Charlie Chaplin in CITY LIGHTS (1931) and Buster Keaton in SHERLOCK JR. (1924) bothscreen at The Des Peres Theater (12701 Manchester Rd, Des Peres, MO 63131) December 14th at 7pm. – They are presented by Silents, Please STL, a local group that aims to promote and preserve the art of silent filmmaking from the early 20th Century through community programming and education. Admission is $10 and tickets can be purchased in advance HERE. (which supports this screening and helps to sustain ongoing programming). Silents, Please STL‘s Facebook page can be found HERE
In CITY LIGHTS, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl with the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, accumulates money to be able to help her medically. CITY LIGHTS gets to the heart of the Chaplin’s famous Tramp. It is a beautiful romance about loving someone for who they are and not their social or economic status – and it features one of the most tear inducing and iconic endings in Hollywood history.
In SHERLOCK JR., a film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meagre skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend’s father’s pocketwatch. SHERLOCK JR., is stone-faced director/producer Buster Keaton’s marvelously inventive, short silent film era, comic fantasy – his third and shortest feature film. It’s filled with the comedian’s trademark physical gags.
Buster Keaton in the Silent Classic THE GENERAL will be screening with Live Music November 13th at Messiah Lutheran Church in Carlyle Illinois (1091 13th St, Carlyle, IL 62231) at 7pm. Organist Benjamin Kolodziej from Dallas, Texas, will accompany the 1926 movie. A $10 donation is suggested for the event or $40 for a family of five or more. There will be free unlimited refreshments with the donation of two non-perishable food items. A Facebook invite for the event can be found HERE
Johnny Gray (Keaton) only has two loves in his life – his train “The General” and Miss Annabelle Lee. When the Civil War breaks out, the Lee family’s proud military history means that Gray must enlist to keep favour with Annabelle. However he is refused service on the grounds that his engineering role is more important and finds himself rejected by the Lee’s. A year passes and the North plans to win the war by sending spies into the South to steal a train and make their way north, burning all the supply bridges behind them and clearing the way for a crushing assault. However they steal The General coincidently with Annabelle Lee still on board. Taking another engine but forgetting reinforcements, Gray sets out in pursuit.
THE GENERAL provides the kind of blockbuster entertainment a lot of today’s action-film fans don’t know what they’re missing and provides the kind of humor that’s varied in physical prowess and ingenuity with timing and detail and deadpan expressionism. THE GENERAL is rollicking fun filmed to perfection, making it Keaton’s most famous film. Don’t miss this chance to see it on a big screen with live music.
” There is an old proverb which says: Don’t try to do two things at once and expect to do justice to both. This is the story of a boy who tried it. While employed as a moving picture operator in a small town theater he was also studying to be a detective.”
SHERLOCK JR. (1924) starring Buster Keaton will be screening at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 E Lockwood Ave) on November 15th at 7:30pm as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. The film will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra. It will be shown with the 22-minute short industrial filmWON BY A SWEET from 1929. Tickets are $20 and can be found HERE
St. Louis’ Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra — a longtime fest favorite — returns to SLIFF with original scores and live accompaniment for not one but two silent films: a classic Buster Keaton comedy, “Sherlock Jr.,” and a bizarrely amusing industrial short, “Won by a Sweet.” In “Sherlock Jr.,” the Great Stone Face plays a movie projectionist and wannabe detective alienated from his girl’s affections by a sneaky romantic rival, who lifts a watch from the father of their mutual love interest and pins the theft on innocent Buster. Falling asleep in the projection booth, disconsolate Buster dreams himself into the film he’s screening, where he assumes the mantle of the great Holmes and solves the crime. Time magazine, which named the film one of its All-Time 100 Movies, writes: “Is this, as some critics have argued, an example of primitive American surrealism? Sure. But let’s not get fancy about it. It is more significantly, a great example of American minimalism — simple objects and movement manipulated in casually complex ways to generate a steadily rising gale of laughter.”
