Thursday 7th May - Sunday 10th May 2009
A four day programme of silent films aiming to show exactly what these first films looked like and what the audience were seeing between 1896 and the late 1920s.
Print out the programme here
TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM FRIDAY 10TH APRIL
All tickets £5.50 per screening/presentation session (no concessions)
Day Pass £14.00 (to all films and presentations on one day)
Electric Palace Membership pa available from Box Office, by e-mail, or by writing. £4 adults, £2 seniors & concessions, £1 children under 15; one day membership £1.
Normal Box Office hours: Fridays 7.00 pm to 7.45 pm, Saturdays & Sundays 2.00 pm to 2.45 pm and 7.00 pm to 7.45 pm. Box office open additionally from 30mins before each screening /presentation.
Only day tickets are bookable in advance. They can be obtained by personal application or by post, payable to Electric Palace (Harwich) Limited, Kings Quay Street, Harwich CO12 3ER enclosing SAE & cheque (including £1 booking charge). E-mail reservations (boxoffice@electricpalace.com) must be promptly paid for. No phone bookings but e-mail reservations may be made for the 7.30 p.m. shows on the day but tickets must be paid for and collected 30 minutes before otherwise the tickets may be sold.
The last trains to London 21.54 hours (21.53 Sunday)
7 May Thursday at 7.30pm
THE RING (1927)
Duration 85 mins
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
U certificate
Live musical accompaniment by Terry Ladlow
‘One round’ Jack Sander (Carl Brisson) works in a carnival boxing ring and easily defeats his opponents. He is confident both in his ability to win and in the love of his girl (Lillian Hart-Davies). He befriends Bob Corby (Ian Hunter) a champion boxer who encourages him to take up boxing professionally. Friendship turns to rivalry over the girl and Jack finds himself fighting for everything he holds dear.
Hitchcock directs from his own script to produce a film rich in experimentation and visual innovation. Particularly impressive are the montage sequences that appear throughout the film which show Hitchcock’s growing confidence as a director.
8 May Friday at 4.00pm
MYSTERY AND MELODRAMA
A DVD screening of three rarely seen titles showing the early fascination of cinema with action, mystery and melodrama.
The Master Mystery: Chapter One (1920)
40 mins
Directed by Burton King
U certificate
Harry Houdini is a government agent on the trail of a secret society. The film features the silver screen first robot.
The Dying Swan (1913)
50 mins B&W
Directed by Evgenil Bauer
U certificate
A Russian melodrama of the relationship between a dancer and an artist.
Fantomas: Chapter One (1913)
55 mins B&W
Directed by Louis Feuillade 1913 U certificate
Can anyone capture arch criminal and master of disguise Fantomas?
8 May Friday at 7.30pm
COTTAGE ON DARTMOOR (1929)
100 mins B&W
Directed by Anthony Asquith
U certificate
Live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne who will introduce the screening and answer questions on his experience of composing for silent film.
A convict (Uno Henning) escapes from Dartmoor prison and flees across the moors. Inside a nearby cottage, Sally (Nora Baring), is putting her child to bed. She goes downstairs and is confronted by the convict who has broken into the cottage. Through flashback we learn they knew each other before he was imprisoned and a story of spurned love and jealousy unfolds.
Asquith creates a simple but beautifully realised tale of sexual jealousy, that easily counters the view that British cinema of the time was theatrical and lacking emotion.
9 May Saturday at 2.30pm
STEAMBOAT BILL JNR (1928)
90 mins B&W
Directed by Charles Reisner
U certificate
Live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne.
Tough steamboat captain Bill Canfield (Ernest Torrence) is facing competition in the town of River Junction. The return of his son (Buster Keaton) fills him with hope, but first impressions of the beret-wearing, ukulele-playing dandy his son has become are not good. Can Buster measure up to the expectation of his father?
A great comedy which combines romance, stunts and slapstick. The famous climax during the cyclone that pits Keaton against the elements.
Plus: Buster Keaton in The Electric House (1922)
16 min B&W U certificate
9 May Saturday at 7.30pm
PICCADILLY (1929)
108 Mins B&W
Directed by E.A.Dupont
PG certificate
Live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne. Introduced by Bryony Dixon, BFI Curator of Silent Film.
Shosho (Anna May Wong) works as a maid in a sophisticated London nightclub. The owner of the nightclub Valentine Wilmot (Jameson Thomas).spots her star potential as a dancer and makes her the toast of the town. Complications arise due to his own obsessions and the jealousy of his former star dancer Mabel (Gilda Grey).
One of the true greats of British silent films, Piccadilly still oozes sophistication and captures something of its jazz-age setting. It also features an early appearance by Charles Laughton.
10 May Sunday at 2.30pm
THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED (1926)
90 mins B&W
Directed by Lotte Reiniger
PG certificate
Live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne
An evil sorcerer tricks Prince Achmed into riding a magical flying horse. Carried far from home he falls in love with a beautiful Princess. Helped by Aladdin and a witch he must defeat an army of demons to win her heart. Based on stories from “The Arabian Nights”.
Lotte Reiniger was a pioneer of animated film, developing a beautiful delicate and elegant silhouette technique. This was the first feature-length animated film.
10 May Sunday at 7.30pm
SUNRISE (1927)
95 mins B&W
Directed by F. W. Murnau
U certificate
Introduced by Kevin Brownlow
Life in a quiet village is hard for a farmer (George O’Brien) and his neglected wife (Janet Gaynor). Unknown to her, his head has been turned by the attentions of a woman from the City and they are plotting to drown her.
From this simple starting point Murnau creates a film rich in poetry and a sense of fable. One where town and country life is contrasted and the audience is immersed in the fate of these simple characters. Sunrise is the swansong of the silent era and was awarded three Oscars. One for Janet Gaynor for ‘Best Actress’, one to Charles Rosher and Karl Struss for ‘Best Cinematography’ and one for its status as a ‘Unique and Artistic Picture’. This is the only time such an award has been given.
Presentations and commentary contributions will be given by film archivists and film historians.
Over the four day festival there will be a unique opportunity to experience an array of original silent films. The programme will include many rare films; some will not have been shown since first distributed almost a century ago. The Electric Palace will be host to films typical of the period 1896 -1929: comedies, dramas, animations, features, topicals and shorts. These will have authentic accompaniment as well as specially composed music. The programme will also include live re-creations of music hall acts. which would have been common for the time. What audiences were seeing before motion pictures, will be illustrated by Magic Lantern Shows. In addition, there will be an exhibition of early cinema technology as well as a display of pre-cinema media.
Films will be shown on the Electric Palace’s Kalee 35mm projectors and, in the case of some very early films, on a specially installed Gaumont Chrono projector. All films will be projected onto the cinema’s original hand-painted screen.
The Festival will open on Thursday May 7th, with a special reception and screening of the Alfred Hitchcock film ‘The Ring’(cert U), 1927. At its close, on Sunday 10th May, there will be a guest presentation and feature to be confirmed.
If you want to book accommodation for your visit to the Silent Film Festival please click on Harwich Connexions for a list of local Hotels and B and B accommodation.
Harwich Electric Palace Cinema
http://www.electricpalace.com/article.php?story=200812162039189
The Electric Palace Trust and Electric Palace (Harwich) Ltd, King's Quay Street, Harwich, Essex, CO12 3ER, UK.