SILVER

SUBMARINE (1928) in 35mm
Introduction and live piano accompaniment by film historian Jon Mirsalis
Before his famous comedies in the 1930s, Frank Capra directed films of every genre, including this silent love triangle tale set against a Navy background, in which a potential disaster places duty over loyalty. Capra's inventive direction transforms the plot's bare bones to a well-acted and staged drama of two friends who are estranged over a misunderstanding but come together when the crew of a sunken submarine is awaiting rescue. After making five low-budget features at Columbia Pictures (whose studio defined Poverty Row), Capra made the most of Columbia's first big-budget picture. He was given action stars Jack Holt and Ralph Graves, while the cooperation of the U.S. Navy (smarting from the loss of two real-life submarines) greatly enhances the production with sequences on the aircraft carrier Saratoga and footage of Navy airplanes, battleships and rescue ships. The success of this film moved Capra to the first rank of directors at Columbia as he continued refining his skills with actors, story and photography. DIR Frank Capra; SCR Dorothy Howell, Norman Springer; PROD Harry Cohn. U.S., 1928, b&w, 95 min. NOT RATED
35mm print from the British release negative from the Library of Congress.

Followed by:
A CRY FOR HELP (1912)
Introduction by Tracey Goessel, President of the Film Preservation Society
Under the direction of D. W. Griffith, A CRY FOR HELP is a rich, fulfilling drama with a top cast including Lionel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Harry Carey and Robert Harron. Reconstructed from three sources, this is one of the many films Griffith made at Biograph that are being digitized and restored by Film Preservation Society with the Library of Congress and The Museum of Modern Art. Film Preservation Society president Tracey Goessel will discuss the project and the particularly complex path of this film. DIR D. W. Griffith; SCR Edward Acker. U.S., 1912, b&w, 14 min. NOT RATED
Premiere of a new DCP restoration from Film Preservation Society.

SUBMARINE will be preceded by:
Fox Movietone Newsreels
Introduction by Randy Haberkamp, Executive Vice President of Library, Archive and Sci-Tech, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Early sound was pioneered by William Fox, and it was voices in the newsreels that propelled Movietone's sound-on-film process.

Fox Movietone Newsreel: LINDBERGH'S FLIGHT FROM N.Y. TO PARIS
Movietone cameras were on the scene on May 20, 1927, when Charles Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field for Paris. The sound newsreel premiered that evening at the New York Roxy Theater and 6,000 audience members stood and cheered as they saw and heard the plane leave the ground. 13 min.
DCP from The Museum of Modern Art.

Fox Movietone Newsreel: VOICES OF ITALY (1927)
This newsreel with sound – featuring one of the earliest recordings of Benito Mussolini and snippets of the Vatican Choir – was shown at the beginning of the premiere of F. W. Murnau's silent classic SUNRISE (1927) in New York City on September 23 and received nearly as much press coverage as the feature film. 11 min.
DCP from The Museum of Modern Art.

Part of the Library of Congress Festival of Film and Sound. See every program and save with an all-access pass! Click here to purchase a pass.

No AFI Member passes accepted.