Cinematheque (Cleveland Institute of Art)

Early in her career, Yiddish theater star Molly Picon traveled to Vienna to make films. The earliest to survive is East and West, a blend of comedy, romance and cross-cultural collision. Picon plays an Americanized young Jewish woman whose independent outlook (and pugilistic interests) clash with the Old World traditions of her Eastern European relatives. Jacob Kalich (Picon’s real-life husband) co-stars as a shy yeshiva scholar, while Sidney M. Goldin appears as Molly’s tradition-minded father. This special presentation features live original music composed and performed by world-renowned klezmer violinist Alicia Svigals and celebrated silent film pianist Donald Sosin. September 15, 2026, 7:30 pm, The Cinematheque at the Cleveland Institute of Art. $25/$20 Cinematheque and CSFF members.

Local Event: Molly Picon stars in East and West (1923) with live score by Alicia Svigalls and Donald Sosin

Cuyahoga County

Cleveland Heights

Ohio

Molly Picon stars in East and West (1923) with...

Early in her career, Yiddish theater star Molly Picon traveled to Vienna to make films. The earliest to survive is East and...

Molly Picon stars in East and West (1923) with live score by Alicia Svigalls and Donald Sosin

The Cleveland Museum of Art

No director defined the Western more fully than John Ford, and 3 Bad Men (1926) is among Ford’s best: the story follows three outlaws who inadvertently rescue a young woman (Olive Borden), and become her unlikely protectors after her father is killed. George O’Brien co-stars as a young settler drawn into their struggle against a corrupt sheriff.

Local Event: John Ford's classic Western 3 Bad Men, with pianist Jackie Warren playing her original score.

John Ford's classic Western 3 Bad Men, with...

No director defined the Western more fully than John Ford, and 3 Bad Men (1926) is among Ford’s best: the story follows three...

John Ford's classic Western 3 Bad Men, with pianist Jackie Warren playing her original score.

Cleveland Grays Armory Museum

A critical failure on its original release, The General is now regarded as one of Buster Keaton’s greatest films. The story is based on actual events during the Civil War, the film includes some of Keaton’s most daring and famous stuntwork—most famously, an actual train plummeting from a collapsing bridge into a gorge. This special showing at the Cleveland Grays Armory will feature a live score by theater organist Donnie Rankin, performing on the Armory’s historic Wurlitzer, originally housed at Erie’s Warner Theater.

Local Event: Buster Keaton's The General (1926), with original score by Donnie Rankin on the Mighty Wurlitzer!

Buster Keaton's The General (1926), with...

A critical failure on its original release, The General is now regarded as one of Buster Keaton’s greatest films. The story is...

Buster Keaton's The General (1926), with original score by Donnie Rankin on the Mighty Wurlitzer!

George O’Brien stars as Tom O’Day, a civil engineer concerned with the instability of the dam on the South Fork River above Johnstown, Penn. and the vulnerability of the workers living in the valley below. Janet Gaynor and Florence Gilbert are the two women who love him. The Johnstown Flood is noted for its innovative special effects in depicting the film’s disastrous events. This screening includes a guest appearance by noted silent film musician Rodney Sauer, who leads a quintet in a score created expressly for the film. September 18, 2026, 7:30 pm, Gartner Auditorium, Cleveland Museum of Art. $25/$22 CMA, CSFF members.

Local Event: Landmark disaster film The Johnstown Flood with Rodney Sauer directing his live chamber orchestra sc

Landmark disaster film The Johnstown Flood with...

George O’Brien stars as Tom O’Day, a civil engineer concerned with the instability of the dam on the South Fork River above...

Landmark disaster film The Johnstown Flood with Rodney Sauer directing his live chamber orchestra sc

Set in a psychiatric hospital, the experimental film A Page of Madness draws on German Expressionism, Noh theater, and melodrama. Rapid montage, superimposition, and distorted imagery immerse the viewer in the troubled inner world of its characters. Long believed lost, the film resurfaced in Kinugasa’s warehouse in 1971. The CSFF screening features an original score by James Praznik performed by a quintet drawn from NoExit New Music Ensemble. September 19, 2026, 2:30 pm, the Cleveland Museum of Art. $25/$22 CMA, CSFF members.

Local Event: Japanese avant-garde film A Page of Madness with original score by No Exit New Music Ensemble

Japanese avant-garde film A Page of Madness...

Set in a psychiatric hospital, the experimental film A Page of Madness draws on German Expressionism, Noh theater, and...

Japanese avant-garde film A Page of Madness with original score by No Exit New Music Ensemble

The top film of 1926, the epic Beau Geste centers on the bond among three English brothers (played by Ronald Colman, Neil Hamilton, and Ralph Forbes) whose lives are disrupted by the disappearance of a precious family heirloom, leading them to the French Foreign Legion and the battlefields of North Africa. Silent film music specialist Rodney Sauer will lead a quintet in a newly compiled score created for the film, combining period music with live performance to heighten its romance, suspense, and grandeur. September 20, 2026, 2:30 pm, the Cleveland Museum of Art. $25/$22 CMA, CSFF members.

Local Event: Ronald Colman stars in epic Beau Geste, with Rodney Sauer directing his live chamber score

Ronald Colman stars in epic Beau Geste, with...

The top film of 1926, the epic Beau Geste centers on the bond among three English brothers (played by Ronald Colman, Neil...

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Posting Activity

Molly Picon stars in East and West (1923) with live score by Alicia Svigalls and Donald Sosin

SEP

15

7:30 PM

Cinematheque (Cleveland Institute of Art), 11610 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH

John Ford's classic Western 3 Bad Men, with pianist Jackie Warren playing her original score.

SEP

16

7:00 PM

The Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd, Cleveland, OH

Buster Keaton's The General (1926), with original score by Donnie Rankin on the Mighty Wurlitzer!

SEP

17

7:30 PM

Cleveland Grays Armory Museum, 1234 Bolivar Rd, Cleveland, OH

Landmark disaster film The Johnstown Flood with Rodney Sauer directing his live chamber orchestra sc

SEP

18

7:30 PM

The Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd, Cleveland, OH

Japanese avant-garde film A Page of Madness with original score by No Exit New Music Ensemble

SEP

19

2:30 PM

11150 East Blvd, Cleveland, OH

Ronald Colman stars in epic Beau Geste, with Rodney Sauer directing his live chamber score

SEP

20

2:30 PM

11150 East Blvd, Cleveland, OH