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THE KING BAGGOT TRIBUTE Nov. 14 – Silent Film Star From St. Louis to be Honored at SLIFF
The most popular film actor in the world 100 years ago was a St. Louis native. Literally the first “movie star”, King Baggot was the first actor to have his name above the title and his stardom marked the first time that audiences went to see a movie because a certain actor was in that film. Born in St. Louis in 1879 and raised in a house on Union Boulevard, King Baggot attended CBC High School and at one time worked for the St. Louis Browns in ticket sales. Baggot was tall and handsome, a blue-eyed Irish boy with a distinctive white streak through his dark hair and the subject of much adoring fan mail. It’s hard to overestimate just how popular King Baggot was in his prime. He was heralded as “King of the Movies,” “The Most Photographed Man in the World” and “The Man Whose Face Is As Familiar As The Man In The Moon.” After his acting career faded, King Baggot became a successful director for Universal Studios. Most of his films are long lost and despite his one-time fame, he is now somewhat forgotten, even here in his home town. Cinema St. Louis will shine a spotlight on the star with The King Baggot Tribute, a celebration of his career. The event will be held on Friday, November 14th beginning at 7pm and is part of the St. Louis International Film Festival. The venue is Winifred Moore Auditorium on the campus of Webster University.
The program will consist a rare 35mm screening of the 1913 epic IVANHOE, which runs 49 minutes. Based Sir Walter Scott’s 1820 novel of romance and medievalism. IVANHOE was filmed at Chepstow Castle in Wales, on top of cliffs overlooking the River Wye and was the first example of an American studio sending a cast and crew to Europe to film at a remote location. St. Louis native King Baggot plays Ivanhoe, the Saxon Knight who returns from the Holy Lands to England. There he teams up with Robin Hood to rescue his father Sir Cedric, who has been captured by the evil Prince John. Leah Baird plays Rebecca, the Jewish maiden who loves Ivanhoe and the film’s director Herbert Brenon co-stars as Isaac of York. The rest of the large cast was made up of local Welsh actors. The lively and ambitious IVANHOE, filled with pageantry, lavish sets, costumed horses, epic battle scenes and swordfights was a box-office smash in 1913 and made King Baggot an international star. This is a tinted 35mm print on loan from the Museum of Modern Art in New York and will feature live music accompaniment by the Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra. (for more info on IVANHOE, read this WAMG article HERE)
IVANHOE will be followed by an illustrated lecture on the life and films of King Baggot presented by Tom Stockman, editor here at We Are Movie Geeks.
After that will screen the influential silent western TUMBLEWEEDS (1925 – digital source) starring William S. Hart, considered to be one of King Baggot’s finest achievements as a director. TUMBLEWEEDS marked the return to the screen of silent cowboy legend William S. Hart (1964-1946) after a long absence. Hart plays Don Carver, a “tumbleweed” (drifter) who decides to settle down after falling in love with Molly (Barbara Bedford) but first joins the Cherokee Land Rush of 1889 Oklahoma where a large tract of land was thrown open to the public for the taking by the American government. The exciting action sequences in TUMBLEWEEDS, with hundreds of horses, wagons and riders tearing across the plain and Hart racing past them on his horse, are still thrilling and director Baggot used influential and dynamic cutting techniques to generate suspense.TUMBLEWEEDS was also unique for its era in its accurate depiction of Native Americans and African Americans. In a recent interview with We Are Movie Geeks, cinematographer King Baggot III said; “TUMBLEWEEDS was my grandfather’s greatest triumph as a director. It’s the picture he’ll be remembered for.” TUMBLEWEEDS will feature live piano accompaniment by Matt Pace.
For ticket info and details about all of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival, visit the Cinema St. Louis site HERE
The Facebook invite for the event can be found HERE
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