The second of five Movies & Music on the Lawn events in our 2021 season happens on Saturday, July 24. One of Louisiana’s smoothest bands, The Lilli Lewis Project will make the trip up from New Orleans to perform an original, never-before-heard score for one of the most revered films of the silent era, 1928’s “The Crowd,” directed by King Vidor.
Whether you’re looking for a date night that’s a little different or an affordable family outing, Movies & Music on the Lawn is a great fit for you. Bottomless popcorn and admission to one of the most unique film series in town costs just $7. To make things even better, if you’re a BRG member, your admission is included in your membership!
Scroll down for info on The Lilli Lewis Project and “The Crowd,” including some important context on the film.
About The Crowd (1928): Easily one of the most acclaimed films of the silent era, The Crowd (1928) is director King Vidor’s masterpiece. The film brings an expressionist style to its look at the idea of the American Dream, romance, and the struggle for self-actualization. The story centers around John Sims, who travels to New York City after the death of his father. Searching for success, he instead becomes a low-level worker in an enormous, nameless corporation. After he meets a beautiful young woman, things seem to be looking up, but before long the newlyweds are sullen and bickering, and the arrival of their children leaves John feeling trapped in a dead-end existence. Then tragedy strikes, causing him to reassess his life. (Run time: 1hr. 44 min.)
“The Crowd is a masterpiece - moving, funny, heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful. It's a must for anyone interested in the roots of moviemaking, and it's a good choice to show to someone who thinks they wouldn't like silent films.”
- Film Critic Alonso Duralde
Still image from “The Crowd”
Some context for The Crowd: Early on in the film’s story there is a brief moment which we think warrants some context for contemporary viewers. In one scene, set in 1912, a group of young boys sitting side-by-side on a fence talking about what they want to be when they grow up. Among them is a Black boy (played by a Black actor, which was not common in films of the time) who is referred to by the nickname “Whitey,” by a white boy within the group. This might be a jarring moment for any viewer without context.
Research into the filmmaker and tropes of the silent era shows this was almost certainly an attempt at irony, not racism. It was common in the silent era (though this certainly didn’t end with the advent of talking pictures) for characters to have ironic nicknames (i.e., a bodybuilder who might be called “Tiny”). It is also worth noting that the film’s director, King Vidor, was the first director to make a major motion picture with an all-Black cast, at a time when blackface was still common. That film would debut the year after The Crowd premiered. He lobbied for years to bring the project to fruition, invested his own money in its production, and took no salary from MGM to convince them to make it. As film historian and writer Carley Hildebrand wrote in 2018 of the director’s passion project, “Vidor was able to – in spite of the stereotypes – give dignity to Black family life and humanity to the African American experience on the whole.”
About The Lilli Lewis Project: Classically trained, award-winning singer/songwriter Lilli Lewis began composing at the age of three. Opening for Alana Davis, Dr. John, Kirk Joseph, Kermit Ruffins, Henry Butler and Jon Cleary to name a few, the social justice themes and human rights messages that filter into her lyrics, as well as her gospel-tinged vocals and instrumentation are a direct result from her upbringing spent listening to her father’s sermons and southern choirs while learning the northern sensibilities of her civil rights activist mother. Equal parts unassuming and fearless, her band The Lilli Lewis Project (or LLP) is a stirring rhythm and soul orchestra of depth, girth and decibels that delivers innovative, soulful music that will never go out of style.
The Lilli Lewis Project is more than a band. It’s a pan-generational cult of radical decency that delivers heart throbbing, earnest rock and soul that, as Jamie Anderson of indie-music.com puts it, “makes you want to put your hands in the air, shout hallelujah and shake your booty for the rest of the night, with enough energy to power a large city.”
Our Thanks to This Year’s Sponsors:
Join us for the triumphant return of Movies & Music on the Lawn all summer long with five events as part of the 2021 season!