The silent 1928 Buster Keaton classic THE CAMERAMAN comes to the Music Box as part of its monthly Silent Cinema Series with live pipe organ accompaniment. In love with a woman working at MGM Studios, a photographer becomes a cameraman to get close to her. Clumsy and new to filming, he continuously makes a fool of himself in various situations. Second Saturday Silent Cinema presents THE CAMERAMAN on Saturday, November 10, noon, at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Avenue.
THE CAMERAMAN was Buster Keaton’s first film for MGM Studios and made while he was still at the height of his career. Buster plays a sidewalk tintype portrait photographer who develops a crush on Sally (Marceline Day), an MGM secretary. In order to be near her, he uses all of his savings to purchase an old film camera and tries to get a job as one of MGM’s cameramen. Despite his complete lack of ability and experience, Sally encourages Buster to film everything he can, and a wild series of comedic mishaps ensues. From a dazed monkey to a war in Chinatown and a boat race gone wrong, The Cameraman delivers a classic, unforgettable Buster Keaton performance. Once thought lost but rediscovered in Paris in 1968, THE CAMERAMAN was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2005.
The Music Box Silent Cinema Series is presented on the second Saturday of each month at noon. All films are shown “authentically” in 35mm at proper silent film speed and aspect ratio with live accompaniment by Dennis Scott at the Music Box theatre organ.
Music Box Second Saturday Silent Cinema Series' THE CAMERAMAN tickets are priced at $10 for adults; $8 for students and seniors and may be purchased at the Music Box Theatre box office or online at http://www.musicboxtheatre.com/events/the-cameraman-2012-11-10-1200-pm.
Dennis Scott, Music Box Theatre’s house organist, is an internationally known silent film organist dubbed the “Master of Magic Notes” by Suzanne Lloyd, granddaughter of the comic genius Harold Lloyd. Scott began accompanying silent films in the 1970s, when he started playing theater pipe organs installed in pizza parlors in the Midwest and the West Coast. He is a co-founder of the Silent Film Society of Chicago. Ongoing at the Music Box, he plays weekend intermissions, the annual Sing-Along Sound of Music, Sing-Along Grease, Valentine’s Day Sing-Along and the acclaimed Music Box Christmas Sing-Along, a Chicago holiday tradition for nearly 30 years. For Music Box’s Second Saturday Silent Cinema Series, Scott accompanies a classic silent film, live, at noon on the second Saturday of each month on the Music Box Theatre organ. The series was named the “Best New Film Series of 2011” by Chicago magazine and “Best Matinee Film Series of 2012” by the Chicago Reader.
For nearly 30 years the Music Box Theatre has been the premier venue in Chicago for independent and foreign films, festivals and some of the greatest cinematic events in Chicago. It currently has the largest cinema space operated full time in the city. The Music Box Theatre is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation. SMBC, through its Music Box Films division, also distributes foreign and independent films in the theatrical, DVD and television markets throughout the United States. For additional information please visit www.musicboxtheatre.com . You may download the entire Music Box Theatre Fall Calendar here.
Videos