Love film? Yeah I thought so. Next week, the BFI Film on FIlm Festival takes place at BFI Southbank – a very special event where everything shown will be projected on the good old analogue stuff. The full programme is here and it is amazing. The films are showing 8-11 June, and each one is bound to be a hot ticket.
Needless to say, the silent films in the programme will be shown with live music. And I have a special offer for Silent London readers, who can get two tickets for the price of one on a double-bill of beautiful, quintessentially British films scripted by Lydia Hayward and directed by Manning Haynes. These are two of the films that were adapted from the stories of British comic writer W.W. Jacobs – think Jerome K. Jerome or P.G. Wodehouse.
Here’s what BFI curator Bryony Dixon has to say about these two remarkable rural gems:
“I have picked two of my favourite of her Jacobs adaptations for the festival: Sam’s Boy (1922) and the featurette The Boatswain’s Mate (1924). Sam’s Boy features a fantastic child performance by Bobbie Rudd as an orphaned waif, sleeping rough on the London docks, who is adopted by stray dog ‘Matey’ (Monty again). This gives the kid an idea, and he roams around until he spots a sailor and then follows him round calling him ‘favver’. Back on board, assumptions are made and complications ensue among the crew of the ketch, the Nancy Bell, who are played by a competent ensemble cast who reappear in several of the films. All very delightful.
The Boatswain’s Mate features properly famous stars: Victor McLaglen, before he left for Hollywood, and the great Florence Turner as the widowed landlady of a remote country pub. A suitor pays a wandering ex-soldier (McLaglen) to burgle the pub so he can ‘rescue’ her in the nick of time. A shot of Florence in bed reading ‘Dracula’ while munching biscuits gives us the heads-up that she is far from the shrinking violet of his imagination.”
It’s well worth reading Dixon’s full essay – as it gives a real flavour of these precious films.
Here’s the booking link and special offer!
Sam’s Boy + The Boatswain’s Mate | Sunday 11 June, 18:05: To access the discount, all you need to do is add promo code FESTIVAL241 when completing your booking.
- Also showing at the festival: The First Born.
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