Larry Davis at the Temple Theatre in Meridian, August 15, 2010
Davis began the program with the console of the Robert Morton
theatre organ rising from the floor, a splendid sight, brilliant white
trimmed with gold. American music of various periods made up the program;
among these medleys were music of Georgia (Davis' home) beginning with
"Georgia on My Mind" and closing with the Tara theme from "Gone With the
Wind"; country music, with pieces from the Carter Family and from Lester
Flatt and Earl Scruggs; and a sing-along of Irving Berlin's "God Bless
America". All were performed with skill and imagination, showing off
the many and varied sounds of the instrument.
A silent movie, Buster Keaton's comedy "One Week", allowed the use of
various bells, horns, whistles, and other sounds as appropriate to what
was showing on the screen. Davis pointed out that the real reason for
the existence of theatre organs was for accompanying silent movies rather
than for concert use. He also said that Keaton did not use stunt men,
doing all the stunts, improbable though they might be, himself. He
reminded the audience that all the special effects (including a
spinning house) were done mechanically, as this was long before the
age of computer-manipulated images and sequences.
At the end, after the console had returned to floor level, Davis
closed the program with Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Suppertime".
The Morton organ lay in disrepair, unplayable, for many years. I had
the chance to play it in the late 1950s, and even then only one
side played. The two pipe chambers are located high up on the extreme
left and right side walls near the front, and that location, with
the large room, gives a spaciousness to the sound that is seldom
encountered elsewhere; to this day I still remember that spaciousness
from the first time I encountered a theatre organ, when I was 8 or 9,
in the Paramount theatre in Nashville, TN.
That the Morton organ has returned to life is due in large part to
members of the American Theatre Organ Society (in this case the
Magnolia Chapter), who, with the leadership of Frank Evans, have
spent countless hours reviving it. The Temple Theatre itself is
showing signs of life, because of the passion of its present owner,
Roger Smith, not only for movie theatres but theatre organs as well.
A sign of that passion was that Smith himself served as the
projectionist for the Keaton Film! If you happen to be in Meridian,
drive by the Temple Theatre (corner of 24th Ave & 8th St in downtown),
see what's showing, and stop in for a memorable experience. You may
also check templetheatre.wordpress.com to see what performances are
booked.
We salute Meridian, now home to two unique restored music venues, not
only the Temple Theatre but also the Riley Center (formerly the
Meridian Opera House, in the top floor of what was the Marks Rothenberg
Department Store).
- Glenn A. Gentry