Open Classroom: Lime Kiln Club Field Day (1913)

The star quality of the inimitable Bert Williams (referred to by silent film star W.C. Fields as “the funniest man I ever saw, and the saddest I ever knew”) is on full display in Edwin Middleton and T. Hayes Hunter’s Lime Kiln Club Field Day, an unfinished film largely lost to history until a restorative undertaking helmed by The Museum of Modern Art in 2014. The surviving footage, totaling uncut around 80 minutes, has undergone “archival assembly” – multiple takes have been organized into narrative order, generated without access to the film’s original script, intertitles, or cutting continuity. Lime Kiln, regarded as the oldest surviving feature with an all-Black cast, is thus presented as a frozen work-in-progress, a testament to the essential nature of film archivists and restorationists, as well as the resilience of Black cinema.

The film is not without its compromising racial caricatures – it does not, like many films from the era, necessarily stand the test of time with full marks. But what remains remarkable about the film is its reflection of unfettered Black joy, Williams’s masterful control over his body and keen grasp of facial expression and slapstick posturing, and the tactile elements of production that are peppered through the remaining footage – cue sheets, crew members, and stage direction abound, breaching the fringes of the screen and, in a way, involving the audience in its production. The experience of watching what remains of Lime Kiln feels nearly immersive; the audience becomes personally involved in its representation of time and place, rooting from the sidelines for Williams in his attempts to woo a young woman pursued by a small cadre of eligible bachelors. (T. Hayes Hunter & Edwin Middleton , USA, 1913, 65 minutes, 35mm print courtesy The Museum of Modern Art, New York)

Reginald R. Robinson is a virtuoso ragtime pianist, performing in concerts, lectures and collaborative arts programming. His compositions are featured on five albums, as well as in theater and film. In 2004, Robinson was awarded the rare and distinguished John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Award for his innovative ragtime piano works and music research. Robinson’s love for traditional jazz styles started in 1984 with his older brother listening to Swing recordings at home. Two years later, a city-funded arts program gave an assembly at his school called “From Bach to Bebop” with a live jazz ensemble–only adding to his interest. Inseparable from the piano for the years that followed, he absorbed himself in self-directed study of ragtime piano.

Robinson’s music has been used in theater and film: The Goodman Theater productions of Each One As She May (1995), Intimate Apparel (2003). The independent film Compensation (2000), for which Robinson scored the ragtime piano soundtrack, was recently inducted into the National Film Registry in 2024. He also served as a contributing historian for the 2010 documentary Chicago’s Black Metropolis. In addition to performing, Robinson is internationally known for his lectures at colleges and universities, which have aided in preserving the legacy of African American history.

Presented in supplement to Jacqueline Stewart’s Winter 2026 ‘Film Ecosystems’ and ‘African American Humor’ courses. The film will be preceded by a short introduction from Stewart, and will be presented with live musical accompaniment from acclaimed ragtime pianist, recipient of the 2004 MacArthur Genius Grant, and Hyde Park local Reginald R. Robinson. 

Presented with support from: the Department of Art History, the Department of Cinema and Media Studies, the Department of Music, the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity, and the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture. This event is free and open to the public; doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime.