Sun 20 Jan

Silent Comedy and The Great War with Paul McGann and Matthew Sweet U
Sun 20 Jan 1100hrs at Watershed

With Alan Bleasdale's classic TV series The Monocled Mutineer finally receiving its much anticipated release on DVD, who better to present this event than the star of the series Paul McGann? Working on the show led to a life-long fascination with the Great War and along with co-host, Culture Showregular Matthew Sweet, Paul will look at extracts from films focusing on the First World War to examine the role of silent comedy in boosting morale. The programme includes extracts from The Better Ole (1926) and a complete screening of Chaplin's mini-masterpiece Shoulder Arms (1918).

Paul Merton's French Silent Clowns
Sun 20 Jan 1400hrs at Watershed

Festival host Paul Merton explores the work of great French silent comedy pioneers including Léonce Perret, one of the most prolific and innovative directors of Gaumont's silent period and ‘Father of Silent Comedy’ Max Linder. Max Linder had a big influence on film comedy, most notably on Chaplin who referred to him as his “professor” and the Marx Brothers who re-worked his famed "mirror routine" in Duck Soup.

Phill and Neil's Slapstick Heaven
Sun 20 Jan 1600hrs at Watershed

Beyond the days of silent mime and the wonder of the silent comedy era are myriads of comics influenced by the great silent clowns; and then there are those who use silent comedy because it just works better. Phill Jupitus and Neil Innes take us on a journey from silent comedy and beyond, discussing their influences and passions, looking along the way at extracts from The Rutles, Monty Python and the irrepressible Spike Milligan.

Speedy U
Introduced by
Paul Merton
Sun 20 Jan 2030hrs at Watershed
Dir: Ted Wilde
1928 USA 1hr 28mins

Speedy, Harold Lloyd’s last silent film, is a superb valedictory to the silent era. “Speedy” was his real-life nickname and the film is aptly fast- paced. Lloyd plays Harold “Speedy” Swift, a baseball-crazy young man who cannot hold a job. Harold’s girlfriend, Jane, lives with her grandfather, “Pop” Dillon, who owns New York City’s last horse-drawn streetcar. A gang hired by a railroad monopoly steals the horse and streetcar and the scene is set. Can Speedy recover the car in time to save Pop’s franchise...?