Overture by Greg Foreman
Welcome & Introductions by Denise Morrison, Film Historian
Short: Broncho Billy's Adventure (1911) with Broncho Billy Anderson
Bronco Billy must intervene between a woman's father and her lover.
— Music by Jeff Rapsis and and Bob Keckeisen — 10 min.
Short: Broken Ways (1913) directed by D. W. Griffith
Blanche Sweet and Henry B. Walthall star in a story of a woman who discovers that her husband is a villain and she must decide whether to tell the sheriff or shield him. 
— Music by Greg Foreman — 15 min.
Feature: The Narrow Trail (1917) with William S. Hart
Ice Harding, outlaw tames a wild horse and names him King. Ice and his gang hold up a stagecoach and encounter San Francisco vice king Bates and his innocent niece (Betty Werdin).
— Music by Marvin Faulwell — 68 min.
--Brief Break
Overture
Introductions by Denise Morrison, Film Historian
Short: The Man With the Punch (1920) with Hoot Gibson
An undercover ranger gets the goods on a crooked sheriff in a classic short western.
— Music by Jeff Rapsis — 19 min.
Feature: Hands Up! (1926) with Raymond Griffith
Griffith plays a Confederate who follows a Union spy out west in this excellent comedy, often cited by critics and fans as Griffith's best film among many.
— Music by Greg Foreman — 60 min.
--Dinner Break
5:15 p.m.: Supper Break — Program resuming at 7:30 p.m.
Special Dinner Event—
Our Fifth Annual
CINEMA-DINNER, 5:15-7:15 p.m.
Special Guest: Paul Gierucki, who will show clips from his finished project: 100 Years / 100 Films by Mack Sennett (many of which aired on TCM in September 2012)
Served buffet-style • $30/person [non-refundable]
Bradbury Thompson Alumni Ctr., Washburn University, Topeka, KS
Those interested in attending can make reservations by mail:
KSFF Cinema-Dinner
P.O. Box 2032
Topeka, Kansas 66601-2032
The Cinema-Dinner will include a great meal, special prizes and guest speakers Paul Gierucki and Brittany Valenti, who will speak about their recent collaboration restoring the films of Mack Sennett. Rare film clips will be included in this program.
This is not the first time Paul Gierucki has been invited to the festival. Paul was once scheduled to make a guest appearance at the Festival in 2010, accompanying A Thief Catcher, a 1914 Keystone rarity featuring footage of Charlie Chaplin in what until Gierucki found it could only be described as a 'lost film'. The freezing snow storm that blanketed the Midwest as we began the 15th annual KSFF stopped Paul in his tracks--he wrecked his car in the process--and he was unable to attend. So it's wonderful to finally be able to bring Paul and his producing partner Brittany here to Topeka (weather willing of course!).
The dinner will take place at the Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center on the Washburn University campus directly across from White Concert Hall (where the KSFF takes place). Total cost for the dinner is $30 per person (non-refundable). This event is by reservation only. Some tickets for the dinner may be available at the KSFF event on Friday or Saturday, but early reservations are encouraged.
— This event is by reservation only. Contact us to reserve — |
Overture by Marvin Faulwell
Welcome & Introductions by Denise Morrison, Film Historian
Short: The Speed Kings (1913)
Intro by special guest Paul Gierucki
with Ford Sterling
& Mabel Normand
Not only does this film have the wonderful Ford Sterling and the lovely Mabel Normand; it has three greats of early auto racing: Teddy Tetzlaff, Earl Cooper and Barney Oldfield are in this comedic tale of a girl who has a crush and her papa who wants her to pick someone else. Roscoe Arbuckle even makes an appearance.
— Music by Jeff Rapsis — 8 min.
Short: Madcap Ambrose (1916)
Intro by special guest Paul Gierucki
with Mack Swain & Polly Moran
One of a series of films starring Swain as Ambrose, this one has the added benefit of co-starring Polly Moran and Edgar Kennedy. Ambrose is loved by the family maid, Rosie, but Ambrose's mother doesn't think they're right for each other—until Rosie inherits a bit of money. Enter rival Edgar Kennedy and Ambrose has to compete for the fair damsel's hand. Swain became more of a character actor in the 1920s but for Sennett he starred in some great comedies.
— Music by Marvin Faulwell — 22 min.
Feature: The Gaucho (1927) with Douglas Fairbanks, Lupe Velez
A girl is saved by a miracle after she falls from a cliff in the Argentine Andes, and is blessed with healing powers. A shrine is built on the site and a whole city grows around it, rich with gold from grateful worshippers. Ruiz, an evil and sadistic general, captures the city, confiscates the gold and closes the shrine. But the Gaucho (Fairbanks), the charismatic leader of a band of outlaws comes to the rescue. Heroic star Fairbanks is matched in sexual magnetism by the exotic Lupe Velez.
