The Red Kimona/Exit Smiling @ The Castro w/Live Music (Day of Silents)
Details
Meet me at 11:30 am in the ticket holders line outside the theater. I look like my Meetup profile picture. Once we are allowed to enter the theater I will go inside, save us seats, and then meet you to the left of the concession stand, across from the women's restroom. Due to potential crowds, I will stop waiting and stop holding a seat for you at 11:45, so please be on time. Thank you for your understanding.
Join me for a matinee performance at the Castro Theater on The Day of Silents. I'll be attending two shows, one at 12 noon and one at 2:15pm. Tickets for each show are $17 general, $15 members of the Silent Film Festival. Buy your tickets in advance here:
THE RED KIMONA
12 Noon (80 min)
$17 general / $15 member
Inspired by a true story in ripped-from-the-headlines style, The Red Kimona was the third in a trilogy of social-issue dramas by actress/screenwriter/director Dorothy Davenport. The story of a small-town teacher lured into prostitution was adapted for the screen by Dorothy Arzner from Adela Rogers St. John’s sensational story, and produced and co-directed by Davenport (as Mrs. Wallace Reid). Gabrielle (Priscilla Bonner) is a young naïf who’s swept off her feet by a Lothario, who abandons her in New Orlean’s red-light district. When she sees him buying an engagement ring for another woman, she shoots him dead. At trial Gabrielle becomes a cause celebre—and the pawn of a self-aggrandizing socialite.
Live musical accompaniment by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra
Print (DCP) courtesy of UCLA Film & Television Archive. The film is part of Kino Lorber’s Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers collection. Preservation was funded by The Stanford Foundation, George Eastman Museum, and UCLA Film & Television Archive
*** *** ***
EXIT SMILING
2:15pm (80 min)
$17 general / $15 member
One of legendary stage actress Beatrice Lillie’s few films—the superbly comic Exit Smiling, her debut and her only silent—demonstrates why theater audiences found her so captivating. Lillie’s character works wardrobe in a touring theatrical company—“Violet, the drudge of the troupe”—and she’s determined to break into the limelight. A talented crew in front of the camera (Jack Pickford, Franklin Pangborn in his feature debut!) and behind (writer/director Sam Taylor was a veteran of some of Harold Lloyd’s best comedies) adds nuance and grace to the hilarity. The portrayal of low-rent theater life is beautifully realized, with the seedy small-town halls, crummy dressing rooms, and camaraderie that come with the theatrical calling.
Live musical accompaniment by Wayne Barker
Print (35mm) courtesy of the British Film Institute with permission by Warner Bros.
The Red Kimona/Exit Smiling @ The Castro w/Live Music (Day of Silents)