Return of the Silents (12/9/17)

Films about film from The Silent Clowns Film Series. Behind the Screen (1916) starring (and written and directed by) Charlie Chaplin; The Cameraman (1928) starring Buster Keaton

OK, imagine starring in a silent movie. That you wrote. And directed. In 1916! Hello, Charlie Chaplin. As a non-acting member of a fictional film company, Chaplin had some very funny bits involving moving scenery pieces around. Including ladders. And columns. And a pie fight (I’m not making this up, you know!). And Edna Purviance had to dress in drag (as a man! in 1916!) just to get a job on the set. There were laugh-out-loud moments (I did) among other really humorous sight gags. Did I mention the trap door? It features quite prominently, even in one of the pie fight scenes. Oh, I didn’t mention the pie fight? And that was the short.

The feature featured Buster Keaton in The Cameraman. Keaton, a street still photographer, attempts to become a film photographer, to woo Marceline Day, who works at MGM. (Hmmm, political a bit?) After spending all his dough on a movie camera, he attempts to out-scoop the regulars, including a beau from the MGM office. He does! With a scoop of a Chinatown massacre. Unfortunately, the monkey who has attached himself to Keaton (don’t ask—it’s a Hollywood comedy in the late silent era) manages to mess things up. In another twist of fate, Keaton manages to save the life of Ms. Day from a boat run amok, while her other beau from the office is really responsible for the accident. The monkey’s antics have also filmed this and saved the film of the Chinatown massacre (I’m really not making this up you know!), so Keaton gets a job and gets the girl. Oh, he also broke the glass in the company door three times (I am not making this up, you know!).

Ben Model provided accompaniment, as usual, but not on the Steinway grand, as usual. This time he decided to use a two-manual synthesizer that used actual digital samples of theater organs. In layman’s terms, he was able to create presets (a combination of stops to use at certain times) and also use specific stops for specific effects. One that he demonstrated was the tibia (I am not making this up, you know!) which is essentially that soap opera {{{gasp}}} sound—aahhhh! Throughout, his improvised accompaniments were spot-on, and he worked tirelessly throughout the two films. And earned a well-deserved extended round of applause at the end.

ConcertMeister