By Hayden FRANKLIN

On Saturday night at Two Strike Park the Los Angeles County Dept. of Parks and Recreation and the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley partnered to bring to the folks of La Crescenta a silent movie night.

Much like the silent movie nights of old, the films were projected onto a screen by a 1909 Power’s 6 Motion Picture Machine provided and operated by Joe Rinaudo of the historical society. The Motion Picture Machine projected some of Rinaudo’s vintage 35mm films, some of which are over 100 years old.

Saturday’s event was similar to how silent movies used to be shown; people gathered together in a public space with a temporary rig set up, sitting in chairs and lying on blankets enjoying the movies. There were several films screened including cartoons, comedies and a rare film from director and actor Larry Semon (Feb. 9, 1889 – Oct. 8, 1928) who was an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter during the Silent Film era. Semon was largely forgotten by those living in today’s modern age, but he returned to the screen on Saturday night for audiences at Two Strike Park to enjoy.

The films shown, despite many being nearly a hundred years old, were enjoyed by everyone in attendance and elicited laughter from the audience.

“There is something about being able to see the masters of comedy, the foundation layers, on a screen bigger than your TV, with live accompaniment,” said Friends of Rockhaven president Joanna Linkchorst. “And [pianist] Cliff Retallick is so good! He doesn’t know what’s going to be playing! But he watches the screen and knows what song to play to add a little whimsy, or sound effects to help you feel it! It’s amazing to see the 115-year-old hand- crank machine, and the lantern slides and imagine what it was like in early theaters – or out in the rural areas before they had theaters. Guys like Joe Rinaudo would bring this gorgeous machine and their black-and-white short films and project them onto the sides of barns or what have you! 

“One of my favorite things is to try and figure out where these movies were made – Santa Clarita? Culver City? Edendale? Glendale! And the stunts are so impressive. You get jaded with all the computer graphics and green screens clogging up the images so you don’t even know what’s supposed to be going on. Then Buster Keaton stands on one spot and the face of a building falls perfectly over him, he doesn’t flinch or dodge or move. It’s seamless.

Joe’s favorite thing is when kids come. He loves the sound of kids’ laughter! And they are able to experience the exact same films that their great grandparents watched – and loving it!”

Also available for audiences were popcorn and snacks as well as drinks. Mike Lawler of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley, who also coordinated the event with the Los Angeles County Dept. of Parks and Recreation, manned the popcorn machine and Kate Linkchorst oversaw the rest of the concessions. Live ragtime piano music, which usually accompanied the silent movie night, was unfortunately unavailable; however, recorded audio of the piano music accompanied the film to the satisfaction of the audience.

“It was a wonderful night. The weather was glorious, our little section of the park was packed with neighbors and film buffs,” said Joanna. “At least two people were just playing at the park and came to ask what we were doing! On the way back home one dad had to explain to his kids what silent films are … and we are able to share this history with them! We are so incredibly lucky to have Joe Rinaudo in our community, our own living treasure.”