CHICAGO — The Silent Film Society of Chicago will showcase three relics from the golden age of cinema this weekend, as the Silent Summer Weekend Film Festival returns to Filament Theatre, 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave.
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a different film from the 1910s or 20s will be projected onto the screen while organist Jay Warren plays a live accompaniment.
The three films share a common theme of devious women taking advantage of men, according to Warren, the program director for the society.
"A Fool There Was" (1915) will show at 8 p.m. on Friday, immediately preceded by a performance of "songs from the period" by singer Maria Melnyk at 7:45 p.m., Warren said.
"Mantrap" (1926) will show at 8 p.m. on Saturday, after a presentation on film titles by film historian Scott Enk.
Cecile B. DeMille's "Don't Change Your Husband" (1919) will show at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Festival organizers hope to strike a balance of "a little educational and a lot entertaining," Warren said.
"These are all the cinematic routes of today's motion pictures," he said. "And these films can be very powerful, even without spoken dialog."
Tickets can be purchased online in advance for $12 each, or at the door for $15. Tickets are also being sold in advance at City News Cafe, 4018 N. Cicero Ave.