Long-lost 1916 Sherlock Holmes silent found... now restored.

Transcription

1 Long-lost 1916 Sherlock Holmes silent found... now restored. find us on

2 FAIRGROUND FOLLIES An entertainment of unexampled brilliance Come join us for a spectacular two hour tour showcasing rare self-playing mechanical instruments from bygone eras including street, dance hall and carousel organs, music boxes and a fascinating self-playing 1920s violin with piano and the grandest dance hall organ in the world, The Mighty Taj Mahal. Morning/afternoon tea, as well as a ride on our 100 year old carousel will bring back magical childhood memories. Pre-booking is essential. Visit for a preview Bus groups or individuals welcome. For tour dates and bookings telephone (02) Fairground Follies St Peters, Sydney

3 Welcome again to Australia s Silent Film Festival. The Festival acknowledges the generous assistance and guidance by David. As the world s leading figure in silent films, their restoration and promotion, he supports us in the screening of many of the films offered at Festival events. His warmth and experienced insights generate the ideal environment for the Festival to grow. Why do audiences for silent cinema not only increase, but also skew younger? The best, such as have been selected for this Festival, transcend time as human documents with undiminished impact. They demand that their audience respond to inference, visual metaphor, and musical suggestion. They captivate culturally diverse, multi-lingual, populations in ways that are emotionally compelling, yet ideologically representative of their origin. For these reasons, D. W. Griffith s great actress Lillian Gish always spoke of silent cinema as a great means to promote international understanding. Media arts straddle the idea of art and the idea of manufacture. The artist at work is doing what he or she likes best, and the pleasure in that work contributes to its perfection. I think a goal to which each of you might aspire is work as play, work from which you can hardly be dragged away. Unfortunately, many in the media arts are put to tasks that are ultimately inspired by the sales department. It is sad when the person at work is no longer doing what he or she likes best, but rather what they must, and come to the general belief that workers can only be really happy when they get away and are at play. If you find yourself earning a living this way, you must of course bloom where you are planted, but not at the cost of abandoning the ideals that attracted you to media in the first place. In general, works that endure were custom made by responsible and creative people for whom work was also a vocation and a profession, in contrast, for example, to the objects found in big box stores. The latter are made by people who earn their living by working at a job, regardless of what it may be. I think the greatest challenge for an arts graduate is to retain one s sense of wonder -- to try to see every new day as if you are an astigmatic person who has just put on glasses and is seeing the world clearly as if for the first time. With few exceptions, media arts are sold on the premise that the newest is the best and that technological innovations colour, 3D, surround sound, and the like render less desirable the older works without them. Of course this is absurd no one pities Scarlatti because he lacked the modern piano, or Mozart because he lacked the resources of the symphony orchestra. So-called primitive art cannot be contrasted with the modern art of this century as though the primitive had been trying to do what we try to do. The only test of excellence in a work is the measure of the artist s success at making what was intended. My current vocation is finding, restoring and presenting outstanding silent films from around the world in high quality video editions. These are works no one much thinks of, and few people know of, until they see some, properly presented. Then they are often converted into passionate enthusiasts, or as a friend of mine says about M&Ms, you can t just eat a hundred. Our culture subtly tells us, to quote Henry Ford that history is bunk. This doesn t relate only to silent movies, to media, music or fiction. An article in a recent New Yorker detailed the city s many great monuments to the Civil War, which began just 150 years ago. Quoting the magazine, they mostly slide right by our notice into the amnesia bin of a city long since occupied by immigrants and the children of immigrants, most of them indifferent to that war s ghosts and glories. The same is true with most of the film, fiction, drama, music and other art works of the past that were once regarded as great. But now the question: why should these protected works be exhibited, made accessible and explained to the public? This Festival attempts to show how the films are true or significant, or if they no longer serve our everyday needs, how they can still serve to teach or inspire. We too frequently judge historic works not by their actual accomplishment, but by our own intentions, and thus swallow the march of progress in art as we do that of progress in civilization. There have been human needs other than our own, and perhaps more significant than our own. It helps to be able to think about their artifacts as their authors did, first understanding what these works of art are about; then studying how their meanings are shaped by their forms. It is an honour to again greet you from far-off California. I envy the pleasure ahead for each of you who will discover these wonderful films for the first time. David Shepard Film Preservation Associates, California Lobster Films, Paris 2015 ~ 3 ~

4 Australia s Silent Film Festival Program Chaplin- Griffith- Keaton- Bevan- Lloyd- Laurel and Hardy- Teddy the Dog- Swanson- Murnau- Chase- Arbuckle- Pickford- Normand- McCay- Ozu- Pickford- Ruan Lingyu- Duvivier- Bowers- Dawn- Room- William Gillette and Sherlock Holmes! Join us for wonderful sessions of early cinema classics with live musical accompaniment. Our outstanding musicians: Mauro Colombis, John D Arcy, David Bailey, Cliff Bingham, Heather Boyd, John Batts and Kaine Hayward. And introducing the music of Shana Tiang! Please visit the website to read about these acclaimed Australian talents The drive, support, talents and insights of Barbara Underwood, Marcelo Flaksbard, Samantha Hagan, Robert Gamlen, Scott O Hara, Leslie Eric May, Liz Stevenson, Rod Blackmore OAM, Peter Kneeshaw, Geoff Stacy, Judy Bellamy, Lynette Robinson, Jane Arakawa, Stephanie Khoo, Festival media supporters and our superb musicians enhance the 2015 Festival. ~ Many Program Descriptions by Barbara Underwood ~ ~ Films are restored and screened through digital presentation ~ ~ 4 ~

