Topeka KS: Kansas Silent Film Festival

[silentfilm]

http://www.kssilentfilmfest.org/kssff2010/program.html

Kansas Silent Film Festival
Feb. 26 & 27, 2010
White Concert Hall
Campus of Washburn University
17th and Jewell, Topeka, Kansas

Fri. Feb. 26, 2010, starts at 7 p.m.

Overture by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra
Opening Titles performed by the Mont Alton Motion Picture Orchestra
Intros by Denise Morrison

Angora Love
20 min.
(1929)
with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
—Organ music by Greg Foreman

The Vagabond
20 min. (1916)
with Charlie Chaplin
—Organ music by Marvin Faulwell



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Short Break
Intermission slides featuring Phil Figgs on piano

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Special Guest: MELISSA TALMADGE COX, grand-daughter of Buster Keaton and Natalie Talmadge. Ms. Cox will discuss why OUR HOSPITALITY is her favorite Keaton film because it features her grandparents, her great grandfather (Joe Keaton) and her own father (James) playing Buster as an infant.



Our Hospitality
75 min. (1923) with Buster Keaton
—Music by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra


Sat. Feb. 27, 2010, starts at 10 a.m.

Overture by Jeff Rapsis
Opening Titles - Music by Jeff Rapsis
Welcome and Intros by Denise Morrison

Rescued by Rover
8 min. (1905) with Blair, the collie
—Piano music by Jeff Rapsis
The Iron Mule
16 min. (1925) with Al St. John
—Piano music by Jeff Rapsis
Thundering Fleas
20 min. (1926) with Our Gang
—Organ music by Greg Foreman
The Magic Clock
30 min. (1928) A magical color-tinted animated feature, directed by Wladyslaw Starewicz
—Music by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra


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Lunch Break (on your own), resuming at 1:00 p.m.

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Sat. Feb. 27, 2010, starts at 1:00 p.m.

Overture by Marvin Faulwell
Opening Titles - Music by Marvin Faulwell
Intros by Denise Morrison

Flaming Fathers
20 min. (1927)
with Max Davidson
—Music by Jeff Rapsis
The Matrimaniac
46 min. (1916) with Douglas Fairbanks Sr. & Constance Tamadge
—Organ music by Marvin Faulwell



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Short Break
Intermission slides featuring Jeff Rapsis on piano
— Cookies and Punch served in the lobby —

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Special Guest: MELISSA TALMADGE COX
Melissa, the grand-niece of movie stars Norma and Constance Talmadge
will speak about her aunties and their lives after their careers had ended.

Smilin' Through
90 min. (1922) with Norma Talmadge & Harrison Ford
—Organ music by Greg Foreman
(DVD Presentation)



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Supper Break, resuming at 7:00 p.m.


CINEMA-DINNER
Served buffet-style
Featuring our special guest Melissa Talmadge Cox
Bradbury Thompson Alumni Ctr., Washburn University, Topeka, KS
—Total cost: $25 per person (non-refundable) —
Tickets will be on sale at the event, but seating is limited.
Why not make reservations early? Send reservation requests to:

KSFF Cinema-Dinner
P.O. Box 2032
Topeka, Kansas 66601-2032




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Sat. Feb. 27, 2010, starts at 7 p.m.

Overture - Music by Greg Foreman
Opening Titles - Music by Greg Foreman
Intros by Denise Morrison

The Unchanging Sea
14 min. (1910) by D.W. Griffith, with Linda Arvidson and Mary Pickford
—Organ music by Greg Foreman
The Moony Mariner
20 min.
(1927)
with Billy Dooley
—Organ music by Jeff Rapsis

The Yankee Clipper
80 min. (1926) with William Boyd, Elinor Fair and Junior Coghlan
—Organ music by Marvin Faulwell & Bob
Keckeisen, Percussion
(DVD Presentation of a Restored Film)


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There will be an intermission in the Feature Film
_________________
Bruce Calvert
http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com

[George Kincaid]

http://cjonline.com/news/2010-01-19/film_festival_sets_schedule

Film festival sets schedule

“Our Hospitality,” a 1923 Buster Keaton comedy, will open the 2010 Kansas Silent Film Festival, which will be Feb. 26-27 at White Concert Hall and will feature Keaton’s granddaughter, Melissa Talmadge Cox, as guest speaker.

