Tweet Palo Alto & San Jose CA: Stanford Theatre winter program

The Stanford Theatre's Winter 2012 program is now up here and includes a number of silents (all accompanied by Dennis James).

Feb 10: Her Night of Romance
Feb 17: Stella Dallas
Feb 24: Wings
March 2: The Marriage Circle

March 9 at the California Theatre in San Jose: Faust

March 30: Beau Geste
April 6: Robin Hood

This is very nice to see following the Buster Keaton movies shown last summer and last week's Harold Lloyds after an extended period with very few silents being shown. There are a number of interesting talkies in the program too. (As of now, one film in the program is still TBA.)

Thank you, Derek! I live about 40 minutes away from the Stanford Theater, yet I'm ashamed to say that I have never yet made it to one of their classic movie screenings. Seeing Wings on the big screen with a live organ accompaniment might be just the inducement I need to get down there.

Derek,

Wow! that is some line up! How close are we to seeing the fully restored BEAU GESTE (1926)? Any progress on that project? It was first mentioned last July that the picture was being restored in 35 Millimeter by UCLA from various source materials. To me, this is a much better film than WINGS, and blows the watered down 1939 sound remake out of the water to boot. However, I'm unclear now if Paramount or Universal owns the Silent version? I was always told it was Paramount. More recently I've heard it could actually be Universal. As with the 1929 THE FOUR FEATHERS.

Good to see Lubitsch THE MARRIAGE CIRCLE (1924) back in circulation too. And is STELLA DALLAS (1925) going to be in 35 Millimeter? I had no knowledge of this movie being restored? The Constance Talmadge feature HER NIGHT OF ROMANCE is simply delightful. Allot of Ronald Colman here.

Thank you, Derek! I live about 40 minutes away from the Stanford Theater, yet I'm ashamed to say that I have never yet made it to one of their classic movie screenings. Seeing Wings on the big screen with a live organ accompaniment might be just the inducement I need to get down there.

Midge - if Caltrain is an option for you, the Palo Alto station is a short two block walk to the theatre - couldn't be easier.

Derek - thanks for posting ! A much improved programming this schedule from the overplayed titles the past couple years - hope they keep it up! I am real glad they have changed the silent's from Wednesday to Friday - I'd imagine that would make it easier for out of town folks to attend. I am MOST thrilled to see the restored BLIMP playing (a Bay Area premiere??), since the restored RED SHOES never made it to The Stanford. And FAUST at The California - I'm there! I don't believe I've ever seen any of the Olivier Shakespeare films on the big screen - looks like I'll be up at The Stanford every week - maybe have a chance to meet-up with other Nitratevillians?

OOh, I've seen Wings (at the Stanford) played by Dennis James, he and Wings rocked the house.

This is a great lineup. I really DO need to get to PA to see some of the films, it's a good lineup. The restored Blimp is incentive enough to rent a car!

Thanks Derek for keeping us in the loop.

To me, this is a much better film than WINGS,

I think this may be one of those cases we talk about here where a film plays much better on the big screen than it does on video. I've seen Wings twice in a theater on a big screen, and it was wonderful! I watched it later when I got my laserdisc and was less impressed. Before you judge a film, you should see it the way it was intended to be seen.

I think this may be one of those cases we talk about here where a film plays much better on the big screen than it does on video. I've seen Wings twice in a theater on a big screen, and it was wonderful! I watched it later when I got my laserdisc and was less impressed. Before you judge a film, you should see it the way it was intended to be seen.

Jim, I couldn't agree more. I didn't get what everyone saw in Metropolis until I saw it at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. It was like a completely different film.

Temple Drake, thanks for the suggestion on CalTrain. I'm not sure whether the trains operate during non-commute hours, but it's definitely worth checking into.

Ronald Colman and Constance Talmadge meet cute in Her Night of Romance, one of my favorite comedies.


Belle Bennett (in the insert), Ronald Colman, and Lois Moran.
Stella Dallas will presumably be 35mm as it appeared to be when it last played there. I checked the PFA website and see that for one of the showings there they mention a 35mm print from MGM/United Artists. Stella Dallas is beautifully acted and provided roles of a lifetime for both Bennett and Moran.


Florence Vidor and Creighton Hale in The Marriage Circle.


Neil Hamilton, Noah Beery, and Ronald Colman.


Midge, if you haven't looked at the ST main page you can see a photo of the inside there. It isn't The Castro but is still very nice. Caltrain is great for travel if the times fit. The trains do run in the evenings but only once an hour. The last train north is around 11pm which shouldn't be a problem with a single film but can be an issue with a double bill.