WON BY A SWEET – This loopy, hallucinatory 1929 industrial film, which promotes the positive health effects of candy, tells the story of a track coach who implements a no-candy rule to disastrous effect. The film was preserved by Washington U. Libraries’ Film & Media Archive through funding by the National Film Preservation Foundation.
“Some people travel through life making friends wherever they go, while others – just travel through life.”
The 1925 feature GO WEST, starring Buster Keaton, will screen at 6:15pm Thursday September 27th at Maryville University (650 Maryville University Dr, St. Louis 63141). The film will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra. Assistant Professor Jess Bowers will introduce the movie and then, after the viewing, lead a presentation and/or Q&A session.
There’s nothing better than silent films accompanied by the Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra. The group is a treasure and St. Louis is lucky to have them here. The group has actively redefined both the local music and film cultures of the area. The ensemble – equal parts indie/punk-stalwart and academically trained composer and musicians – provide life performance of new film scores to classic silent films. The Rats are hitting the road next Thursday September 27th and will be playing at Maryville University (650 Maryville University Dr, St. Louis 63141). The show starts at 6:15pm. Assistant Professor Jess Bowers will introduce the movie and then, after the viewing, lead a presentation and/or Q&A session.
In GO WEST (68 minutes – 1925), Keaton plays a character referred to as Friendless. The opening scenes of the film show him bouncing around from one unfortunate (and hilarious) situation to another. Yet rather than feel pity for him, the audience can root for this character and good-naturedly laugh at how Friendless reacts to and deals with his misfortunes. It’s difficult not to admire the way he overcomes all challenges. When he finds a friend in a cow named Brown Eyes, his loyalty to her and the rancher that employed him precipitates an amazing sequence of events, culminating in an unbelievable cattle stampede through the streets of LA. You’ll never forget the image of Buster Keaton running down a city street in a red devil’s outfit being pursued by a giant herd of cattle. It’s considered to be one of the most hilariously absurd scenes ever filmed. There are great gags from beginning to end and, as usual for Keaton, the final sequence is very satisfying.
Three Buster Keaton shorts: THE BALLOONATIC, THE GOAT, and THE HIGH SIGN will screen April 10th at 2pm at the Walt Theater in New Haven, Missouri. The films will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra.
There’s nothing better than silent films accompanied by the Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra. The group is a treasure and St. Louis is lucky to have them here. The group has actively redefined both the local music and film cultures of the area. The ensemble – equal parts indie/punk-stalwart and academically trained composer and musicians – provide life performance of new film scores to classic silent films. The Rats are hitting the road this Sunday, April 2nd and will be playing at the Walt Theater in New Haven, Missouri (about 60 miles west of St. Louis). The show starts at 2pm.
This is part of the Riverside Film Festival 2017. The Facebook page with more details about the event can be found HERE.
Tickets are $12 in advance or at the door. Seating is limited. Concessions and Cash bar available.
First up is THE BALLOONATIC (1923 – 22 minutes) Buster and Phyllis endure a number of outdoor adventures trying to prove to each other their survival skills. The balloon which lands Buster in the wilderness proves useful later on as their canoe is about go over a waterfall. Once again the Great Stone Face endures a quite a pounding as a bear, a waterfall, a runaway balloon and a corpulent young lady put his life in peril. Accessing both urban and rural stages Keaton squeezes into the short’s running time some tiny gems especially in the field and stream segment. Keaton’s gadgets (a three piece canoe) and methodology catching fish along with his narrow escape finale are calamitously hysterical and ever more so by the implacable response of the irrepressible Buster. Phyllis Haver like the love interests in other Keaton comedies endures some roughhousing well enough and shows the right amount of snobbish imperiousness to give as good as she gets. THE BALLOONATIC is one short, satisfying high.
