Vat I vant for Valentine’s Day

Back in the day before yesterday, the movie palaces were grand, the films were silent, and Greta Garbo was Hollywood’s sexiest, most mysterious star.

From 1927, Flesh of the Devil made the 21-year-old unknown an absolute phenomenon – and the industry’s highest-paid actress.

The film, with the leading man of the day, John Gilbert, was a racy sensation. It features the first horizontal love scene (yowza!) and the first close-up, open-mouth kiss in American film history. (The onscreen heat was not faked, by the way; the two become lovers during production).

“In those days we didn’t just make movies,” recalled the director, Clarence Brown. “We made myths.”

The February 14 screening at the Sebastiani Theatre features a custom soundtrack written and performed live by members of the Renegade Orchestra. The 7:30pm. $20. Sebastianitheatre.com

Orchestra photo credit: Frederic Aube