The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' will present "A Century Ago: The Films of 1907," on Monday, December 3, at 7:30 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. The program, consisting of more than a dozen shorts, will repeat on Thursday, December 6, at 7:30 p.m. at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, California. Michael Mortilla will provided live musical accompaniment at both venues. (Previous Academy screenings of early 20th-century shorts have been presented by Randy Haberkamp. I'm assuming that these — or at least the one in Los Angeles — will be, too.)
As per the Academy's press release, "in 1907 the continuing expansion of local storefront nickelodeons attracted new entrepreneurs to the industry, and producers began to deliver more films with higher production values."
So, get ready for higher production values in Georges Méliès' The Eclipse (above), from Méliès' own Star Films; J. Searle Dawley and Edwin S. Porter's The Little Girl Who Did Not Believe in Santa Claus, from Edison; the first film version of Ben-Hur, in which future cowboy star William S. Hart plays Messala, from the Kalem Company; An Awful Skate; or, The Hobo on Rollers, starring Ben Turpin, from Essanay; and J. Stuart Blackton's The Haunted Hotel, from Vitagraph.
Also, The Dancing Pig (top photo) and a hand-tinted print of Segundo de Chomón and Ferdinand Zecca's The Red Spectre, from the Pathé Studios in France; and fragments of The Bandit King, featuring the first major cowboy star, Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson, and The Girl from Montana, directed by Anderson, both filmed in Colorado by the Selig company.
Most prints are in 35mm and have been made available by the Academy Film Archive, the Library of Congress, the George Eastman House, the Museum of Modern Art, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Tickets to "A Century Ago" in Los Angeles are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.oscars.org, by mail, or at the Academy box office during regular business hours. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved.
The Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood. Free parking is available through the entrance on Homewood Avenue (one block north of Fountain Avenue). For additional information, visit www.oscars.org/events or call (310) 247-3600.
Tickets for "A Century Ago" in the San Francisco Bay Area are $10 for the general public and free for Academy members. Tickets may be purchased through the Smith Rafael Film Center. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved.
The Smith San Rafael Film Center is located at 1118 Fourth Street in San Rafael. For more information, call the Academy at (310) 247-2688, the Smith Rafael Film Center at (415) 454-1222, or visit www.cafilm.org.
Photos: Courtesy of the Academy Film Archive
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