SILENT FILMS WITH ORCHESTRA

Having conducted orchestras for more than 700 silent film screenings across the U.S. and Europe, Rick Benjamin is the leading expert in the field, and the last of the real “Movie Palace Maestros.” Now, let him help your orchestra enter or further explore this incredible world of musical and visual artistry. Rick’s collection of historic silent film scores is legendary (more than 900 titles), his film library formidable, and his ability to curate, host, and conduct film-with-orchestra events second to none. Audiences love it!

• Exciting “turnkey” film events for your ensemble

• Flexible instrumentation – 11 to 75 players

• Student programming available

2024-25 PROGRAMS

THE CLOWN PRINCES - Short comedies, packaged in a set of three, mixed and matched:

Charlie Chaplin: The Pawnshop, Easy Street, The Adventurer, The Rink, Behind the Screen, One AM, The Immigrant, and Easy Street.

Buster Keaton: The Blacksmith, Cops, The Playhouse, The High Sign, The Haunted House, and One Week.

Harold Lloyd: Never Weaken, Get Out and Get Under, Haunted Spooks, and High and Dizzy.

Featurette:

A Dog's Life (Charlie Chaplin, 1918) - The Tramp adopts an adorable stray dog - "Scraps" - and the pair embark on a series of hilarious adventures in the bustling city.

Feature Films:

The Mark of Zorro (Douglas Fairbanks, 1920) – The silent original – Hollywood’s very first Action/Adventure movie! Doug Fairbanks thrills audiences with swordplay, romance, and just a bit of comedy.

The General (Buster Keaton, 1927) – A story of “Love, Laughs, and Locomotives” – Buster Keaton’s Civil War railroad epic inspired by the Great Locomotive Chase. World famous, and rightly so.

The Kid (Charles Chaplin, 1921) – The Tramp adopts an abandoned child, and the two set off on a series of adventures. Sweet and funny, with touches of high drama.

Steamboat Bill, Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1928) – Keaton, as the hapless son of a Mississippi riverboat captain, tries to learn the family business. Extremely funny, with a fantastic cyclone finale!

Safety Last (Harold Lloyd, 1923) - Lloyd stars as a lovelorn department store clerk forced to make a daredevil climb of a high-rise building. Features the iconic "man on the clock" scene. Unparalleled thrills!

Other Short Films:

The Great Train Robbery (1903) – from Thomas Edison’s Laboratory; the first Western!

The Weak-End Drivers (1926) – starring comic Larry Semon: hilarious antics with cars, trains, motorcycles, and planes!

The Night Before Christmas (1906) – also from Edison’s Laboratory; one of Santa's first film apperances.

Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life (1913) - starring the legendary racing pioneer Barney Oldfield and his Blitzen-Benz race car saving Mabel Normand. Features an automobile vs. steam locomotive chase finale and the Keystone Kops!

More films available on request – Inquire!

RICK BENJAMIN CONDUCTING FOR SILENT FILMS - Denmark's TV2

"Tones from Hollywood" (7 mins.)

“A Chaplin Evening, Sonically Enhanced” (headline)

- The Washington Post

Telephone: +1 (570) 809-0551

Email: [email protected]

Learn more about presenting silent cinema: Call or write for your free copy of Rick’s new album The Pioneers of Movie Music or his DVD of the world’s first action/adventure film, THE MARK OF ZORRO with its original 1920 orchestra score!