TOSDV Silent Film Festival 2024

The Theatre Organ Society of the Delaware Valley (TOSDV) presents its 2024  Silent Film Festival. The festival covers 2 segments:  Comedy and Adventure, in that order.  Each segment will run approximately 2 hours, with an intermission between the features. The day begins at 10:00 AM.

RUNNING ORDER FOR THE DAY

10:00 AM: Go West (1925, 1hr 9 min) Director: Buster Keaton

With little luck at keeping a job in the city a New Yorker (Buster Keaton) tries work in the country and eventually finds his way leading a herd of cattle to the West Coast. Accompanied by Bernie Anderson. Please note there will be additional cartoons before the screening of “Go West.”

THE ORGANIST

Bernie Anderson began his musical studies at age 5, continuing through degrees from Montclair State University and New York University. He has been playing music professionally since 1995, having studied theatre organ and silent film accompaniment with famed musicians Ashley Miller and Lee Erwin. A well-rounded musician, arranger, and composer, he is a member of ASCAP and has worked as orchestration assistant on several Broadway shows, including “Big”, “King David”, “The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular”, “Fosse” and “Seussical the Musical”, working as assistant to the conductor on the latter.

INTERMISSION (1 Hour)

1:00 PM: The Thief of Baghdad (1924, 2h 35m) Director: Raoul Walsh

A recalcitrant thief (Douglass Fairbanks) vies with a duplicitous Mongol (Snitz Edwards) ruler for the hand of a beautiful princess (Julanne Johnston). Accompanied by Wayne Zimmerman. There will be an intermission. 

THE ORGANIST

Wayne Zimmerman has been playing theatre organ professionally since the 1960’s, concertizing coast-to-coast while also working as a silent film accompanist playing for a wide range of moving pictures. Wayne provides a long-standing regional link between the original generation of theatre organ musicians and today’s performers, and played for intermissions regionally as staff organist at the Lansdowne, Tower, Brookline, and Merlin/Hiway theatres. His accompaniment of “The Thief of Baghdad” at the Colonial is a continuing link in this regional musical heritage.

This program benefits the Theatre Organ Society of the Delaware Valley (TOSDV) Theatre Organ Restoration Fund. For additional information visit TOSDV.org; email info@tosdv.com.

TICKETS*

Marathon General Admission: $27.00
Marathon Children’s Ticket (Under 16): $10.00

*Please note that all ticket prices include a $2.00 processing fee.