Hello again and welcome back to the third and final day of the 15th
Annual Broncho Billy Silent Film Festival at the Edison Theater in the
Niles District of Fremont. Hosted by the Niles Essanay Silent Film
Museum, I'm once again giving you the up-to-the-minute play by play of the
festival. Now the time has come to wrap up this fun-filled film
festival, and boy what a way to end the it. Let's take a look at the
first program for the day!
Baby Peggy (1921)
This afternoon's program focused on the life and career of Dian Serra Cary, better known as Baby Peggy. The program consisted of a brand new documentary on Cary, two rare and early one-reeler shorts, as well as an interview with author and Essanay Museum board member Larry Telles. But first up was the documentary.
Entitled BABY PEGGY, THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, this hour long film directed by Vera Iwerebor chronicles the rise of Baby Peggy. After being discovered when she was just 19 months old, her fame took off and she became one of Hollywood's first major child stars. But like her peer Jackie Coogan, her parents had squandered all her money, and at age 11, Baby Peggy was broke and a has-been. Over the next several decades, she reinvented herself as Diana Serra Cary and became a film historian and a successful author. Now she is even more popular than ever, appearing at film festivals all over the world.
Now there is a scene in the film to which I was very happy to see. In 2008, Cary celebrated her 90th birthday here at the museum, and I was there to witness this very special occasion. Also at that celebration was Vera Iwerebor, capturing it all on camera. This event made its way into the documentary, and all of us here at the museum was very happy and pleased to be a part of not only the film, but of Cary's life as well!
immediately after the screening of the documentary, the two shorts was shown. On the piano for this program was the amazing Frederick Hodges.
BROWNIE'S LITTLE VENUS (1921): This funny and cute little short has Baby Peggy and her trusty sidekick Brownie the Dog helping her parents out by stopping a burglar that has broken into their house. Now in 2010, a copy of this film was discovered in a collection in Switzerland. The film has now been preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archives, which is where this 35mm print came from. The film was originally distributed by Century Film to theaters on September 14, 1921.
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD (1922): Our Baby Peggy plays the lead in this adaption to that beloved children's story. The film is an incomplete film, with a lot of the scenes at the beginning of the film still missing. To make them film somewhat complete, the UCLA Film and Television Archive used some of Cary's still photographs to complete the 35mm film print. The film was again released by Century Film on November 6, 1922.
Larry Telles and Diana Serra Cary
After a brief intermission, the program continued with Cary being interviewed by Larry Telles. Afterwards, she also took questions from the audience. Then she was given a standing ovation as she was leaving the stage. At 93 years old, Cary is one of the last living actresses from the silent film era! Having known her for the past four years, I can honestly say that she is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the finest woman I have ever met. Intelligent, kind, generous, and funny, she is also a survivor. She was once loved by millions during her brief career in the silent film era, and is loved once again by millions of fans from all across the globe!
And that's it for this afternoon! Only one more program left of the festival, so come back here and read all about it! To learn more about the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum and their film schedule, visit their website at www.nilesfilmmuseum.org.
Hello everyone and welcome back to my up-to-the-minute blogging on
the 15th Annual Broncho Billy Silent Film Festival, hosted by the Niles
Essanay Silent Film Museum! Now for this evening's program, the museum was screening a silent comedy classic that starred two of the biggest stars at that time: Clara Bow and the adorable Baby Peggy! The night started off with the the Lopez Family receiving the Ray Hubbard award. The family own the building that the museum is in and we are very thankful that they letting us do what we do here and to call this our home! On the piano for tonight's program was David Drazin.
The first short was TWIN PEAKS TUNNEL. This 35mm film documented the of the tunnel from Market to West Portal in San Francisco. The opening of the film shows construnction beginning on the corner of Castro and Market Street. Now as you all know that I frequent the Castro to attend many film screenings and to see what it looked like back on Decemeber 5, 1914 was amazing! Also worth noting was that in 2011, the museum discovered this short and it became the museum's latest restoration, with help from the National Film Preservation Foundation. The film, however, is still incomplete. The last scene, where there is a big gala opening celebration, is still missing. So if anyone out there knows the location of this scene, please contact Davis Kiehn at the museum's website!
The second short film of the night was THE SHOTGUN RANCHMAN. Again another 35mm print from the BFI, the film was made here in Niles and is about a rancher named Jake Nixon (Arthur Mackley). He's not the nicest man to know, and when a widow (Julia Mackley) and her child (Audrey Hanna) come to his ranch looking for help, old Jake sends them away. But his helper (True Boardman) hides them on the ranch without Jake's knowing. However Jake finds out, but when the little girl becomes severely ill, will Jake have a change of heart? The film was released to theater on October 21, 1912.