— Music by Marvin Faulwell — 115 min.
--
There will be an intermission in our Feature
Film
About Special Guest Paul Gierucki:
The 2013 Festival spotlights a number of short classic Keystone comedies made by prolific actor, writer, director and producer Mack Sennett. Sennett is the focus of a new DVD boxed set with many restored classics from the legendary studio. KSFF has invited the project’s producers Paul Gierucki and Brittany Valente to be guests of honor, introducing the Sennett story to audiences and speaking directly about the project for the festival’s annual cinema dinner Saturday evening.
About Denise Morrison:
Denise
Morrison is a film historian from Kansas City, Missouri, with
a special focus on silent film. She is Director of Collections & Curatorial Services with Union
Station in Kansas City, Missouri, and has been involved with the Kansas
Silent Film Festival since the beginning. She was quite active with
the Granada Theatre in Kansas City, Kansas, when they were showing a
full schedule of silent movies. Denise will give an overview of the
silent film era and also provide introductions to each film.
About Bill Shaffer:
Bill Shaffer is president of Kansas Silent Film Festival, Inc., the 501 (c) 3 non-profit corporation that presents our festival each February. To board members, volunteers, and fans Bill is "Our Fearless Leader." He works with Denise Morrison in planning each event, finds sources for films, rents films, and asks individuals/businesses/trusts for yearly donation support, and promotes each yearly festival. In recent years he has arranged Cinema Dinner details. In his "spare time" Bill works full-time as producer/director for KTWU, PBS Channel 11, on the Washburn University campus—a job he's had for over thirty-five years.
About Marvin Faulwell:
Dr.
Marvin Faulwell is a retired dentist from Kansas City
who is a very accomplished theatre organist. He has played
for all of the previous five Silent Film Festivals and our "sister
project," Silents
in the Cathedral, held every Halloween at Grace Cathedral
in Topeka. He has a large theatre organ in his home and also restores
the instruments. He has appeared in concert and accompanied silent
film programs in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Minnesota and also accompanied
many silent films shown at the Granada Theatre in Kansas City, Kansas.
About Greg Foreman:
Greg Foreman holds a Certificate of Piano Performance, Bachelor of Music Education, and Master of Arts in Teaching. He has performed as soloist with the Kansas City Symphony, the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory Orchestra, and the Youth Symphony of Kansas City, as well as National Public Radio and Kansas Public Radio broadcasts. Mr. Foreman is an author and clinician for Alfred Music Publishing, Inc. and was chosen to be one of twelve teachers (from a pool of thirteen hundred) to receive the Lee’s Summit, Missouri district’s “Excellence in Teaching” award, in 2010.
About Jeff Rapsis:
Jeff Rapsis is a New Hampshire-based composer and musician who regularly accompanies silent film programs. His recent work includes a new piano score for the The Bells (1926) starring Lionel Barrymore, to be released by Reel Classic DVDs, and a new synthesizer score for the 1916 version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, premiered last year at the Boston Sci-Fi Marathon. Upcoming live engagements include the Cinefest vintage film festival, held each March in Syracuse, N.Y. Jeff is associate publisher and co-owner of HippoPress, New Hampshire's largest weekly newspaper, and teaches communications at the University of New Hampshire. His first novel will be published in 2013 by Sophia Omni Press of New York. For more information on Jeff's silent film work, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.
About Bob Keckeisen:
Bob Keckeisen has been principal percussionist for the Topeka Symphony Orchestra since 1989. Bob has been delighting audiences recently at the Kansas Silent Film Festival by adding remarkable percussive music and sound effects to several films. Bob grew up in Wichita and studied percussion under J.C. Combs at Wichita State University. He obtained both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in history from WSU and moved to Topeka in 1982.
Bob is the director of the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka and frequently volunteers for KTWU Channel 11.
About Phil Figgs:
Phil Figgs is a Kansas Silent Film Festival board member and a collector of antique sheet music, gramophone records, and player piano rolls. He has accompanied silent movies for the Albany Historical Society, the Hiawatha Area Arts and Theatre Society, and the Pawnee County Historical Society at Fort Larned. Phil teaches high school English in Sabetha, Kansas.
All donations are appreciated.
A rich woman places an ad in the paper saying that she will marry whatever man has the best mustache in town. Welcome to the world of Mack Sennett. With chases, romantic rivalries and a bathing beauty or two (including Topeka-born Thelma Hill) this is one of those movies where at some point you’ll stop wondering about the story and just enjoy the ride. The film has a breakneck pace and more gags than any other Sennett comedy; it will be shown in a newly restored version. 
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