BUSTER KEATON'S SHERLOCK JR. / OUR HOSPITALITY SILENT MOVIE DAY W/ LIVE SCORE BY JEFF RAPSIS

SEPTEMBER 29

September 29th is International Silent Movie Day- a day when silent treasures of the silver screen are celebrated for the revolutionary craft they possess and the unique enjoyment they still elicit. We continue to showcase this lost art-form the way they were intended, on a big screen in our historic movie theater. For Silent Movie Day we've selected two signature films from one of the era's premiere auteurs (and JPT audience favorite): Buster Keaton. These remastered movies will be screened as a double-feature with an introduction and live musical score performed on synth-piano by silent film expert/virtuoso accompanist Jeff Rapsis! Experience these classics of a bygone age just as fresh-eyed cinema-goers of yesteryear:

Sherlock Jr. Still hilarious while clocking its 100th anniversary, Sherlock Jr. played at the Jane Pickens Theater a century ago! (1924, 45 mins) Kino Lorber Restoration

A kindly movie projectionist (Buster Keaton) longs to be a detective. When his fiancée (Kathryn McGuire) is robbed by a local thief (Ward Crane), the poor projectionist is framed for the crime. Using his amateur detective skills, the projectionist follows the thief to the train station -- only to find himself locked in a train car. Disheartened, he returns to his movie theater, where he falls asleep and dreams that he is the great Sherlock Holmes.

In 2005, Time named Sherlock Jr. as one of the All-Time 100 Movies, writing "The impeccable comedian directs himself in an impeccable silent comedy... The whole thing is only 45 minutes long, not a second of which is wasted. In an age when most comedies are all windup and no punch, this is the most treasurable of virtues."

Our Hospitality: One of Keaton's best narratives, a comedic take on the historic Hatfield & McCoy feud. (1923, 73 mins) Kino Lorber Restoration

Sole heir Willie McKay (Buster Keaton) journeys by train from New York City to Kentucky to claim his fortune amid a decades-old feud with the Canfield family. En route, he meets and is smitten with young beauty Virginia (Natalie Talmadge), who invites him to dinner, but he realizes too late that she is the only daughter of patriarch Joseph Canfield (Joe Roberts). The rules of hospitality protect McKay from harm in their house, but he must outwit her brothers to resolve the feud.

A groundbreaking work for the comedy film genre, as Keaton included "careful integration of gags into a dramatically coherent storyline," "meticulous attention to period detail" and beautiful cinematography and extensive location shooting" – in considerable contrast to the era's other slapstick comedies. -Turner Classic Movies

Program: Doors Open at 4:00

Introduction by Jeff & Sherlock Jr. at 4:30

10 minute Intermission

Our Hospitality (approx 5:30)

Audience Q&A hosted by Jeff Rapsis