Movies

Upcoming silent film: Peter Pan

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It’s time for another silent film with my live accompaniment at the Plaistow, NH library! This time it’s the 1924 Peter Pan, with Betty Bronson in the title role and Ernest Torrence as Captain Hook. Anna May Wong, one of my favorite silent actresses, has a small part as Princess Tiger Lily. The show is on Friday, April 11, at 1 PM. Admission and popcorn are free.
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Silent Film: It’s a Gift

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Snub Pollard is mostly remembered for his supporting roles in Harold Lloyd comedies, but he starred in some films. In It’s a Gift, he plays a Rube Goldberg-inspired inventor who creates assorted devices and demonstrates an automobile fuel which is vastly more efficient than gasoline. Maybe a little too efficient. There’s even a flying car.
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The Flying Ace, recorded live at Plaistow Library

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On February 21, 2025, I accompanied the 1926 film The Flying Ace at the Plaistow, NH Library. This YouTube video combines an MP4 file of the film with the audio recording of my live accompaniment on a Roland keyboard, with about four minutes of introductory remarks by librarian Jennifer O’Connor, who does a great job making these movies happen, and by me.

The next movie I’ll accompany there will be Peter Pan on April 11.
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Silent Film: The Flying Ace

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On Friday, February 21, at 1:00 PM, I’ll accompany the silent film The Flying Ace at the Plaistow, NH Library. Admission is free. My plan is to record the accompaniment and combine it with the movie in a YouTube video, if no technical problems arise.

I chose this movie for Black History Month. In the silent era and for some time afterward, black actors couldn’t hope for leading roles in mainstream movies. Some studios produced “race films” — movies with black casts for black audiences. One of them was Norman Studios in Florida. As far as I know, the only film from it which is still available is The Flying Ace, released in 1926.
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