The Silent Laughter Weekend is back – and we’ve got some REEL treats in store for you this year!
We’re still scouring the archives, doing the deals and prepping the prints, but there’s some really rare reels being lined up, from funny folk such as Harold Lloyd, Marion Davies, Laurel & Hardy, Monty Banks, Snub Pollard, Harpo Marx, Thelma Todd, Larry Semon, Mack Swain, Charley Chase…
Lots of new restorations too PLUS some very special presentations including ‘Animations and Illusions’; ‘Crikey! It’s the Keystone Cops!’ and our focus on a film studio this time will be Vitagraph…
P.S. and there’ll be lots of real film on real projectors too – 35mm, 16mm and even 9.5mm!
The Cinema Museum will open its doors at 09.00.
Full lineup (films and timings subject to change):
SATURDAY
10.00 Too Many Kisses (1925)
To kick things off, something really unusual: a silent film featuring a Marx Brother! This charming light comedy stars Richard Dix, but is especially noteworthy for a supporting role played by Harpo Marx. Though the Marx Brothers are a quintessential sound film act, Harpo’s pantomime fitted right in with the world of silent comedy. He later claimed that he only featured in one close up, but his part is significantly more than that. Recently restored, this is a rare chance to see this fun and enjoyable film – a real curiosity for Marx fans! Piano accompaniment by Meg Morley.
11.30 Crikey, It’s the Keystone Kops!
The Keystone Kops are one of the indelible images of silent comedy, but their history and identity has often been confused and misrepresented. Who were the Kops? And why have they remained such an iconic image? Lon Davies, author of Chase! A Tribute to the Keystone Kops, investigate, assisted by Dave Glass. Expect Keystone Khaos and clips galore! Piano accompaniment by Ashley Valentine.
13.00 Lunch
14.00 Højt paa en kvist (The Mannequins) (1929)
In Europe, the Danish comedy team Pat & Patachon were almost as popular as Chaplin or Laurel & Hardy. Though their surviving films are a mixed bag, this one is a real gem. A picaresque romantic comedy featuring some wonderful sight gags, it allows the team to show off their unique charm and comic vocabulary as they flit from job to job, while trying to woo the girls in the opposite tenement. Introduced by European silent film expert and Pat and Patachon champion, Prof. Ulrich Ruedel (of the film preservation programme at HTW – University of Applied Sciences, Berlin). Piano accompaniment by Stephen Horne.
16.00 Animations and Illusions
Almost from the dawn of cinema, filmmakers found ways to employ camera trickery for comedic effect. From the early experiments of George Meliés to the mind-blowing stop-motion comedies of Charley Bowers, many of these films still have the power to make us think “but how did they DO that??”. In this programme we put the spotlight on some of the cleverest, funniest and most bizarre comedies to feature animation and camera tricks. Presented by Matthew Ross, editor of The Lost Laugh silent comedy blog and magazine. Piano accompaniment by Stephen Horne.
17.30 Rarities and Rediscoveries
An assortment of rare, restored and recently discovered silent comedy gems, including rarities starring Monty Banks, Dorothy Devore, Charlie Murray, Bobby Dunn and more! Piano accompaniment by Ashley Valentine.
19.00 Dinner
20.00 Oh! What a Nurse! (1926)
Syd Chaplin will forever be in his brother Charlie’s shadow, but he was a popular and very capable comic in his own right. In the 1920s he made a series of features at Warner Brothers, including this, in which he plays a reporter who goes undercover in drag. Recently rediscovered and restored, this film was one of the big hits at last year’s Pordenone. We’re very proud to present the UK premiere of this gem, the first time it’s been seen in this country for almost a century! In keeping with the cross-dressing theme, this programme will also feature Charlie Chaplin in the short A Woman (1915), plus the Syd-Arbuckle rarity Fatty’s Wine Party (1914). With many thanks to Serge Bromberg for enabling this screening. Piano accompaniment by Colin Sell.
