About Capitolfest:

    Capitolfest is Central New York's premier summer Cinephile film festival—a place to see rarely-shown and newly-discovered films of the silent and early talkie era, held at the historic 1,788-seat movie palace, the Capitol Theatre, in Rome, New York, which opened in December, 1928 as a movie house.  To date, Capitol remains the only building in Rome (population c. 35,000) constructed for the specific purpose of exhibiting motion pictures.  Although the theatre received an Modernistic face-lift in 1939, the auditorium is configured exactly as it was in 1928, and much of the original décor remains. 

    Included  as part of Capitolfest's silent film line-up is live organ accompaniment for each film, played on our original installation, 3-manual, 10-rank Möller Grand Theatre Organ.  Restoration work on the organ was started in 2002, and since then it has been used on a regular basis to accompany silent movies.  Each of the silent films will be accompanied by some of the world’s foremost exponents of authentic silent movie accompaniment.  Eminent musicians such as Avery Tunningley, Bernie Anderson, Dr. Phillip C. Carli, and Dennis James have performed for films on the Capitol's Moller in the past.  Additionally, ensembles such as the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra have graced the Capitol's orchestra pit in accompaniment of films.

    The goal of the Capitol Theatre is to not only showcase vintage films, but to re-create the experience of seeing movies as when they were new.  All of the films at the Capitol are shown in 35 mm prints on the theatre’s carbon-arc, variable-speed projectors.  Capitolfest prints are provided by such archives as the Library of Congress, the UCLA Film & Television Archive, Universal Pictures, the George Eastman House, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Sony Pictures, as well as rarer prints from private collections.  The festival's line-up focuses on obscure films that received critical praise in their time, but are now near-impossible to see.

Capitolfest 10:

Capitolfest 10 will be held on August 10, 11, & 12 2012.
The first titles will be announced in January 2012, and the schedule will be complete in mid-March!

Our Tribute Star at Capitolfest 10:

     The tribute star of Capitolfest 10 is character actor Warner Oland will be the tribute star.  Oland was born Johan Verner Olund in the village of Nyby, Sweden on October 3, 1879.  His family emigrated to the United States in 1902.  Educated in Boston, Massachusetts, he spoke English and his native Swedish, and eventually translated some of the plays of August Strindberg.  As a young man he pursued a career in theater, at first working on set design while developing his acting skills. Trained as a dramatic actor, in 1906, he was signed to tour the country with the troupe led by actress Alla Nazimova. The following year he met and married the playwright and portrait painter Edith Gardener Shearn. The brilliant woman made an ideal partner for Oland and she mastered the Swedish language, helping him with the translation of Strindberg's works that they jointly had published in book form in 1912.
    After several years in theater, including appearances on Broadway as Warner Oland, in 1912 he made his silent film debut in Pilgrim's Progress, a film based on the John Bunyan novel. It would be another three years before he returned to film work with a role in The Romance of Elaine, an adventure film starring the extremely popular Pearl White. As a result of his training as a Shakespearean actor and his easy adaptation to a sinister look, he was much in demand as a villain and in ethnic roles. He made several more films with Pearl White including his first portrayal of an oriental character in her 1919 film, The Lightning Raider.
    Over the next 15 years Oland appeared in more than 30 films, including a major role in 1927's The Jazz Singer, the first successful talking feature from a studio.  Oland's facial features allowed him to easily play the part of Asian characters; Keye Luke reported that he needed no makeup except a "little goatee on his chin." Oland portrayed a variety of Asian characters in several movies before being offered the leading role in the 1929 film, The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu as the first onscreen portrayal of the title character. A box office success, the film made Oland a star and during the next two years, he portrayed the evil Dr. Fu Manchu in three more films.
    Firmly locked into such roles, he was cast as Charlie Chan in the 1931 international detective mystery film Charlie Chan Carries On and then in director Josef von Sternberg's 1932 classic film Shanghai Express opposite Marlene Dietrich and Anna May Wong.  Although Oland acted in other films, the enormous worldwide box office success of his Charlie Chan film led to a Charlie Chan industry, with Oland starring in 16 films in total; the series kept the Fox studios financially stable during the 1930s.  Oland—who received $40,000 for each movie—took his role seriously, studying the Chinese language and calligraphy.  Oland was also the first actor to play a werewolf in a major Hollywood film, in Werewolf of London (1935) as the werewolf who bites the protagonist, played by Henry Hull.  Despite his wealth and success, Oland suffered from alcoholism that severely affected his health and his thirty-year marriage.
    In January 1937 he started filming Charlie Chan at the Ringside. However, a week into shooting his erratic behavior led to his walking off the set and shooting was abandoned. After a spell in hospital, he signed a new three picture deal with Fox to continue playing Chan. At the same time he was involved in a bitter divorce from his wife and his finances were restricted. So too was his ability to go overseas as a legal order prevented him from travelling and moving his assets abroad. About this time he was involved in an incident when, after ordering his chauffeur to drive him to Mexico, he was observed during a rest stop to be sitting on the running board of his car and throwing his shoes at onlookers. The divorce settlement (favouring his wife) was announced to the media on April 2, 1938 and the same day he embarked on a ship out of the country.
    Oland turned up in southern Europe, before returning to his native Sweden where he stayed with an architect friend.  In Sweden, Oland contracted bronchial pneumonia, worsened by the apparent onset of emphysema from years of heavy cigarette smoking and he died in a hospital in Stockholm. Oland's last film was the unfinished Charlie Chan at the Ringside. Fox reshot Oland's scenes with Peter Lorre and released the finished picture as Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938). Warner Oland and his wife had made their primary residence in an historic farmhouse near the town of Southborough, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. Following cremation in Sweden, his ashes were brought back to the United States by his wife for interment in the Southborough Rural Cemetery.