DINNER & A MOVIE

Melissa Talmadge Cox will talk about life at the lavish Hollywood mansion of her grandfather Buster Keaton during an optional buffet dinner at 5:15 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Bradbury Thompson Center. Cost is $25, and paid reservations are required and can be made by calling (785) 670-1351 or mailing to KSFF Cinema Dinner, Box 2032, Topeka, KS 66601-2032.
Keaton's granddaughter to speak at Kansas Silent Film Festival
By Bill Blankenship
January 19, 2010 - 12:08pm
Buster Keaton's granddaughter will introduce her favorite of the Kansas-born movie legend's movies next month at the opening night of the 14th annual Kansas Silent Film Festival.

Melissa Talmadge Cox will be the guest speaker at the Feb. 26-27 festival at Washburn University. At the opening session in White Concert Hall, where the movies will be shown, Cox will explain why the 1923 movie "Our Hospitality" was a Keaton family affair.

The antebellum South-set comedy about two feuding families co-stars both of Cox's grandparents, Buster Keaton and Natalie Talmadge. It also features in small roles two more generations of Keatons, Joe Keaton, Cox's great-grandfather, and Cox's father, James Keaton, billed in the movie as Buster Keaton Jr., portraying the star as an infant.

During the filming of the movie, Natalie Talmadge also was pregnant with the couple's second son, Robert, and late in the movie camera angles had to be adjusted to not show the pregnancy.

During the second day of the festival, Cox will speak about both her great-aunts, Constance and Norma Talmadge. "The Matrimaniac," a comedy co-starring Constance Talmadge and Douglas Fairbanks, and "Smilin' Through," a drama with Norma Talmadge, will be screened.

Cox also will talk about life at her grandfather's lavish Hollywood mansion during an optional buffet dinner at the Bradbury Thompson Center. Admission to it is $25, but the rest of the festival is free and will feature live musical accompaniment by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, organists Marvin Faulwell and Greg Foreman, percussionist Bob Keckeisen and pianist Jeff Rapsis.

Here is the full schedule, details of which can be found at www.kssilentfilmfest.org:

Friday, Feb. 26

•7 p.m.: "Angora Love" (1929), a Laurel and Hardy comedy; "The Vagabond" (1916), starring Charlie Chaplin; and "Our Hospitality" (1923), starring Buster Keaton and Natalie Talmadge.

Saturday, Feb. 27

•10 a.m.: "Rescued by Rover" (1905), starring Blair, the collie; "The Iron Mule" (1925), a comedy starring Al St. John, nephew of Kansas-born Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle; "Thundering Fleas" (1926), an Our Gang comedy; and "The Magic Clock" (1928), and animated feature directed by Wladyslaw Starevisz.
•1:30 p.m.: "Flaming Fathers" (1927), featuring comedian Max Davidson; "The Matrimaniac" (1916), starring Douglas Fairbanks and Constance Talmadge; "Smilin' Through" (1922), with Norma Talmadge.
•7 p.m.: "The Unchanging Sea" (1910), a D.W. Griffith short; "A Moony Mariner" (1927)," starring Billy Dooley; and "The Yankee Clipper" (1927), the premiere showing of the full-length, original version of Cecil B. DeMille's high-seas drama starring William Boyd, who would be television's Hopalong Cassidy, and child actor Junior Coghlan.

Bill Blankenship can be reached at (785) 295-1284 or bill.blankenship@cjonline.com.

[larrys66diner]

As usual, I am looking forward to this year's festival. Too, I am very excited about the opportunity to meet with Miss Cox.

If anyone has further questions, or would like to read more information about the festival and its location, please check out our website at http://www.kssilentfilmfest.org/.

You may also e-mail our festival's coordinator, Bill Shaffer at bshaffer2@cox.net or contact me via e-mail at larrys66diner@gmail.com if you need further information.

I hope to see you present at the 14th Annual Kansas Silent Film Festival!

