SHOES – Silent Film from 1916 Plays at Webster University December 11th

SHOES (1916) screens along with the short film SUSPENSE (10 minutes – 1910) Sunday December 11th beginning at 7:30pm at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood).

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of two of Lois Weber’s most important films, Milestone Films has released  restored versions of SHOES and THE DUMB GIRL OF PORTICI. Working with the Netherland’s EYE Filmmuseum, the Library of Congress, archivist Lori Raskin and composers Donald Sosin and John Sweeney, these films will both be screening at Webster University. The small but magnificent ensemble SHOES, with Weber’s star discovery Mary MacLaren was released the same year as her epic blockbuster THE DUMB GIRL OF PORTICI featuring the legendary dancer, Anna Pavlova. The two films show brilliantly the tremendous range Weber had as a film director.

“Lois Weber was the most successful of all the women directors in the first quarter of the 20th century and, at the time, was placed alongside the likes of D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille as the major innovative forces in filmmaking.” 
— Cari Beauchamp,IndieWire

SHOES tells the story of Eva Meyer (Mary MacLaren), a poor shop girl working at a five-and-dime. She is the sole wage earner for three younger sisters, a mother who struggles to hold everything together, and a father who prefers beer and penny dreadfuls to work. Each week, Eva returns to her cold-water flat and dutifully hands over her meager earnings to her mother. But her wages barely cover the grocer’s bill and cannot provide for decent clothing. With only cardboard to patch the holes in the soles of her shoes, Eva’s life becomes harder with each rainy day and every splinter. In constant pain and with no solution in sight, the disheartened girl considers the uninvited advances of Cabaret Charlie (William V. Mong), a cad with clearly dishonorable intentions.

Admission is:

$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$4 for Webster University staff and faculty

Free for Webster students with proper I.D.

Advance tickets are available from the cashier before each screening or contact the Film Series office (314-246-7525) for more options. The Film Series can only accept cash or check.

The Webster University Film Series site can be found HERE

http://www.webster.edu/film-series/