Silent Comedy Shorts Program Friday April 20th at 7:30 At The Aero Theatre
Join us for our monthly program of favorite early comedians and pranksters: A compilation of shorts from Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Georges Méliès, Winsor McKay, Segundo de Chomón and Harold Lloyd will be presented with live musical accompaniment by Cliff Retallick.
“French Interpreter Policeman” (1908, 7 min). A group of local French cops take private English lessons at the school of Miss Blacford in this charming short from early cinema wizard Georges Méliès.
“The Rink” (1916, 30 min). Charlie Chaplin stars as a busboy posing as hoity-toity Sir Cecil Seltzer in this riotous early gem. Includes a “ballet” on a roller-skating rink!
“The Frozen North” (1922, 17 min). Buster Keaton’s at “the last stop on the subway,” i.e. Alaska, in this hilarious short. Touches of surrealism and Buster playing the bad guy make this a unique film in Keaton’s work.
“Gertie the Dinosaur” (1914, 12 min). Winsor McKay’s animated delight features the popular cartoonist drawing a dinosaur (Gertie), and then climbing in the frame with the brontosaurus and going for a ride. The first animated film to star a “personality” animal, this short paved the way for Mickey Mouse and countless others.
“Music, Forward!” (1907, 3 min). Segundo de Chomón has heads turning into music notes and Lilliputian people forming a marching band in this whimsical wizardry short. If you love Georges Méliès, you’ll love this!
“An Eastern Westerner” (1920, 20 min). Harold Lloyd stars as a New York city slicker tending his uncle’s ranch in the West. Little does Harold know that the nearby outpost of Piute Pass is being terrorized by Tiger Lip Tompkins and his gang, the Masked Angels.