Larry

http://www.larrys66diner.com/
_________________
Larry

http://www.larrys66diner.com/

[larrys66diner]

Just a little side note:

Out 14th Annual Kansas Silent Film Festival is posted on Turner Classic Movies' website! Isn't that awesome?!?

http://www.tcm.com/movienews/index/?cid=293460
_________________
Larry

http://www.larrys66diner.com/

[Mr. Grimes]

Very excited to be going to my first silent film festival! I'll be the giddy little man next to the thoroughly embarrassed redhead pretending not to know me, lol. For those of you driving to Topeka, weather.com is predicting possible snow for next weekend so plan accordingly and be safe.
Cheers to all,
John

[Jim Reid]

Mr. Grimes, there's going to be another carfull heading to Topeka from the Metroplex. Hope to see you there!

[silentfilm]

I had already seen all of the films tonight, but it is always a pleasure to see Laurel & Hardy in Angora Love (1929) with a crowd of 700+ people. Mont Alto did a fine score for Our Hospitality.

Melissa Talmadge Cox was very friendly and Jim and I got to speak with her before the program. Before the film, she described seeing the film for the first time when she was younger and seeing her dad (the baby in the film), her grandparents (Buster and Natalie Talmadge) and her great grandfather Joe Keaton (as the train engineer).

The surprise film was SEEING STARS (1922?), which was a First National promotional film. I had originally seen it at Cinecon before. Jeff Rapsis played for this, which is really a curiosity, since half of it is static shots of a banquet of First National stars. It does have some dramatic scenes from "upcoming" films that had not been released yet, such as Keaton's Balloonatic.

The not-yet-released Constance Talmadge and Norma Talmadge DVDs were on sale here, and Jim Reid bought a pair. I'm pretty sure that they will be out of stock by lunch tomorrow. I picked up The General on
BluRay although I've already seen it a zillion times.
_________________
Bruce Calvert
http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com

[silentscreen]

I'm glad you and Jim are having a good time! I too have purchased the new Talmadge sisters set, but I preordered it, and I've got a bit of a wait before it actually arrives.

Brenda
_________________
"Relax, Georgie, I'm just making my collar and cuffs match." Carole Lombard

[silentfilm]

It's pretty late and I don't have time to post a review of the rest of the fest, but Jim and I had a fantastic time. Smiling Through started off slow (Norma doesn't show up for at least 10 minutes), and the ending was a weepie, but the middle of the film was really good. The Billy Dooley comedy Moonie Mariner was a very fun surprise, and I don't recall any other silent films dealing with rockets other than Trip to the Moon and Woman in the Moon.

As usual, the music was great, and the cast of musicians has grown with Mont Alto, Jeff Rapsis, organists Marvin Faulwell and Greg Forman, and percussionist Bob Keckeisen. We also met several other people from the Dallas area who attended -- I guess we need to arrange for a chartered bus next year.

The biggest thrill was being able to touch one of Buster Keaton's porkpie hats!
_________________
Bruce Calvert
http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com

[Lokke Heiss]

[silentfilm]

Rats, sorry we missed you Lokke. Jim and I were sitting a couple of rows back near the center most of the time.

Smilin' Through was definitely a star vehicle for Norma. I thought that the intense wedding scene, plus the aborted homecoming scene were excellent, but much of the rest of the film was just overwrought melodrama.

I'll write a full review of the fest and post some photos in a couple of days after I catch up with everything back home.
_________________
Bruce Calvert
http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com

[silentfilm]

SEEING STARS (1922) was a First National promotional picture with appearances by many stars such as Charlie Chaplin (out of costume), Buster Keaton, and Norma Talmadge, Basically the first half was filmed at a banquet from only one or two camera positions. I saw this at Cinecon a few years ago and on a bigger screen it was easier to identify some of the participants. After quite a few titles and the banquet scene, clips from several "upcoming" First National pictures are shown, including THE BALLOONATIC and DAYDREAMS with Buster Keaton. This is mainly a curiosity piece. Since it was the suprise film, it wasn't listed in the program and it wasn't mentioned that the end of the film is missing due to nitrate deterioration. However, since it was mostly film clips it wasn't noticable. (Jeff Rapsis on piano) *1/2

ANGORA LOVE (1929) is Laurel & Hardy's last silent film. I've got it in my collection and have seen it many times. It is just a notch under their classics like TWO TARS. In the film Stan innocently feeds a stray goat and the goat follows them everywhere, including their hotel room. The film greatly benefits from the performance of Edgar Kennedy as the harried landlord. It was certainly a shame that the Roach studios let him go soon after sound came in. A great indicator of how creative Leo McCarey and the Roach team is the number of gags that they developed using buckets of water when the goat is getting a bath. Organ score by Greg Foreman. ***1/2

