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Silent film fans, the time has come to rejoice! Every first Wednesday of the month, get ready to receive The Silent Treatment: our ongoing series of artfully chosen feature films from all corners of the pre-sound era -- choice picks that are rarely screened theatrically, or are not available on DVD! Curated by film archivists/TST Newsletter publishers Brandee Cox and Steven Hill, The Silent Treatment showcases a wide variety of early cinema in the best available formats for film lovers with an enthusiastic and adventurous spirit.

For breaking news on what films/special guests will be on tap for future shows, check out TST's Facebook fan page! In addition, get the lowdown on all your favorite silent stars and filmmakers with TST's bi-monthly digest, available for free download at the Silent Treatment website!

7/7 @ 8:00pm
Captain January
Before "America's First Sweetheart" Shirley Temple won the hearts of film fans across the globe at the dawn of the sound era with her spunkiness, her charm and her irrepressible cuteness, there was the equally adorable Baby Peggy, one of the silent screen's youngest and biggest stars. Starting her film career at the ripe old age of two(!), Baby Peggy appeared in over 150 shorts and over 20 features before semi-retiring from the picture business by age eight (in favor of the vaudeville stage) -- including versions of Heidi and Captain January, both of which would later become big successes for little Miss Shirley. In Peggy's Captain January, she plays a mystery girl who's found by Jeremiah, a scruffy, elderly lighthouse keeper after washing ashore by herself. Taken in by Jeremiah, she's later discovered to be the niece of a wealthy woman who wants to raise the girl for herself, even though Peggy's perfectly happy where she is -- who will be the girl's true guardian? Also showing before the feature is Mickey The Detective (1928), one of the earliest surviving shorts starring Mickey Rooney, then eight years old and credited as "Mickey McGuire" -- and The Kid Reporter, an ultra-rare Baby Peggy silent short! "Baby Peggy" Montgomery, one of the last living silent film stars and still spunky at 91 years old, will be here at the Cinefamily in person to introduce the screening!

Captain January Dir. Edward F. Cline, 1924, 35mm, 64 min. (Library 35mm print courtesy of the Library of Congress Motion Picture Collection)
Mickey The Detective Dir. Albert Herman, 1928, 35mm. (Library 35mm print courtesy of the Library of Congress Motion Picture Collection)
The Kid Reporter Dir. Alfred J. Goulding, 1923, digital presentation, 15 min.

Tickets - $12/$8 for members

This looks great; wish I could be there.

In case there is anybody with a smidgin of doubt; Captain January is a superb film, and keeps the saccharine level way down, and is certainly far superior to any Shirley Temple vehicle I've seen. The interplay between Baby Peggy and Hobart Bosworth is utterly believable, right up there with Chaplin and Coogan. If you are within range, do try and see it.

Penfold wrote:In case there is anybody with a smidgin of doubt; Captain January is a superb film, and keeps the saccharine level way down, and is certainly far superior to any Shirley Temple vehicle I've seen. The interplay between Baby Peggy and Hobart Bosworth is utterly believable, right up there with Chaplin and Coogan. If you are within range, do try and see it.

I dig the shit out of Captain January. I wish we had more of Peggy.

silent-partner wrote: I dig the shit out of Captain January. I wish we had more of Peggy.

Miss DuPont and I will be dining at Canters before the show, so if any Villains are planning to see Captain January, do join us. We will be convening at the restaurant around 5:45-6:00pm-ish. Nothing says silent film like matzo ball soup and latkes.

Frederica wrote:

silent-partner wrote: I dig the shit out of Captain January. I wish we had more of Peggy.

Miss DuPont and I will be dining at Canters before the show, so if any Villains are planning to see Captain January, do join us. We will be convening at the restaurant around 5:45-6:00pm-ish. Nothing says silent film like matzo ball soup and latkes.

I haven't seen Mickey the Detective, and I wouldn't get my hopes up for it, but The Kid Reporter is very cute and well worth watching. Baby Peggy was knee-high to a munchkin at that point and it's fun watching her toddle around at top speed. In Captain January she's bigger and older, and while she holds her own against Hobart Bosworth, it's really his film and he's terrific as usual.

Frederica wrote:

silent-partner wrote: I dig the shit out of Captain January. I wish we had more of Peggy.

Miss DuPont and I will be dining at Canters before the show, so if any Villains are planning to see Captain January, do join us. We will be convening at the restaurant around 5:45-6:00pm-ish. Nothing says silent film like matzo ball soup and latkes.

I will be joining you in spirit, though I'll probably be asleep at the time. For us Europeans nothing says silent film like pizza, incredibly strong coffee and Aperol.

How was it ?? Was Diana in good form ??? What do you mean you're not awake yet....

Penfold wrote:How was it ?? Was Diana in good form ??? What do you mean you're not awake yet....

I'm awake, although I resent it.

It was great fun (both the films and the food). Mickey the Detective was a pleasant little comedy about a group of kids and a wonderful dog, with a knee-high Mickey Rooney doing some decent imitations of Fairbanks, Chaplin, and Pickford. The Kid Reporter was also amusing. The print we saw had German and French intertitles; although we lacked a benshi, the titles weren't critical to comprehending the film. Chris is right, Baby Peggy was so young she was barely out of diapers, but she toddles around wearing disguises, solving crimes, and getting the scoop, and is heartbreakingly cute while she does it.

I will disagree with Chris on Captain January--although Hobart Bosworth is wonderful in it, I think he and Peggy play off each other to great effect. The film has gallons less saccharine than you'd find in a Shirley Temple film, but it still managed to make me snivel like a faucet. (Actually the waterworks were flowing in my row, I did not snivel alone).

Hugh Neely briefly interviewed Diana Serra Cary. She has wonderful stories, and she's just as charming now as she was when she was a little girl. She is a lovely lady.

I must give big kudos to Brandee and Steven of The Silent Treatment for their interesting selections, and thanks to the Silent Movie Theater and Cinefamily for showing them. And to Canters for the latkes.

Excellent, glad it went off well, and that Diana is still fit and well.
As for your estimation of the film, and BP, I agree 100%. And before you ask, yes, me too.
I'm off to google latkes.....

EDIT Oh, boxtys......

Sounds great.

Are there any Baby Peggy films on DVD? You know, I've never seen any of her films and precious few snippets. Most of what this addled old brain can recall seem to be newsreel footage.

I'm looking forward to meeting Diana Serra Cary at the SF Fest.

I enjoyed the evening last night as well. Mickey Rooney did excellent imitations as the stars in the first short, but I felt it went on a little too long. The Kid Detective was quite cute, and Baby Peggy was adorable with her little wink, mustache, and monocle. It was my second time to see CAPTAIN JANUARY, and once again felt weepy. I think Bosworth and Peggy exhibited great chemistry and believability, and that's what made the story so believable and moving. Nice to see Irene Worth too.

rudyfan wrote:Sounds great.

Are there any Baby Peggy films on DVD? You know, I've never seen any of her films and precious few snippets. Most of what this addled old brain can recall seem to be newsreel footage.

I'm looking forward to meeting Diana Serra Cary at the SF Fest.

Grapevine has "Captain January" for sure, perhaps others.

Oops, I meant Irene Rich. :oops:

missdupont wrote:Oops, I meant Irene Rich.

I was going to say, as great as Irene Worth was I didn't think she went back THAT far

A profile of Baby Peggy in her post-Hollywood years at

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-gl ... 31529.html

She continues to amaze