Robert Weine's 1920 "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," screening with live musical accompaniment Saturday at the Creative Alliance, might be one of the strangest films ever made. It's definitely one of the most influential.

A masterpiece of German expressionism, made years before most people had any idea what that was, "Caligari" tells the tale of a shady carnival barker and his somnambulist attraction. Caligari (Werner Krauss, looking every inch the mad scientist) offers up his sleepwalker, Cesare (Conrad Veidt, who 22 years later would play Major Strasser in "Casablanca"), as not only a physical curiosity, but a mental one as well. Seems he has the ability to tell the future - especially, it seems, when it involves murder. But is Cesare the killer? Or is Caligari?

Or, for that matter, is anyone? In "Caligari," one shouldn't be surprised to learn, things are not always what they seem.

With sets that appeared as if they'd been constructed by a carpenter on a drunken binge, "Caligari" looked like nothing that had been put on screen before. The whole movie looks twisted, deranged - there's not a right angle anywhere to be found. It's all wonderfully evocative, suggesting what goes on within the film, as well as what's going on inside the characters' minds.

To say more would ruin the film for those who haven't seen it. But be prepared for one of cinema's great I-didn't-see-that-one-coming endings. And enjoy this rare opportunity to see a silent movie as it was meant to be shown, on a big screen, with live musical accompaniment.

The music will be provided by Darsombra vs. Ala Muerte (the tandem of Baltimorean Brian Daniloski and New Yorker Bianca Bibiloni), described on the alliance's Web site as "one part sinister accompaniment and two parts sonic death duel."

Showtime for "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" is 7 p.m. Saturday at the Creative Alliance at the Patterson, 3134 Eastern Ave. Tickets are $10, $8 for students and alliance members. Information: 410-276-1651 or creativealliance.org

At the Pratt : "Miracle at Morgan's Creek," Preston Sturges' surprisingly suggestive 1944 comedy centering on small-town gal Trudy Kockenlocker (Betty Hutton) who wakes up after a late-night party married and pregnant, but with no idea to or by whom (she remembers him only as a soldier named Ratzkiwatzki, or something like that) is the subject of this month's Film Talk. It's set for Saturday morning at the Enoch Pratt Free Library. The movie also stars Eddie Bracken as Norval Jones, the local boy-next-door looking to make an honest woman of his beloved Trudy.

Also at the Pratt Saturday: Billy Wilder's 1960 "The Apartment," with Jack Lemmon as an eager-to-please office worker whose eagerness extends to offering his apartment as the staging area for his boss' late-night trysts. Fred MacMurray plays the heel of a boss, while Shirley MacLaine is Miss Kubelik, the object of their affections.

Showtimes at the Pratt, 400 Cathedral St., are 10:15 a.m. for "The Miracle at Morgan's Creek" (with lively discussion sure to follow) and 2 p.m. for "The Apartment." Admission to both films is free. Information: 410-396-5430 or prattlibrary.org/calendar.

Cinema Sundays : Director Michael Lichtenstein's "Happy Tears," a drama centering on two sisters returning home to care for their aging, guitar-strumming father, is this weekend's Cinema Sundays at the Charles feature. The film stars Demi Moore, Parker Posey, Rip Torn and Ellen Barkin.

Showtime for "Happy Tears" is 10:30 a.m. Sunday at The Charles, 1711 N. Charles St. Tickets are $15. Information: 410-626-3456, thecharles.com or cinemasundays.com.

Dance revival : Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance their way to cinematic immortality in director George Stevens' 1936 "Swing Time," this weekend's feature in the Charles' happily unpredictable Saturday revival series. "Swing Time" was their sixth film together and, to many minds, their best. The plot has something to do with Astaire going to New York and having to raise enough money to marry his sweetheart - a mission he forgets all about when he meets Rogers. But the plot is strictly secondary to dancing, which is beautiful and elegant to the point of being otherworldly. How did Rogers manage to pull of all these moves in high heels and long dresses?

Showtime for "Swing Time" is noon Saturday at the Charles, 1711 N. Charles St., with encores set for 7 p.m. Monday and 9 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are $6 Saturday, $8 other times. Information: 410-727-3456 or thecharles.com.