Category Archives: Fox Theater

3 Spooky Silent Shows for Halloween 2017

WHAT COULD BE SPOOKIER…
THAN A DARK THEATER HAUNTED BY SILENT GHOSTS FROM A CENTURY PAST, BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE BY A SINGLE HAND, CRANKING AN ANTIQUE MOVING PICTURE MACHINE

JOIN US THIS OCTOBER FOR THESE
HIGHLY SPIRITED SHOWS:


OCT. 14 ♠ HAL-O’WEEN EVENING OF HAL ROACH COMEDIES WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA

CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH
Burbank, California

OCT. 22PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) WITH LIVE ORGAN AND RESTORED COLOR SEQUENCES

BAKERSFIELD FOX THEATRE
Bakersfield, California

OCT. 27 & 28 ♠ HAPPILY HAUNTING SHORT COMEDIES & DRAMA WITH MIGHTY WURLITZER

NETHERCUTT COLLECTION
Sylmar, California

The Spooky Details:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2017 at 7:00 PM
CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH
Burbank, California
$15 Purchase Tickets Here

A HAL-O’WEEN EVENING OF HAL ROACH COMEDIES

Crazy Like a Fox 1926

Charley Chase and Martha Sleeper in “Crazy Like a Fox” (1926)

Join us Saturday, October 14, 2017 as we present a screening of four classic comedies from the Hal Roach Studios. Included on the program will be:

Do Detectives Think (1927)
Crazy Like a Fox (1926)
Cat, Dog & Co. (1929)
Also, Buster Keaton in The Haunted House (1921)

The films will be accompanied by a period musical score performed live by The Famous Players Orchestra under the direction of Scott LaskyJoe Rinaudo will project 35mm film on an original hand-cranked Power’s 1909 Cameragragh Model 6 Motion Picture Machine. Your Master of Ceremonies will be film historian Stan Taffel.

Showtime:
Saturday, October 14, 2017
7:00 PM

Location:
Christ Lutheran Church
2400 West Burbank Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91506

Admission:
Tickets $15
Order Tickets Here
Purchase Tickets Here

FULL DETAILS on this program (as featured in our previous post)


SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2017 at 2:00 PM
FOX THEATER BAKERSFIELD
Bakersfield, California
$10 Purchase Tickets Here

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

The Phantom of the Opera at the Fox Bakersfield will be a very special viewing of the silent classic horror film that you and your family won’t want to miss. You will get to watch this film, complete with restored 2STRIP TECHNICOLOR sequences, accompanied with the live performance by Dean Mora at the organ, just like you would have, had you been watching a movie the the Fox Bakersfield in 1930. And to add more character and historic appeal, the film will be projected from a fully restored 1909 Powers Cameragraph Hand-Cranked Motion Picture Machine, set up in the center of the auditorium.

The Bakersfield Fox c. 1930The Phantom Of The Opera will be screened at the historic Fox Theater Bakersfield. Opened in 1930, The Fox was one of the last of its kind built in the Gilded Age. The 1500 seat Fox Theater was designed by famed Los Angeles architect S. Charles Lee. Known for his trademark “The Show Begins on the Sidewalk;” his designs would later gain classic status as paragons of style and beauty.  In 1953, the original interior was replaced with a contemporary Art Deco motif inspired by Fox West Coast Theaters’ Charles P. Skouras. A lavish concession area was added, along with a remodel of the marquee, box office and main entrance — embellished with glitzy 50’s bright metals, terrazzo and neon. Read more history about the Fox Theater Bakersfield here.

Synopsis
In this silent horror classic, aspiring young opera singer Christine Daaé (Mary Philbin) discovers that she has a mysterious admirer intent on helping her become a lead performer. This enigmatic masked presence is Erik, also known as the Phantom (Lon Chaney), a horribly disfigured recluse who lives underneath the Paris Opera House. When the Phantom takes Christine prisoner and demands her devotion and affection, her suitor, Vicomte Raoul de Chagny (Norman Kerry), sets out to rescue her.

Restoration
The film is the only 35mm print in existence that tells the complete story (as originally intended) by combining the 1929 release and the 16mm show at home versions (blown up to 35mm). It also now has all of the original 2STRIP TECHNICOLOR sequences restored as they were seen in 1925. Original narrative and spoken inter-titles (about 68) have been restored as well as the prologue titles that describe the beginnings of the Phantom and his connection to the Paris Opera House. Since this print is drawn from the original 1925 and the 1929 (sound speed) versions, hand cranking will allow you to see, for the first time, the film presented at the proper speeds. Gary Gibson will present a glass lantern slide show during all reel changes.