5 Our people are responsible for our success... Jackson Recruitment Services was established by founder Sharon Jackson in 1989, with the aim of creating an agency that offers honesty, integrity and commitment to its clients and to candidates. We are proud of our quality, effective and results-driven service. JRS takes an individual approach to matching the right client to the right candidate. That s our guarantee. We provide open access to our consultants, giving thorough assessment, and honest personalised feedback on staffing and career management. JRS is known for its commitment to quality service. We talk to you and we listen. We have vast experience in legal, private, commercial and government sector requirements, and have retained many of our clients for decades. We strive to provide a thorough assessment and honest advice to both candidates and clients. 1 York Street Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: (02) info@jacksonrecruitment.com.au ~ 5 ~

6 Australia s Silent Film Festival Program SYDNEY Kings of Comedy USA p16 Date: Saturday, 29 August 2015 Tickets: $25 / $20 concession Time: 3.00 pm to 4.30 pm Accompaniment: Christie theatre organ Cliff Bingham Location: Epping Baptist Church, 1 Ray Road, Epping Silents Are Golden USA p10 Date: Saturday, 26 September 2015 Tickets: $25 / $20 concession Time: 3.00 pm to 4.30 pm Accompaniment: Christie theatre organ John Batts Location: Epping Baptist Church, 1 Ray Road, Epping Silver Screen Tribute to Film Noir USA p17 Date: Sundays, September 6, 13 and 20, 2015 Tickets: $15 / $10 concession Time: 2.00 pm The Big Sleep Out of the Past- The Lady from Shanghai Location: State Library NSW, Macquarie St, Metcalfe Auditorium Walking the Western Front Documentaries Ypres Slaughter of the Innocents GB p9 Date: Sunday, October 4, 2015 Tickets: $15 / $10 concession Time: 2.00 pm Soundtrack Location: State Library NSW, Macquarie St, Metcalfe Auditorium Ypres The Immortal Salient GB p9 Date: Sunday, October 11, 2015 Tickets: $15 / $10 concession Time: 2.00 pm Soundtrack Location: State Library NSW, Macquarie St, Metcalfe Auditorium Silent Comedies... Priceless! USA p18 Date: Saturday, 17 October 2015 Tickets: $25 / $20 concession Time: 2.30 pm to 4.00 pm Accompaniment: Heather Boyd Location: Hornsby Uniting Church, 24 William St Hornsby Restored and Remembered Free Sessions The Birth of the Tramp Charlie Chaplin Documentary 2013 p17 Date: Thursday, 22 October 2015 Free Event Time: pm to 1.30 pm Location: State Library NSW, Macquarie St, Metcalfe Auditorium Scrooge Dickens perennial Christmas favourite 1935 p17 Date: Thursday 29 October 2015 Free Event Time: pm to 1.30 pm Location: State Library NSW, Macquarie St, Metcalfe Auditorium Annual Fundraiser The Gold Rush Annual Wesley Fair fundraiser 1925 USA p19 Date: Saturday 24 October 2015 Tickets: $25 / $20 concession Time: 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm Accompaniment: David Bailey and Christie theatre organ Location: Wesley Theatre, 220 Pitt Street, Sydney ~ 6 ~

7 Remembrance Day Forgotten Men 1934 GB p20 Date: Wednesday, 11 November 2015 Tickets: $20 / $15 concession Time: 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm Pre-film speaker Location: State Library NSW, Macquarie St, Metcalfe Auditorium For the Term of His Natural Life 1927 AUSTRALIA p12 Date: Sunday, 1 November 2015 Tickets: $25 / $20 concession Time: 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm Accompaniment: John D Arcy Location: State Library NSW, Macquarie St, Metcalfe Auditorium Safety Last 1923 USA p12 Date: Sunday 8 November 2015 Tickets: $25 / $20 Friend of the Library and Concession Time: 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm Accompaniment: John D Arcy Location: State Library NSW, Macquarie St, Metcalfe Auditorium Nosferatu 1922 GERMANY p13 Date: Sunday, 15 November 2015 Tickets: $25 / $20 concession Time: 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm Accompaniment: Kaine Hayward Location: State Library NSW, Macquarie St, Metcalfe Auditorium My Best Girl 1927 USA p13 Date: Sunday, 22 November 2015 Tickets: $25 / $20 concession Time: 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm Accompaniment: Mauro Colombis Location: State Library NSW, Macquarie St, Metcalfe Auditorium Sherlock Holmes 1916 USA p15 Date: Sunday, 29 November 2015 Tickets: $25 / $20 concession Time: 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm Accompaniment: Mauro Colombis Location: State Library NSW, Macquarie St, Metcalfe Auditorium Charlie Chaplin Genius 1916 Mutual Shorts 1916 USA p18 Date: Saturday, 5 December 2015 Tickets: $25 / $20 concession Time: 3.00 pm to 4.30 pm Accompaniment: Kaine Hayward Location: Roseville Uniting Church, 7A Lord Street, Roseville A sip for global justice Tradewinds Coffee and Tea Pty Ltd is a non profit organisation, formed in 1977 to help alleviate global poverty in practical ways. Tradewinds was the first supplier to Australians of fair trade tea. It imports and distributes tea and coffee products from communities in East Timor, Papua New Guinea, and Sri Lanka. It imports value-added products wherever possible so that the full economic benefits remain with producers. Fair trade what does it mean? Fair trade certification guarantees that: Farmers receive a fair and stable price for their products and thus have the opportunity to improve their lives. Farming methods are sustainable and have greater respect for the environment. Small-scale farmers gain a stronger position in world markets and have closer links to consumers. Project work All Tradewinds surpluses are channelled back into community projects supporting sustainable agriculture and production infrastructure, to assist with capacity-building in source communities. Tradewinds has provided funding for many projects over the years connected with sanitation, education of children and nutrition. ~ 7 ~

