LOC salutes Thanhouser Company

This weekend provides four chances to catch free classic cinema on Mount Pony, including a special matinee in honor of the 100th anniversary of an early American film studio.

Ned Thanhouser, grandson of the fellow who started The Thanhouser Company in 1909, introduces an all-shorts program of silent films from his family’s archives at the 2 p.m. show Sunday. House musician Andrew Simpson will accompany on piano.

Actor-turned-theater manager Edwin Thanhouser founded the motion picture company in New Rochelle, N.Y., after making a sizable fortune at the Academy of Music Theater in Milwaukee, Ned Thanhouser wrote in an e-mail to the Star-Exponent.

In its brief nine-year history, the company produced 1,086 films that went into worldwide distribution. Find out how many of those survive today, and learn more about the Thanhouser collection — including a peek at what’s housed in the nitrate vaults at the Library of Congress Packard Campus — in Saturday’s Star-Exponent.

But first, here’s what else is showing in the LOC Theater on Mount Pony this weekend:

- Today: “Sergeant York” (Warner Bros., 1941) with Gary Cooper at 7:30 p.m.

-Friday: “Johnny Eager” (MGM, 1942) with Lana Turner at 7:30 p.m.

- Saturday: “The Court Jester” (Paramount, 1955) with Danny Kaye at 2 p.m.

- Sunday: Thanhouser 100th anniversary special silent shorts program at 2 p.m.

Coming Soon:

- Oct. 29: “The Last Gangster” (Warner Bros., 1937)

- Oct. 30: “Black Sunday” (AIP, 1960) and “The Wicker Man” (British Lion, 1973)

- Oct. 31: “Alien” (20th Century Fox, 1979)

This weekend on Mount Pony

Tonight, 7:30: “Sergeant York” (Warner Bros., 1941)

Friday night, 7:30: “Johnny Eager” (MGM, 1942)

Saturday, 2 p.m.: “The Court Jester” (Paramount, 1955)

Sunday: Thanhouser 100th anniversary special silent shorts program at 2 p.m.

Reservations: Call Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., (540) 827-1079 ext. 79994.