Orchestra meets silent film to delight of movie crowd

KERSTIN and I felt like we had stepped back in time last night.
We attended a showing of HAROLD LLOYD'S 1928 silent film, "SPEEDY," backed by the music of the local Pops Orchestra under the direction of conductor ROB TOMARO.
The showing at Dubuque's historic Grand Opera House was one of the highlights of this weekend's JULIEN DUBUQUE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL.
In the film, Lloyd plays a New Yorker so obsessed with baseball he invariably loses his numerous, short-lived jobs -- until he's given the opportunity to save New York's last horse-drawn streetcar.
The orchestra's practice paid off perfectly, with musical cues punctuating the film's sometimes frantic action and little details -- such as the blowing of a policeman's whistle or the popping of a balloon.
The orchestra's well-timed musical accompaniment gave the film an additional dimension -- and gave Kerstin and me a glimpse at what the moviegoing experience must have been like for Lloyd's contemporaries.
The evening was certainly a treat.