21st Annual
Silents in the
Cathedral
Grace Cathedral
701 SW 8th St. - Topeka, KS
Friday, Oct. 26th, 2018
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

View Wrap-up Photos

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

Short Subjects:

Caveman section/The Three Ages (1923) – 20 minutes / B&W
  Starring Buster Keaton, this film was shot as his first feature-length movie. The structure also worked as a satire of D. W. Griffith's 1916 film Intolerance. Combined the movie told three parallel stories, each from a different time period: caveman era, Roman, and modern (1920z). The film was shot in this manner as a kind of insurance for the studio. While Keaton was a proven success in the short film medium, he had yet to prove himself as a feature-length star. Had the project flopped, the film would have been broken into three short films, each covering one of the 'Ages.'
  For our event, we'll be seeing only the Caveman section of the feature film.

FLYING ELEPHANTS (1927) – 20 minutes / B&W
   Laurel and Hardy play cavemen competing for the same girl who just happens to be head caveman Jimmy Finlayson’s daughter and the elephants do fly south for the winter!

GHOST OF SLUMBER MOUNTAIN (1918) – 14 minutes / B&W
   A very early experimental film by animator Willis O’Brien with legendary monsters, "sculpted and moved" in clay.

Feature:

THE LOST WORLD (1925)
Starring Bessie Love / Wallace Beery / Lewis Stone / Lloyd Hughes / Bull Montana
Directed by Harry O. Hoyt – 65 minutes / Color tinted

   Our feature presentation for the 21st annual ‘Silents in the Cathedral’ is a prehistoric ‘blast from the past’. Often called the original JURASSIC PARK, this silent epic of explorers discovering a lost world somewhere in South America, populated by dinosaurs and ape men was a solid sensation in 1925. ‘Thrilling special effects never seen before’ helped put it over. The extraordinary special effects man in charge was Willis O’Brien whose incredibly realistic looking dinosaurs moved by the process of stop-motion animation, set amidst trick photography involving full-size forests and lakes and real people (usually at the edges of the frame). It was the same technique he would later use to give the world KING KONG in 1933.

   Professor Challenger (Wallace Beery) is looking for a way to finance an expedition to this lost world in order to rescue Paula White’s (Bessie Love) father who has been trapped in this world, finding escape impossible. Challenger’s ‘bull in a china closet’ attitude has not endeared him to anyone, except newspaper reporter Ed Malone (Lloyd Hughes), who gains the help of financier and friend, Sir John Roxton (Lewis Stone) to help finance the expedition. It’s an extraordinary journey with many surprises. Our film will be presented with original color tinting to signify the jungle (green), the night (blue) as well as volcano heat (red).   
  
   Most of the content of the 1925 LOST WORLD would serve as the blueprint for the later KING KONG, but it would also influence movie makers for decades to come. The story was written by British author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and although his 1912 adventure book was considered impressive, it did not mushroom until the release of the movie. He wrote additional Professor Challenger books and considered him his favorite character (based after all on Doyle himself), His most popular character however would always be detective Sherlock Holmes.

   This film runs a brisk 65 minutes and should excite and enthrall children of all ages. We highly recommend this movie for children and adults and hope it will entertain you with its exciting story.   

   Organist Marvin Faulwell and percussionist Bob Keckeisen have put together a dazzling new music score for this feature and they will be playing it ‘live’ at the Cathedral.