An autumn tradition at the Dryden, silent films with live accompaniment return on Tuesdays to explore the first thirty-five years of cinema. Comedies, epics, westerns, horror films, and the avant-garde were all part of that early cinema, and are all represented in our series this Fall. Whether it’s Laurel and Hardy, Tom Mix, Ramon Novarro, or Pola Negri, the faces that made the movies will make their appearance on our big screen. Accompanied by Philip Carli on our 1925 Knabe piano, this is as close as you’ll get to re-creating the original cinematic experience, short of inventing a time machine. In addition, Anvil Orchestra makes their return to The Dryden to accompany Fritz Lang’s Metropolis on September 13 (special pricing applies).
Dates and Titles:
September 1: Laurel and Hardy Shorts Program (various directors, US 1928-1929, app. 80 min., 35mm and 16mm)
September 8: Teeth (John G. Blystone, US 1924, 70 min., DCP)
September 12: Metropolis (Fritz Lang, Germany 1927, 148 min., DCP)
September 15: James Card Program #6 (Vincenzo Denizot, Scott Sidney, Italy/US 1912-1913, app. 80 min., 35mm)
September 22: Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (Fred Niblo, US 1925, 140 min., 35mm)
September 29: The Soul of Youth (William Desmond Taylor, US 1920, 60 min., DCP)
October 6: A Page of Madness (Kurutta Ippeiji, Teinosuke Kinugasa, Japan 1926, 59 min., 35mm)
October 20: The Wildcat (Die Bergkatze, Ernst Lubitsch, Germany 1921, 79 min., DCP) -
October 27: Faust (F. W. Murnau, Germany 1926, 107 min., DCP)
November 10: A Kiss for Cinderella (Herbert Brenon, US 1925, 105 min., 16mm)
November 17: Hamlet (Svend Gade, Heinz Schall, Germany 1921, 125 min., 35mm)
November 24: The Showdown (Victor Schertzinger, US 1928, 80 min., 35mm)
December 1: Speedy (Ted Wilde, US 1928, 85 min., 35mm)
December 8: Butterfly (Clarence Brown, US 1924, 80 min., 35mm)
December 15: Applause (Rouben Mamoulian, US 1929, 80 min., 35mm)
Events in this Series
The Wildcat (DCP)
Silent Tuesdays | Schweigen! | Polish Film Festival Years before his iconic “touch” was established, Ernst Lubitsch directed this broad farce about the military-and-marriage complex starring Polish emigré Pola Negri. Rischka (Negri), the daughter of a gang of robbers high in the snowy mountains of Germany, is a real wildcat and runs her father’s gang with ruthlessness.
Faust (DCP)
Silent Tuesdays | Schweigen! Following Nosferatu and The Last Laugh, master expressionist F.W. Murnau hit a crest with his rendering of Goethe’s classic Faust. Emil Jannings plays the diabolical Mephistopheles, who tempts an aging alchemist with the promise of eternal youth for a small price — his everlasting soul.
A Kiss for Cinderella (16mm)
Silent Tuesdays Director Herbert Brenon and star Betty Bronson reunite after Peter Pan for another adaptation of a J.M. Barrie play. Jane (Bronson) is a house slave who dreams of a Prince Charming and is nicknamed Cinderella by an artist whose studio she cleans because she always talks of the wonderful things that will one day befall her.
Hamlet (35mm)
Silent Tuesdays Many silent filmmakers turned to Shakespeare for source material, transforming the Bard’s verbal poetry and drama into visual equivalents, but none more unusually than this project spearheaded by the legendary Danish actress Asta Nielsen.
A Page of Madness (35mm)
Silent Tuesdays A brilliant avant-garde exploration of the helplessness felt by a mentally ill person’s loved ones, this film tells of a man who works as a janitor in the insane asylum where his wife is a patient.
The Soul of Youth (16mm, DCP)
Silent Tuesdays The same year they collaborated on the definitive silent version of Huckleberry Finn, director William Desmond Taylor, writer Julia Crawford Ivers, and star Lewis Sargent re-team for this social drama about welfare, politics, and familial love.
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (35mm) - Free to All!
Silent Tuesdays | Latin Cinematic Heritage The most expensive spectacle of its time, this film tells the familiar story of Judah Ben-Hur (matinee idol Ramon Novarro) in the early days of Christianity. His wealthy family is persecuted for their faith by the Romans, including Judah’s childhood friend Messala.
James Card Program #6
Silent Tuesdays | James Card's First Programs Films depicting robbery, murder, and kidnapping were wildly popular in early cinema, to the point where social reformers decried the cinema as a breeding ground for moral depravity. At the same time, the urgency of crime stories and their often semi-documentary quality pushed cinema towards greater rhythmic pacing, scenic realism, and dramatic flair.
Metropolis (DCP)
Schweigen! | The Sight and Sound Club Director Fritz Lang’s prescient vision of an urban world in disarray has been digitally restored to its original premiere length. With this science fiction epic, Lang brought to the screen one of the most ambitious and iconic movies ever made.