The Phantom of the Opera
Restoration Credits:
see below

Showtime:
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Doors open 1:00 PM ◊ Show 2:00 PM

Location:
Bakersfield Fox Theater
2001 H Street
BakersfieldCA 93301
map
Box Office phone: (661) 324 -1369

Admission:
Tickets $10
Order Tickets Here
Purchase Tickets Here


FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017 at 8 PM
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2017 at 2 PM8PM
NETHERCUTT COLLECTION
Sylmar, California
Request Tickets
available Sept. 27, 2017 at 4pm
(Admission is free but you must request tickets in advance.)

HAPPY HAUNTED HALLOWEEN SHORTS

Koko's Earth ControlThe Nethercutt Collection will host another three silent film hand crank shows. Friday at 8:00 p.m. & Saturday at 2:00 & 8:00 p.m. The program will be the same for each show. Tickets will be available Wednesday, September 27 starting at 4:00 p.m. by calling in for up to 4 tickets per caller. Phone: (818) 364-6464. Please be persistent as the office only has 3 phone lines. How to Request Nethercutt Show Tickets

This happily haunted show will feature several shorts we haven’t presented in a number of years:

Koko’s Earth Control (Cartoon)
The Thieving Hand
Do Detectives Think (Laurel & Hardy)
Suspense
Cat, Dog, and Co. (Our Gang)
Super-Hooper Dyne Lizzies

Mighty (Spooky) Wurlitzer
Ghost of Mildred Smith

Musical narration and sound effects by Dean Mora at the Mighty Wurlitzer, the third largest theater organ in the world.

Gary Gibson will provide original glass lantern slides during all reel changes.

Your host is Kyle Irwin, curator, who will demonstrate the Nethercutt Collection’s automated musical instruments before the show and during intermission.

You may also tour the collection of over fifty classic cars which are on display in a museum setting that recreates the marble and mirrored showroom of an early automobile dealership.

Business or semi-formal attire is appropriate. Children must be 10 and older.

Don’t forget to call for tickets Wednesday Sept. 27 at 4pm sharp—and enjoy the show!

Showtimes:
Friday, October 27, 2017 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 28, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Location:
Nethercutt Collection
15200 Bledsoe Street
Sylmar, CA 91342
map

Admission is free, but you must obtain tickets in advance.
Order Tickets Here
How to Request Nethercutt Show Tickets


RESTORATION CREDITS

The Phantom of the Opera

35mm source material:
Special thanks to
Mr. David Shepard
Blackhawk film library

16mm source material:
Mr. Stan Taffel

Script and cutting continuity:
Mr. George Wagner

Title re-creation, design and typography:
Mr. Chaz DeSimone
DesimoneDesign.com

Title & film digitizing & output to film:
Mr. Michael Brodersen
Mr. Rico Hernandez
Negative and print color timing:
Mr. Doug Ledin
Project manager:
Mr. Allan Tudzin
Fotokem Film & Video Services
Fotokem.com

Film and title restoration
produced and supervised by:
Mr. Joe Rinaudo
SilentCinemaSociety.org

“Habeas Corpus” film courtesy of the Blackhawk film library.


MORE INFORMATION:
Powers Cameragraph projector
Dean Mora, organist and swing band leader
Nethercutt Collection
Fox Theater Bakersfield
Silent Cinema Society
Famous Players Orchestra
Glass Lantern Slides


Meet Joe Rinaudo

For a sight-and-sound glimpse into the world of Joe Rinaudo, which includes silent films, projectors, mechanical instruments, early phonographs and vintage lighting, watch the Huell Howser “California Gold” documentary which aired February 18, 2006:

“Professor Rinaudo”

Joe RinaudoJOSEPH A. RINAUDO
Silent Cinema Historian and Preservationist
Founder of the Silent Cinema Society

Having been best friends with Joe for over 50 years, I am honored to introduce you to my friend,
Mr. Joseph A. Rinaudo…

Introduction by Chaz DeSimone

“PROFESSOR RINAUDO” as silent cinema aficionados call him, has been my friend for over fifty years, since junior high school.

model-ABack when I met Joe he was restoring his Model A to showroom condition, and it was always fun riding around in that thing… including the somewhat embarrassing episode when Joe pulled into a gas station and purchased a whole nickel’s worth of gasoline! It got us home, though.

At that time Joe was also collecting 16mm silent films and would put on shows for his friends. Today he researches, collects, restores and exhibits silent films (35mm these days) on a Powers Cameragraph hand-crank projector, usually with live accompaniment of theater organ or piano, as itinerant shows to audiences far and wide, including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (in other words, the Oscar people). Joe Rinaudo is also consultant and provider of restored films to the Library of Congress.