THE VAGABOND (1916) was a Charlie Chaplin Mutual short that I also have in my collection and have seen many times. Chaplin was still experimenting with injecting pathos into his films and while it works in this film, the gags do stop occasionally. The beginning of the film is classic Chaplin as he plays his violin outside a bar trying to earn some money, but is soon drowned out by a band quartet. After finding gypsy slave Edna, his battles with perennial villain Eric Campbell are just as violent as usual. The semi-sweet ending of this film works very well. Organ score by Marvin Faulwell. ***

OUR HOSPITALITY (1923) is another film that is easily found on DVD. One of the things that makes the KSFF festival great is the musical accompaniment, and few can accompany a film better than the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. Although a classic in its own right, in many ways the film is a warm-up for THE GENERAL. Keaton strings together a great series of gags based on the fact that the Canfields cannot kill him in the Canfield house, because that is bad hospitality. Although Natalie Keaton famously wrecked Keaton's life later on, she gives an OK performance in this film and you can see why Keaton may have been attracted to her. Music by Mont Alto. ****

The crowd for the Friday night show was huge, more than 700+.in the audience. Denise Morrison interviewed Melissa Talmadge Cox before the show about her memories of her grandfather Buster Keaton. You can see that interview at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PESszFCdGj8 and Larry has also posted two later interviews.

RESCUED BY ROVER (1905) was an early important film by Cecil Hepworth. The simple plot has a gypsie kidnapping a baby while a maid is distracted. As soon as the collie "Rover" finds out, he quickly goes on a search and sniffs out the perpetrator. The film is important because it does contain some cross-cutting, and it is not just a chase film as Rover has to find the baby and then run home and summon help. The neat thing was that we got to see it twice. The film was so popular that it was remade several times -- early film stocks were not as durable for making many copies. The first version show was more dupey, and the second had better contrast and sharpness. It was fun spotting the differences in the versions, like the baby buggy having its top down in the second version. The film starred the entire Hepworth family. Jeff Rapsis on piano. ***

THE IRON MULE (1925) was an Al St. John comedy short that was directed by William Goodrich aka Roscoe Arbuckle. It greatly benefited from the use of the train and bicycle props from OUR HOSPITALITY. Buster Keaton has unbilled bit parts as a female passenger who continually trips and an Indian. It's a pretty good comedy short with great 1800s flavor, but Al St. John didn't have much of a comedy character. Piano by Jeff Rapsis.

THUNDERING FLEAS (1926) was a pretty good Our Gang short. A man is on the street showing off his trained fleas. Jackie Condon and his dog come by, and one of the trained fleas hops on the dog. Eventually the entire flea circus hops on the gang. The best part of the film is when the gang shows up at a wedding (with Martha Sleeper as the bride) and soon everyone is itching and scratching. Jimmy Finlayson was a little scary without his moustache in the part of the minister. Oliver Hardy has a great gag where he paints his long-johns after his pants get stolen. Organ score by Greg Forman. ***

THE MAGIC CLOCK (1928) is a Wladyslaw Starewicz stop-motion cartoon that was produced in France. This is super-rare and only available on DVD in France. A clock-maker builds a huge automated clock. At midnight it comes alive as knights spring into action to save a princess. About halfway though though, the film shifts gears when the clockmaker's daughter wakes up, and she dreams herself into a different fantasy. The problem was that this part had nothing to do with the first part, including different characters. I really got lost at this point in the film's plot. However, the animation was very good, and the film was charming. It just felt like two different films spliced together. Music by Mont Alto. ***

FLAMING FATHERS (1927) Martha Sleeper and her boyfriend head to the beach, but father Max tags along in the rumble seat. Max insists on wearing a bathing suit that is really huge, and generally embarrases his daughter. A few kids follow him around and laugh at him, and soon he has a whole crowd following him. The film really takes off after cop Tiny Sanford tries to arrest him, and Max deftly steals the cop's clothes. The film was directed by Stan Laurel and Leo McCarey. Notice that Stan reused the gag of the crowd running to see how Max has embarrassed himself just like in PUTTING PANTS ON PHILLIP (1928). ***

