Bird's Eye View

Her Sister from Paris accompanied by Jane Gardner

Cinema 1 Barbican Centre, March 7, 4.00pm

Her Sister From Paris
US 1925. Dir Sidney Franklin. With Constance Talmadge, Ronald Colman.
Dowdy Helen (A-list silent film comedienne Constance Talmadge) turns to her glamorous dancer twin sister Lola (Talmadge again) for help in reigniting romance in her marriage with famous author Joseph (Ronald Colman). Lola is unsympathetic: “Look at that face! No wonder he lost interest”. They trick her husband into believing Helen is Lola and, under her sister’s guidance, Helen seduces him: ‘I’m running away with my own husband’ she tells their housekeeper. How far can the dupe go?!

Jane Gardner has a PhD in Composition from Goldsmith’s College, University of London, and in 1991 was awarded the Gullivar Award bursary, nominated by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, to study Indonesian music in Java and Bali. Her music has been commissioned and played by groups as diverse as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Piano Circus, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Company and The Gogmagogs. She has been accompanying movies from the silent era since 2005 at many festivals and venues around the UK. This is Jane's fourth Birds Eye View commission since 2008, following her performances to Sam Taylor's My Best Girl (1925), David Kirkland's The Love Expert (1920) and Robert Vignola's The Vampire (1913).