Author: Ben Model

  • The Park Theater in Glens Falls NY

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    Ben Model
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    It’s a wonderful thing when a community is able to raise money to save, refurbish and reopen its town’s original movie theater. It’s even more wonderful when the people involved with programming at these theaters are interested in presenting silent film. Such is the case with the newly reborn Park Theater, originally opened in 1911.…

  • The Speed Is Mutual

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    Ben Model
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    My rule of thumb with projection speeds and silent comedy films used to be guided by whether there were audience laughs or not. Later, once I’d done a lot of research into the difference between taking speed and projection speed and what films were run at during certain years, that was the second factor.  What’s…

  • Iron Or Candy

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    FaceBook reminded me this morning that I sent out a press release for Accidentally Preserved: Volume 1 six years ago. A quick hop onto Google shows that the sixth anniversary is the iron or candy one. Both seem appropriate. My idea of seeing if I could connect a bunch of rare and lost silent films…

  • In Film Programming 1+1+1+1 Can Add Up To More Than 4

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    Ben Model
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    One of the insights I’ve had into film programming has come from my many years’ experience accompanying silent films. Literally, it’s the experience of accompanying films during a show, and sensing the vibe in the theater. One thing I’ve learned is that there are times when a 90 or 100 minute show can be too…

  • ep. 32: meeting audience expectations, tips on choosing a comedy short, and a trip to Nebraska

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    On this episode of the podcast, I discuss meeting an audience’s expectations while staying true to the film’s original culture, choosing a comedy short to show newbies, and playing for a show where someone else’s music credit is onscreen; also, Arthur Kleiner accompanies a Harold Lloyd short with an iPhone, 700 kids in Boise laugh…

  • Stringing Along With Ernie Kovacs for Dutch Masters

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    Ben Model
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    I’ve seen the famous Ernie Kovacs commercial for Dutch Masters a few dozen times, at least, and never noticed the string quartet. Not that they were in the commercial, the one known as “Haydn”, the one that won Kovacs and co-director Joe Behar an award the first year the Clios were given out in 1959.…

  • My Scoring Evolves

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    Ben Model
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    I can usually recognize the accompaniment styles of a number of my colleagues when I hear them on a home video or broadcast. A few months ago I caught a silent on TCM and didn’t recognize the pianist. Which was weird. Because I was pretty sure I’d scored that film for home video and for…

  • Why Wasn’t This Advertised More?

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    As silent film fans, we’re past the point of going to a show, seeing empty seats and blaming the venue for not doing enough to get people in. There’s no budget for advertising for silent film shows, really, and ads aren’t necessarily going to be effective anyway. But there is something we can do about…

  • Singer Peter Hanley – Under-Documented Kovacs Ensemble Player

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    Ben Model
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    Ernie Kovacs show ensemble cast members turn up out of seemingly nowhere in the TV-ography of the shows. Ernie’s penchant for casting or hiring people through unusual channels and based on a personal reaction runs throughout his career. The trajectory of singer Peter Hanley is harder than most to identify. Peter Hanley was hired as…

  • How Do You Replace Kukla, Fran and Ollie?

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    Ben Model
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    The Nation’s First Exposure to Ernie Kovacs Was in a Summer Replacement In 1951 After hosting a daily 7-9am wake-up show as well as a number of other programs — cooking, fashion, quiz — for local NBC affiliate WPTZ, Ernie Kovacs got the chance at a network show. He’d been on the air a few…