 

	The Night of June 13th (Paramount, 1932) Directed by Stephen Roberts with Clive Brook, Frances Dee, Charles Ruggles, Gene Raymond, Mary Boland, Lila Lee, Charley Grapewin, Adrienne Allen. 76 minutes. Based on a story by Vera Caspary, The Night of June 13th follows several subplots in households on one street in the suburbs, the unifying element of which is the suicide of an unbalanced young woman (Adrienne Allen) and her husband’s (Clive Brook) subsequent trial for her murder. "Good entertainment! The story is simple but somewhat different and effective; it has human interest and comedy. In addition, several of the situations hold the audience in tense suspense caused by the fact that the hero is in danger of being convicted of a murder he had not committed.” –Harrison’s Reports, 9/24/32.  “The Night of June 13th shapes up as grand entertainment.” –Marquis Busby, Movie Mirror, 12/32.
	Good Time Charley (Warner Bros., 1927) Directed by Michael Curtiz with Warner Oland, Helene Costello, Clyde Cook, Montagu Love, Hugh Allan, Julanne Johnston. 6,302 ft. (approx. 70 minutes @ 24fps). A tearjerker story of a vaudeville trooper (Warner Oland) who suffers a series of tragedies and disappointments while helping his estranged daughter (Helene Costello) achieve success on the stage. “Warner Oland gives a splendid interpretation...” –New York Times, 11/21/27 “A human interest story of stage life….Warner Oland makes an excellent father. In view of the fact that he has taken mostly villainous parts, his ability to win one’s sympathy in a non-villainous part speaks well for his acting….It should appeal well everywhere.” –Harrison’s Reports, 11/26/27. "The story has a rather wide appeal and the heart interest bits that are found throughout are certain to find favor with the women folks who enjoy nothing better than a good cry along with their pictures. They'll have plenty of opportunity to pull out the old hankie at this one. -Film Daily 11/20/27
	Heart to Heart (First National, 1928) (Accompanied by Avery Tunningley at the Capitol Grand Organ.) Directed by William Beaudine With Mary Astor, Lloyd Hughes, Louise Fazenda, Lucien Littlefield, Thelma Todd, Raymond McKee, Virginia Grey. 6,071 ft. (approx. 67 minutes @ 24fps). A reportedly charming comedy in which Mary Astor is a widowed princess of a European country who decides to visit her hometown in Ohio. Though a grand reception is planned, the princess arrives a day early and, unrecognized in her simple attire, is mistaken for a seamstress. “Psychology may not be the strong point in Heart to Heart, the current screen attraction at the Paramount Theatre, but this production yesterday afternoon elicited many a wave of merriment from the packed house. Some of the characters are called upon to be both myopic and dense when the occasion arises, and never a thought is given regarding their hearing. William Beaudine, however, has taken some simple gags and turned them into nice bits of fun.” –Mordaunt Hall, New York Times, 9/10/28
	Young Eagles (Paramount, 1930) Directed by William A. Wellman with Charles “Buddy” Rogers, Jean Arthur, Paul Lukas, Stuart Erwin, Virginia Bruce, James Finlayson. 70 minutes. A sort of follow-up to 1927’s Wings, which was also starred Buddy Rogers and was directed by Wellman, this WWI aviation picture focuses on the love affair between American flyer Rogers and a mysterious fellow-American played by Jean Arthur and the enmity between him and German ace Paul Lukas. Stu Erwin and James Finlayson provide the comic relief. The movie reportedly features some spectacular aerial photography. "Young Eagles should entertain very well those that will see it; there are several lthrills in it, some human interest, considerable comedy, and the spectator is often held in tense suspense." —Harrison's Reports, 3/29/30
