Paul Leni's The Last Warning
       

See 71
Silence in the Cathedral 2016 Event Photos
,
a Flickr presentation.
Photos shared by Carol Yoho.


We showed a
newly produced DVD of
THE LAST WARNING as our 'Silents in the Cathedral' feature presentation). Universal
had been working on this new edition for some time and shown it previously at both
the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and Cinecon 52, to rave reviews.
Now Kansas has seen it too!



19th Annual
Silents in the
Cathedral

Grace Cathedral
701 SW 8th St. - Topeka, KS

Friday, Oct. 28th, 2016
7:00 pm

Sponsored by
The Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library

with the cooperation of the
Kansas Silent Film Festival, Inc.

Free to the Public

Music by Dr. Marvin Faulwell
playing the Cathedral organ
with Bob Keckeisen - Percussion
Introductions by Denise Morrison

Short Subjects:
The Pumpkin Race, 1907The Pumpkin Race
1907, B&W, 6 min 
Directed by Louis Feuillade
& Romeo Bosetti

  This is a bizarre little short film produced in Paris for Gaumont Studios. Two youths unharness a man's donkey, letting the cart tip up, and the pumpkins inside roll down the street. The owner and his donkey then pursue the pumpkins through a variety of obstacles until they catch up with them. This film short shows an impressive use of cartoon techniques for its time period.

Do Detectives Think? with Laurel and HardyDo Detectives Think?
1927, B&W, 20 min 
Starring Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy

  Laurel and Hardy team up as detectives trying to track down a killer (Noah Young). They manage to figure out he’s going after the judge (Jimmy Finlayson) who sent him up the river and it’s going to be a pretty long and scary night before justice prevails. It will also produce one hilarious comedy short with ‘the boys’ in good form in one of their early silent gems.

Feature:
The Last Warning, black and whiteThe Last Warning
1929, B&W, 77 min 
Directed by Paul Leni
Starring Laura LaPlante/ Montague Love/ Roy D'Arcy

  Our feature film for the 19th annual ‘Silents in the Cathedral’ is a rarely seen spooky epic from the final days of the silent film era. It features a great cast of suspicious characters under the direction of German emigre Paul Leni whose earlier ‘haunted house’ classic, The Cat and the Canary, had been an enormous hit for Universal Pictures in 1927.
   This time the setting is a haunted theater where a play is to be re-enacted so that a murder can be solved. This chiller is drenched in great atmosphere, creepy Scream, The Last Warningperformers and all sorts of plot twists.
   Universal had the time and the money to make these pictures right and The Last Warning was a hit in its time, but it has been largely forgotten. The ‘talkie’ revolution insured that there would be a copy of this film sent out to theaters with a synchronized music soundtrack (which currently does not survive) and strangely the film was not remade during the sound era. 
   The cast includes Laura LaPlante (the star ofThe Cat and the Canary), Montague Love (who would go on to play a number of great character roles including King Richard near the end of the 1939 version of The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn), Roy D’Arcy (always a terrific villain) and John Boles, just two years away from playing the rejected boyfriend of Elizabeth Frankenstein (Mae Clark) in the upcoming Universal classic, Frankenstein (1931) with Boris Karloff.
   This film runs just 77 minutes and includes many riveting scenes and dramatic confrontations plus some unusual camerawork that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The Last Warning is a film we’re sure you will enjoy.  
   Organist Marvin Faulwell and percussionist Bob Keckeisen have put together a dazzling music score for this feature and they will be playing it ‘live’ at the Cathedral.


There was a brief intermission during the feature presentation. Popcorn and bottled water will be sold as a fundraiser for the Cathedral Youth Group.