But of course, first a couple of shorts:
AT FIRST SIGHT (1924): One of Charley Chase's "Jimmy Jump" comedies. Hilarious sight gags like his hat gets set on fire and he gets drenched in a storm trying to help a young lady with her convertible. Then it becomes a wacky romantic comedy as he tries to impress the girl but doesn't have enough money for a nice suit. So his kind boss lets him borrow one of his. But then it turns out the girl isn't a fancy society lady, but just the maid. And there are more twists and more hijinx, and it's a sweet and funny film.
FEARLESS HARRY (1926): Little know Earl McCarthy as "Hairbreadth Harry" based on an old comic strip. Harry has to rescue Beautiful Belinda (so warm-hearted, she has to wear asbestos lingerie) from the diabolical Relentless Rudolph. Hilariously over the top gags that really look like they came straight out of a comic strip. Very cool.
Then intermission, and on to the feature program.
THE MIDNIGHT GIRL (1925): Bela Lugosi in an early silent role. He plays a creepy opera patron, infamous for casting his girlfriends over more talented singers. In fact, his latest girlfriend is destroying the opera. His son calls him on it, and decides to leave and forge his own path, forgoing his father's financial support. But he actually has talent as a musician, and grooms a lovely young lady as a star in the local nightclub. When she's accomplished enough, he takes her to meet his father in hopes of turning her into a star and maybe even reconciling with him. But instead, a really creepy love triangle ensues. Actually, that's not right. She doesn't love the father, he just tries to take advantage of her, and it's really creepy. Damn, Bela Lugosi has that creepy look down, even before he was Dracula. And there's even a point in the sexual assault scene where I swear it looks like he was about to bite her neck. That was really weird, as is this movie. But it was fun to watch.
Total Running Time: 96 minutes
My Total Minutes: 392,301
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