The Great Nickelodeon Show

Return to a time when audiences were expected to participate, and talking back to the movies was not a crime! See what movies were like when they were shown with live vaudeville acts, lavishly illustrated songs, novelty lectures, and musical accompaniment—in this case by the extraordinary Frederick Hodges. The Great Nickelodeon Show comes to BAMPFA after performances at the Telluride Film Festival, the Pordenone Silent Film Festival, and beyond. But this is an all-new production with new films—most of them hand-colored—and new songs. Reed Rahlman as Professor Blockhead performs new feats of magic, Lori Leigh Gieleghem and Sean Sharp sing songs, and Greg Tiede startles with the dramatic tale of President McKinley’s assassination and the electrocution of his assassin under the spell of the notorious Emma Goldman. Short films include rarely seen gems from Georges Méliès, Edwin S. Porter, and D.W. Griffith.

Produced by Russell Merritt. Music by Frederick Hodges. With Reed Rahlman, Lori Leigh Gieleghem, Sean Sharp, and Greg Tiede.

KIRIKI, JAPANESE ACROBATS
Segundo de Chomon
1907, 3 mins
Hand-tinted, Digital, Silent

THE TALION PUNISHMENT
Gaston Velle
1906, 4 mins
Hand-tinted, Digital, Silent

THE LAND BEYOND SUNSET
Harold Shaw
1912, 14 mins
B&W, Digital, Silent

THE GIRL AND HER TRUST
D. W. Griffith
1911, 15 mins
B&W, Digital, Silent

THE KINGDOM OF FAIRIES
Georges Méliès
1903, 15 mins
Hand-tinted, Digital, Silent