8 Northside Radio - information Broadcasting to Sydney's North Shore since 1983, Northside Radio 2NSB FM99.3 is the second oldest sub-metropolitan community radio station in Sydney. Our format covers many music styles, community news, traffic and weather information and matters of local and national interest, plus foreign language programs. We support our community by offering free air time for notfor-profit organisations and by providing information about local events in our broadcast areas. Local businesses are encouraged to take advantage of on-air sponsorship opportunities. If you have a product or service you d like to promote to our vast north shore listening audience, you can sponsor Northside 99.3 by calling during business hours. Northside Broadcasting Co-operative Ltd 112 Victoria Ave Chatswood 2067 PO Box 468 Chatswood NSW 2057 Ph: (02) Fax: (02) website: manager@fm993.com.au facebook: Northside Radio Streaming live on Anyone can become a subscriber. Annual rates: Personal $70 Family $120 Concession $50 Our valued station personnel, who come from all walks of life, have something in common they re dedicated music lovers and broadcasters who support the station by volunteering their time. If you d like to be involved, simply phone our Studio Manager on during business hours, or drop in to find out more about how a radio station operates. Have a silent film show as a fundraiser at your function, in your group or at your school We are a complete, portable silent movie show presentation. Everything comes with us! When you hire us for a show, we arrive with projector, high quality digital films, musician and instrument as required and if needed a movie screen. The Festival has brought outstanding silent films with live music to a number of venues across Sydney, Melbourne, regional NSW and Brisbane over the last few years. All silent film screenings to be accompanied live by acclaimed local musicians! Silents are indeed golden. us or call us to discuss your event. info@ozsilentfilmfestival.com.au ~ 8 ~

9 WORLD WAR 1 THEMED DOCUMENTARIES Walking the Western Front documentaries with soundtracks: 2012 Ypres Slaughter of the Innocents with soundtrack ( ) 70min Ypres Slaughter OF THE INNOCENTS is the first in a compelling new series to explore the battlefields of the Western Front during the First World War. For the first time, the whole story of the strip of murdered nature will be told almost 500 miles from the North Sea to Switzerland. Ypres The Immortal Salient with soundtrack ( ) 70min The tragic events of Ypres, the immortal salient are discussed in depth in this documentary style film. Combining archive imagery with contemporary footage taken at key sites around the Western Front, presenters Ed Skelding and Nigel Cave discuss the intricacies of the offensive, recounting the harrowing experiences of the soldiers fighting on the ground. The Festival acknowledges the invaluable and generous support from the renowned Lori Nelson and Pen & Sword Books Limited A sip for global justice Tradewinds Coffee and Tea Pty Ltd is a non profit organisation, formed in 1977 to help alleviate global poverty in practical ways. Tradewinds was the first supplier to Australians of fair trade tea. It imports and distributes tea and coffee products from communities in East Timor, Papua New Guinea, and Sri Lanka. It imports value-added products wherever possible so that the full economic benefits remain with producers. Fair trade what does it mean? Fair trade certification guarantees that: Farmers receive a fair and stable price for their products and thus have the opportunity to improve their lives. Farming methods are sustainable and have greater respect for the environment. Small-scale farmers gain a stronger position in world markets and have closer links to consumers. Project work All Tradewinds surpluses are channelled back into community projects supporting sustainable agriculture and production infrastructure, to assist with capacity-building in source communities. Tradewinds has provided funding for many projects over the years connected with sanitation, education of children and nutrition. ~ 9 ~

10 Silents are Golden USA 80min (Dreams of a Rarebit) The Pet (1921) Winsor McKay The Pet Winsor McKay Winsor McKay was America s first great cartoonist and animator, paving the way for Walt Disney and others.. eating Welsh rarebit late at night causes exceptionally strange dreams, and animation is the perfect medium for conveying the distorted and unreal images of such dreams. The appearance of The Pet may strike modern viewers as unusual at first,,,,,,,, the strange creature taken in as a cute pet continues to grow each time it eats, becoming a huge houseeating monster requiring the Air Force to stop it Fatty and Mabel Adrift (1916) Mabel Normand and Roscoe Arbuckle Fatty and Mabel Adrift is full of such visual and comic flourishes, from its metaphorical opening sequence introducing the love triangle of Fatty, Mabel, and jealous rival Al St. John framed by giant hearts, to the climactic image of the lovebirds house improbably floating at sea. Teddy at the Throttle (1917) Sennett joined with Griffith and the director the Thomas H. Ince in 1915 to form the shortlived powerhouse Triangle Film Corporation. His comedies grew longer and more ambitious... Teddy at the Throttle is a rapid-fire exercise in lechery, avarice and general nastiness that features the villain (Wallace Beery) chaining the heroine (Gloria Swanson) to a railroad track, where she is saved not by her faithless boyfriend (the diminutive Bobby Vernon) but by Teddy the Wonder Dog. Two Tars (1928) The Boys, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. as sailors on shore leave who pick up a pair of girls and then wreak roadside destruction alongside them in an effort to return to their fleet in time. Mayhem?...yes but marvellous mayhem As angered drivers of stalled cars surround the quartet, each man propels the other to greater, messier heights... delightful! ~ 10 ~

