Title: Taylorfest presents Morals (1921)
Irish premiere
Date: Friday 19th September
Time: 8pm
Tickets: FREE
There is something deliciously ironic about one of the last films Carlow-born director William Desmond Taylor ever made being titled 'Morals', since his unsolved murder months later led to the introduction of the notorious Hays Code, Hollywood's 40 year-long system of self-censorship that was aimed to appease America's 20th century puritans.
Adapted from the 1905 best-selling novel, The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne by William J. Locke, the film is, astonishingly, a remake, (Paramount first made the film in 1915) and it describes the story of a middle aged schoolmaster who, having unexpectedly inherited money and a title, comes across a young girl weeping in a park; the girl, it transpires, has recently left a Turkish harem for an arranged marriage in London but has run away. Not knowing what else to do, Sir Marcus brings her home.
The film stars the luminous Irish-American actress May McAvoy, who had the distinction of featuring in not only the most expensive silent film of all time, Ben Hur (1925), but also in the film that ultimately killed silent cinema; The Jazz Singer (1927)
Using an extraordinarily rare 35mm print on loan from Washington DC's Library Congress, this one-off screening will be an Irish Premiere. Presented in its original form with live musical accompaniment, the screening will be a unique experience for anyone interested in the art or history of cinema and the Irish contribution to it.
