Almost a century later, a restored film classic returns to Cork

14 Nov 2023

Happening On 21/11/2023

A classic film from the silent era will have a gala screening in Cork next week – almost 100 years after it first captivated Leeside audiences in one of the city’s former cinemas.

• The Signal Tower played in Cork’s Coliseum Cinema on King Street - now MacCurtain Street in 1925.
• Now restored, The Signal Tower returns to Cork for a free screening in UCC.
• With live musical accompaniment gala screening will recreate what Cork audiences experienced in 1925.

A classic film from the silent era will have a gala screening in Cork next week – almost 100 years after it first captivated Leeside audiences in one of the city’s former cinemas.

The last time The Signal Tower was screened in Cork was in 1925 at the Coliseum Cinema on King Street - now MacCurtain Street. Next week, on Tuesday November 21, the Irish premiere of this restored cinematic treasure will be screened to audiences for free at the Aula Maxima in University College Cork.

The Signal Tower is an early work by American director Clarence Brown, who was nominated for seven Oscars and directed such actors  as Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor and Clark Gable during Hollywood’s Golden Age.

The film truly captivates, with its twists and turns and tension, its murder and mayhem. With live musical accompaniment by one of the world’s leading film accompanists, maestro Stephen Horne, UCC’s gala screening will recreate what audiences at the Coliseum experienced in 1925.

Dr Gwenda Young, Lecturer, Department of Film, Screen and Media and author of Clarence Brown: Hollywood's Forgotten Master, is pleased The Signal Tower is returning to Cork.

Gwenda said:

We are truly thrilled to host this Irish premiere of an exceptional restoration of this exquisite film by an important Hollywood director. We are very grateful to Photoplay Productions, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, and to Robert Byrne and Stephen Horne. Thanks too goes to Zeus E-Scooters, as without their generous support this screening couldn’t happen.

The Signal Tower restoration

Many films produced during the Silent Era of cinema have been lost to the sands of time. In 1928, a 35mm print of The Signal Tower was copied to 16mm and retained in a private collection. Decades passed and the film remained in that collection, unseen by the public. Fortunately, it was acquired by Kevin Brownlow and Patrick Stanbury of Photoplay Productions and, in collaboration with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, the long and complicated process of restoration could begin.

Robert Byrne, award-winning film restorer and President of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, led the restoration, working with Photoplay and their 16mm print, digitizing it and restoring the dye-tinting colours that featured in the original prints. Byrne, who has previously delivered a number of masterclasses on film restoration to students of the Department of Film and Screen Media at UCC, will introduce the screening on 21^st  November.

Tension Filled Film

The Signal Tower was shot in the stunning location of Mendocino county, California where use was made of a real rail line, steam engines, and a custom-built rustic cabin;  extra filming was done on the Universal lot and at a railroad in San Francisco.

 This gala evening has been made possible by generous sponsorship from  Zeus Scooters, UCC's Department of Film and Screen Media, UCC's School of Film, Music and Theatre, College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences and UCC's Department of Music. 

 The Signal Tower Screening 

Introduced by Robert Byrne, President of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival

With live music accompaniment by Stephen Horne

Date: Tuesday 21st November 2023

Time: 6.15pm

Location: Aula Maxima, UCC

Register in advance.

There is no charge to attend this Gala Screening, but seats are limited.

Register your interest in advance at: https://forms.office.com/e/Vh4r8iHk53

For more information, visit  https://www.ucc.ie/en/fmt/film/news/gala-screening-with-live-music-of-the-irish-premiere-of-the-newly-restored-the-signal-tower-1924-last-screened-in-cork-at-the-coliseum-in-august-1925.html