11 In early 2016 the Festival shall showcase many treasures of restored cinema including a number of Australian premieres. Keep these in your diary: Restored and Remembered with soundtracks... January 10, 17 and 24: The Man with the Movie Camera Charade Jedda, Charles Chauvel s classic and Australia s first colour film! Charlie Chaplin s Anniversary Tribute with live music February 7 Easter treats..the Other Hollywoods, silent films with live music. Shakespeare and the Silver Screen April 3, 10, 17 and 24 and on April 28 with live music a special session of historic early Shakespeare and film. Why? The Bard s 400th Anniversary! More.yep! Laughs galore in a double header at the Sutherland Entertainment Centre, Saturday, February 20! ~ 11 ~

12 For the Term of His Natural Life Pre-film speaker Graham Shirley 1927 AUS 97min Restored in 1981 by Graham Shirley, Senior Curator at the NFSA. The Festival acknowledges the generous assistance of the National Film and Sound Archive and its staff in the screening of this film. This grand Hollywood-style Australian epic was a huge success at its release in 1927, and would no doubt have achieved even greater acclaim if not for the advent of sound in moving pictures at the end of the 1920s. To ensure its success in the USA, the leading cast and crew were American, but it was filmed entirely in Australia, and of course, the story is based on the Australian classic, For the Term of His Natural Life, written by Marcus Clarke and first published in The first motion picture version of Clarke s novel was in 1908, and was one of the world s first full-length movies, produced and directed in Australia by an Australian, Charles McMahon, and ran a total of 22 minutes a long film in the infancy of cinema! It was even re-released in 1913 with live narration by a popular Australian celebrity, which made it a hit all over again. Some years later, in 1918, the story was again brought to life in an altered version under the titles His Convict Bride, aka For the Term of Her Natural Life. By the mid to late 1920s, silent films had become fully mature, visually expressing story, emotions, concepts and characters in various creative and artistic ways which could not be continued once technology enabled sound to be synchronized with moving pictures. As a result, the 1927 production of For the Term of His Natural Life contains all the best elements of sophisticated films that had been developed in the first 30 years of moving pictures. The rather complex but rewarding story moves along at a fresh, brisk pace, with consistently stunning and beautiful scenery and sets, all filmed in Australia: the charming old town of Berrima in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales; Sydney Harbour; Port Arthur, Tasmania; Wombeyan Caves and Bondi Junction, Sydney for the interiors. The result is still a gripping saga of a man wrongfully accused and sent to the harsh penal colony of Van Diemen s Land for the term of his natural life. Barbara Underwood Safety Last With Harold Lloyd, the third Great Silent Clown 1923 USA 74min The great Harold Lloyd plays an ambitious young man who heads to the big city hoping to get a good job and make enough to finally marry his sweetheart (Mildred Davis, who actually agreed to marry Lloyd during the shooting of Safety Last!). He quickly gets a job in a large department store where an obnoxious floor manager (Westcott Clarke) constantly abuses him. The money Harold (the name of the young man in the film is also Harold) makes, however, isn t even enough to pay the rent for the tiny apartment he shares with his roommate (Bill Strother), an incredibly athletic guy who can climb buildings like a giant spider. Nevertheless, Harold regularly sends letters to his girl in which he enthusiastically describes his new career and assures her that it is only a matter of time before their dreams will come true. Impressed by Harold s letters, the poor girl eventually decides to visit the department store where he works. When she appears, Harold poses as the general manager of the store and successfully gives the floor manager a taste of his own medicine. He even manages to show the naive girl his office. Before the girl can figure out what is really happening, Harold decides to earn the $1000 the real general manager is offering to anyone that can come up with a plan that would improve traffic to the store. He promptly hires his roommate to climb the twelve-story store in the middle of the day, but things go terribly wrong and he is forced to replace him. This film is the real deal. When Lloyd starts climbing the building, you will feel that all too familiar vertigo numbness in your feet. And then you will feel the presence of that very uncomfortable lump in your stomach. The camera work is really that incredible, making every single scene look astonishingly real. Blu-ray.com ~ 12 ~

