Silent horror classics with organ accompaniment screen at SF's Grace Cathedral
American actor and make-up artist Lon Chaney Sr. (1883 - 1930) dressed as the Phantom on the set of the 1925 horror movie 'The Phantom of the Opera' in Los Angeles, California, circa 1925. (Photo by TPLP/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO - A couple of classic silent horror films — "Phantom of the Opera" and "Nosferatu"--screen at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco for Halloween.
The real star of the events, however, is the cathedral's famed 7,500-pipe Aeolian-Skinner organ, a key facet of the church since it was installed in 1934. The organ will be played by musician Dorothy Papadakos, who started out as a jazz pianist in her native Reno and has evolved into a world-renowned organ player, thanks in part to a long stint as organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York and Grammy-winning work with the Paul Winter Consort; the live album "Silver Solstice" remains a New Age/ambient classic.
Papadakos, considered a talented improviser, accompanies the 1925 silent version of "Phantom of the Opera" starring Lon Chaney, at 8 p.m. Thursday, and the 1922 version of "Nosferatu" - a film that was once ordered destroyed because it was deemed to be an unauthorized adaptation (read: ripoff) of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" - at 8 p.m. Friday.
The church, a San Francisco landmark and always worth a visit, is at Taylor and California streets. Tickets are $34.50-$44.50 at sfjazz.org.
(Original Caption) Still from the famous 1922 German film, "Nosferatu," prototype of future films dealing with vampires. BPA 2 #3124
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