Next is THE GOAT (23 minutes – 1921) – Buster is inadvertently identified as the notorious outlaw Dead Shot Dan. He is pursued throughout the city by the local police chief, using disguises and quick-thinking to elude the lawman. He encounters Virginia, a young lady friend, and goes to her home to visit and hide out, only to discover that Virginia’s father is the police chief.THE GOAT is an outrageously funny short, filled with good material and executed with perfect timing. It’s a fine display of Buster Keaton’s comic skill, and it’s also an enjoyable example of the way his characters stoically and resourcefully face the most bizarre and unexpected of developments.
Finally, THE HIGH SIGN (20 minutes – 1921) begins with Buster being a crook. First, he steals a newspaper from a man riding a merry-go-round. It turns out to be the biggest newspaper you have ever seen! He sees a “help wanted” ad for a worker in a shooting gallery. You must be “crack shot.” Buster isn’t, of course, but he cheats again and gets the job, thanks to a little (and very clever) scheme with a little dog. (Buster is not an honest man in this movie, but he sure is resourceful!). The arcade is run by a giant of a man (Charles Dorety?) who is a member of the Blinking Buzzards, a brutal secret group of extortionists and hit men. One of the men on their hit list is the town tightwad: “August Nickelnurser.” The latter, knowing his days are numbered, walks by the arcade, sees Buster, and hires him as his bodyguard. The big villain-arcade owner (no name was ever given him) comes back, takes Buster to the Buzzards hideout, makes him a member and gives him his first assignment: kill Nickelnurser. Holy cow – Buster is both the bodyguard and the hired assassin for the same man!!! What to do?
About The Walt:
The Walt Theatre is a fully restored Art Deco movie theater offering first run movies and special screenings
Operated and owned by Walter Buchholtz, the grand opening of The Walt was on November 14, 1940 with three showings at 2:30 p.m., 7:00 p.m., and 9:00 p.m., with the western film “Wyoming” staring Wallace Beery. Admission was 10 cents for kids and 25 cents for adults.
Samuel Beckett’s FILM and Buster Keaton’s THE CAMERAMAN screen together this Friday through Sunday (July 29th-31st) at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 E. Lockwood, Webster Groves, MO 63119). The program begins each evening at 8:00.
Samuel Beckett, the celebrated author of Waiting for Godot, made one film, and it was called FILM and made in 1965. It’s in essence a chase film; the craziest ever committed to celluloid. It’s a chase between camera and pursued image that finds existential dread embedded in the very apparatus of the movies itself. The chased object is the silent film legend, Buster Keaton.
Keaton’s THE CAMERAMAN runs 70 minutes and is considered to be one of his very finest. The first picture he made after his newly inked contract with MGM, THE CAMERAMAN is generally considered to be his last masterpiece. It is reminiscent of some of his early slapstick works: there’s a pure anarchistic glee throughout that finally explodes in an incredible scene involving a monkey, a movie camera, and Keaton amidst a full-fledged Chinese gang war (!) that must surely go down as one of the most ambitious gags anyone has ever attempted. But the whole film is great fun and should make for a fascinating double bill with Samuel Beckett’s FILM and you’ll have the chance to catch these on the big screen when they play this weekend Friday through Sunday (July 29th -31st)at Webster University.
Admission is:
$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$4 for Webster University staff and faculty
Free for Webster students with proper I.D.
Advance tickets are available from the cashier before each screening or contact the Film Series office (314-246-7525) for more options. The Film Series can only accept cash or check.
The Webster University Film Series site can be found HERE
NOTFILM screens this Friday through Sunday (July 22nd-24th) at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 E. Lockwood, Webster Groves, MO 63119). The film begins each evening at 8:00.
In 1964 author Samuel Beckett set out on one of the strangest ventures in cinematic history: his embattled collaboration with silent era genius Buster Keaton on the production of a short, titleless avant-garde film. Beckett was nearing the peak of his fame, which would culminate in his receiving a Nobel Prize five years later. Keaton, in his waning years, never lived to see Beckett’s canonization. The film they made along with director Alan Schneider, renegade publisher Barney Rosset, and Academy Award-winning cinematographer Boris Kaufman, has been the subject of praise, condemnation, and controversy for decades. Yet the eclectic participants are just one part of a story that stretches to the very birth of cinema, and spreads out to our understanding of human consciousness itself.
