Skipster to sound off on silents
The Head Honcho seems bent on astounding the masses by investigating and dissecting every movie genre known to mankind. This time, the spirits of the fabled Avon Theatre will be rattled not by the decibels of modern features but the audible “oohs” and “ahhs” of the living as they watch classic silent cinema during Skip Huston‘s next film course beginning Thursday, August 13, 6:30 p.m.
This six-week outing will feature John Ford‘s THE IRON HORSE, Alfred Hitchcock‘s THE LODGER, BARDELAYS THE MAGNIFICENT with John Gilbert, an early PETER PAN, the oft-cited THE JAZZ SINGER with Al Jolson, and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.‘s final silent, THE IRON MASK. (For once, Prof. Skip is not keeping tight-lipped on the selections!) Cost is $60 for the series and payable directly to Ripper Entertainment (the Avon’s parent company) instead of Richland Community College as with prior classes. Everyone can sign up in the Avon lobby at 426 N. Water St., Decatur, IL, or send the proprietor fair warning that you’ll be haunting his hallowed halls each Thursday through September 17 by writing Skip [at] TheAvon [dot] com.
~ Jason Pankoke