The last short film screened was THE PROSPECTOR. Another beautiful 35mm print from the Library of Congress, the film was written and directed by Arthur Mackley and was filmed here in Niles. The film also starred Mackley, Fred Church, Evelyn Selbie, and Audrey Hanna. The film was released by Essanay on December 12, 1912.
After a brief intermission, the show continued with:
HELEN'S BABIES (1924): Starring Clara Bow, Baby Peggy, and Edward Everett Horton. Based on the 1876 children's novel of the same name by John Habberton, the film's about Harry Burton (Horton), a successful author on how to raise children, even though he is bachelor who plans on never having children. He visits his sister and her husband, who in return leave for a quick vacation and leaves him in charge of their two daughters: eldest Budge (Jean Carpenter) and Toddie (Baby Peggy). Harry soon finds out just how hard rearing children is, but coming to his aid is the beautiful next door neighbor Alice Mayton (Bow). The film was directed by William A. Seiter, who directed over 130 films with stars like Shirley Temple, W.C. Fields, The Marx Brothers, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy and Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. The film itself was sweet, heart warming, and extremely hilarious. Before the film's screening, Baby Peggy herself Diana Serra Cary came up before the audience and discussed the making of the film and some of her fondest memories about her co-stars! The film was released by Sol Lesser Productions on October 12, 1924.
Another day done, and one more left to go! It's still not too late to
purchase tickets for Sunday's programs. To view the festival's film
schedule, visit the museum's website at http://www.nilesfilmmuseum.org./
Hello everyone and welcome back to my up-to-the-minute play by play on
the 15th Annual Broncho Billy Silent Film Festival, hosted by the Niles
Essanay Silent Film Museum! Magic is being made here at the Edison
Theater here in the Niles District of Fremont, so let's not waste any
more time. Let's talk about this afternoon's program!
The 3:30pm program focused on the Essanay films that were made here in Niles in 1912, the year that Anderson and his crew first arrive in Niles to make their films. All of this afternoon's films starred Anderson and showcased the beautiful Niles Canyon. Also every one of these film was made exactly 100 years ago! Some haven't been seen in decades and we had a packed house here to witness local filmmaking and film history dance across the silver screen! On the piano for this program was Judy Rosenberg.
BRONCHO BILLY'S NARROW ESCAPE: A 35mm print film from the BFI (British Film Institute), the film stars Anderson as Broncho Billy and Vedah Bertram as his love interest Lois Martin. Bertram was a very good in the film, but only appeared as Anderson's romantic lead in a couple of his films before her tragic death on August 26, 1912 at the age of only 20. The film was released on July 6th.
A WIFE OF THE HILLS: A 35mm print film from the EYE Film Institute, the film's titles were all in dutch, but the audience could still make out what the film was about. Anderson stars as Bart McGrew (an non Broncho Billy role but still looked like him) who finds himself on the wrong side of the law. He is saved at the last minute but his faithful wife, played once again by actress Vedah Bertram. Also starring Arthur Mackley and Brinsley Shaw. Released to theaters on July 20th.
AN INDIAN SUNBEAM: A 35mm print from the Library of Congress, it starred Anderson, True Boardman, Edna Sharpe, Fred Church, Brinsley Shaw, Frank Pementel, Victor Potel, and Harry Todd. The film was released on September 28th.
THE TOMBOY ON BAR Z: Another 35mm print from the EYE Film Institute, the film starred Virginia Eames, Jay Hanna, Brinsley Shaw, Fred Church, Augustus Carney, Roland Totheroh (future cameraman for Charlie Chaplin), Texas George Briggs, True Boardman (Virginia's husband) Frank Pementel, Victor Potel, Willis Elder, Pat Rooney, and Harry Todd. The film was released to theaters on October 22nd.
BRONCHO BILLY'S HEART:Another 35mm print from the BFI, the film starred Anderson, Arthur Mackley, Julia Mackley, Fred Church, Audrey Hanna, and Patrick Rooney. The film was released to theaters on November 22nd.
And that was it for this program! Amazing to see these 100 year old films made here in Niles! Now there's still the evening show HELEN'S BABIES starring Clara Bow and Baby Peggy! So make sure you check out that show because it will sell out fast! If you'd like to come check out the festival, be sure to visit the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum's website at http://www.nilesfilmmuseum.org./
Hello my friends, and welcome to day two of my trip to the Broncho Bill
Silent Film Festival at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum at the
historic Edison Theater in the Niles District of Fremont! After last
night's show, I couldn't wait to travel back in time when silent films
still reigned supreme! And to make things interesting, I'll be posting
my blogs immediately after each program screening, so I can provide all
of you the play by play of the festival! Let's begin shall we?