NOTFILM is the feature-length movie on their film’sproduction and its philosophical implications, utilizing additional outtakes, never before heard audio recordings of the production meetings, and other rare archival elements.
The critics love NOTFILM:
A.O. Scott at The New York Times says:
“NOTFILM testifies to an almost inexhaustible fascination with the pleasures and paradoxes of cinema…. Notfilm finds a hitherto uncharted dimension of human and cinematic experience.”
Kenneth Turan at The Los Angeles Times called NOTFILM:
“Completely fascinating! … A thoughtful, incisive meditation on its decades-old events,Notfilm is gossipy and philosophical by turn, joining microscopic analysis of the filmmakers’ lofty intentions with juicy morsels of information about exactly what happened when theory met practice on the steamy summer streets of New York City where Filmwas shot…For moviegoers who care about film not just as a title, Notfilm can be unreservedly recommended.”
Now you’ll have the chance to see it on the big screen when it plays this weekend Friday through Sunday (July 22nd-24th)at Webster University.
Admission is:
$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$4 for Webster University staff and faculty
Free for Webster students with proper I.D.
Advance tickets are available from the cashier before each screening or contact the Film Series office (314-246-7525) for more options. The Film Series can only accept cash or check.
The Webster University Film Series site can be found HERE
“Some people travel through life making friends wherever they go, while others – just travel through life.”
The 1921 short THE HIGH SIGN and the 1925 feature GO WEST, both starring Buster Keaton, will screen April 10th at 2pm at the Walt Theater in New Haven, Missouri. The films will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra.
There’s nothing better than silent films accompanied by the Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra. The group is a treasure and St. Louis is lucky to have them here. The group has actively redefined both the local music and film cultures of the area. The ensemble – equal parts indie/punk-stalwart and academically trained composer and musicians – provide life performance of new film scores to classic silent films. The Rats are hitting the road next Saturday, April 9th and will be playing at the Walt Theater in New Haven, Missouri (about 60 miles west of St. Louis). The show starts at 2pm.
Tickets are $10 in advance or at the door. Seating is limited. Concessions and Cash bar available.
THE HIGH SIGN (20 minutes – 1921) begins with Buster being a crook. First, he steals a newspaper from a man riding a merry-go-round. It turns out to be the biggest newspaper you have ever seen! He sees a “help wanted” ad for a worker in a shooting gallery. You must be “crack shot.” Buster isn’t, of course, but he cheats again and gets the job, thanks to a little (and very clever) scheme with a little dog. (Buster is not an honest man in this movie, but he sure is resourceful!). The arcade is run by a giant of a man (Charles Dorety?) who is a member of the Blinking Buzzards, a brutal secret group of extortionists and hit men. One of the men on their hit list is the town tightwad: “August Nickelnurser.” The latter, knowing his days are numbered, walks by the arcade, sees Buster, and hires him as his bodyguard. The big villain-arcade owner (no name was ever given him) comes back, takes Buster to the Buzzards hideout, makes him a member and gives him his first assignment: kill Nickelnurser. Holy cow – Buster is both the bodyguard and the hired assassin for the same man!!! What to do?
In GO WEST (68 minutes – 1925), Keaton plays a character referred to as Friendless. The opening scenes of the film show him bouncing around from one unfortunate (and hilarious) situation to another. Yet rather than feel pity for him, the audience can root for this character and good-naturedly laugh at how Friendless reacts to and deals with his misfortunes. It’s difficult not to admire the way he overcomes all challenges. When he finds a friend in a cow named Brown Eyes, his loyalty to her and the rancher that employed him precipitates an amazing sequence of events, culminating in an unbelievable cattle stampede through the streets of LA. You’ll never forget the image of Buster Keaton running down a city street in a red devil’s outfit being pursued by a giant herd of cattle. It’s considered to be one of the most hilariously absurd scenes ever filmed. There are great gags from beginning to end and, as usual for Keaton, the final sequence is very satisfying.
