Film screening, music will fete Dempster
The San Diego Museum of Art is featuring the classic silent film “Sally of the Sawdust” (1925) on Thursday, June 21, in the James S. Copley Auditorium as a tribute to the late Carol Dempster (1901-1991), a silent film star and local philanthropist. Marty Petersen, a former curator at the museum who knew Dempster personally, will introduce the film. In addition, Scott Paulson and the Teeny Tiny Pit Orchestra will perform live, with special musical scores composed for the film.
According to Paulson, who is also organizing the screening, Dempster’s acting is “absolutely charming,” and the film is family-friendly. Those who have never before seen a silent film “will be surprised by how compelling the storytelling is “¦ the story really comes through with no language barrier,” Paulson said.
The Teeny Tiny Pit Orchestra is a local ensemble that regularly performs during silent film showings in San Diego. Paulson explained that, along with the more typical piano and harp, “We will also have a lot of over-the-top sound effects, which is perfect for a circus [setting].” In “Sally of the Sawdust,” Dempster plays a circus performer who discovers she is a wealthy heiress.
After performing in silent films throughout the 1920s, Dempster retired with her husband Edwin S. Larsen to La Jolla, where they became frequent donors to the San Diego Museum of Art. One donation, “The Young Shepherdess” by William Bouguereau, remains prominent in the museum’s permanent collection of European paintings.
The film will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 21, in the San Diego Museum of Art’s James S. Copley Auditorium, located in Balboa Park. Tickets cost $5 for members and students and $8 for nonmembers.
For information, call (619) 696-1969.