The Silent Film Society of Chicago has announced the line-up for its now annual "Silent Summer" film series, which runs July 22 through August 26.
This year's lineup focuses on some of the great leading ladies of the silent era, and begins with a rarely screened Louise Brooks film, A Girl in Every Port (1928). Other stars featured in the series include Greta Garbo, Gloria Swanson, Mary Pickford, and Marion Davies.
The centerpiece of the festival is an August 12 screening of F.W. Murnau's Sunrise. The film stars Janet Gaynor, George O'Brien and Margaret Livingston. (The latter voice doubled for Brooks when the actress left for Germany to star in Pandora's Box.) Considered one of the best films of the Silent Era, Sunrise won an Oscar for Unique and Artistic Production at the first Academy Awards in 1929. The Society will screen Sunrise with live musical accompaniment by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.
Striving to present silent films the way they were originally shown, each of the six silent films in the Chicago series will feature live musical accompaniment.
July 22: A Girl in Every Port (Organ accompaniment by Jay Warren)
July 29: Why Change Your Wife? (Organ accompaniment by Tim Baker)
August 5: Heart O' The Hills (Organ accompaniment by Jay Warren)
August 12: Sunrise (Accompanied by the Mont Alto Picture Orchestra)
August 19: The Cardboard Lover (Organ accompaniment by Tim Baker)
August 26: The Mysterious Lady (Organ accompaniment by Jay Warren)
Among Brooks’ surviving silent films, A Girl in Every Port is seldom screened - despite its large reputation. Directed by the legendary Howard Hawks, the film has been described as one of the "the most significant of Howard Hawks' silent films." And in it, significantly, Brooks stands as one of the first “Hawksian woman.”
Hawks (1896 – 1977) was an American director, producer and screenwriter best known for his work during the sound era. His films include such classics as Scarface (1932), Bringing Up Baby (1938), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), His Girl Friday (1940), Sergeant York (1941), To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953).
A Girl in Every Port tells the story of two sailors and their adventures with various women in various ports of call. The film stars Victor McLaglen and Robert Armstrong. Also appearing in the film are Myrna Loy, Sally Rand, Leila Hyams,and Natalie Kingston. Brooks, under contract to Paramount at the time, was loaned to Fox to star in the production.
Brooks was cast as a kind-of vamp, a circus artiste known as Mam’selle Godiva, or Marie, the girl from Marseille. Her act involves diving into a small pool of water. McLaglen and Armstrong, each suitors, offer a towel and more.
'Mlle Godiva' handles each with Lulu-like aplomb.
The Silent Film Society of Chicago's "Silent Summer" Film Festival runs Fridays from July 22 through August 26 at the Portage Theater (4050 N. Milwaukee Ave.) in Chicago. Tickets can be purchased in advance from the Portage Theater box office during event box office hours, or by calling 773.736.4050. Tickets are also on sale at City Newsstand, (4018 N. Cicero Ave.). Tickets are $12 on the day of show (excepting $17 for the Aug. 12 screening of Sunrise). Advance prices and student / senior discounts are also available.
For more info:More about the Silent Film Society of Chicago can be found at http://www.silentfilmchicago.com/
In 1995, Thomas Gladysz founded the Louise Brooks Society, an internet-based archive and international fan club devoted to the legendary film star. Gladysz has contributed to books, organized exhibits, appeared on television and radio, and introduced the actress's films around the world. Recently, he edited and wrote the introduction to a new “Louise Brooks edition” of Margarete Bohme’s The Diary of a Lost Girl.
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