13 Nosferatu F W Murnau 1922 Germany 81min Regarded as one of the great cinema classics, Nosferatu is the quintessential vampire horror movie, and the first to be based on Bram Stoker s famous book, Dracula. In the skilled hands of legendary German director, F.W. Murnau, the vampire legend became permanently impressed on cinema audiences, and nearly ninety years later, the film is still impressively eerie and disturbing. Although not the very first vampire film ever made, Nosferatu clearly set the standard for all vampire horror movies to follow, as it contains all the elements of the classic horror genre, together with a certain style and intelligence that are often lacking in modern horror movies. Without acquiring the rights to Bram Stoker s Dracula, the names of characters in Nosferatu had to be changed and the location moved to Germany and set in the 1830s, but the essence of the story - a sinister Count who resides in an eerie Transylvanian castle bites the neck of his victims to feed on their blood - remains the same. However, some of the changes and additions made for Nosferatu have become vampire standards, such as the Count sleeping in his coffin during daylight hours because the light of the sun would kill him, as well as some other supernatural elements. Unlike the Bram Stoker novel, Nosferatu s victims eventually die instead of becoming vampires themselves, and due to the prevalence of pandemics (the Spanish Flu being fresh in people s minds at the time of making Nosferatu) the vampire story is intertwined with death from a plague caused by rats; the rats being transported in the unholy soil in which Nosferatu, the Undead, had been buried, and therefore has repulsive rat-like features. Using the artistic Expressionist techniques developed in the early 1920s by Germany s leading directors, Murnau managed to capture the supernatural eeriness of both the Count and his castle on a relatively small budget. German Expressionist cinema featured the dynamic use of light and shadow, unusual camera angles or tricks, and a focus on moods and feelings, all of which are sparingly but very skillfully applied in Nosferatu. For example, aided only by some grotesque make-up and long fake fingernails, actor Max Schreck successfully creates the dreadful horror of the supernatural vampire with his stance and slow, determined movements and gestures. Every scene with Schreck is gripping and quite unforgettable, and it is easy to see why Nosferatu has gone down in history as a classic silent film and masterpiece of the genre. Barbara Underwood My Best Girl With Mary Pickford 1927 USA 79min Thanks to the superb work of Sam Taylor (one of Harold Lloyd s favourite directors), legendary cinematographer Charles Rosher and producer/star Mary Pickford, My Best Girl has become one of Hollywood s greatest romantic comedies, pairing Pickford with husband-to-be Charles Buddy Rogers. Maggie is a lowly shopgirl in a big-city five-and-ten-cent store. She meets Joe who has just started out in the stockroom. Unbeknownst to her, Joe is the owner s son, trying to prove himself to his wealthy family. Falling in love with Maggie, Joe gives up his society sweetheart Millicent. Learning of this, the boy s father unsuccessfully tries to buy Maggie off. Realizing that because of her, Joe is going to be cut-off from his family, she poses as a floozy golddigger (in one of Mary Pickford s great comic scenes) to convince him to let her go. When the father finds out of her sacrifice, he discovers the error of his ways and agrees to their marriage. Milestone Films ~ 13 ~

14 Genuine Wurlitzer Music Played By Australian & International Musicians The Wurlitzer Unit Orchestra (Theatre Organ) was developed for the purpose of accompanying silent movies to create an atmosphere appropriate to the action as it happens on screen. TOSA owns and maintains two of these Wurlitzers in excellent condition. The Marrickville Town Hall provides outstanding acoustics that enables both the artist and audience to really enjoy the music presented by this genuine Wurlitzer. The Orion Theatre installation provides a true theatre environment including theatre lighting to create the perfect atmosphere to enjoy the wonderful sound of a genuine Wurlitzer. TOSA presents up to 8 shows a year with Australian and International artists playing a variety of music from movies, musicals, and a wide range of composers including big band arrangements. Music for all generations. For information on shows and to book seats go to events, artist name, then try booking.com or phone Theo Langenberg on Visa & Mastercard accepted. Ticket prices are very reasonable including concession prices. Students are Free on confirmation of student status. Theatre Organ Society of Australia (TOSA) NSW Divn Inc ABN ~ 14 ~

15 Sherlock Holmes Australian premiere of digital restoration with William Gillette 1916 USA 116min In commemoration of the 99th anniversary of the films original release, Flicker Alley along with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and la Cinémathèque française will release on Bluray/DVD one of the holy grails of lost films: William Gillette s Sherlock Holmes (1916). The release will be available for purchase on October 20. Long considered lost until a complete dupe negative was identified in the vaults of la Cinémathèque française last year, this William Gillette film is a vital missing link in the history of Sherlock Holmes on screen. By the time it was produced at Essanay Studios in 1916, Gillette had been established as the worlds foremost interpreter of Holmes on stage having played him approximately 1300 times since his 1899 debut. This newly-restored edition, thanks to the monumental efforts of both the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and la Cinémathèque française, represents the sole surviving appearance of Gillettes Holmes on film. The film faithfully retains the play s famous set pieces Holmes encounter with Professor Moriarty, his daring escape from the Stepney Gas Chamber, and the tour-de-force deductions. It also illustrates how Gillette, who wrote the adaptation himself, wove bits from Conan Doyles stories ranging from A Scandal in Bohemia to The Final Problem, into an original, innovative mystery play. Flicker Alley The Sydney Passengers (Sherlock Holmes Society) A group of enthusiasts who share in the enjoyment of the life and times of Sherlock Holmes and his friend and chronicler, Dr John Watson, made famous in the splendid tales published under the auspices of Dr Watson s colleague, Arthur Conan Doyle, himself an author of no small repute. Our members are of all ages and backgrounds and a great knowledge of the stories is not needed to join in rather a love of the Victorian atmosphere of foggy cobble-stoned streets, hansom cabs and deerstalker caps. We meet six times a year for lunch, a picnic, or a film afternoon, mainly in Sydney or surrounding suburbs, with occasional special events where members like to wear Victorian- era clothes and take on the persona of a character from one of the stories. Meetings usually have a theme based on one of the Sherlock Holmes stories, with scholarly (or sometimes scurrilous) papers on some aspect of his adventures and quizzes or light-hearted competitions. Our journal The Passengers Log is mailed out three times a year and a variety of monthly newsletters are available by . For further information: Tel: (02) hotspur@speedpost.net ~ 15 ~

