Ron Carter has a secret. Although he's the organist charged with providing music for a screening at 7:30 tonight of the silent Buster Keaton comedy film The General at Sacred Heart Cultural Center, he has no score.
None is needed, said Mr. Carter, an experienced theater organist from Marietta, Ga.
"I develop themes and weave them throughout the film," he said. "It gives a better sense of motion. I've rehearsed it five or six times, but I never play the same. When I do it for the audience, it'll be fresh. It'll be spontaneous."
Keaton stars as a train engineer at the outbreak of the Civil War. Mr. Carter said his music will draw on the historical time period, featuring themes based on the songs Dixie, Oh! Susanna and Rally Round the Flag .
Mr. Carter said that silent movies appear much how they would have more than 75 years ago, thanks to digital restoration.
The General , made in 1927, should be a treat for the audience, Mr. Carter said.
"It was innovative for its time. It has no special effects. Everything you see in it is real," he said.
Reach Kelly Jasper at (706) 823-3552 or kelly.jasper@augustachronicle.com.
TODAY AT WESTOBOU
WHAT: Allen Organ Silent Movie Night featuring The General
WHEN: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
WHERE: Sacred Heart Cultural Center, 1301 Greene St.
COST: $12; (706) 826-4700
WHAT: The Avett Brothers
WHEN: Gates open at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Jessye Norman Amphitheater, Riverwalk Augusta at James Brown Boulevard
COST: $25; (706) 755-2878
WHAT: Displaced: The Unexpected Fallout from the Cold War, a documentary
WHEN: 4 p.m., 7 p.m. today
WHERE: Paul Simon Discovery Theater at Fort Discovery, 1 Seventh St.
COST: $8; (706) 231-6819
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