For the 12:30pm show, the museum hosted an amazing interview with the great Murray Glass, founder of the Em Gee Film Library. The interview was conducted by film historian David Shepard. Glass talked about his early days when he first started collecting film prints while working as a chemist. After several years of collecting films and receiving requests from academic scholars asking to borrow his prints, Glass quit his day job and started working full time on his once called "hobby." His library consisted of over 6,500 film prints, mostly silent films. After 50 years of film collecting, preservation, and making his films available for screening all over the world, Glass retired and donated his vast film collection to the museum. After the interview, Glass participated in a Q&A session with the audience. The museum president Dorthy Bradley presented Glass with an award for his lifetime dedication to film preservation and made him an honorary member of the Essanay Museum.
After a brief ten minute break, the show continued with a surprise short film from Glass:
BEN HUR (1907): Starring Herman Rottger as the Ben Hur and future cowboy star William S. Hart as Messala, this was the very first film version of Lew Wallace's novel. Though only 15 minutes long, the film The focused on the chariot race, which was actually filmed on a beach in New Jersey (most films were made on the East Coast) and had local firemen playing the charioteers and the horses that normally pulled the fire wagons pulling the chariots. It was very interesting to see and quite fun to watch! Hard to believe that this was the very first adaptation and I along with the audience got to see this very rare gem! The film was released by the Kalem Film Company on December 7, 1907.
Theatrical Movie Poster (1920)
The main feature of the program was SILK HUSBANDS AND CALICO WIVES (1920). The film focuses on an up and coming lawyer Deane Kendall (House Peters), who has some very old fashion ideas about a woman's place in the home and in society. Of course this doesn't stop the love of his life Edith (Mary Alden) from marrying him. But when Deane begins to move up in society, she must be able to keep up with him or else she lose him to another woman named Georgia Wilson (Eva Novak). The film was directed by Alfred E. Green, who went on to direct other silent films like 1921's THROUGH THE BACK DOOR and LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY (both starring Mary Pickford), 1925's SALLY with Collen Moore, and 1927's TWO GIRLS WANTED starring Janet Graynor. Peter also acted in films like Cecil B. DeMille's THE GIRL OF THE GOLDEN WEST, 1922's THE STORM, and a film that was shown here at the museum last year, RAFFLES: THE AMATEUR CRACKSMITH. The film was distributed by Garson Studios in 1920.
And that was it for the early afternoon show! At the 3:30pm show the museum will be screening Broncho Billy films made here in Niles! So make sure you come on down and check out all the fun! If you'd like to come check out the festival, be sure to visit the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum's website at http://www.nilesfilmmuseum.org./
It's hard to believe that it's been a whole year, but it's that time
again. The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum's Annual Broncho Billy Film
Festival kicked off today and boy what a kick off it was! There was a gala reception at the Fremont Bank building here in Niles. Afterwards, the crowd then headed over to the Edison Theater, the home of the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. The show began with introductions by the museum's historian, author, and projectionist David Kiehn and by world renown film historian and preservationist David Shepard. On the piano tonight was the amazing Frederick Hodges.
The night began with the short film ARRIVAL OF ESSANAY IN NILES. This short film was shot during the big 100th Anniversary of Broncho Billy and the Essanay Studio coming to Niles back on April 1st. The film was shot on 35mm in both black and white and in color. The film was an reenactment of that very special historical event and was shot using the very same film cameras that were used back in the silent film era!
Theatrical Movie Poster (1913)
The main feature of the night was a film entitled ATLANTIS. This long, lost, and little seen film is based on author Gerhart Hauptmann's novel, which was published just before the sinking of the Titanic! Filmed in Denmark, the movie tells the tale of a Dr. Friedrich Kammacher
(Olaf Fønss) who travels to the United
States in search of a cure for his ailing wife. While traveling aboard the the SS Roland, he meets and fall in love with a dancer named Ingigerd (Ida Orloff). Their romance is cut short with the tragic
sinking of their ocean liner after it strikes an unseen object at sea. Released
only one year after the sinking of the Titanic, the movie drew considerable attention as well as criticism due to similarities to the actual tragedy. The print shown was a 35mm print and it looked incredible! Very interesting set ups and silhouette shots and scenes actually shot in a lifeboat out on the water were all very impressive. It's interesting to compare this film to what was transpiring in the film industry here in America. The same year that this film was released, Broncho Billy Anderson was still riding around in the hills of Niles Canyon. At 144 minutes, the film was a fantastic and great discovery for me to see! The film was distributed by
Nordisk Film Kompagni on December 26, 1913.