I would be happy to meet other Nitratevillians during this program if anyone is interested.

Derek,

Thanks much for these. Especially, the one worth Connie, and the STELLA DALLAS lobby-card. It's nice to know that very good prints of this picture survive in 35 millimeter.

Nice graphics! Thanks, Derek. I will check out the Stanford Theater site. I realize it's not as big or as grand as the Castro, but it looks like a nice venue for classic film. I also checked Cal Train and downloaded their PDF schedule. Driving would be more convenient, but a train ride would be so retro.

The Stanford Theatre's Winter 2012 program is now up here and includes a number of silents (all accompanied by Dennis James).

The online schedule has now been updated with a few changes. Show times have been added so it is probably final (though still subject to change). The previously listed silents are unchanged and one more has been added:

April 15: The Mark of Zorro (2 showings)

For the talkies, the two TBA slots have been filled in, two more bills have been added, one double bill has been moved, and Lost Horizon ('37) has been replaced by Under Two Flags ('36).

[Edited to reflect further change (April 13 to April 15).]

Derek - would you be able to post another link? When I Google The Stanford, I'm still seeing the temporary schedule...I am also not seeing any mention of a new schedule on Facebook (not sure who posts that.. Mr.P?).

Derek - would you be able to post another link? When I Google The Stanford, I'm still seeing the temporary schedule...I am also not seeing any mention of a new schedule on Facebook (not sure who posts that.. Mr.P?).

Retry the page at http://www.stanfordtheatre.org/stf/calendars/Winter%202012.html which has the show times listed and the new end date of April 16. If you still get the older version, try refreshing the page. Recently I have found that necessary on the ST website when I haven't had similar problems anywhere else. I've never looked at Facebook so I don't know anything about what they do there.

Got it - thank-you!

Retry the page at http://www.stanfordtheatre.org/stf/calendars/Winter%202012.html which has the show times listed and the new end date of April 16.

I should have waited longer to update as the last few days were changed (as noted in my edit above) with the silent Mark of Zorro moved to April 15, the new listed end date. I picked up paper copies of the schedule today so it is set now. Coincidentally, the photo used for Wings is the one from which this month's masthead is taken.

For a little added content, here are images relating to some of the talkies:


Deborah Kerr and Roger Livesey in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp


Ronald Colman and Loretta Young in The Devil to Pay!


Deanna Durbin, Mischa Auer, and others of the "Hundred Men" in One Hundred Men and a Girl


Cary Grant, Sidney Blackmer, and Jeanne Crain


Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn, David Niven, and baby

Derek, those stills and lobby cards are wonderful! Thanks for sharing.

The Stanford Theatre's Winter 2012 program is now up here and includes a number of silents (all accompanied by Dennis James).

March 9 at the California Theatre in San Jose: Faust

FAUST was presented last night as part of the 2 week long San Jose Cinequest film festival, at the 1,100 seat gloriously restored 1927 California Theatre. I arrived 30 minutes beforehand to find a long lineup of several hundred people, gobs more than any other silent screened at this festival in past years. Although a gathering of Opera SJ supporters were present, my hunch for the huge turnout could be attributed to the recent success of THE ARTIST, as from overhearing talk in line, many of the young, hip festival goers seemed excited to be experiencing a silent film viewing as a new experience.

This was my first time seeing FAUST on the big screen, only having once seen an old VHS copy years ago. The print seemed good, however it had German intertitles, with English translation superimposed on the bottom, making it hard to read. The 90% capacity crowd only tittered a bit at the florid dialogue (and Gosta Ekmans’ heavily lipsticked visage) and were clearly captivated by Emil Jannings’ antics as Mephisto. Although the film can drag a bit during the 2nd half with the ostracizing of poor Gretchen, I did not witness any walk-outs, unlike prior silent screenings at this festival.

The musical accompaniment was provided by Filmharmonica Duo; Dennis James at the Wurlitzer and Theremin, and Mark Goldstein manning the Buchla Lightning Wands (?!). Dennis enthusiastically raved about the Wurlitzer installed in this theatre, then gave a short demo of the Theremin, and had Mark demo the “wands” which seemed to be the latest in programmable synthesizers. I wasn’t sure how I was going to like the electronics, but the score was a mélange of Gounod’s melodies, Bach’s Passacaglia in C minor, and wonderfully eerie SciFi effects. I loved it, as did the crowd who gave the duo wild applause and a well deserved standing ovation at the close of the film.