On Saturday my son and I had the opportunity to check out the Granada Theater in Old Town Kern to see an old Buster Keaton film, "One Week." The theater is a small one, but surprisingly large. It's rarely in use, but a lady we stood behind while in line for popcorn told us it's an annual occurrence that is usually spread by word of mouth. This year The Bakersfield Californian did a write-up on the event so word got out more than usual — hence the crowded theater. If I hadn't seen the article in the Friday paper, I wouldn't have know about the film.

The theater's owner, Jim Spohn, is an organ fellow and the theater is his pet project. He gave the audience a brief history lesson in silent films in relation to organs, then demonstrated the Granada Theater organ. The organ pipes are situated in rooms to the sides of the audience with shutters that open and shut for greater or lesser effect. Atop one of the rooms were additional instruments that are connected to the organ: a drum, a xylophone, a glockenspiel, and others. You can sort of see the pipes through the slats and the silhouette of instruments on top.

The film was originally situated in two 10-minute halves with an intermission in between. At the Granada, we saw all of it together with fantastic accompaniment. What an experience! When looking for "One Week" on YouTube, I was only able to find the two halves of the movie. It's worth watching! Keaton was an incredible commedian and this movie is quite sophisticated.

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