Last Evening's Treat: A Silent Movie with Live Organ Accompaniment

Did you know that every county in New Jersey is classified as a metropolitan area? For those who know the state only through recent television shows and late-night comedians, this may not be a surprise. Those of us who live, or spend time, in the southern part of the state would probably stop and consider, though. We are sandwiched between New York and Philadelphia and we get to benefit from their radio and television stations, sports teams, and culture. Even when we think we're escaping New Jersey's bustling urban-suburban areas by secluding ourselves at a top-secret seashore location, we still benefit from nearby city culture.

This is not to say that there isn't culture in out top-secret seashore

destinations. My town is home to two professional theater groups, a film society, and a huge an powerful arts and humanities non-profit, among other organizations. These groups frequently collaborate on special projects such as last evening's silent movie with live organ accompaniment. This was a collaboration between The East Lynne Theater Company, The Cape May Film Society, and The First Presbyterian Church of Cape May on Hughes Street. (Oops! I let the cat out of the bag. It's not a top-secret destination anymore.)

The film was "The Thief of Bagdad" in which Douglas Fairbanks plays Ahmed, the thief, who falls in love with the daughter of the Caliph of Bagdad. By employing his gymnastic and swashbuckling talents plus special effects (flying carpet, flying horse, magic rope, invisible cloak, and magic apple), Ahmed eventually wins the girl's hand over her other (ridiculous) suitors.

This film is a treat to watch with its spectacular Arabian-style sets and costumes ($1.1 million is a big budget for 1924), but last night's live organ accompaniment was the real star of the show. (The trailer above uses an orchestral accompaniment, excerpts from Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.)

Theater organist Wayne Zimmerman from West Chester, Pennsylvania, joined us in Cape May last night. He is president of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the American Theater Organ Society and frequently performs on the instruments in Phoenixville and Glenside, PA, and other Delaware Valley locations. He plays from memory (last night over two hours!) which I suppose is necessary so he can keep an eye on the goings-on in the film.

I think it is the wide variety of sonic colors available with the flip of a switch, push of a button, or slide of a bar that attracts me to organ music. I can appreciate the coordination required to play even the simplest tune on the instrument. Each hand and foot has to act independently. Check out this organist, Jelani Eddington, playing this gigantic, five-manual instrument...

I took organ lessons for eight years as a kid and never did get the knack. Theater organists like Mr. Zimmerman last night have to play non-stop and match what they are playing to what is happening on the screen. Sometimes these organists improvise on the spot, but more likely they will prepare for the performance as Mr. Zimmerman did. Actual theater organs have many special sound effects and are enormous compared to a typical church organ. Theater organists are not able to take their instruments with them on tour. Nonetheless, they have tricks and effects to use on a typical organ to help their performance fit with a film. I noticed Mr. Zimmerman increased the tension and excitement in certain spots by rapidly repeating the left-hand chords. Generally, this happened when Mr. Fairbanks as Ahmed found himself in a tight spot. In order to create a Middle-Eastern feel, Mr. Zimmerman used the Phrygian mode (E to E on a keyboard's white keys) and he used a large cymbal mounted atop the organ.

"The Thief of Bagdad was one of the most expensive films of the 1920s, but budgets were not so large at the local level where the picture was to be shown. Rather than hire an expensive orchestra to accompany the film, movie palaces used theater organs. At the zenith of their popularity, there were a few thousand in the United States. The instruments were expensive, but once in place, only a good organist needed to be hired. The theater organ was made to imitate the instruments of the orchestra, plus supply more exotic timbres and sound effects. There are only a few hundred of these instruments left in the United States, and only a small number of these are used to accompany silent movies anymore. The American Theater Organ Society exists to promote this art and restore these instruments. The giant old-time movie palaces may be too costly to restore and maintain, but often the organs are rescued and given new homes. Check out the ATOS site to hear a demonstration of a theater organ and find out if there is a theater organ near you.

Coincidentally, speaking of giving theater organs a new home, this guy was featured on CBS Sunday Morning yesterday. He rescued an instrument from Detroit's Michigan Theater and he has surrounded it with treasures from movie palaces of the past in his basement. Busloads of people visit for a taste of movie nostalgia.