Silent movies, of course, were never meant to be silent. Musical accompaniment was part of the movie experience nearly from the beginning, sometimes with a local piano player plinking out something vaguely appropriate to the onscreen action, sometimes with an organ. At the most elaborate big-city end, the films were screened with an orchestra, adding an element of live performance to the experience. This Saturday, Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West screens two golden age silents with live accompaniment by keyboardist Andrew Earle Simpson.
Slated for 7 p.m. on Saturday, January 24 is The Fire Brigade, a 1926 MGM epic about firefighters and firefighting. Proceeds for this special event will benefit the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting’s recovery efforts after the world’s largest museum of firefighting history sustained flood damage in extreme weather this past fall. (Full disclosure: I was one of the organizers of this event). Celebrating its centennial this year, the lavishly produced film vividly depicts firefighting in the 1920s, including the transition from horse-drawn steam engines to motorized fire trucks. It’s packed with action, drama, romance and cool old fire apparatus, and is a must-see for fire buffs and movie buffs alike.
The following afternoon, at 2 p.m. Sunday January 25, Simpson will also play along with the 1925 Buster Keaton western comedy classic Go West. Keaton, who also directed, plays Friendless, a stoic drifter who ends up as a ranch hand, and the adored companion of a cow named Brown Eyes. It’s a sweet and imaginative answer to Horace Greeley’s title suggestion.
The live performance by composer and keyboardist Simpson, a professor of music at Catholic University whose works have been performed at prestigious venues ranging from Lincoln Center to the Kennedy Center to Carnegie Hall, will enhance the silent-movie atmosphere. Noted film historian Richard M. Roberts will introduce both movies. The Fire Brigade is a cash-only event, $20 at the door at Western Spirit, 3830 N. Marshall Way in Scottsdale. Seating is limited. Go West is free to museum members or with museum admission; $10 just to attend the film (does not include further admittance to the museum galleries). For more information on The Fire Brigade, go to hallofflame.org or call 602-275-3473. For more information on Go West, go to westernspirit.org.
