SILVER

Ernst Lubitsch's wicked romantic farce fizzes with crazed energy and proto-screwball loopiness. Neglected Parisian doctor's wife Patsy Ruth Miller becomes smitten with dancer George Beranger after a chance glance reveals him through his window across the boulevard. Angered at his wife's voyeurism, husband Monte Blue pays the dancer a visit with intentions of violence, only to discover that his own former flame, Lilyan Tashman, is now the dancer's wife. With their ardor now rekindled, Blue and Tashman conspire to step out together at the Artists' Ball; meanwhile, Miller and Beranger meet and become enamored. The ruses and deceptions of the two couples' multiple infidelities are played for elaborate laughs, and the climactic Charleston dance contest at the ball is a tour-de-force of Jazz Age exuberance and cinematic wizardry. DIR Ernst Lubitsch; SCR Hans Kraly, from the play "Le Reveillon" by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy; PROD Darryl F. Zanuck. U.S., 1926, b&w, 68 min. Silent with English intertitles. NOT RATED

No AFI Member passes accepted.

Co-presented by the Art Deco Society of Washington

About Ben Model
Ben Model is one of America's leading silent film accompanists. Ben has been playing piano and organ for silent films at the New York Museum of Modern Art since 1984 and has performed numerous shows at AFI Silver Theatre over the years. His recorded scores can be heard on numerous DVD/Blu-Ray releases, on TCM and on his YouTube channel. His indie DVD label Undercrank Productions has released several discs of rare/lost silent films, including films preserved by the Library of Congress. Ben is a regular accompanist at classic film festivals around the U.S. and internationally, and performs at universities, museums and historic theaters. In 2020, Ben also created a popular weekly livestreamed silent film show from his living room called "The Silent Comedy Watch Party." Visit Ben's YouTube channel and view past performances!