The era when wind-powered ships ruled the seas comes to life on the silver screen in The Yankee Clipper (1927), a nautical adventure film to be shown on Friday at Red River Theatres.
The silent drama, starring a young William Boyd and filmed at sea aboard authentic 19th century vessels, will be screened with live music performed by Jeff Rapsis at 7 p.m. Admission is $10 per person.
Produced by Cecil B. DeMille and directed by Rupert Julian (Phantom of the Opera), The Yankee Clipper set new standards for historical adventure when it was released in 1927.
The film takes place in the 1840s, during a period of intense rivalry between British and American sailing captains to win lucrative trade routes between China and the U.S.
As The Yankee Clipper opens, Captain Winslow (William Boyd) takes a revolutionary new clipper ship, built by his father, on its first voyage from America to the Orient.
While in China, Winslow attends a dinner hosted by a wealthy Chinese merchant and rescues English maiden Lady Jocelyn Huntington (Elinor Fair) from rioting beggars.
Winslow agrees to a race from China to Boston against an English clipper ship, with the fastest vessel to be awarded an important tea contract.
To win, the ships must brave dangerous seas, mutiny and potential sabotage on board. Romance enters the picture when Lady Huntington inadvertently winds up on board the American ship.
Music for The Yankee Clipper will be created live by Jeff Rapsis, who specializes in improvising scores to classic silent films in live performance. For each film, Rapsis will improvise a score from original musical material that he creates beforehand, using a digital synthesizer to recreate the sound and texture of a full orchestra.
“What I try to do,” Rapsis said, “is create music that bridges the gap between a film that might be 80 or 90 years old, and the musical expectations of today’s audiences.”
For more info, call 224-4600 or visit redrivertheatres.org.
