Silent Film Classics Receive Rare Screening

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Thursday, April 19-----The Palm Beach International Film Festival, which launches its week-long celebration of film this evening, will present two silent film classics at the historic Maltz Jupiter Theater on Friday afternoon. THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903), by cinema pioneer Edwin S. Porter, was the first film to highlight complex editing and the building of tension through montage. The film is considered one of the seminal films of the early silent era, and has been frequently listed as one of the most influential films ever made.

The program's highlight is a newly restored version of the Charlie Chaplin classic THE GOLD RUSH (1925), which was Chaplin's most ambitious feature-length project to that date. One of the most expensive films of the silent film era, the mammoth production was shot on location in the Alaskan wilderness and features a large cast headed by Chaplin and his leading lady (and love interest) Georgia Hale. Chaplin stars as the Little Tramp, who comes to the frozen tundra of the Klondike to strike it rich. The film features one of Chaplin's classic routines, as he eats his shoes to prevent starvation. The sequence is among the funniest and most eloquent of all of Chaplin's mimed masterworks. The film was nominated for two Oscars upon its sound-enhanced re-release in 1942, and was named to the National Film Registry in 1992. This is a rare opportunity to catch the great Chaplin in his prime. The films will be presented with piano accompaniment. Don't miss it!!

Sandy Mandelberger, Palm Beach FF Online Dailies Editor