16 The Kings of Comedy USA 70min Those Awful Hats (1909) D W Griffith The master filmmaker sets up a simple gag with an audience from hell, loud talking and ladies with large hats...a warning/ message short: Ladies Remove Your Hats!.Only a few minutes long but it is very effective. Oh yes, a steel crane helps out. An Eastern Westerner (1920) Harold Lloyd The two-reel Harold Lloyd comedy is a Western spoof in which the daredevil comic plays a rich, spoiled young New Yorker whose parents ship him off to his uncle s ranch in rootin -tootin Piute Pass to correct his high- living city ways. Harold soon has a confrontation with a lecherous bully called Tiger Lip Tompkins (Noah Young) who is trying to have his way with a virtuous young woman after locking up her sickly father. TCM Gymnasium Jim (1922) with Orange NSW born Billy Bevan Gymnasium Jim is a bit more episodic and a bit more surreal than what Sennett was usually producing around this time. Billy Bevan stars as a garage mechanic who is awarded $10,000 for his latest invention: a noiseless auto horn! Kewpie dupes Jim into boxing against champion Kid Ryan in what he promises will be a fixed fight, allowing Jim to increase his money. Of course Kewpie and Kid are in on this together, and plan to profit from Jim, Examiner.com The Love Nest (1923) Harold Lloyd As a farewell to the format of two-reel silent shorts, The Love Nest would prove to be as bizarre and distinctive as anything he made. Sombre, elegiac, and full of dark humour, it also had the narrative and thematic focus he would need in the world of feature films...the tyrannical captain of the ship is burly Joe Roberts TCM ~ 16 ~

17 The Festival acknowledges the generous assistance of David Shepard, Blackhawk Films and Film Preservation Associates. The Birth of the Tramp Directed by Serge Bromberg and Eric Lange 2013 USA 63 min with soundtrack the home video premiere of a documentary by Serge Bromberg and Eric Lange, the Birth of the Tramp, which chronicles Chaplin s rise to stardom in concordance with early cinema s growth from fairground attraction into an international industry. Everything has been said, shown and recounted regarding the legend of Charlie Chaplin. Everything or nearly everything! How did a street child, born in one of the most underprivileged districts of London, become the most famous man in the world in the space of a few years? How did cinema, which was only just reaching adulthood, free itself from Music Hall and Vaudeville to suddenly burst into modernity in such a short time, evolving from the status of fairground attraction to an industry generating fortunes and creating almost instant celebrities? (This) film will relive the history of the success of Chaplin, going beyond the era and fashions, and examine the birth of an icon, on its centenary, whose outline alone sums up what is most brilliant, moving and inventive in cinema. We will explore the mystery of this almost instant success, and the universality of a silhouette that has lasted for over a century. We will relive the resurrection of these images in their former glory. Lobster Films Scrooge Directed by Henry Edwards and starring Sir Seymour Hicks 1935 UK 78 min with soundtrack Early gumleaf mafia in Hollywood: actors: Geelong born Oscar Asche; Eve Grey and Marie Ney spent considerable time on stage and in film in Australia and New Zealand. Restored at last to its full length, this striking adaptation of Charles Dickens holiday classic is notable not only for its beautiful story but also for superb performances, a vigorous script, excellent pacing, persuasive settings, costumes which utterly capture 1843 London, and impressive moving-camera photography with atmospheric lighting reminiscent of German expressionist cinema. Sir Seymour Hicks, an age-appropriate Scrooge, first played the role on screen in 1913 and delivers a first-class performance; he also co-authored the screenplay and inhabits Scrooge thoroughly, subtly and radiantly. The other characters are secondary but all impeccable, including Donald Calthrop (familiar from his roles in several of Alfred Hitchcock s British films), Maurice Evans, and rotund Oscar Asche as the unforgettably fruity Ghost of Christmas Present. Director Henry Edwards was honoured for his work with a prize at the 1935 Venice Film Festival; also note the gifted hand of production supervisor John Brahm, a veteran of German theatre and cinema and later director of other fine films including the similarly atmospheric The Lodger. A wonderful film that would have made Charles Dickens proud! Amazon SILVER SCREEN Tribute to Film Noir State Library NSW The Big Sleep: Out of the Past: The Lady from Shanghai Three Sundays September 6, 13 and 20 at 2pm Digital restoration with soundtracks Metcalfe Auditorium State Library NSW Macquarie St Sydney ~ 17 ~

18 Silent comedies?. Priceless! USA 80 min Excursion to the Moon (1908) Segundo de Chomon Excursion to the Moon is, in fact, a newer version, or a remake, of Méliès Voyage to the Moon, featuring some more elaborate scenes but sticking close to the original 1902 film. This lighthearted adventure is full of movement, and once the rocket lands on the moon - by flying into the open mouth of the face in the moon! The Cure (1917) Charlie Chaplin In The Cure, he plays a drunkard that is delivered to a health spring establishment, but he obviously has no intention of drying out because his trunk is full of liquor instead of clothes. Things really get out of control, however, when these bottles are thrown into the spring out of which the health resort s residents drink! The usual format for Chaplin s short comedies involves a love triangle of some sort. Dog Shy (1926) Charlie Chase Afraid of dogs since early childhood, Charlie finds refuge from a dog in a telephone booth where the line is still open to a sobbing girl who is being forced to marry a nobleman she barely knows. After this brief telephone encounter, Charlie s mission is to find the girl, and does so by becoming the family s new butler. Hilarious misunderstandings, such as with his orders to give The Duke a bath, lead to a midnight rendezvous involving burglars, the husband who wants to get rid of the family dog, and the eloping couple. Now You Tell One (1926) Charley Bowers Now You Tell One is one of the first re-discovered gems, and one of Bowers best known films in our day. The opening scenes are already fascinating, as a long row of elephants parade into a government building one of the tall tales being told in a club of liars. Another member, competing to be the year s best liar, tells of vanishing within a hat, but it is Bowers apparent true story that wins the prize. Having invented a magical grafting formula causing instant growth of anything attached to a branch, a delightfully absurd story begins to unravel, starting with an eggplant containing an egg and salt shaker! Later, he even manages to clone living things from a branch using his special formula. The unforgettable journey through the fantastic world of the imagination. Charlie Chaplin s Genius Film Preservation Associates and Lobster Films USA 80 min The Floorwalker: When he wanders into a department store, the penniless Tramp comes face to face with a dishonest department manager, who looks just like him. After a series of unimaginable adventures, he manages to foil a swindle, retrieve the money, and win Edna s heart. The Floorwalker is the first of Chaplin s films shot for the Mutual. It includes the famous and hilarious escalator scene. The Fireman: Charlie, an inept fireman, is overcome by the flames of love, foils an insurance scam and saves Edna s life in one of his most dangerous stunts. This second Mutual film was shot in a real fire station. In an irresistible gag in this film, we discover that the old, horse-drawn fire engines could already go into reverse! The Vagabond: The Vagabond (released July 10, 1916), is often pointed to as one of Chaplin s first real masterpieces, representing the blend of comedy and pathos that would define his greatest work in films (e.g, The Kid, City Lights ). The tramp is a travelling violinist who is competing with an artist (Lloyd Bacon) for the hand of the lovely Edna Purviance, a young girl who has been stolen by Gypsies. The way Chaplin mixes the despair of his character over being rejected as a lover with the comedy of accidentally sitting on a stove captures the essence of his genius as a filmmaker. ~ 18 ~

