The Signal Tower. 1924. Directed by Clarence Brown

Film

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The Signal Tower. 1924. USA. Directed by Clarence Brown. Courtesy The Museum of Modern Art Film Stills Archive

The Signal Tower. 1924. USA. Directed by Clarence Brown. Screenplay by James O. Spearing. With Virginia Valli, Rockliffe Fellowes, Wallace Beery, Frankie Darro. 35mm. Silent. 84 min.

Among the densely wooded mountains of Northern California, a railroad signalman (Rockcliffe Fellowes) lives in Arcadian splendor with his wife (Virginia Valli) and young son (Frankie Darro). But a snake enters this paradise, in the form of a flashy relief man (Wallace Beery) with a lustful countenance and a suitcase full of bootleg liquor. Director Clarence Brown (Anna Christie) came into his own with this tour-de-force, which builds to an almost unbearably suspenseful climax on a dark and stormy night. Restored from the only surviving material, a pair of 16mm prints, by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival in association with Photoplay Productions.

This film accompanies To Save and Project: The 17th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation.

Past events

Tue, Jan 14, 2020, 7:00 p.m.

Piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2
Sat, Jan 11, 2020, 4:00 p.m.

Introduced by Rob Byrne, San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Piano accompaniment by Makia Matsumura

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 1

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 1

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