Jason goes to the Niles Film Museum and watches THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE

But first, of course, a couple of shorts

PERILS OF PAULINE EPISODE 9: THE FLOATING COFFIN (1914): Another in the most famous of the silent serials, this one ultimately puts Pauline in a lifeboat in a Naval firing range. Yikes!

BACK STAGE (1919): Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Buster Keaton are working back stage at a vaudeville house, and of course get up to their usual shenanigans. When the strongman quits (just because the crew attacks him for abusing his small assistant, played by Molly Malone) they decide to put the show on themselves (including Keaton in drag!) It also features an eccentric dancer by the name of John Coogan--father of Jackie Coogan, the first child star (appearing in THE KID at Niles next Saturday)

Then a brief intermission, and on to the feature:

THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE (1921): The movie that made Rudolph Valentino a star (and I'm certain had a hand in popularizing the tango.) He plays the favorite grandson of a wealthy Argentine. As the designated heir and clear favorite, he can't help but grow up to be quite the libertine, living in Paris (where his mother is from,) painting (and romancing) beautiful women, including some of the higher echelon of society whom he'd be well advised to avoid scandalizing. Meanwhile, the other grandsons--his cousins--move to their fatherland of Germany. Then a little thing called World War I gets in the way. It's an epic (over 2 hours long) with quite an arc for Valentino's character.

Let me just say that I was kind of tired going in. I actually struggled to stay awake through the two shorts. But somehow this movie gave me my second wind and I had no problem staying awake through the whole thing.

Next weekend is Charlie Chaplin Days, with extended museum hours from 11 am to 5 pm (normally we're only open noon to 4 pm) During both days we'll feature all of the shorts Chaplin made in Niles, and Saturday night THE KID with Chaplin and Jackie Coogan. Then Sunday, a look-alike contest and the pie fight of the century. And more! Details here.

Total Running Time: 175 minutes
My Total Minutes: 286,445