Silence Is Golden

Silent Movies Made Musical
Thursday, April 13, 7 p.m.

Tickets are $32, with discounts for groups of 10 or more.

All seats are reserved and can be purchased online here.

Call 513.621.ARTS or online at CincinnatiArts.org.

Transport yourself back in time on Thursday, April 13 as The Friends of Music Hall present silent films accompanied by the Mighty Wurlitzer organ live, in person in the Music Hall Ballroom.

Renowned organist and arranger Clark Wilson will accompany a collection of short silent films by Laurel and Hardy for Silent Movies Made Musical.

Joe Horine, a film historian will host the program and lead a Q & A after the screenings.

“When these movies premiered in the 20th century, they had live accompaniment on the piano, depending on the type of theater. So, with this (The Wurlitzer or similar organ) playing while silent movies played, it’s the experience times 10 that people were able to enjoy in the silent film era,” says Horine.

Horine adds, this is the way films were meant to be watched…

“In an auditorium like this as opposed to…most people are watching movies on their phones, TVs, laptops, and really seeing it on a big screen with big sound is the way movies were meant to be seen,” Horine says.

Laurel & Hardy classics on the bill:

Putting Pants on Phillip (1927)
Leave ‘Em Laughing (1928)
Habeas Corpus (1928)
The Finishing Touch (1928)
That’s My Wife (1929)

Starting their career as a duo in the silent film era, Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo who successfully transitioned to “talkies.”

From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Englishman Stan Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Oliver Hardy's pompous bully.

The season sponsor for the Mighty Wurlitzer concerts is Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel.