The next silent movie which I’ll accompany on Twitch will be the 1926 Son of the Sheik on February 14, “Valentino’s Day,” at 8 PM Eastern US time. Following an old tradition, I’ll precede it with a short, Young Mr. Jazz, starring Harold Lloyd. If all goes well, I’ll have some new equipment to improve the sound.

Son of the Sheik was Rudolf Valentino’s last movie. He died shortly after its first, limited public showings. It was based on a novel that had no connection to his earlier movie, The Sheik, but was retrofitted to be a sequel. Valentino plays two title roles. He’s the Sheik as well as his son Ahmed. They sometimes appear in the same shot thanks to double photography.

Spoilers ahead.

As with many movies of a century ago, it has problems for a modern audience. Ahmed does some horrible things to the dancing girl Yasmin (Vilma Bánky), the worst off-camera but clearly implied. Later he learns that he’s been fed lies about her and reverses his attitude. The reversal is too casual, and she forgives him too easily. It still has the makings of a redemption story, and I’ll aim to convey that in the music. The scene where he abuses Yasmin will emphasize the brutality of his actions. When he learns the truth, I’ll try to strengthen the sense that it hits him hard.

It’s tricky. I can’t force the movie to change its course just by adding music, but hopefully I can shift its tone a little.

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Metropolis

Looking further on, I’ve talked with the Plaistow Library staff about doing Fritz Lang’s Metropolis — the 2.5-hour verison — at the library on April 12. This is exciting for me. I accompanied it years ago at Arisia, and it’s one of my favorite silent movies. If I continue my second-Wednesday schedule on Twitch, the online movie will be just two days before that. I’m thinking of doing Metropolis then as well. Preparing two movies in the same week would be too much.

March is still up in the air. One possibility is Alfred Hitchcock’s 1927 film The Lodger, which is often considered the one where he hit his stride. Suggestions?