As part of their "Arts in the Afternoon" series, the Lone Tree Arts Center is hosting the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra for an afternoon silent film comedy. After failing in his amateur detecting, projectionist Buster Keaton falls asleep and enters his own film, dreaming that he's a super-sleuth. For its effects and stunts, this remains one of the most impressive films of the entire silent era. Details on this program at the Lone Tree Arts Center website.

Tom Mix was the major cowboy star of the 1920s, making hundreds of Western movies. In Sky High (1922), he's a law officer tasked with catching smugglers in the Grand Canyon, whether on horseback, by automobile, or by biplane. His law activities are complicated by the crime boss's pretty ward (Eva Novak) becoming lost in the canyon. Presented in the historic Elks Theater in Prescott Arizona.

One of the most grand spectacles of the silent era turns 100 this year, Ben Hur (1925) is best remembered for its Roman slave galleys and chariot race. But it was always intended to also be a story of religion and family, with the life of the Jewish prince Ben Hur (Ramon Novarro) intersecting that of Jesus at key points. Note that this epic film is close to two and a half hours long. Accompanied by Rodney Sauer on piano, with Nancy Sauer providing Foley effects. Purchase tickets through Chautauqua.

Buster Keaton finds himself at sea on a drifting ocean liner. Can he and his reluctant girlfriend learn how to operate a large boat, and escape from an island full of cannibals? Accompanied by Rodney Sauer on solo piano. Purchase tickets through Chautauqua.

American heiress Constance Talmadge travels to England while trying to avoid fortune hunters. She mistakes impoverished nobleman Ronald Colman for a heart doctor, and the misunderstandings pile up in this very clever and satisfying romantic comedy. Purchase tickets through Chautauqua.

The earliest adaptation of Dracula moves the action to Northern Germany. On a voyage to complete a real-estate deal, young Hutter encounters eldritch evil in the form of the vampire Count Orlok, and unwittingly brings horror and death back to his home town. Often re-made, never equalled, the original 1922 version will be accompanied by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. Purchase tickets through Chautauqua.

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is awaiting the re-opening of the Castro Theater. This November, their program will be held across the bay in the charming art deco Orinda Theater, just one BART station east of Berkeley and Oakland. Mont Alto will play as many as four films, including world premiere restorations and new scores. For details, visit the SF Silent Film Festival website.