AMONG the many attributes of composer/conductor Carl Davis, fans of the silent movie have him to thank for the trend in creating live musical accompaniment to silent classics.

On Saturday, he brought his conducting skills to play with Charlie Chaplin’s 1923 featurette, The Pilgrim, in which Charlie played an escape convict mistaken for a parson.

It was the last of his short films and, in relying more on inventive comedy than slapstick, is quite timeless. It still collects laughs, notably in a series of set pieces like the naughty child who insists on hitting Charlie in the face, the bowler hat mistaken for a pudding and Chaplin’s classic mime of the story of David and Goliath.

His regular cast are all in place, plus a lovely turn by Charlie’s half-brother, Sydney, as a bespectacled father suffering various humiliations.

For once, Davis did not have to write a score as Chaplin wrote one himself (with the help of various orchestrators) for the 1959 reissue as part of The Chaplin Revue.

It’s generally jolly stuff, complete with a theme tune Bound For Texas (originally sung by Matt Monro, but wordless in this live version) and thankfully missing all the crude whoops and whistles associated with some early Chaplin revivals.

The Royal Liverpool Phil performed with all the vim and gaiety for which one hoped, but with their backs to the screen missed the fun the audience enjoyed.