Silent movie series puts you in Roaring Twenties New York
Published 12:01 am Friday, April 1, 2011
It’s 1928 New York. Calvin Coolidge is president.
Talkies, moving pictures with sound, were about to change the way moviegoers experienced film.
But in ’28, silent films still were the rage.
The sounds of Mighty Wurlitzer Organs created a live soundtrack with each showing.
Now, Trader Joe’s Silent Movie Mondays at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre recreates the experience with “I Love New York,” four classic films set in New York City in the ’20s.
The Paramount has one of only three organs to reside in its original environment. It was installed on March 1, 1928, in time for the theater’s opening. Acclaimed organist Jim Riggs is scheduled to play along with the films.
For $12, you get a film, a concert and a journey back in time to see Coney Island, Yankee Stadium and Wall Street. Films start at 7 p.m. on each Monday night in April.
April 4, “The Docks of New York”: George Bankroff and Olga Baclanova lead the cast, but the real stars in Joseph von Sternberg’s masterpiece are some of the best black-and-white scenes ever filmed.
April 11, “Speedy”: Harold Lloyd’s last silent movie and his only Oscar nomination went to this fast-paced comedy about modernization. It features wonderful shots of 1927 Manhattan including a look inside Yankee Stadium at Babe Ruth hitting a home run.
April 18, “The Crowd”: The movie was released on the eve of the Great Depression and follows James Murray, a work-a-day man coping with city existence. The movie earned an Oscar nomination for director King Vidor.
April 25, “The Cameraman”: Buster Keaton stars an aspiring, but lousy, newsreel cameraman searching for the perfect shot. While Keaton’s character keeps missing the great scenes, the viewer takes it all in. Vintage Keaton and vintage New York. Directed by Edward Sedgwick.
Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3447; jholtz@heraldnet.com.
