| In 2002 the Scarborough Urban Renaissance process brought different people together who shared an interest in the cultural revival of the town. One group decided to launch a film festival based on the rich variety of silent films that were becoming available through digital technology. The annual Scarborough Silent Film Festival was born, with its first outing in September 2003 with films shown in the Mccarthy cinema of the Stephen Joseph Theatre, and at Scarborough Library.
From the beginning the organisers saw the festival as a unique opportunity to experience great works of cinematic art in a proper auditorium, with big screen, full sound system and exciting atmosphere. This is not as an exercise in nostalgia (most of us weren’t born when these films were made) but a new experience for film fans of all ages.
|  |  Safety Last! | | The Silent Film Festival also gives us a chance to try out some innovations and interactions. In the past three years we have commissioned new soundtracks for classic films from local composers, given showings to restored films from the Yorkshire film Archive, shown new short films inspired by the silent era, and commissioned live music to accompany our film shows.
All three festivals have featured a mixture of famous silent films, such as ‘The Goldrush’, ‘Steamboat Bill Jnr’ and ‘The Tramp’ with rarely-seen classics such as ‘It’, ‘Sunrise’, ‘Broken Blossoms’, ‘Piccadilly’, ‘The Thief of Baghdad’ and ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’.
| |  The General | The 2004 festival featured a new soundtrack for the Buster Keaton film ‘The Balloonatic’, commissioned by the festival and written and performed by Scarborough composer John Pattison. Martin Pickles’ recent film ‘G.M.’, a homage to the great French pioneer Georges Meliès, was a significant highlight.
The centerpiece of the 2005 festival was the showing of Murnau’s classic vampire movie ‘Nosferatu’ with live keyboard accompaniment by Terry Ladlow. Terry’s performance, to a sell-out audience, was a revelation, showing us some of the endless possibilities of combining film and music. The 2006 festival will be held in October; check on this website for details.
This year’s silent festival features four of the legends of cinema – Harold Lloyd, Ramon Navarro, Rudolph Valentino and Buster Keaton – in their greatest pictures, together with a fascinating and brilliant film about Berlin.
| |  Son of the Sheik | Buster Keaton has been a regular in all our silent film festivals but we have saved the best until now. Following last year’s triumphant sell-out performance to Nosferatu, Terry Ladlow will be performing on the keyboards alongside Keaton’s The General.
To add to this very special occasion, we will be showing Walter Ruttman’s Berlin: Symphony of a Great City in support. This astonishing film, one of the earliest documentaries, shows the urgency and continual movement of modern city life through rapid cutting, innovative camera angles and a musical soundtrack that pushes the action on.
Before that, beginning on Wednesday 18 October in Scarborough Library, we have Valentino in his most famous role as the Son of the Sheikh. The star died just after the film was released, breaking the hearts of millions of movie-goers. Fascinating to see the first great example of screen presence.
Then we move to the Stephen Joseph Theatre for Harold Lloyd in the film that confirmed his place as a major film star. Safety Last includes the shut-your-eyes scene where our hero hangs, hundreds of feet above ground, from the hands of a clock. Both Son of the Sheikh and Safety Last will have short supporting films.
On Friday 19 we are showing the epic Ben-Hur in which a young Ramon Navarro made his name. This was the greatest epic of the silent screen, and outshines the later remake. Then on Saturday 21 the climax comes with Berlin and The General. Book early for this one, it could be a sell-out.
| |  Ben Hur | | | Full programme:
Wednesday 18 October (Scarborough Library)
Son of the Sheikh (1926)
Rudolph Valentino’s last and most glamorous film.
With short films in support
Thursday 19 October (Stephen Joseph Theatre)
Safety Last (1923)
Harold Lloyd’s most famous picture, featuring the heart-stopping scene where Lloyd hangs from a skyscraper by the hands of a clock.
With short films in support
Friday 20 October (Stephen Joseph Theatre)
Ben-Hur (1925)
The silent screen’s greatest epic featuring Ramon Navarro.
Saturday 21 October (Stephen Joseph Theatre)
The General (1926)
Buster Keaton in the movie regularly cited as the pinnacle of silent film-making, and one of the greatest films ever made. Accompanied on keyboards by Terry Ladlow.
With
Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (1927)
A rare chance to see the first, and one of the finest documentaries ever made. A huge array of cameras captures a day in the life of Weimar Berlin. | |  Berlin: Symphony of a Great City
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