World premiere of the new score performed live by Leslie McMichael! (Edward F. Cline, USA, 1924, live action, 61 min).
For decades, this charming film was a forgotten, barely-flickering relic of the silent film era. Now, thanks to efforts by Milestone Film and Video and UCLA Film and Video Archive, audiences are once again falling in love with its star, the irrepressible Baby Peggy — a child actress who took the silver screen by storm ten years before the success of Shirley Temple. At the dawn of film, Peggy Montgomery was the world’s first five-year-old millionaire, churning out two-reelers and features, and becoming the subject of magazine covers, Baby Peggy dolls and look-alike contests. Behind the bright lights, the child star’s life was hard, and she was eventually blacklisted from studios after her manager-father got into bitter arguments with producers. Today, Diana Serra, the actress who played Baby Peggy, is still alive, and the subject of a stirring documentary, Baby Peggy: The Elephant in the Room.
The magic of her films lives on: in this outing, Baby Peggy stars as an orphan who quite literally washes up on the shore of a wild beach, winning the heart of a crusty old lighthouse keeper who takes her in. Our presentation features a live performance by harpist/composer Leslie McMichael, who will bring the heavenly and haunting sounds of Celtic, concert and electric harps to this world premiere performance of her new score. All ages.
3 p.m.
