The 11th SFSFF - In Review

So how did this three-day event stack up against similar silent film programs?
Friday night’s choice of 7th Heaven (1927) was tremendous! Go big or don’t go at all. The SFSFF did an excellent job of making this film an event that set the tone for the rest of the weekend.

Saturday began with the next to best film of the overall program, Bucking Broadway (1917). What a treat to see this re-discovered gem from John Ford’s very first year directing features. The story was great and the look was pure, unmistakable Ford.
Au Bonheur des Dames (1930) is quite a curiosity. This film will find an audience, but remains an unbalanced novelty. Don Sosin, Joanna Seaton and Nick Sosin did a wonderful job with the musical accompaniment at the SIFF screening in May. The Hot Jazz Club was also good, but I’d prefer to see the film in a club setting with this group and no amplification. The style was also a decade or so off. Django Reinhardt came along later, but the choice was pleasant and still worked.

The highlight of the weekend was without question Sparrows (1926).

This is far from my favorite Mary Pickford film. I prefer the Biograph shorts and their revealing glimpse of film acting at it’s birth, or either version of Tess (1914, 1922) among her features. In Sparrows she is 33 playing 13, a bit ridiculous, but features had reached their zenith by the late nineteen-twenties and the story is dark, moody and marvelous to look at. The reason this film was the highlight of the ’06 SFSFF was the unbelievable print and presentation by the Library of Congress and curator Christel Schmidt. This film in the Castro Theater (built in 1922) with Michael Mortilla at the piano was one of the most extraordinary film events I have ever attended.
Pandora’s Box (1929) was the most popular film of the weekend and a sellout (wouldn’t Miss Brooks be smugly satisfied!). Too bad the print, even with it’s added footage, was only so-so.

Frank Buxton and Terry Zwigoff introducing Laurel and Hardy

Sunday morning’s workshop should have featured Haghefilm Conservation president Peter Limburg, instead of squeezing him in at the end. This is the drawback of a single screen event. Still, what he was able to show us was pretty amazing and left me wanting more.
The Laurel and Hardy shorts were a treat, rarely seen on a big screen. I can’t overstate my gratitude to Stacey and Steve for somehow pulling this one off. The 16mm Liberty (1929) was the weakest of the three films and didn’t seem to justify the format change, with its size and brightness issues, but was still well worth seeing. The surprise at the end of this presentation was very sweet and I’ll never forget it.
The Girl with the Hat Box (1927), already a very funny film, was shown with one of the most appropriate uses of musical accompaniment I have ever seen which greatly enhanced the experience.
The Unholy Three (1925) works on a big screen in a way that is lost on television. If the SFSFF offers up Lon Chaney in the future, bringing in Michael Blake for the introduction would be fantastic! Too bad Jon Mirsalis played only for this one film. His score was very good and established a different mood than what I’ve come to expect from Browning/Chaney.

For anyone in Seattle that doesn’t fully appreciate Dennis James, let me tell you, in a three day program with a wonderful variety of different musical accompaniment, the closing film, Show People (1928) made me appreciate more fully how great Dennis is and why we are so fortunate to have him for our own ongoing series at the Seattle Paramount. His adaptation of Carl Davis score was brilliant, and quite a surprise. After the show he explained, this music has really become married to the film and they are strongly identified with each other. It seems simple and obvious, but I was apprehensive before I recognized the familiar opening theme. The biggest disappointment of this series was the significant damage to the print of Show People, which was equally surprising. While I assumed this film would have been previewed, I would also expect the distributor to have full knowledge of their product, so this is a shared responsibility. And hey, how many gaffs have we made up here over the years?
The Castro is beautiful, it’s a great location, wonderfully managed and maintained. The off-screen activity in this beehive atmosphere was well coordinated and the featured guests offered a good variety of interesting topics. The staff and Stacey’s army of volunteers were focused, helpful and friendly, from the kids working the concession stand to the ushers and of course the many folks behind the scenes. We wish any film event in Seattle was so well organized. I noticed section ushers in the lower rows of the auditorium before shows and assigned guides for all the guests. Going into their second decade, the SFSFF has become the West Coast event no silent film buff should miss. I definitely plan a return visit next July. How about Mabel Normand? I’ve still never seen Mickey (1918) on a big screen. There’s also a gal from Nevada that used to be a secretary on Market Street who’s always been overlooked.