	A Passport to Hell (Fox, 1932) Directed by Frank Lloyd with Elissa Landi, Paul Lukas, Warner Oland, Alexander Kirkland, Donald Crisp, Earle Foxe, Yola d’Avril. 76 minutes. Racy pre-code melodrama starring Elissa Landi is an English woman who, after becoming innocently involved in a scandal, leaves London. She finds, however, that she is unable to shake her reputation as a “loose woman” and is deported from one port in Africa only to find herself a virtual prisoner on ship after she arrives in war-torn German West Africa.  The plot involves her in marriage to one man (Alexander Kirkland), an affair with another (Paul Lukas), and various sordid happenings. Warner Oland is the chief of the military police, father of the heroine’s husband. Condemning the film because of its frank dialogue and risqué situations, Harrison’s Reports warned that A Passport to Hell is “not suitable for children, or for Sunday showings.”
	The Brown Derby (First National, 1926) (Accompanied by Bernie Anderson, Jr. at the Capitol Grand Organ.) Directed by Charles Hines with Johnnie Hines, Diana Kane, Ruth Dwyer, Flora Finch, Edmund Breese. 6,500 ft. (approx. 74 minutes). UCLA RESTORATION WITH HAND-COLORED SCENES and SCENES IN TECHNICOLOR A cheerful farce comedy, the plot of which is set in motion when plumber Johnnie Hines is mistaken for an Australian millionaire. The fast-moving action that follows involves a kangaroo, multiple chases, and a mad-cap hunt for the illusive title object. “Johnnie  Hines’ latest comedy made by First National release has everything in it except the kitchen sink to get laughs. That is exactly what the picture does do….It is a corking exhibitor picture, for it does give the audience laughs and it runs only a little more than an hour. There is an abundance of comedy in action and titles; a little romance, some sex stuff handled in a farcical manner, a couple of thrills in a motor car and motor boat race, and an abundance of gags….The action is fast all the way, punctuated with gags that roll up.” “”Fred.,” Variety, 5/26/26.
	The Burglar to the Rescue (Universal, 1931) Directed by George Cochrane With Thuston Hall, Charlotte Wynters, Frank Shannon, Arthur Aylesworth. 18 minutes. The first in Universal's series of two-reel short subjects based on THE SHADOW, the character made famous by Street & Smith's weekly "Detective Story Hour" radio program and "The Shadow" pulp magazine stories. In this entry, a bank president who has embezzled his bank's funds tries to lay the blame on an unexpected visitor.
	How to Break 90: No. 3 Hip Action (Warner Bros., 1933) Directed by George Marshall With Bobby Jones, Warner Oland, W. C. Fields, William B. Davidson and O. B. Keeler. 9 minutes. Another entertianing entry in Bobby Jones "How to Break 90" series of golfing shorts for Warner Bros.  In this entry, Jones explains the importance of the movement of the hip in shots while exchanging off-the-cuff (and truly improvised) comments with Warner Oland, W. C. Fields, Bill Davidson and O. B. Keeler on the green.