THE MATRIMANIAC (1916) was a Douglas Fairbanks Triangle feature with Constance Talmadge. Doug tries to elope with Connie, but her father is hot on their tail. Doug rouses a preacher from his bed, but while evading the father, the minister ends up in jail. Doug does his usual acrobatic tricks and Connie comes along for the ride. Since this was from the teens, it was shot a a lower frame rate and it seemed a little hurried at 24 fps. I'd have to see it at 18 fps to see if that is a better speed, because I do agree that comedies should be projected faster than they were shot. The film is pretty forgetable, but is breezes along and it's less than a hour. Marvin Faulwell on the organ. **1/2

At the break, Jeff Rapsis played the organ for a great collection of glass slides (projected on video). Next, Denise interviewed Melissa about her experiences with Norma, Connie, and Natalie.

SMILIN' THROUGH (1922) has just been released on DVD and is definitely worth a look. It is a star-vehicle for Norma Talmadge and her magnetic personality elevates this film above the typical romantic film. Norma plays two roles, Moonyean (who tragically dies), as well as her neice. Harrison Ford also plays an older role and a younger role as Norma's lover. The film starts off rather poorly as it dwells on Moonyean's widower's bitter attitude, and Norma is not seen for at least 10 minutes. However, when her characters show up she looks incredible and you just can't look away from her. The wedding scene is riveting as Harrison Ford's jealous lover ruins the happy ceremony. I also felt that Norma did a fantastic job at the train station as she waits for her lover to come home from the war. However, the very last part of the film got a little soapy as Harrison Ford is ashamed of his handicap, and Norma's ghost makes an appearance. I'd still highly recommend this film. Greg Forman did a great job on the organ for this film. ***

THE UNCHANGING SEA (1910) is a D.W. Griffith short starring Linda Arvidson as a wife whose husband is lost at sea. He's not dead though, but lost his memory after a shipwreck. She raises a daughter who turns into Mary Pickford as a young woman. This short greatly benefits from being shot on the California coast, but it suffers from the usual Biograph one-reel problem of the story being rushed. I'd say it is an average Griffith short from 1910.

THE MOONY MARINER (1927) is a Al Christie short that I had never heard of before starring Billy Dooley. Billy's girlfriend is a boyish looking Vera Steadman, and her rocket scientist father is looking for a pilot for his newly invented rocketship. Billy foolishly volunteers, and is shot into space without any training at all. However, he really flies into a Turkish bath and just thinks that he his on the moon. This short was a huge surprise for me, from the great rocket model to the funny chases through the Turkish bath. I can only think of a couple other films like A TRIP TO THE MOON that deal with rockets and space flight, but here's one more. This is the best Al Christie short that I've ever seen. Piano by Jeff Rapsis. ***1/2

THE YANKEE CLIPPER (1926) was a sea-faring feature with William Boyd. Real-life wife Elinor Fair plays the woman he falls in love with, but it was strange that they don't have much chemistry. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA director Rupert Julian turns in a much better directing job with this film, as the storm and later mutiny are very exciting. The films downfall is that the villians are more interesting than the lead characters. Walter Long is scary as a lecherous sailor, and John Miljan gives an incredible performance as Elinor's slimy fiancé. I've got this disc from Flicker Alley and David Shepard did a great job restoring this film from several different prints. I did notice that when a particular shot changes from the ultra-sharp print to a more ragged print that he faded from one to another so that the the sharpness difference was not so jarring. Marvin Faulwell had a rousing organ score. ***

Much of the fun on any festival is meeting like-minded silent film fans. I was surprised to meet several other people from the Dallas area who made the long drive for the festival. Melissa Talmadge Cox is very down-to-earth and easy to talk to -- giving a thrill to many Buster Keaton fans. Since this festival is always free, and the music is so good, I'm certain that there are some new silent film fans in the Kansas area this week.
_________________
Bruce Calvert
http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com

[Jim Reid]

[rogerskarsten]

Of course you guys mean SMILING THROUGH, not "Shining Through," right?

EDIT: Actually I guess it's SMILIN' THROUGH!

[Jim Reid]

[silentfilm]

Sorry, my mistake. Jim bought the two Talmadge DVDs at the festival, but I didn't. I assumed that Smilin' Through was one of the films because Her Sister From Paris was also released on the DVDs and that title had been screened last year.
_________________
Bruce Calvert
http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com