The Silent Film
Society of Chicago
4050 N. Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 205-SFSC
The
2010 Silent Summer Film Festival
Returns to
the Portage Theatre
The Silent Film Society of Chicago is proud to present The 2010 Silent Summer Film Festival for six consecutive Fridays beginning July 23, 2010. Harold Lloyd, Ramon Navarro, Douglas Fairbanks, Lon Chaney and Mary Pickford headline a stellar lineup of classic silent films presented in all their 35-mm magnificence. Each film will be accompanied with live organ by distinguished photoplay organists Dennis Scott and Jay Warren.
Don't miss the festival's special event on Aug. 6 with the showing of The Mark of Zorro with live photoplay accompaniment by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. All films begin at 8 p.m. at the Portage Theater, 4050 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. Map of Portage Theater. See the schedule below.
Ticket Info
Tickets are $10 for regular advance, $9 for students and seniors, except for
Aug. 6.
For Aug. 6 The Mark of Zorro, tickets are $15 regular advance, $14 for students
and seniors.
All tickets are $12 at the door, except on Aug. 6 when admission is $17.
Festival passes are $51 regular admission, $45 for students and seniors.
Advance tickets are on sale at the Portage Theater box
office, 4050 N. Milwaukee Avenue during box office hours, or call 773.736.4050.
Tickets are also available at the City Newsstand, 4018 N. Cicero in Chicago,
7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Or purchase tickets online using PayPal. Please note that all tickets
purchased less than one week before the show will be held at will call for
pickup on the day of the show.
Opening Night!
Friday, July 23, 2010 at 8 p.m.
The Freshman
(1925) with Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston
35MM Print from the Harold Lloyd Trust
Live theatre organ accompaniment by Dennis Scott
Pre-show music with the West End Jazz Band
Harold Lloyd is a nerdy college freshman whose idea of college life has been
inspired by what he has seen in the movies, and he strives to become the "big
man on campus." But Lloyd is the furthest thing from cool -- he loses his girl (Jobyna
Ralston as Peggy) and soberly realizes he's a loser. He decides to try to change
his image by trying out and making the varsity football squad. With the big game
on the line, can Lloyd win back his girl and win the game? Some scenes were
filmed at the Rose Bowl and the University of California's Memorial Stadium.
Friday, July 30, 2010 at 8 p.m.
Ben-Hur (1925) with
Francis X. Bushman, Ramon Navarro
35MM print from the collection at George Eastman House
Live theater organ accompaniment by Jay Warren
Extra! Pre-Show Chariot Race
In this spectacular 1925 epic film, Francis X. Bushman is convincingly cold as
Messala, the Roman boyhood friend and eventual rival of Ben-Hur (Ramon Navarro)
The great sea battles are incredibly real. Actual Roman war ships were built to
truly capture the feel of the great battle. The famed chariot race is still one
of the all-time great achievements in cinematography with the grand setting of
the mammoth Circus Maximus as the backdrop.
Special Event!
Friday, August 6, 2010 at 8 p.m.
The
Mark of Zorro (1920)
with Douglas Fairbanks
Live photoplay accompaniment by The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra
35MM print from the Museum of Modern Art
Don Diego Vega (Douglas Fairbanks) is a terrible disappointment to his father
and to his intended wife Lolita. He seems to lack ambition and appears to be
always tapped out and at times appears frail. But it's a perfect cover for his
alter ego, Zorro, the Robin Hood of Old California. This is one of the first
swashbuckler films by Fairbanks -- fast, daring and entertaining!
Portage Theater 90th Anniversary!
Friday, August 13, 2010 at 8 p.m.
The
Penalty
(1920) with
Lon Chaney
Live theatre organ accompaniment by Dennis Scott
35MM print form the collection at George Eastman House
The "man of a thousand faces" Lon Chaney is the
master of the San Francisco underworld known as "Blizzard." Legless, deformed
and cruel, he exists as a demoniacal madman seeking revenge for the questionable
amputation that was performed to save his life after an accident when he was a
child. Dark and gothic, this chilling film made Chaney a first-rate star. This
film was featured during the opening weekend for the Portage Theater in 1920.
Friday, August 20, 2010 at 8 p.m.
Harold Teen
(1924) featuring Arthur Lake and Mary Brian
Live theatre organ accompaniment by Jay Warren
Plus Pre-show entertainment with vocalist Jean-Marie Minton and Jay Warren
Film introduction by author and film historian Ken Irwin
"Harold Teen" was a popular comic strip
which debuted in the Chicago Tribune in 1919. Created by Evanston native Carl
Ed, the strip lasted until 1959. Harold Teen is a Midwestern farm boy who moves
to California with his grand pop. Mary Brian plays his high school sweetheart
Lillums Lovewell, and Alice White plays the enticing Giggles Dewberry, who's all
set to claim Harold for herself. All the ensuing trials and tribulations that
follow add up to a a hilarious late-20s comedy.
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 8 p.m.
Pollyanna
with Mary Pickford
Live theatre organ accompaniment Dennis Scott
35MM print from the Mary Pickford Foundation & Milestone Films
Closing Night ceremonies Pre-show music with West End Jazz Band at 7 p.m.
"America's Sweetheart" Mary Pickford plays Pollyanna, the orphaned daughter of a missionary who goes to New England to live with her spinster Aunt Polly, who is much stricter and quite humorless. Pollyanna's room in the attic is dire at best. Despite the hurtful and cold reception, Pollyanna keeps a sunny outlook. Suddenly she is fighting for her life, injured in an accident by a reckless driver. Her young admirer Jimmy steals the show in this heartwarming story.
This project is
partially supported by a City arts I grant from the city of Chicago, dept. of
cultural affairs and the Illinois arts council, a state agency.
