| Silents are Golden
The glitter and the glamour of the Movies came to Aberfeldy when the big screen experience arrived for one night only, on 18 April at the Town Hall. Memories of the forties and the old Birks Cinema were evoked as folk queued at the box office to see Silent Screen stars of the twenties and thirties, larger than life on the big screen.
Inside, the Town Hall had become a candle lit café. Colourful tables were spread with dips, and wine, beer and soft drinks were dispensed from a side bar. Sadly, for cinemagoers of a certain age, there were no usherettes with torches or dressed in frilly waitress gear with trays. As the House Full notice was put up outside, the audience settled into their seats, latecomers scrambled for chairs at overflow tables, the lights dimmed, Buster Keaton flickered into life and the whole illusion was triumphantly completed by the first chords from a live piano.
If you’ve never experienced live music accompanying silent movies you’ve missed a real treat. In the twenties all movies were accompanied by music which reflected the changing mood and pace of the film. In the smaller halls it would be a pianist, but in cities there would be an organ, or even a small orchestra.
Local Musicians
We were incredibly lucky to have two very talented musicians playing for us. Gordon Murch on piano and Iain Murch on violin matched the comedy of Keaton and the muscularity of Douglas Fairbanks with a complex and subtle soundtrack which followed the action perfectly.
The playbill was two Keaton films, and extracts from Fairbanks’ Thief of Baghdad, and F W Murnau’s Sunrise. Gordon and Iain had copies of the films for a week or so before the screening and produced an immensely satisfying musical score. Between films Gordon answered questions on playing for Silent Movies. He says he now has a healthy respect for the cinema musicians of the time.
Altogether a very popular and successful event from Heartland Film Society, (with thanks to Comrie Film Society who provided the projection equipment). And next day, a lot of people were saying “Play it Gordon. Play it again”. Next year we just might.
Norman McCandlish
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