Buster Keaton’s ‘The Cameraman’ with live music at Leavitt Theatre

OGUNQUIT, Maine — He never smiled on camera, earning him the nickname of "the Great Stone Face." But Buster Keaton's comedies rocked Hollywood's silent era with laughter throughout the 1920s.

See for yourself with a screening of "The Cameraman" (1928) one of Keaton's landmark feature films, on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Leavitt Fine Arts Theatre, 259 Main St., Route 1 in Ogunquit, Maine.

All are welcome to this family-friendly event. Tickets are $15 per person general admission.

The screening, the latest in the Leavitt Theatre's silent film series, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating scores for silent films.

"The Cameraman" tells the story of a young man (Keaton) who tries to impress the girl of his dreams (Marceline Day) by working as a freelance newsreel cameraman.

His efforts fail spectacularly, but then a lucky break gives him an unexpected chance to make his mark. Can Buster parlay the scoop of the year into a secure job and successful romance?

"The Cameraman" includes several classic Keaton sequences, including a disastrous first date at a public swimming pool, an unusual baseball sequence filmed at Yankee Stadium, and a dramatic water rescue following a boat accident.

In "The Cameraman," Keaton uses the movie business itself to create comedy that plays with the nature of film and reality.

"Keaton's films are audience favorites, and people continue to be surprised at how engrossing and exhilarating they can be when shown as they were intended: in a theater, and with live music," said accompanist Jeff Rapsis, who performs at more than 100 screenings each year at venues around the nation and abroad.

Rapsis, who lives in Bedford, N.H., improvises live scores for silent films using a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of the full orchestra.

"It's kind of a high wire act," Rapsis said. "But for me, the energy of live performance is an essential part of the silent film experience."

For more about the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Buster Keaton’s ‘The Cameraman’ at Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, Maine