About The Walt:
The Walt Theatre is a fully restored Art Deco movie theater offering first run movies and special screenings
Operated and owned by Walter Buchholtz, the grand opening of The Walt was on November 14, 1940 with three showings at 2:30 p.m., 7:00 p.m., and 9:00 p.m., with the western film “Wyoming” staring Wallace Beery. Admission was 10 cents for kids and 25 cents for adults.
“Some people travel through life making friends wherever they go, while others – just travel through life.”
The 1921 short THE HIGH SIGN and the 1925 feature GO WEST, both starring Buster Keaton, will screen April 10th at 2pm at the Walt Theater in New Haven, Missouri. The films will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra.
There’s nothing better than silent films accompanied by the Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra. The group is a treasure and St. Louis is lucky to have them here. The group has actively redefined both the local music and film cultures of the area. The ensemble – equal parts indie/punk-stalwart and academically trained composer and musicians – provide life performance of new film scores to classic silent films. The Rats are hitting the road next Saturday, April 9th and will be playing at the Walt Theater in New Haven, Missouri (about 60 miles west of St. Louis). The show starts at 2pm.
Tickets are $10 in advance or at the door. Seating is limited. Concessions and Cash bar available.
THE HIGH SIGN (20 minutes – 1921) begins with Buster being a crook. First, he steals a newspaper from a man riding a merry-go-round. It turns out to be the biggest newspaper you have ever seen! He sees a “help wanted” ad for a worker in a shooting gallery. You must be “crack shot.” Buster isn’t, of course, but he cheats again and gets the job, thanks to a little (and very clever) scheme with a little dog. (Buster is not an honest man in this movie, but he sure is resourceful!). The arcade is run by a giant of a man (Charles Dorety?) who is a member of the Blinking Buzzards, a brutal secret group of extortionists and hit men. One of the men on their hit list is the town tightwad: “August Nickelnurser.” The latter, knowing his days are numbered, walks by the arcade, sees Buster, and hires him as his bodyguard. The big villain-arcade owner (no name was ever given him) comes back, takes Buster to the Buzzards hideout, makes him a member and gives him his first assignment: kill Nickelnurser. Holy cow – Buster is both the bodyguard and the hired assassin for the same man!!! What to do?
In GO WEST (68 minutes – 1925), Keaton plays a character referred to as Friendless. The opening scenes of the film show him bouncing around from one unfortunate (and hilarious) situation to another. Yet rather than feel pity for him, the audience can root for this character and good-naturedly laugh at how Friendless reacts to and deals with his misfortunes. It’s difficult not to admire the way he overcomes all challenges. When he finds a friend in a cow named Brown Eyes, his loyalty to her and the rancher that employed him precipitates an amazing sequence of events, culminating in an unbelievable cattle stampede through the streets of LA. You’ll never forget the image of Buster Keaton running down a city street in a red devil’s outfit being pursued by a giant herd of cattle. It’s considered to be one of the most hilariously absurd scenes ever filmed. There are great gags from beginning to end and, as usual for Keaton, the final sequence is very satisfying.
About The Walt:
The Walt Theatre is a fully restored Art Deco movie theater offering first run movies and special screenings
Operated and owned by Walter Buchholtz, the grand opening of The Walt was on November 14, 1940 with three showings at 2:30 p.m., 7:00 p.m., and 9:00 p.m., with the western film “Wyoming” staring Wallace Beery. Admission was 10 cents for kids and 25 cents for adults.
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has landed four film restorations set to make their world premieres during the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival, taking place March 26-29, 2015, in Hollywood. The movies, each from a different era in cinema history, including Ron Howard’s Apollo 13 (1995), Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus (1960), William Dieterle’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) and Charles Reisner and Buster Keaton’s Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928). The Keaton comedy will be accompanied by legendary silent film composer Carl Davis conducting the world premiere performance of his new score for the film.
