2012

A collection of rare silent cartoons Felix the Cat was the most successful cartoon figure of the silent era. In his own time, he ruled animation as Chaplin ruled live-action comedy, Babe Ruth baseball, or Man o’ War horse racing. He was the mirthful personality kid, the effervescent trickster who … [Read more...] about The Irrepressible Felix the Cat, 1924–1928

An elegant, cheeky comedy, Erotikon influenced Charlie Chaplin’s A Woman of Paris (1923), Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game 1939), and much of the later work of Ernst Lubitsch. Its warmly erotic echoes could still be heard decades later in Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night (1955). … [Read more...] about Erotikon

Who knew that Josef von Sternberg had a heart? His critical reputation—elevated to legendary status thanks to his 1930s collaborations with Marlene Dietrich—was founded on a sensual visual sensibility that, when given free rein, veered into decadent fetishism. When people discuss von Sternberg’s … [Read more...] about The Docks of New York

On June 26, 1926, film director William Beaudine left Los Angeles for New York and his next job, a rare occurrence since Hollywood became the nation’s movie capital. The Famous Players-Lasky studio, Beaudine’s destination, was the only major production company working on both coasts at the time. … [Read more...] about The Canadian

You can read the program essay for our 2019 screening of The Cameraman here The Cameraman signaled the end of an era for Buster Keaton, the launch of a promising new one, and the dawn of a painful decline. It was another successful Keaton comedy, made in the informal yet efficient manner he’d … [Read more...] about The Cameraman