HUMORESQUE Kicks off “Summer of Silents” at the Academy

Beverly Hills, CA –The Photoplay Magazine Medal of Honor winner “Humoresque” (1920) will kick off a summer-long screening series of silent films at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday, June 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. A restored 35mm print from UCLA Film & Television Archive will be screened with live musical accompaniment composed by Michael Mortilla, and performed by Mortilla  on piano and Nicole Garcia on violin. 

Directed by Frank Borzage, “Humoresque” is the film version of Fannie Hurst’s short story about a young violinist who rises from New York’s Jewish slums to international fame with the help of his doting mother. The film was the first to receive the Photoplay Magazine Medal of Honor, the first significant annual film award, pre-dating the establishment of the Oscars®. The Medal of Honor was voted by the readers of Photoplay Magazine and given to the producer of the year’s winning film.

Film historian Cari Beauchamp, biographer of “Humoresque” screenwriter Frances Marion, will introduce the feature.

At 7 p.m., “One Week” (1920), starring Buster Keaton, will be screened as part of the evening’s pre-show festivities. 

“Summer of Silents” will feature eight silent film classics from the 1920s, all of which received the Photoplay Magazine Medal of Honor, on Mondays through August 8. Additionally, on Wednesday, July 20, Buster Keaton’s “The General” (1927) will be screened. Though not a Photoplay award winner, the comedy is a classic of the silent era.

The remaining schedule for “Summer of Silents” is as follows:

June 20 – “Tol’able David” (1921)
“Never Weaken” (1921), starring Harold Lloyd, will be presented during the pre-show, introduced by Suzanne Lloyd.  The feature will be introduced by David Shepard, with live musical accompaniment composed and performed on piano by Alexander Rannie.

June 27 – Douglas Fairbanks in “Robin Hood” (1922)
“Pay Day” (1922), starring Charlie Chaplin, will be presented during the pre-show.  The feature will be introduced by Jeffrey Vance, with live musical accompaniment performed by Clark Wilson on an Allen Theatre Organ.

July 11 – “The Covered Wagon” (1923)
Surviving fragments from 1924 Photoplay award winner “Abraham Lincoln” and 3D images from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923) will be presented during the pre-show.  Live musical accompaniment will be provided by Will Ryan and the Cactus County Cowboys.

July 18 – “The Big Parade” (1925)
The feature will be introduced by film historian and Academy Honorary Award recipient Kevin Brownlow, with a recorded stereo orchestral score composed by Carl Davis.

BONUS SCREENING:
July 20 – “The General” (1927)
“Then and Now,” a photographic comparison tour by John Bengtson outlining the filming locations for silent era comedies by Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd, will be presented during the pre-show.  The feature will be introduced by Brownlow with a recorded stereo orchestral score composed by Carl Davis.

July 25 – “Beau Geste” (1926)
“Saturday Afternoon” (1926), starring Harry Langdon, will be presented during the pre-show.  The feature will be introduced by Frank Thompson, with live musical accompaniment by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

August 1 – “7th Heaven” (1927)
“Mighty Like a Moose” (1926), starring Charley Chase, and a surviving fragment from the 1928 lost film “The Patriot,” will be presented during the pre-show.  The feature will be introduced by Janet Bergstrom, with live musical accompaniment composed by Michael Mortilla, and performed by Mortilla on piano, Nicole Garcia on violin and Frank Macchia on winds.

August 8 – “Four Sons” (1928)
“Two Tars” (1928), starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and a fragment from the 1928 lost film “The Case of Lena Smith” will be presented during the pre-show.

There will be no screening on July 4. Updated information on speakers, music performers and other program details is available on www.oscars.org.

Series passes for “Summer of Silents” are on sale now. Passes are $25 for the general public and $20 for Academy members and students with valid ID. Passes include admission to the July 20 screening of “The General.”

Tickets to individual evenings are also on sale now. Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with valid ID. They may be purchased online at www.oscars.org, by mail, in person at the Academy during regular business hours or, depending on availability, on the night of the screening when the doors open at 6:30 p.m. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.

ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

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