I’ve been out to the Old Town Music Hall twice this year for silent films with live accompaniment on the Mighty Wurlitzer, and I find it impossible not to have at least one of their silents/live accompaniment on my recs each month. My first experience was for Hitchcock’s 1927 silent, THE LODGER: A STORY OF THE LONDON FOG. It was a sold-out show on a Sunday afternoon. It’s a bit of an older crowd, which in and of itself is a bit interesting because absolutely no one in the audience was alive in 1927.
So, it wasn’t people revisiting something they’d seen in the theater as a kid. I’ve since been to one other silent there, Douglas Fairbanks’ THE BLACK PIRATE, and I’ve come away in complete awe of the virtuosos sitting at the Wurlitzer. I think it’s the most unique experience currently out there in the Los Angeles Revival Cinema scene, and if you haven’t made it to a movie there before, please treat yourself.
There’s nothing like wondering in awe at points through the screenings, “This movie is almost a hundred years old, my Lord.” This month, they’ve got a Buster Keaton film playing in the front half, but I’ve chosen to highlight the lesser-known silent comedy king, Harold Lloyd, and his 1926 film FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE. I’ve only seen a couple of his films at home on TV, but they’ve never disappointed.