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Ben Model
silent film accompanist and presenter
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Category: Silent Comedy Film History

Revisiting the Films of John Bunny

April 11, 2020 Ben Model Leave a comment

John Bunny enjoyed a popularity in his day that has evaporated with time. To some extent that process began right…

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Posted in: Silent Comedy Film History, The Silent Comedy Watch Party Filed under: cruel and unusual comedy, John Bunny, Vitagraph

Let’s Hear It For Alice Howell

March 10, 2020 Ben Model Leave a comment

Mabel Normand had a head start. I’ll give you that. Her association with Mack Sennett and with Roscoe Arbuckle has…

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Posted in: Silent Comedy Film History Filed under: Mabel Normand

Charley Chase Takes a Trip

March 4, 2020 Ben Model Leave a comment

The rehearsals and performance of my orchestral score for the Charley Chase short “Dog Shy” in February were probably the…

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Posted in: Silent Comedy Film History

Remembering Diana Serra Cary

February 29, 2020 Ben Model Leave a comment

I never got to meet Diana Serra Cary, but I did have a couple of phone conversations with her. This…

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Posted in: Silent Comedy Film History

“Rediscovering Roscoe”: Arbuckle Made More Films Than You Think

February 28, 2020 Ben Model 1 Comment

We classic film fans typically own several “The Films of…” books that cover the careers of important stars or directors.…

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Posted in: Silent Comedy Film History

Douglas MacLean-Spotting Around the Ince Lot

February 5, 2020 Ben Model Leave a comment

Owners of Blackhawk Films 16mm and 8mm prints of “A Tour of the Thomas Ince Studios” probably had no idea…

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Posted in: Silent Comedy Film History Filed under: Douglas MacLean, Thomas H. Ince

Enjoying Douglas MacLean – It’s Not Just Me

January 16, 2020 Ben Model 1 Comment

On Tuesday night I rolled the dice and presented yet another obscure, unknown silent comedy film I’d taken a liking…

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Posted in: DVD distribution, film festivals, Silent Comedy Film History

Bob Hoskins and “Musty Suffer”

November 11, 2019 Ben Model 2 Comments

I first saw one of the “Mishaps of Musty Suffer” at the annual, now-defunct Slapsticon festival. I assumed it was…

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Posted in: Silent Comedy Film History

Revisiting What Goes Last on a Laurel & Hardy Silents Show

November 5, 2019 Ben Model 1 Comment

Running a group of shorts in chronological order at a show isn’t always ideal. For a film class where you’re…

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Posted in: Silent Comedy Film History Filed under: Laurel and Hardy

The March of the Movies – and MoMA

October 14, 2019 Ben Model 2 Comments

Wait…don’t I have a print of a March of Time episode about the opening of MoMA’s new building and film…

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Posted in: MoMA, Silent Comedy Film History, Silent Film Shows Filed under: iris barry

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Recent Posts

  • ep. 48: interview with Rick Benjamin, of the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
  • ep. 47: accompanying The Patsy, The Cameraman, and Gilbert Gottfried
  • Episode 47 show notes: The Silent Film Music Podcast
  • “The Language of Silent Film”, Beyond the Blog
  • Etched Into My Memory Forever
  • Whither the Virtual Silent Movie Theater
  • Estey Pipe Organ at Epsilon Spires
  • Episode 46 show notes: The Silent Film Music Podcast
  • ep. 46: Kansas Silent Film Festival…and Other In-Person Shows, plus some new Undercrank Projects
  • Ernie Kovacs on Game/Contest Shows
  • Episode 45 show notes: The Silent Film Music Podcast
  • ep. 45: Home Video Releases, Kickstarters, Marion Davies, Wesleyan and MoMA
  • ep. 08 (re-posted): “A Trip to the Moon” in Tromsø, an Organ in Oslo, live comedy show “Everybody Gets Cake”, Marcel Perez
  • ep. 07 (re-posted): News From the Road, “Peter Pan”, Hitchcock’s “Blackmail”, physical comedy show “Everybody Gets Cake”
  • ep. 44: Exploring the Music of “City Lights”…From Inside the Score
  • ep. 06 (re-posted): Re-Starting the Podcast, Recap of 2014, “The Spice of the Program”, Marcel Perez on DVD, Arthur Kleiner, SFSMA
  • ep. 05 (re-posted): Marathon of shows, Music for Doug and Mary, Organ Benches and Piano Lights
  • ep. 04 (re-posted): “Accidentally Preserved” Kickstarter, getting clues from film intros, return to Boise
  • ep. 03 (re-posted): Two Silent Griffiths (Raymond and D.W.), Music for Weddings and Funerals, DVDs, Alternate Scores
  • ep. 02 (re-posted): Unidentified films, DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments”, YouTube ethics, The Crowd, and more

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