Category: Silent Film Shows

  • A Chaplin-esque Alice Howell Comedy

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    Ben Model
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    Trade ads proclaimed Alice Howell as a (or the) female Chaplin. I’d initially thought this was a parallel to Chaplin’s being the number one star. There are similar proclamations about Mabel Normand, and the analogy fits. Mabel was the top female comedy star of the silent era, and even made the move to features, although…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Why Wasn’t This Advertised More?

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    Ben Model
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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…