This is Joe’s story, in his own words:

My interest in old films began in the 1950’s on black & white television when most of the stations would show silent cartoons and comedies. The collecting bug came to a head when my father (who loved to film everything with his 8mm camera) during our regular Saturday night 8mm home movie film shows inserted a Buster Keaton silent comedy reel in with our home movies. He prefaced this reel by stating that this was an old home movie of our family from the 1920’s. Imagine my shock and happy surprise when I realized that I could own one of the magical films that I thought could only be seen on television! I then saved up enough allowance money to buy my own 8mm films from Sears & Roebuck for 99 cents! I then began showing these films to kids in the neighborhood for 5 cents. I used a 78 rpm phonograph with Spike Jones and Fats Waller records for the music. When I had saved up enough money I would buy another film.

The Music Box“The madness continues! By the early 1960’s I began collecting 16mm silent films. I remember how excited I was when my mother would drive me down to Films Classics Exchange on Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles. There a man by the name of Charlie Tarbox would be seated at his antique desk with an old Underwood typewriter. He always wore a black suit with a thin black tie. He had a shock of white hair and a cigar in his mouth. There were stacks of film everywhere. This was an old building with a wooden floor and high ceilings. It smelled of stale cigar smoke and acetate film. This was right out of the 1920’s! Charlie was always very kind to me and his voice reminded me of something like a combination of W.C. Fields and Maxwell Smart! Then the big moment arrived when I purchased my first sound 16mm film from Blackhawk Films, Laurel and Hardy’s The Music Box. Talk about magic! I now had a film of high quality (compared to 8mm) and it talked! I began showing my 16mm films to organizations and for private parties for money that I could invest into more 16mm film. By the 1970’s I had amassed a very large 16mm collection.

“When I was at Glendale College in the early 1970’s, there was a shortage of funds (something called a tax over ride?).  We had heard that  two teachers were going to lose their jobs. A fund raiser was started. I offered to show films in the auditorium with all proceeds going for the teachers’ salaries. I ran Laurel and Hardy and W.C. Fields films. The program was a big success and enough money was raised, to the best of my recollection, from this and all of the other fund raising efforts to save the teachers’ jobs. The Glendale News Press interviewed me about the film shows and my collection of film. Unfortunately, the reporter took the liberty of stating that “Joe loves to show movies at his house and anyone is welcome to stop by and watch a film!” This was only for my friends but it was too late for a retraction and the phone started ringing with people asking if they might come over for a “Show”! Complete strangers would stop by and ring the bell to see when the next show would be! Fending off all of the crazy calls was becoming a real problem…until one phone call in which a woman’s voice said:

“I understand that you have some of my father’s films.”

“Now I thought, oh my, another nut case. What can this be about?  The voice identified herself as Lois Brooks—Stan Laurel’s daughter! She had seen the article in the paper and read the part where I mentioned I had almost every Laurel & Hardy film. Since videos were not available, these films could only be seen on TV, in a theater, or on 16mm film. Since she found it difficult to find any of her father’s films, she asked if she and her husband Rand Brooks might come over sometime to watch a Laurel & Hardy film! There a great friendship began. I brought Lois to her first Laurel & Hardy club meeting (The Sons Of The Desert). Later I became the film archivist for the Laurel family as well as for the local of the Sons Of The Desert chapter, the Way Out West tent. I would travel with Lois and her new husband Tony Hawes for local shows and lectures that Lois and Tony would put on. These were very fun times as I got to meet a lot of old actors from the Hal Roach studios as well as show films regularly at the Masquer’s Club in Hollywood.  There I had the privilege to meet a lot of famous people back at the projector.

Powers Cameragraph“The madness gets worse! Compared to 35mm I always thought that 16mm was the end all be all for film collecting. In many ways it is due to the availability of so many titles, cost and ease of moving the light weight equipment.  But…I always had a fascination for 35mm hand crank projectors. A friend of mine, Dave Feldman, and I took a road trip to visit Mr. George Hall in Tucson, Arizona. George, who I now consider my mentor, had a vast collection of early 35mm projection equipment and film. In fact his house was set up as an early cinema museum. When we were there, George demonstrated his 1905 Power’s model 5 Cameragraph hand crank projector with a live arc in the lamphouse! What a thrill to see this! I asked if I could crank a film and he took me back to another projector (a Simplex) which was harder to crank—but that didn’t matter. All that I can remember is that I started cranking and was so mesmerized by the magical image created by cranking this wonderful machine, I couldn’t stop, and at about 2:00 a.m., after cranking some 20,000 feet of film, Dave and George had to pull me away from the projector!

