Silent Movie Theatre

Founded in 1942, when silent movies had long been eclipsed by sound pictures, the theater was run as a labor of love by John Hampton and his wife, Dorothy, until 1981. Family friend Laurence Austin reopened the theater in 1991. In 1997 during a Larry Semon short that was playing in advance of F. W. Murnau's Sunrise, he was gunned down in the theater lobby. The murderer had been hired by Austin's projectionist and business partner, James Van Sickle. After Austin's death, the theater was bought by Charlie Lustmann who hoped to screen silent several nights per week. He ended up running silent movies once per week and mostly renting the theater as a venue for private events. In July 2007, brothers Dan & Sammy Harkham bought the theater. They soon partnered with Hadrian Belove, one of the co-founders of independent video store Cinefile, to transform the venue into a full-fledged revival house. The Cinefamily at The Silent Movie Theatre debuted in October 2007 with a unique slate of vintage, experimental and cult movies.