Now originally the museum was going to show three 1912 Biograph short films before ATLANTIS: THE NEW YORK HAT starring America's Sweetheat Mary Pickford, THE MUSKETEERS OF PIG ALLEY with Lillian Gish, and THE TOURISTS starring Mabel Normand. Since the film was over 2 hours long, a vote was taken and it was decided to show just one of the shorts. Now THE TOURISTS was a one-reeler short and featured funny girl Mabel Normand and her friends who miss their bus and hang out visiting a local Native Indian town. But when Mabel becomes too friendly with their Chief, his wife wants her scalp! Overall very politcally incorrect and hilariously funny! The film was released to theaters on February 18, 1912.
What a great why to kick off the film festival! There are still more
shows on both Saturday and Sunday, so come on down and join me at the Edison Theatre. To view the festival film schedule
and to purchase tickets, visit the museum's website at http://www.nilesfilmmuseum.org./
The following film has been kept in secrecy since the very beginning. Rumors spread all over the internet, in chatrooms, on Twitter, Facebook, horror blogs, and movie websites. But when is was revealed that director Ridley Scott, the man who healmed such iconic films such as BLADE RUNNER, LEGEND, THELMA & LOUISE, GLADIATOR, AMERICAN GANGSTER, the list is endless. Then rumors started to spread that the film was a prequel to ALIEN, Scott's 1979 horror/sci-fi classic. With each new information that was released, the anticipation for the film grew and grew. Now it has been released, and I had the pleasure of seeing PROMETHEUS in 3D at the Camera 7 in the Pruneyard Campbell.
In the year 2089, archaeologist couple Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) discover a series of star maps among several unrelated ancient cultures, a kind of invitation to come and visit. With the financing of a mega-corporation called Weyland Industries, they and a team of scientists and soldiers travel aboard the spacecraft Prometheus to answer the mysteries of life and discover the origins of man. Their ship finally arrives on the planet in 2092 and the crew awakens from their two-year slumber and are greeted by Weyland Industries executive Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) and the ship's faithful robot servant David (Michael Fassbender). However, once the crew begins to explore the ancient ruins, they soon discover that the answers they seek have deadly answers.
Scott's directing is beautiful. Just beautiful. The film is just visually stunning. Watching one of Scott's films is like admiring a painting; it really does take your breath away. He makes directing look so damn easy, but like a great painter, his brushstokes are precise and engaging. The atmosphere of the film is also beautiful as well as haunting and ominous. We aren't sure what to expect, and Scott very carefully escorts us on this journey. And we don't even hesitate to ask where he's taking us.
What I also liked about the film is that it explores many philosophical and deep meaning questions that we have been asking since the dawn of man. It explores the questions like "Why are we here?" "Where do we come from?" "Are we alone in the universe?" The film also invokes topics that never crossed my mind; Do other life forms believe in religion? Are we descendants of these visitors? And if we are, where does God fit in the equation? And also would we still believe in Him and the various religions? Would you ask them the same age old questions as well? Now maybe I'm reading too much into the film, but these are ideas that I found within the film. Whether these were intentional or accidental, one has to wonder if Scott and his screenwriters Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof knew what they were doing.
The acting in the film was above average. Some of the secondary characters were one-dimensional and I didn't care what happened to them. But that's their purpose; to that we'll invest in the main players. Fassbender does a fine job of portraying David; sharp, mysterious, and at times funny. With this role, he continues a very long tradition of actors portraying robots in the ALIEN series. Fassbender has been one very busy actor as of late. This is his third film so far this year! (The other two were Cronenburg's A DANGEROUS METHOD and the indie sex drama SHAME) Also making her presence known is Rapace. Internationally known as Lisbeth Salander in the original GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO trilogy, her first Hollywood film was SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS, which was released back in January. While her character Elizabeth (how ironic) is no Ripley, she does her best and holds her own in the film's many obstacles, including the gut-wrenching aliens that she and her crew discover.
While not officially a prequel to the ALIEN franchise, it is speculated that the "Space Jockey" that Ripley and her crew discover in Scott's first ALIEN film is the same one found here. Now, Scott has stated that the film shares "strands of ALIEN's DNA, so to speak", and while it takes place in the same universe, the film stands on its own and explores its own mythology.
Now the only negativity I have about the film is the use of 3D for it. In my opinion, this gimmick was totally unnecessary. Scott's film didn't require this gimmick at all, and to whomever thought it this was a good idea, let me say this: It wasn't a good idea! All his films are works of art and to use the 3D gimmick is an insult to the man and his talents.
