Vintage Film Night: “IT” and Flash Gordon
Description
A rollicking fun evening starting off with a Flash Gordon episode and followed by our main feature — "IT" — a classic Clara Bow 1927 silent film accompanied by live piano music composed and performed by Shauna-Pickett Gordon. "It" was a wildly popular box office hit and served as Bow's star vehicle, turning her into one of the most popular actresses of the era.
"It" 1927
Clara Bow is the original “it” girl – all starting with this film.
When she first sets eyes on Cyrus, her new department store boss clerk, spunky shop girl Betty Lou Spence (Clara Bow) is convinced he's got "it," an indefinable quality that makes one irresistible to the opposite sex. Betty Lou charms her employer on a date, but Cyrus suddenly cools when he hears a false story that Betty Lou has mothered an illegitimate child. Crushed by Cyrus' assumption, the shopgirl ramps up the sex appeal to win her man back and teach him a lesson.
Flash Gordon Episode 6: "Flaming Torture" 1936
Flash Gordon is a superhero movie serial that holds up as a campy blast from the past. Presented in 13 chapters, it is the first screen adventure for Flash Gordon, the comic-strip character created by Alex Raymond in 1934. It presents the story of Gordon's visit to the planet Mongo and his encounters with the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Priscilla Lawson and Frank Shannon portray the film's central characters.
Shauna Pickett-Gordon
Shauna Pickett-Gordon will accompany the silent film performing her original score on piano!
From the age of five, Shauna Pickett-Gordon has played, studied, and experimented with piano music. Her main path is the classical repertoire – both solo and collaborative – but side trips include playing keyboards and directing choirs in churches; directing and playing for two Scottish fiddle orchestras; playing the piano parts in orchestras, and occasionally performing a concerto; singing; teaching piano and voice; and creating and performing original scores for silent films. She composes and arranges music for the groups with which she performs. Music conservatory training somehow led to a career in technical writing, but retirement in turn has led to re-immersion in all things piano, especially chamber music.
