After being swindled out of his business, a man turns first to the bottle for comfort, and then revenge. 100th anniversary screening.

World premiere of a new orchestral score!

Based on the novel Ten Nights in a Bar-room and What I Saw There (1854, Timothy Shay Arthur), this key work of the Black silent period tells the provocative tale of the downward spiral of Joe Morgan, a man who turns to alcohol for escape, and soon, completely out of control, devastates his friends and family in a series of violent explosions—but all hope is not lost. A tale of temperance, the film (the first of two adaptations to be released during the Prohibition period) features preeminent stage actor at the time Charles Gilpin (as Morgan), appearing here in his only film credit. He had previously originated the titular role in Eugene O’Neill’s Emperor Jones on Broadway and became the first Black American honored with a Drama League award. One section of the film has been lost, but the remainder is exquisite evidence of the period’s triumphs on the big screen. It is believed to be the only surviving film produced by the Colored Players Film Corporation of Philadelphia (1926–29). The film also stars Myra Burwell, Lawrence Chenault, Harry Henderson, William A. Clayton Jr., Ethel Smith, and Arline Mickey. Print courtesy of the George Eastman Museum. [68 min; drama; silent with English intertitles]

This screening will be accompanied by the debut of a new live score composed by IU Jacobs student Jamey Guzman and performed by IU Jacobs student musicians.

Jamey Guzman is an award-winning composer for the stage, screen, and concert hall. As the score producer for IU’s Scoring for Visual Media department, she has served as assistant music editor for dozens of films, mentored master’s film composition students in their craft, and produced hours of cues from the booth. Jamey is a 2025 composer fellow for Film Independent’s Project Involve, currently scoring the upcoming film Pack. As a theatrical composer, she was recognized for her work in opera and musical theater with a 2025 OPERA America Discovery Grant and has received major commissions from the Center for the Performing Arts, Really Spicy Opera, Opera Arlington, Strange Trace Opera, New Voices Opera, ENAEnsemble, Paradox Opera, SONIT, and the Sociedad de Música de Cámara de El Salvador.

“The performances make it worth seeing. It’s a rare chance to see the kind of acting that made [Charles] Gilpin’s reputation. The story was old-fashioned even in 1926 but Gilpin’s work stands the test of time.” — Fritzi Kramer, Movies Silently