“I purchased a Power’s model 6A lamphouse and base from George. I then purchased a very nice Power’s model 6B projector head from Mr. Dick Prather in Portland, Oregon. I did a full-on restoration and converted the lamphouse to a high intensity halogen light source that is safe for film. I begged and borrowed small pieces of 35mm film. I would do demonstrations on the side of my building and on my garage door at home. Wow! What a picture! 35mm rules!

Restored-by-Joe-Rinaudo“I started doing outdoor demonstrations with any film that I could find. I never thought that I would be able to afford a real 35mm film, let alone a silent. My good friend Mr. David Shepard asked me if I would do a show for him at the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles. He said that this year (2002) was the 100th anniversary of Georges Melies’s A Trip To The Moon.  Mr. Bob Mitchell would be playing the music and David Shepard would be reading the spoken text.  We would have to do two shows. He kindly offered to let me make a new print off of his negative in return for cranking the shows! To do my first public performance with such important and wonderful people as Bob Mitchell and David Shepard at the Silent Movie Theater with CNN in attendance…heck, I would have paid David to do the shows! So with my able assistant, Mr. Gary Gibson, both of us dressed like itinerant projectionists from the early 1900’s, both shows went over well to full houses and great reviews.

Professor Rinaudo“Since that time I have worked with The Library of Congress in the restoration of silent film, as well as doing regular hand crank shows for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 100 Years of Film series. With Mr. Dean Mora  and Mr. Gary Gibson we have done and regularly do re-creation turn-of-the-last-century itinerant motion picture shows for The Handford Fox Theater, The Visalia Fox Theater, The Balboa Theater, The Peterson Car Museum, The Turner Classic Film Festival, The San Rafael Theater, six shows a year at the Nethercutt Museum (boasting the third largest theater organ in the world) and numerous colleges, schools, and other venues.

Professor Rinaudo at the OscarsThe 90th Academy Awards invited us to recreate an authentic itinerant tent show for Oscar attendees to enjoy as they exit the Dolby Theater, and not only did I and my assistant Gary Gibson hand-crank silent comedies on my fully restored 1909 Power’s Model 6 Cameragraph to the narration of Robert Israel on piano, but several actors and producers had fun taking turns cranking the projector. Gary also created the elaborate period-style banner for the entrance announcing “Professor Rinaudo and his Amazing Hand-Cranked Moving Picture Machine…The 8th Wonder of the World…It Baffles Science!”

“Looking back to my 8mm days, I would have never thought in my wildest dreams that I would have ended up projecting 35mm—with a crank, no less!”


I am very proud of my friend Joe for accomplishing his dream of founding the Silent Cinema Society to preserve the art and technology of silent cinema. I am also honored he employs my talent to restore the titles for his films…

A Golden Opportunity

BC-FRONT-WEB-lowActually, this was a Black-and-White Opportunity: Joe asked me a few years ago if I’d be interested in restoring the title cards for his films and create new ones when the originals are lost to time. Who knew two best friends would be so valuable to each other nearly fifty years after meeting in seventh grade—my restoring the missing parts to his films and he restoring my passion for lettering and typography? I have enjoyed rendering titles for Joe for several years now, and I even get to see them projected on the silver screen in silent comedies and dramas accompanied by the Mighty Wurlitzer. (Twice a year Joe brings his itinerant show to the Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar, California. A calender of events and details about the shows are on their website.)

Silent…with Sound

Fotoplayer Model 20 modifiedJoe is all about silent film, but he also loves sound. Loud sound! Not the dialog and music that passes through the projector that is printed on the film. Oh no, Joe’s silent films are accompanied by an ear-shattering, robust “symphony” created by one person sitting at one machine: The Fotoplayer. This resembles a player piano, but with two rolls for changing music for different scenes; an assortment of pull cords, levers, buttons and stops connected to a side cabinet containing organ pipes, percussion, brass, sound effects, and literally bells and whistles. The pianist usually lets the rolls play the music while he selects the instrument stops and creates the sound effects. He’s watching the film, of course, all at the same time.

Joe has one of these machines. He acquired his American Fotoplayer Style 20 while he was 21 years old and spent the next three years restoring it to brand-new condition. it’s the centerpiece in his living room. This thing is loud! It’s amazing Joe has any neighbors left, unless they’re all hard of hearing. Joe recently completed the restoration of a Style 41 American Fotoplayer for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (remember, the Oscar people).

Learn more about the Fotoplayer on Joe’s Fotoplayer Page.

See the calendar of Professor Rinaudo’s Itinerant Shows under “COMING ATTRACTIONS” and treat yourself to some comedy, suspense, or pathos of the golden—er, black and white—era of silent cinema.

The End