The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Four Southeast Texas musicians have composed an original soundtrack for the celebrated 1920 silent film “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.” Their new musical score will be presented with a restored print of the movie Saturday, July 23, at 7 p.m. at the historic Jefferson Theatre (345 Fannin St.) in downtown Beaumont.

“It was a blast to compose for,” Caden Welborn, one of the four local musicians, said. “I'd love to see this project become a catalyst for future like-minded endeavors.”

The unusual collaboration was organized by the nonprofit Boomtown Film Society, and funded in part with a grant from the Southeast Texas Arts Council. The stated goal of the project was to draw attention to local musical talent related to filmmaking.

“I’m totally self-taught,” Robert Stringer, another of the project’s participants, said. “I hope to get noticed as a viable composer here in Southeast Texas for future projects.”

Other local musicians that contributed to the new soundtrack include experimental composers Fatih Baha Ömeroglu and Isaiah Grande. Each of the four participants individually scored one quarter of the film in his own style.

“The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” is a defining work of expressionist cinema, filled with dream- like visuals. The story is set in a German town that is suddenly plagued by unexplained murders just as the annual carnival begins. Clues indicate that the crimes may be tied to a somnambulist (sleepwalker) with the power to foretell the future, and who is kept as a carnival exhibit by the mysterious Dr. Caligari.

Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the Jefferson Theatre on the night of the show.