FLICKS FILM & VIDEO FILE : Silent Running : Comedy from before the advent of talkies will be shown at Moorpark College.

Hugo Ekback, Moorpark College humanities and English professor, figures that just about everyone could use a good laugh. And what better way to elicit that response than through some of the funniest silent films.

That’s what he’ll be doing when he takes his turn in the Moorpark College Faculty Lecture Series on Wednesday. But be forewarned, Ekback won’t be lecturing.

Instead of talking at length about the comedy of silent films, Ekback plans to show it with film clips of chase sequences starring Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and Harry Langdon.

“The comedy just hits you in the face,” said Ekback, whose personal favorite is Langdon. “It’s just wonderful stuff.”

In traditional silent film style, the excerpts will be shown with piano accompaniment, by Robert Israel. “It’s best to have someone playing,” Ekback said. “It really sets things up.”

The lecture and demonstration will be followed by a 45-minute showing of a full-length silent film. Both are open to the public. For information, call 378-1410.

On Sunday, the Ojai Film Society will show the 1990 movie “To Sleep With Anger,” starring Danny Glover. The film’s writer/director, Charles Burnett, will be guest speaker.

“To Sleep With Anger” tells the story of a quarreling black family living in South-Central Los Angeles and how their lives are affected by a mystical, superstitious storyteller from the deep South.

The movie will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Ojai Playhouse.

The Ventura College Community Service Travel/Film Series will be back in action Jan. 17, with the presentation of “Swedish Holiday,” filmed and narrated by Los Angeles filmmaker Stan La Rue.

Among the sites La Rue captured on video are the Royal Palace of Stockholm, the island of Oland, Sofiero Castle (the king’s summer residence), a Lapp camp with reindeer, the 800-year-old Gothic cathedral in Uppsala and Lake Storsjon, purported to have its version of the Loch Ness monster.

There will be a matinee at 3 p.m. and an evening show at 7:30, both at the Ventura College Theater. For information, call 654-6459.

Fillmore’s Towne Theater has reopened after a backstage fire in the air and heating system that forced its closure a couple of weeks ago. “It happened about 15 minutes before we were about to open,” Manager Hal Graves said. “But that’s better than if people were in there. They panic if you say, ‘Get out, there’s a fire!’ ”