There are accounts of theater musicians going on autopilot and playing something like Does the Spearmint Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight when the comedy relief scene was done and high romance was ensuing. Big cities had orchestras. Tiny towns often had Whoever Could Kind of Play.
And wide release is a thing for studio fare now but we are still in the silent era with anything indie or foreign in the USA. (And, of course, foreign markets often have to wait for Hollywood films in wide release here.) Sound systems vary by theater, of course, but the score is the same everywhere
The available movies were different too. Most of the majors owned theaters (Universal being an exception) but small towns had indies and relied on what was called "States Rights" distribution. Westerns went over big. Big fancy epics tended to flop.
So, as with everything, your experience at the movies in the silent era depended on location, class and spending money. Far more than the talkie era and certainly more than the modern blockbuster era. Yes, IMAX is a different experience but the big Captain Zip Zap movie is still available to all.
Oh and race! Many theaters were segregated, there were only a few Black theaters, movies with Black casts did not enjoy financial support from big business. When such films were released, the cast was touted as a draw because people like onscreen representation.
(Proponents of the Invisible Hand, the notion that business will naturally lean ethical, constantly argue that Hollywood wouldn't leave money on the table if there had been a REAL demand. Well, they did in the silent era and the success of SINNERS indicates they're doing it now.)
So, when Norman (one of the major studios catering to Black audiences) released a film, they screamed on the posters because every ticket sale counted and these movies were so popular they were literally played to death (only one Norman film survives)
Well that poster certainly sold me on it!
(I should probably have phrased that as "one of the leading studios" because "major" is a loaded term in film history and tends to refer to the MGMs. My point is that Norman was an important purveyor of genre entertainment vs Oscar Micheaux's highly personal and politically loaded films)
Nowadays at least the DCPs seen in the small venues are the same quality as those in the big cities. I remember having to wait months for movies to make it to Scotland after they opened in London and the prints were scratched and even faded by the time we got them.
Same in N Wales. My dad managed a cinema there back in the 60s, long before I was born, and told me it could be six months or more before some films made it there.
Love this thread, love learning about the deeper history of film. Makes me want to search out more and more of the silent era. Thanks for everything you do!
my mom recently paid a visit to this museum. Said it's a great setup
"Proponents of the Invisible Hand (...) constantly argue that Hollywood wouldn't leave money on the table if there had been a REAL demand. Well, they did in the silent era and the success of SINNERS indicates they're doing it now."
lol who is this goof, I love his vibe
Kinda reminds me of John C. Reilly
I work at National Cinematheque of Chile. Here we restore films and have endless discussions about this issue. Do the film must look better then the original? What is the original? Which artifacts must remain? Things got worse when the filmmaker is alive and usually tries to re-edit the film.
Yes, it's such a constant balancing act, I imagine (love El Húsar de la Muerte by the way)
El Húsar de la Muerte is a good example; its restoration was made from a 16mm copy from the 60s made from a 35mm copy from the 40s. The original, longer and coloured from 1925, is lost.
Doubly in the silent era as some repertoire theatres are the theatres that are from that era still, hanging on by their nails! My favourite one to go to opened in 1910!
Ahhh, would love to hear even a small orchestra at a screening. Have attended two showings with Dennis James playing music intended for each film’s original release. That was cool.
I love the idea of a Kino alternate track of “improv by Aunt Irene”
Right? Give us the real experience (loads old fireworks under the theater seats for added authenticity)
