Charlie Chaplin celebration Friday and Saturday in Newhall

The William S. Hart Museum is celebrating the 75th anniversary of Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times. On Saturday, February 5, Chaplin’s early Keystone Comedies will screen all day. Staff from the Natural History Museum and the Hart Museum will display objects including the camera with which Mack Sennett filmed the comedies, and a Keystone Kop’s billy club and helmet. Later, there is a special Chaplin dinner and screening in Hart Hall, along with a one-time display of movie posters, memorabilia, and original props from the film — donated by Chaplin himself in the late 1930s — including his striped overalls, the oil can, and wrenches from the film’s famous factory scene. It is the first time these Modern Times artifacts have been on display together. On hand will be movie critic Leonard Maltin and actress Tippi Hedren (who appeared in Chaplin’s last film, A Countess from Hong Kong).

The night prior, Friday, February 4, features an evening screening of the 1992 feature film Chaplin, starring Robert Downey, Jr. Jim Elyea, co-owner of the prop house History for Hire, will display props from the film his company provided, and discuss behind the scenes making of the film.

ChaplinFest is a collaboration between the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, William S. Hart Park and Museum, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and the Los Angeles County Department of Parks & Recreation.


Props from the factory scene of Modern Times are on display during ChaplinFest.




When:
Friday, February 4, 2011

7-8 pm: Chaplin preview display by History for Hire (Saugus Train
Station, located near Hart Hall)

7:30-8 pm: Making of Chaplin talk with Jim Elyea, History for Hire

8-10:30 pm: Chaplin (143 mins, Saugus Train Station)

Saturday, February 5, 2011

9 am-3 pm: ChaplinFest Vendors
Modern Times Artifact Display (Hart Hall)
Chaplin Prop Display (Saugus Train Station)
Screening of Chaplin’s Keystone Comedies (Saugus Train Station)

11 am-noon: Screening The Pilgrim (59 mins, Saugus Train Station)

6-7 pm: Dinner

7-8 pm: Discussion (Leonard Maltin, Tippi Hedren)

8-10 pm: Modern Times Screening (87 mins)
Screening of A Thief Catcher (6-8 mins)


Where:
William S. Hart Park and Museum, 24151 Newhall Avenue, Newhall, CA, 91321

About the Hart Park and Museum
Silent film star William S. Hart purchased a ranch house and surrounding property in Newhall, north of Los Angeles, in 1921. He built a 22-room mansion and filled it with Western art, Native American artifacts, and early Hollywood memorabilia. Hart bequeathed the 230-acre estate to Los Angeles County for the enjoyment of the public at no charge. Tours and programs such as silent movie screenings take place frequently at the Hart Museum. Among the Hart Park’s permanent residents is an assortment of animals, including a small herd of bison, a gift from the Walt Disney Studios in 1962. Today, the property is jointly administered by two Los Angeles County agencies. The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation is responsible for the grounds, animals, and buildings, while the care and interpretation of the Hart home and its artifacts is administered by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Tours and programs such as silent movie screenings take place frequently at Hart Park and Museum.

The William S. Hart Museum is open Wednesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and weekends from 11 am to 3:30 pm, with tours every half hour. Admission is free. For more information on the Museum, visit www.hartmuseum.org or call (661) 254-4584. For more information on the Park visit parks.lacounty.gov or call (661) 259-0855.