The Bells
Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem. A classic American horror film that combines elements of the traditional ghost story, Poe and "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari." "The Bells" (1926, 68 min.) follows an ambitious innkeeper (Lionel Barrymore) on a downward trajectory into insanity after murdering a wealthy traveler to settle his debts. Though he is not suspected of the crime, the innkeeper is haunted by a hypnotist in a traveling carnival (Boris Karloff), and his conscience is tormented by a blood-smeared apparition of the dead man who comes seeking a confession of his own. "The Bells" is digitally mastered from an original tinted-and-toned nitrate 35mm print and backed with a musical score compiled by Eric Beheim.