Overall, PROMETHEUS is a visually stunning and haunting film that takes the ALIEN mythology that Scott created decades ago and transforms it into something totally new and different! It is a film that really explores our questions and fears, and at the same time gives us some chills to terrify us with. But avoid seeing it in 3D, and instead use that money you saved to buy more popcorn. Four out of five stars!
PROMETHEUS is playing in both 2D and 3D in theaters nationwide, including at the Camera
Cinemas here in the Bay Area. To view showtimes, visit their website at www.cameracinemas.com.
So it's been a while since I've seen a cool musical, and I'm not counting the screening of REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA that I attended last month at the Big Wow! Comicfest. The reason being is because that film was a rock opera. I'm talking about a straight ahead, singing and dancing, make your feet tap and your booty shaking in your seat musical. So for today I ventured out to the Camera 7 in the Pruneyard in Campbell to see ROCK OF AGES, the newest film by HAIRSPRAY director Adam Shankman.
Based on Chris D'Arienzo's Broadway show, the film is set in 1987 and opens on a young girl named Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough), who travels from her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma to Los Angeles with dreams of becoming a famous singer. Immediantly arriving in LA, she is mugged and her suitcase full of inspirational rock records is stolen. However, coming to her aid is another rock'n'roll dreamer by the name of Drew Boley (Diego Boneta), who just so happens to work at The Bourbon Room (a hybrid of The Viper Room and The Whiskey), a popular nightclub on the Sunset Strip. Drew convinces his boss and club owner Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin), and his right-hand man, Lonny Barnett (Russell Brand) to hire Sherrie as their new waitress. While our two love birds sing and dance their way into each other's hearts, the club is preparing to book the hard rock band Arsenal in hopes of raising enough money to clear up their debt. Another reason for this show is that this will be their final show before its enigmatic lead singer Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) moves on to his solo career, thanks to the advise of his manager Paul Gill (Paul Giamatti). But leading the charge against Jaxx and the Bourbon Room is Patricia Whitmore (Catherine Zeta-Jones), the religious conservative wife of Mayor Mike Whitmore (Bryan Cranston). She plans on
organizing her church to protest in front of the Bourbon Room in an insane attempt
to shut them down and to rid L.A. of its "sex, drugs, and rock
'n' roll" image.
Shankman did a fabulous job with directing and choreographing his last film HAIRSPARY, and he repeats himself with this film. It's fun, well paced, and is filled with several 80's fist-pumping metal and hard rock classics. Country singer Hough plays Sherrie spot on: sweet, funny, down home Southern accent, and a nice set of pipes that makes you take notice. While she has only appeared in two other films (BURLESQUE and the 2011 remake FOOTLOOSE), Hough looks to be going places. Her fresh face look and singing chops mesh perfectly with Boneta's, who is known for his TV roles on 90210 and Pretty Little Liars. Their duet of "Jukebox Hero" inside of the Tower Records store (I really miss them) is totally bad ass! And by melding it into a melody with Baldwin and Brand's cover of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock'N'Roll" only made it that much more rockin'!
But to be fair, one individual rocked out the hardest. Now, I am not a big Tom Cruise fan. Really, I'm not. Oh sure I liked his earlier films like RISKY BUSINESS and TOP GUN. And I did like his performance as Senator Jasper Irving in LIONS FOR LAMBS, but I never went out of my way to see one of his starring films. But I have to admit, Cruise really rocked out in this film. I would have to say that his performance as Stacee Jaxx was part Jim Morrison of the Doors, part Axel Rose, and part Jon Bon Jovi. There is no trace of Tom Cruise in the film. There is only the Rock God Stacee Jaxx! And speaking of great performances, Zeta-Jones channels Tipper Gore for her role as the righteous Patricia Whitmore. Also look for cameo appearances from director Eli Roth, former Skid Row lead singer Sebastian Bach, former Extreme guitarist/vocalist Nuno Bettencourt, REO Speedwagon lead singer Kevin Cronin, and believe it or not, Debbie Gibson!
All in all, ROCK OF AGES is a head banging, rock'n'roll good time! So if you lived in L.A. on The Strip back in the 80's (or you wish you had), this might take you back to the good 'ol days when hairspary, eyeliners, spandex, and hard rock ruled! Four out of five stars!
ROCK OF AGES is currently playing in theaters nationwide, including at the Camera
Cinemas here in the Bay Area. To view showtimes, visit their website at http://www.cameracinemas.com.
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