February 21: Abel Gance: J’accuse (1919) 166 minutes
Director of great epics like Napoleon, Abel Gance's early creation brings to life WWI history by showcasing its effects on individuals. A lengthy but fully engrossing saga, J'Accuse debates moral and philosophical issues through various characters while telling a moving story.
7:30PM Tuesday, February 28: Maurice Tourneur: The Last of the Mohicans (1920) 74 minutes
This French director made his mark in American silent cinema with classics such as The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917) and The Last of the Mohicans, both deemed "culturally significant" by the US Library of Congress. The latter is adapted from James Fenimore Cooper's novel about the individual struggles of settlers and native Indians in the 1700s.
7:30PM Tuesday, March 6: Fritz Lang: Destiny (1921) 99 minutes
Germany's most famous Expressionist director who helped establish Film Noir in Hollywood began his impressive career with hauntingly beautiful tales of fantasy and gothic horror such as Destiny. Depicting death as a person whose task is to snuff out candles which represent lives, this story is mesmerizing and unforgettable.
7:30PM Tuesday, March 13: King Vidor: Bardelys the Magnificent (1926) 85 minutes
The director of sound era classics The Champ, Stella Dallas, and Duel in the Sun, King Vidor also created innovative masterpieces during the silent era with thought-provoking films such as The Crowd and The Big Parade. The skilled filmmaker turned with success to adventure and romance during this era with the costume drama, Bardelys the Magnificent, starring silent era idol, John Gilbert.
7:30PM Tuesday, March 20: Lev Kuleshov: By the Law (1926) 75 minutes
Soviet films of the 1920s greatly contributed to the silent era of cinema, adding depth and dimension to camera techniques, and several outstanding directors such as Lev Kuleshov. In this intense drama set during the Yukon gold rush, focus is on just a few characters and their dilemma when faced with a murderer among their team.
7:30PM Tuesday, March 27: Alberto Cavalcanti: Captain Fracasse (1928) 89 minutes
Brazilian-born Cavalcanti began his directing career in France before finding further success in England, and this early feature shows the director's sense of beauty, style and elegance combined with action, adventure and romance.

The Golden Comedy Era of Silent Cinema

2:00PM Sunday, February 26: Laughter is the Best Medicine: the Silent Clowns
70 minutes Three of the era's greatest comedians are featured in 20-minute short films: the legendary Charlie Chaplin flees from the cops in The Adventurer (1917); Charley Chase reveals his own unique talents in Mighty Like a Moose (1926); and deadpan-faced Buster Keaton showcases his extraordinary skill for physical gags and stunts as he gives police the run-around in Cops (1922).
2:00PM Sunday, March 4: Wild and Woolly (1917) 72 minutes, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr
Before his legendary swashbuckling adventures like Zorro, Robin Hood and The Three Musketeers, Douglas Fairbanks starred in many short light comedies, full of action and his trademark dynamic charisma. In this classic, Fairbanks dreams of the old Wild West and actually finds it - and gets the girl!
2:00PM Sunday, March 11: Buster Keaton, Comic Genius in Shorts with a Dash of Snub!
75 minutes More irrepressible laughs with comedy genius, Buster Keaton, in trouble with neighbours - Neighbors (1920), at the theatre where all kinds of strange things can happen - The Play House (1921) and then trouble with the in-laws in My Wife’s Relations (1922). Finishing with our own Australian slapstick comedian, Snub Pollard as a quirky inventor in It’s a Gift (1923).
2:00PM Sunday, March 18: The Marriage Circle (1924) 85 minutes, directed by Ernst Lubitsch
Full of elegant charm that characterizes Lubitsch classics, this lovely comedy from his early period in Hollywood shows the lighter side of marriage and complicated human relationships. Set in Vienna, several couples and their friends become intertwined and tangled up!
2:00PM Sunday, March 25: The Clinging Vine (1926) 71 minutes, produced by Cecil B DeMille
Many entertaining silent films were produced and directed under Cecil B De Mille's supervision, and this one stands out as a particularly charming and timeless comedy. Leatrice Joy is very convincing as the girl who looks and dresses like a man, and when she wears a dress, her male colleagues cannot recognize her!
2:00PM Sunday, April 1: The Italian Straw Hat (1927) 105 minutes, directed by René Clair
A smooth and graceful film by French director, René Clair, with fine attention to sets and costumes, The Italian Straw Hat is a fine example of the traditional farce comedy with many extra little touches to tickle one's fancy.

Festivals

Film festivals can often have viewings of silent films. Below are a few festivals known to include silent films. For a comprehensive list of film festivals, take a look at Yahoo's list of Film Festivals.

Cinevent

Cinevent, the classic film convention held annually in Columbus, Ohio.

Giornate del Cinema Muto - Pordenone Silent Film Festival

In October annually the Pordenone Silent Film Festival focuses on silent films. You can contact them at:

codelli@interware.it

Il Cinema Ritrovato

Annual: "Il Cinema Ritrovato" - silent film festival held each year in Bologna. More information can be obtained through Cineteca Communale de Bologna, via Galliera 8, Bologna, Italy.

Iola, Kansas: Buster Keaton Celebrations

Every year in late September, the annual Buster Keaton Celebration is held at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center in Iola, Kansas.

The 10th Annual Buster Keaton Celebration will be held on Sept 27-28, 2002. More details can be found at http://www.iolaks.com/keaton/

San Francisco Silent Film Festival

The 17th Annual Silent Film Festival will take place on July 12-15, 2012 at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street in San Francisco.

Further information can be obtained online at www.silentfilm.org/.

Three Oaks, MI: Sound of Silents Film Festival

Three days of silent films with live music accompaniment, featuring: The Contrete Orchestra (which has performed their scores for silent films at Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival for the past two years), Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Blue Dahlia and composer Dan Schaaf, as well as special guests.

The schedule is now available.

More details are available at the web site www.vickerstheatre.com

Miscellaneous

Harold Lloyd

If you're wanting to view Harold Lloyd films, the Hello, Harold Lloyd site has a list of screenings of his films.

Television

America Movie Classics, USA

America Movie Classics has occasional silents in their schedule.

Turner Classic Movies, USA

Turner Classic Movies regularly has silents in their schedule.

Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.