St. John’s Silent Film Series 2025: Christmas Edition

2025 will mark the fourth consecutive year of our St John’s Silent Film Night. This past Lent, our organist composed an original, improvised soundtrack for the movie to help us prepare for Holy Week.

BUT WAIT, we will have a December Silent Film Night in 2025!

St John’s Silent Film Night with Live Organ – Christmas!

• Featuring “La Nativité/The Nativity” (1910) & “Old Scrooge” (1913)
• Location: St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, 216 E Chandler Blvd, Burlington, WI
• Date: December 20, 2025
• Time: 6 pm
• The public is welcome to join us!

Join us for an enchanting evening where the earliest storytellers of cinema come together, accompanied by the captivating sound of the organ.

Our organist, Kevin Monteith, will improvise a full, live soundtrack on our 2004 Allen AP-40 organ (featuring three manuals and approximately 54 speaking stops), bringing two historic silent films to life in our beautiful sanctuary.

St John’s Silent Film Night Program

This evening will feature two films combined, offering approximately an hour of entertainment.

La Nativité aka The Nativity (1910) — dir. Louis Feuillade

Our first film is a reverent, visually rich retelling of the Nativity, presented as a series of silent tableaux created by French pioneer Louis Feuillade and produced by Gaumont.

At approximately one reel in length, it is a compact gem of early sacred cinema, depicting the birth of Christ and the Holy Family’s flight with luminous simplicity.

Known actors in this film: Renée Carl, Nadette Darson, Alice Tissot, and Maurice Vinot.

Scrooge (1913) — also known as Old Scrooge – Director: Leedham Bantock

This early three-reel / 2,494-feet (760-meter) British adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is noteworthy for several reasons.

At nearly forty minutes, it is significantly longer than previous filmed versions of the story, providing a fuller, more immersive experience than audiences had encountered before.

The film features Sir Seymour Hicks, a seasoned stage actor who had portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge numerous times on the London stage. Hicks would later reprise the role in the 1935 sound adaptation, widely regarded as one of the finest screen interpretations of Scrooge. However, in 1913, his performance marked a transition between Victorian theater and the emerging world of cinema.

Unique Features of this Adaptation

Unlike in later adaptations, the version of “Scrooge” begins with an introduction to Charles Dickens. This includes scenes set in his childhood home, with an actor portraying him at his writing desk. This framing effectively contextualizes the story within its literary and historical background, establishing a connection before we even meet Scrooge.

The film also departs from the familiar tale in several creative ways:

• Scrooge is first seen arguing with children throwing snowballs before we find him in his counting house.
• Title cards combine background information with dialogue, occasionally paraphrasing Dickens instead of quoting him directly.
• The charity visit consists of two encounters: a woman begging for coins and a single solicitor.

Marley as All Three Spirits

One of the most significant differences is that Jacob Marley replaces the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.

Instead of Scrooge traveling through time and space, the visions appear before him in his office, like “movies within the movie.” These sequences were groundbreaking in their use of double and even triple exposures, allowing Marley’s translucent form, Scrooge’s reactions, and the visions themselves to be layered together within a single frame.

For audiences in 1913, this was a stunning display of cinematic magic.

Visuals and Style

The sets and costumes, although simple by today’s standards, effectively establish Scrooge’s world.

The ghost effects, such as superimpositions and dissolves, were innovative for their time. While they are not without flaws, these techniques still captivate audiences over a century later, evoking the sense of wonder that early viewers must have felt as they witnessed Dickens’ supernatural visions come to life.

Why It Matters

Watching Scrooge (1913) today feels like stepping into a vibrant illustrated book.

It showcases how silent-era filmmakers interpreted and experimented with Dickens’ timeless story. This adaptation presents a world where creative liberties were taken, blending fantasy elements with realism, and each special effect stands out as a technical marvel.

With live, improvised organ accompaniment, the magic of silent cinema is brought back to life in the moment, as it was initially intended to be experienced.

What to Expect

• Live, fully improvised organ score tailored to each scene; no two performances are ever the same.
• A warm, family-friendly atmosphere! You do not need to be a church member to join us. Come as you are, bring a friend, and enjoy the magic of silent films in our community.

We invite you to join us for this special night. Whether you’re a film buff, an organ music lover, or simply curious, you’re warmly welcomed.