Earlier this month, TCM announced that the theme for the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival will be History According to Hollywood:
The Old West. Medieval England. Ancient Rome. Hollywood has found endless inspiration in re-creating historical moments and bringing to life the heroes and villains of the past, creating a form of time travel for audiences through the ages and around the world. These films, however, are not always true to the historical record. Filmmakers have often created works about the past that are a reflection of the period in which they were made, or change facts to suit a particular storyline. The 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival will explore how cinema has shaped how we view – and remember – history.
Additional screenings and events for the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival will be announced over the coming months.
2015 TCM Classic Film Festival – Initial Slate
Apollo 13 (1995) – 20th Anniversary – World premiere restoration presented in collaboration with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Ron Howard’s extraordinary film chronicles the mechanical mishaps aboard the Apollo 13lunar spacecraft and the diligent efforts to bring the astronauts home safely. Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton star as the astronauts, with Gary Sinise and Ed Harris as their counterparts in Mission Control and Kathleen Quinlan as Hanks’ wife. The screenplay is based on the book Lost Moon by astronaut Jim Lovell, played by Hanks in the film, and Jeffrey Kluger. Apollo 13 earned Oscars for its taut film editing and exceptional sound design.
Spartacus (1960) – 55th Anniversary – World premiere restoration presented in collaboration with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Widely regarded as one of the best “sand and sandal” epics that became a staple of Hollywood during the 1950s and ’60s, Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus tells the engrossing tale of a slave who became a gladiator and went on to challenge the might of the Roman Empire. Kirk Douglas plays the title role and served as producer on the film, which also stars Tony Curtis, Jean Simmons, Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, John Gavin and Peter Ustinov, in an Oscar®-winning performance. This film helped bring about the end of the Hollywood blacklist when Douglas publicly announced that Dalton Trumbo, one of the “Hollywood Ten,” would be adapting Howard Fast’s bestselling historical novel. In addition to Ustinov’s win, Spartacus took home Oscars for its art direction, costume design and cinematography.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) – World premiere restoration presented in association with Warner Bros. Classics
Charles Laughton plays Quasimodo, Victor Hugo’s tragic hero in this lavish RKO production of the oft-told tale with Maureen O’Hara as Esmeralda under the direction of William Dieterle. The cast also includes Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell and Edmond O’Brien. The Paris set, which included a remarkable replica of the famed Notre Dame cathedral, was one of the largest built during the era.
Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928) – World premiere restoration presented in collaboration with Cohen Film Collection
Buster Keaton stars as the son of a paddle-steamer captain in love with the daughter of his father’s business rival in this dazzling silent comedy. Despite its box office failure,Steamboat Bill Jr. has since become one of the most cherished Buster Keaton vehicles. Its hurricane sequence required numerous breakaway sets and buildings, including the building façade that just missed crushing Keaton in the movie’s most famous sight gag. The TCM Classic Film Festival’s screening of Steamboat Bill Jr. will feature a live orchestra conducted by legendary silent film composer Carl Davis in a world premiere performance of his new score.
TCM host and film historian Robert Osborne will once again serve as official host of the TCM Classic Film Festival, with TCM’s Ben Mankiewicz introducing various events. The festival’s official hotel and central gathering point for the sixth consecutive year will be The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which has a longstanding role in movie history and was the site of the first Academy Awards ceremony. The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel will also offer special rates for festival attendees. Screenings and events during the festival will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres and the Egyptian Theatre, as well as other Hollywood venues.
Passes for the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival are set to go on sale to the public Thursday, Nov. 13, at noon (ET). Passes can be purchased exclusively through the official festival website: www.tcm.com/festival. A limited number of festival passes will also be available to Citicardmembers via an exclusive online only presale at www.citiprivatepass.com. This exclusive presale begins at 10 a.m. (ET), Tuesday, Nov. 11, and ends at 10 a.m. (ET), Thursday, Nov. 13.