SUNDAY
10.00 Only on 9.5mm
Sunday’s programme begins with a unique event, featuring real film and vintage projectors in action! The 9.5mm film gauge was responsible for preserving the only known copies of many comedies before it became obsolete. Film collector Christopher Bird will project some of these rarities, using his collection of amazing 9.5mm projectors. Piano accompaniment by Colin Sell.
11.30 The Patsy (1928)
Marion Davies stars in one of her funniest films, directed by King Vidor. Davies’ bubbly comic talent is a joy to behold in this great romantic comedy, in which she creates a fictional love affair to make the man she loves jealous. A cast of silent comedy veterans add to the fun. Introduced by Michelle Facey. Piano accompaniment by Cyrus Gabrysch.
13.00 Lunch
14.00 Focus on Vitagraph
Vitagraph was one of the foremost comedy studios of the 1910s. The New York-based studio proved that Hollywood didn’t have the monopoly on great silent comedy, and even had its own ‘Big V Riot Squad’ to match the Keystone Kops. Glenn Mitchell and Dave Glass will spotlight some of Vitagraph’s finest short comedies, featuring John Bunny, Larry Semon and more. Piano accompaniment by Timothy Rumsey.
15.30 The Gorilla (1927)
This long-lost film is a fantastic horror-comedy-thriller, in the vein of The Cat and the Canary. Based on the play by Ralph Spence, it’s a tale of a gruesome murder, thought to be perpetrated by a brutal gorilla on the loose. Two detectives (Charlie Murray and Fred Kelsey) turn up to investigate, but soon there are more disappearances and spooky goings on… Thanks to the kind folk at the San Francisco Film Festival, we’re very pleased to present the U.K. premiere of this newly rediscovered and restored spooky classic. And, just to make it an even bigger occasion, the film will be supported by another new discovery: a previously lost appearance of Clara Bow with Gorilla star Charlie Murray, in The Pill Pounder (1923). Featuring a filmed introduction by silent comedy expert and author, Steve Massa. Piano accompaniment by Costas Fotopolous.
17.30 Charley Chase
The wonderful, multi-talented Mr Chase is always a hit at the Bioscope. His short farces, full of subtle character comedy, split second timing and wonderful absurdities, are among the best comedies ever made. By popular demand, we’re delighted to be able to show some very rare, and newly restored, comedies starring this wonderful comic, including Us (1927) and What Women Did for Me (1927). Presented by author, film historian and Chase expert Richard M Roberts. Piano accompaniment by Cyrus Gabrysch.
19.00 Dinner
20.00 Miniature Masterpieces
For our closing event, we’ve decided to showcase some of the best – but less regularly screened- short films starring the classic silent comedians. For many of these stars, short comedies let them try out some ideas that they later turned into trademarks in features: Harold Lloyd’s wonderful Never Weaken (1921) is a prime example, a forerunner of his building climb in Safety Last, while Buster Keaton’s The Paleface (1922) gives a taste of his later chases through dramatic landscapes.
Charlie Chaplin’s Behind the Screen (1916) provides slapstick par excellence, and Laurel and Hardy will also feature in one of their classic silents, now restored to sparkling quality. We’ve also got a couple of bonus Harold Lloyd rarities that you won’t have seen before… And what’s that you say? Can we squeeze in one more super-rare Charley Chase classic for the road? Well, go on then! Assistant Wives (1927) is a long-unseen, hilarious farce, co-starring the wonderful Anita Garvin. These five short films are the perfect finale for a weekend of silent laughter. Piano accompaniment by Costas Fotopolous.
In addition to lunch and dinner breaks there will be short intervals between each programme.
Tickets & Pricing
Weekend Ticket £30 / One Day £18 / Afternoon and evening pass £12 / Evening pass £6. You can also book dinner (£10) on both days at the Cafe Jamyang, next door to the Museum. Tickets and dinner bookable here.
