Academy’s “Summer of
Silents”
Beverly Hills, CA – The 1926 Photoplay Magazine Medal of Honor
winner “Beau Geste” will be the next film screened in the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences’ “Summer of Silents” series on Monday, July 25, at
7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The evening will feature
live musical accompaniment by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.
Ronald Colman and William Powell starred in this first film version of
Percival Christopher Wren’s classic adventure novel about three brothers who
join the French Foreign Legion to protect their family’s honor.
Film historian Frank Thompson will introduce the feature.
At 7 p.m., “Saturday Afternoon” (1926), starring Harry Langdon, will be
screened as part of the evening’s pre-show festivities.
The Medal of Honor, the first significant annual film award, pre-dating the
establishment of the Oscars®, was voted by the readers of Photoplay
Magazine and given to the producer of the year’s winning film.
“Summer of Silents” features silent film classics from the 1920s, all of
which received the Photoplay Magazine Medal of Honor, on Mondays
through August 8.
The remaining schedule for “Summer of Silents” is as follows:
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.
Updated information on speakers, music performers and other program details
is available at www.oscars.org.
Tickets to individual evenings are 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.