In 1907 Essanay Studios shot a short slapstick film on the streets of Old Town entitled An Awful Skate. It cost a few hundred dollars but went on to make thousands; perhaps as much as $10,000 (which, adjusted for inflation, would be about $216,000 today). A recent profile in the Trib gives a brief history of the once-booming studio, which had facilities in both Chicago and California. Between 1907 and 1917 Essanay churned out...
Results tagged “charliechaplin”
Some of Chicagoist’s fondest memories occurred in a diner setting. Right now just thinking of old standbys like the old Huddle House on North Avenue (now known as the Hollywood Grill), Ravenswood Restaurant, or Alexander’s on Clark Street conjure vivid memories of breakfast skillets, chili, home fries, salty coffee, and key lime pie. We’ve sometimes gone so far as to plot our bike rides so that we can stop at Walker Brothers’ Original Pancake House in Wilmette for the apple pancake, which is really one gigantic turnover that dares to be eaten in one sitting.
Next week kicks off The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Friday Night at the Movies series. Sadly, this does not mean the CSO will be projecting movies onto its back wall and serving brie and wine like some upper-crust Brew and View. Instead, they’ll perform musical scores from some well-known films. A logical starting point for this series would be the silent film era so Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” will kick things off on October 15th. The series will continue through the winter with The Golden Age of Film Music on November 19th featuring music from Gone With The Wind and Lawrence of Arabia and A Night On The Red Carpet, an Oscar-themed show on February 25th with selections from The Godfather and Doctor Zhivago. Tickets for these events are pricey but if you’re a student you can get in for only ten bucks.