19 A Fundraiser for the Wesley Fair Project in aid of Mums and Kids Matter Proudly presented with the Wesley Mission The Gold Rush Accompaniment by acclaimed theatre organist David Bailey on the mighty Christie theatre organ The Gold Rush remains one of Charlie s most loved films. Chaplin has been reported as seeing this treasure as the film he would most wish to be remembered for. This most delightful comedy paradoxically emerges from a rich blend of such grim and harsh conditions: a lone prospector who comes to Alaska in search of gold, larger than life bullies, epic storms, murder, starvation and a giant chicken! Charlie earns the rewards of the girl and wealth but he has to battle fierce opponents in the process. The film was highly successful and contains some of the greatest scenes in cinema, perhaps with the dance of the bread rolls the stand-out. The critics at the time? They hated it. Not! The New York Times Here is a comedy with streaks of poetry, pathos, tenderness, linked with brusqueness and boisterousness. It is the outstanding gem of all Chaplin s pictures, as it has more thought and originality than even such masterpieces as The Kid and Shoulder Arms. New York Herald Tribune Praising one of Mr. Chaplin s pictures is like saying that Shakespeare was a good writer a member of the audience was heard saying.. I think Chaplin is a genius! Well, so do we, but never has it been written so clearly in letters of fire as now. New York Daily News The Gold Rush collars you, plays quickly on your emotions and leaves you in that mood where you can t laugh without a sob tearing through or sob without a laugh bubbling up from the depths of the understanding of laughter. It is the funniest and saddest of all comedies. The Festival acknowledges the generous assistance of Rev. Dr. Keith Garner AM and Carol Garner, Rod Blackmore OAM, Ben Craig and the wonderful Wesley Mission and Wesley Conference Centre teams. Wesley Fair Project 2015/16 Very many thanks for your tremendous support in raising funds to keep our Oasis Drop-in Centre in Newcastle open. At the start of a new financial year, we are now beginning to raise funds for a new project. Mums and Kids Matter is an innovative project for mothers with mental illness who wish to keep their babies and young children with them during treatment. They receive three months of 24/7 care at our facility in Miller, while contact with their support network in the home community is maintained. Wesley Fair funding will provide a new modular building,enabling Wesley Mission to run rehabilitation day programs for mothers, with integrated child minding and support. In anticipation of your generous support, thank you, Carol Garner ~ 19 ~

20 REMEMBRANCE DAY November 11 Forgotten Men - NSW premiere of the digital restoration Directed by Norman Lee (1934) Great Britain 76min with soundtrack Forgotten Men is a documentary produced in 1934 about the First World War and the many brave men and women who risked their lives to fight for their country s independence. Presented by historian Sir John Hammerton, this rare account of the horrors of the First World War combines original footage and pictures taken by official photographers between , intertwined with interviews from a number of ex-servicemen who describe their own personal experiences whilst fighting on the western front. A powerful and haunting account of the horrors of war, Forgotten Men is a vital historical document, reminding us today of one of the deadliest conflicts in history that resulted in millions of lives lost. The Festival is grateful for the assistance from Studio Canal and Greg Denning in arranging the film for this session. The bandsman Terry McCleary will play the Last Post before the film. Pre-session talk by Graham Shirley who has worked for four decades as a director, writer and researcher on Australian historical documentaries. He has conducted numerous oral histories and is co-author of Australian Cinema: The First 80 Years (published 1983 and 1989). From 2006 to 2014 he was a senior curator and Manager Access Projects with the National Film and Sound Archive. The Festival acknowledges the support of Ken Stevenson Secretary/Treasurer NSW Teachers RSL SubBranch. DULCE ET DECORUM EST David Roberts Editor Editor MINDS AT WAR, an encyclopaedic anthology of First World War poetry Editor OUT IN THE DARK, an anthology of First World War poetry Editor WE ARE THE DEAD, a collection of war poetry by British, Irish, Canadian, Australian, French and German poets of the First World War - illustrated with paintings by contemporary war artists. Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind. Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, And flound ring like a man in fire or lime... Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil s sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori. Wilfred Owen ~ 20 ~

