The NFPF teams with Alamo Drafthouse on Silent Movie Day to screen Clash of the Wolves
 |
|
Master-of-disguise Rin-Tin-Tin dons a false beard to avoid detection in Clash of the Wolves (1925), screening at four Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas on Sept. 29th.
|
To celebrate silent film history and raise funds for film preservation, the National Film Preservation Foundation and Silent Movie Day are joining forces to present a special screening of Clash of the Wolves (1925), a star vehicle for the legendary canine Rin-Tin-Tin. The film screens on Sunday, September 29th, at four Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas around the country. Proceeds from the screening will go to support the NFPF’s preservation efforts. You can donate to the NFPF directly by clicking here.
Inducted into the National Film Registry in 2004, Clash of the Wolves was the ninth feature to star the most successful animal in film history. At the height of his fame, Rin-Tin-Tin (1918–32) received ten thousand letters a week and a $6,000-a-month salary. He reigned as one of the top box-office stars of the 1920s and was the top moneymaker for Warner Bros., much to the relief of that debt-ridden studio.
Rin-Tin-Tin was born at the end of World War I and abandoned in France by retreating German soldiers. He was rescued and brought to Los Angeles by an American, Corporal Lee Duncan, who discovered his dog (named after a small good-luck doll French peasants sold to American soldiers) was an apt pupil at learning tricks…and acting in motion pictures. In the western Clash of the Wolves, released in November 1925, Rinty played a half-breed wolf dog, leading a pack in the Sierras. In a reprise of the legend of Androcles and the Lion, a prospector (Charles Farell, later to star in Seventh Heaven) pulls a cactus thorn from Rinty’s paw; the grateful dog reciprocates by helping him defeat a wicked claim-jumper and get the girl. Moving Picture World called the result “one of the finest box-office pictures of the year…a pippin for drama, human interest, and suspense…Audiences will sit enthralled from first to last reel.”
A nitrate print of Clash of the Wolves was found in South Africa and repatriated through the American Film Institute to the Library of Congress, which preserved the film in 2003. It will be accompanied by a score composed and performed by Martin Marks.
September 29 screenings will take place at these Alamo Drafthouse locations:
Alamo South Lamar (Austin)
Alamo Downtown Los Angeles
Alamo Lower Manhattan
Alamo New Mission (San Francisco)
 |
Founded in 2021 and registered with National Day Archives, Silent Movie Day is an annual celebration of silent movies that anyone can take part in. Advocating for the presentation and preservation of silent film, Silent Movie Day continues to grow into an international movement. Consult its website to learn more about silent film screenings near you.
Last year the NFPF teamed with Silent Movie Day to present The Unknown (1927), starring Lon Chaney and Joan Crawford, and restored by George Eastman Museum with NFPF support. Since September 29th is also National Coffee Day, this year Silent Movie Day is teaming up with Breakfast at Dominique's, the Hollywood-inspired coffee roaster in Ohio, to help launch their new roast: Joan Crawford's The Unknown Blend. Should you order beans for yourself or your theater, a portion of all proceeds will benefit the National Film Preservation Foundation. The same goes for Barbara La Marr—The Siren Blend, a delicious tribute to the short-lived screen goddess.