Leavitt Theatre to host 2022 summer silent film series with live music

OGUNQUIT, Maine—Classics of the silent film era return to the big screen this summer at Ogunquit's Leavitt Theatre, which will host a season of vintage cinema with live music in the historic facility. The series gives area film fans a chance to see movies from the pioneering days of cinema as they were intended to be shown—on the big screen, with an audience, and accompanied by live music.

Most screenings will be Wednesday evenings and will begin on Wednesday, June 15 with 'For Heaven's Sake' (1926), Harold Lloyd's classic comedy about a rich philanthropist falling in love with a social worker. The series runs through October, concluding with a Halloween screening of 'Der Golem' (1920) on Saturday, Oct. 29. Admission for each screening is $12 per person.

A total of nine programs will be offered in the series. Films will include a 100th anniversary screening of 'Robin Hood' (1922) starring Douglas Fairbanks, and 'The Temptress (1926), a Greta Garbo drama that has two very different endings.

"These are the films that first made people fall in love with the movies, and we're thrilled to present them again on the big screen," said Max Clayton, the Leavitt's manager.

The Leavitt, a summer-only moviehouse, opened in 1923 at the height of the silent film era, and has been showing movies to summertime visitors for nearly a century.

The silent film series honors the theater's long service as a moviehouse that has entertained generations of Seacoast residents and visitors, in good times and in bad.

"These movies were intended to be shown in this kind of environment, and with live music and with an audience," Clayton said. "Put it all together, it's great entertainment that still has a lot of power to move people."

Live music for each program will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based performer and composer who specializes in scoring silent films. In accompanying silent films live, Rapsis uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of the full orchestra. He improvises the music in real time, as the movie is shown. In scoring a movie, Rapsis creates music to help modern movie-goers accept silent film as a vital art form rather than something antiquated or obsolete.

"Silent film is a timeless art form that still has a unique emotional power," Rapsis said.

After 'For Heaven's Sake' on Wednesday, June 15 at 7 p.m., other programs in this year's Leavitt silent film series include:

Wednesday, June 29, at 7 p.m.: 'Robin Hood' 100th anniversary! Celebrate the 100th anniversary of this blockbuster adaptation of the tales of Robin Hood and his merry men. Massive sets, great action, and Doug Fairbanks in the lead made this the top grossing film of 1922!

Wednesday, July 13, at 7 p.m.: Buster Keaton in 'Battling Butler' (1926). Keaton plays Alfred Butler, a pampered rich idler with the same name as a feared boxing champion. When a girl he's pursuing thinks he's the fighter, Keaton has no choice but to start training. Uproarious 1926 comedy!

Wednesday, July 27, at 7 p.m.: Greta Garbo in 'The Temptress' (1926). MGM drama with Garbo destroying the lives of men everywhere. Unusual in that the film was made with two very different endings per order of studio boss Louis B. Mayer; both will be screened.

Wednesday, Aug. 10, at 7 p.m.: Clara Bow stars in 'Mantrap' (1926). Battle-of-the-sexes comedy; city boy Richard Dix tries to win his girlfriend by taking up the rugged cowboy life, only to find it not so rugged. Rarely screened comedic gem from the height of the silent era.

Wednesday, Aug. 17, at 7 p.m.: 'Blood and Sand' (1922). Rudolph Valentino in his first starring role, as a sexy bullfighter in this romantic thriller. Will Rudy choose the pure love of Carmen, or the sinister charms of the exotic Doña Sol? And will he survive the choice?

Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m.: Rare race drama: 'The Flying Ace' (1926). All-Black motion picture added to the National Film Registry last year. Rare example of 'race' cinema, produced for audiences in black-only theaters commonly found in segregated parts of the nation.

Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m.: F.W. Murnau's 'The Last Laugh' (1924). Towering performance by Emil Jannings as aging doorman at posh city hotel whose unexpected change of jobs robs him of self-respect and identity. Directed by Murnau as a purely visual tale, no dialogue intertitles.

Saturday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m.: 'Der Golem' (1920). Prepare for Halloween with one very weird flick! In 16th-century Prague, a rabbi creates a giant creature from clay, called the Golem. Using sorcery, he brings the creature to life in order to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution.

Harold Lloyd's 'For Heaven's Sake' (1926) will lead off this season's silent film series on Wednesday, June 15 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Fine Arts Theatre, 259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine. Tickets $12 per person, general seating. For more info, call 207-646-3123 or visit www.leavittheatre.com. For more info on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Leavitt Theatre to host 2022 summer silent film series with live music