Silent Silver Screens Series Presents Orphans of the Storm

If, like us, you thought that Marie Antoinette might have been a hell of a lot better as a silent movie, consider Orphans of the Storm (1921), screening tonight for free at the Harry Ransom Center as part of the Silent Silver Screens Series.

Starring the lovely and incandescent Gish sisters (that's Lillian on the left and Dorothy there on the right), Orphans follows the odyssey of devoted French sisters Henriette and Louise. When Louise goes blind, Henriette promises to look after her, and the pair travel to Paris hoping to restore Louise's sight. Unfortunately, they picked a really crappy time to travel to Paris, and soon they become separated amid the tumult of the burgeoning French Revolution.

Along the way, they encounter sinister, lustful aristocrats and powdered white wigs aplenty--along with Gypsies, a tyrannical Robespierre, sensitive hero Danton, and, naturally, the guillotine.

Tonight's screening features a live score by Graham Reynolds of Golden Arm Trio fame, so between the Gish sisters, the haunting jams, and the 18th-century-via-1920s visuals, it's sure to be the most coruscating free entertainment available tonight. Also: air conditioning.

Orphans of the Storm with Graham Reynolds and Friends
Thursday, June 7th
Harry Ransom Center
Doors at 6:30, movie at 7:00
Free! (Limited seating)
Golden Arm Trio Myspace