21 SPECIAL THANKS ~ Australia s Silent Film Festival is delighted to have the support of our Sponsors and Supporters ~ The Festival acknowledges the invaluable and generous support from Film Preservation Associates, Blackhawk Films, Flicker Alley and Lobster Films. The Festival expresses our deep gratitude to our superb musicians and presenters, volunteers and our publicity and promotion team Special Thanks to: David Shepard David Stratton Bill Collins Barbara Underwood-Burkowsky The Indigo Group Lynette Robinson Tokiko Kiyota. Wakao Koike Alan Jones AO Masafumi Konomi Yoshiaki Matsunaga Ryoko Freeman David Freeman Craig Robson. Mark Cousins. Garry Maddox Bruce Elder Dave Brown Shana Dennis Paul Curtis PICA Klaus Krischok Dr Karen Pearlman Charlotte Smith Elena Kats-Chernin Melissa George Stephanie Calkin Gerard Millar Simon Drake Bob Gamlen Rodney Sauer Stephanie Khoo Rev Ian Pearson Ilona Day John and Pam Stead David Townsend Todd St Vrain Lisa M Levar American-Australian Association Ltd Sydney City Staff of Sydney City Council Alexi Kral Joanna White Peter Tapp Toby Sharpe, UNSW Film Society Kate Evans Catherine Hastings Catherine Waters Claire Herbert Mia Falstein-Rush Don Gowing Matthew King Professor Chris Puplick AM Lorraine Lees Adrian Adam Desley Deacon ASSA Peter FitzSimons Jon Hammond Dr Sarah Gleeson-White Bruce Leonard Graham Shirley Claudia Kuehn Vivi Martin Jeannette Delamoir Dr Elizabeth Hartrick Professor Ian Edwards Allan Sieper Tim Kroenert Peter Gluyas Brad Webb Allan Bourne Sarah Barns Nicholas Eliopoulos Leth Maitland and WEA Sydney Film Society Bill Shaffer of the Kansas Silent Film Festival Robert Herbert Bob Rogers Brendan Smith Nadine de Ceglie of Accessible Arts Paul Dravet Tony Magafas George Maniatis Leslie May Dr Karen Pearlman Ben Goldsmith The super team at Pegasus IT Ambra Sancin Marcelo Flaksbard The German Australian Chamber of Industry and Commerce The French- Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry American Chamber of Commerce in Australia Jan Thorp and The Moving Picture Show David O Brien John Reid Phil Ward Jennifer Kwok David Sharman Katherine Gregory Linda Rorem Sam Moginie Sandra Marker Peter Malone Wendy Haslem Meredith Williams Nadia Piave Whitehouse Design Jessica Milner Davis Frederick Hodges Frank Murri Mike Scanlon and of course, we couldn t present the Festival without: Chaplin Keaton Murnau Méliès Laurel & Hardy Borzage Lang Pabst Griffith DeMille Longford Feyder Pudovkin Hitchcock Lubitsch Gance Garbo Fairbanks Pickford Vertov Eisenstein Ozu Dryer Renoir Von Stroheim Lumière Brothers Porter Edison Feuillade Pastrone Gish Stiller Wegener Valentino Nielsen Flaherty Christensen Lloyd Chaney May Wong Jannings Wiene Ford Hart Vidor Reiniger Clair Davies Bow Brooks Buñuel Weber Kinugasa Lyell Sjöström Dovzhenko Von Sternberg Ruan Ling-Yu Naruse Sennett Tourneur Fleming Linder Ingram Epstein Notari Niblo Baker Langdon Brown Cooper Schoedsack Brenon Arbuckle Goulding Chase Bevan Pollard Chomon ~ 21 ~

22 Flicker Alley a specialty supplier of fine silent films and classic cinema programming in collaboration with the Blackhawk Films Collection, is proud to present Landmarks of Early Soviet Film: A four-disc DVD collection of 8 ground breaking films, a new compilation of eight innovative and revolutionary films both documentary and fiction produced in the former Soviet Union between 1924 and The materials in this new collection are sourced from high quality 35mm prints. Landmarks of Early Soviet Film is the fifteenth DVD release from the partnership of Film Preservation Associates Blackhawk Films Collection and Flicker Alley, following on from previous releases, such as Discovering Cinema; Saved From The Flames; Georges Méliès: First Wizard of Cinema ( ); Abel Gance s La Roue; Perils of the New Land: Films of the Immigrant Experience ( ); Douglas Fairbanks: A Modern Musketeer; Under Full Sail-Silent Cinema on the High Seas; Bardelys The Magnificent/ Monte Cristo; George Méliès Encore; Miss Mend; The Italian Straw Hat; the original 1927 version of Chicago; the celebrated box set Chaplin At Keystone; and The Alloy Orchestra Plays Wild and Weird. Each Flicker Alley project is the culmination of hundreds of hours of research, digital restoration, and music production. Current releases include; The Most Dangerous Game/Gow; the restored 1902 classic, A Trip to the Moon, in its original colours; and Wild and Weird. ~ 22 ~

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24 Wesley Fair Project 2015/16 Mums and Kids Matter is an innovative project for mothers with mental illness who wish to keep their babies and young children with them during treatment. They receive three months of 24/7 care at our facility in Miller, while contact with their support network in the home community is maintained. Wesley Fair funding will provide a new modular building,enabling Wesley Mission to run rehabilitation day programs for mothers, with integrated child minding and support. In anticipation of your generous support, thank you, Carol Garner