# What is the latest "lost" major movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 7, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225 "2005-10-07T17:54:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/1 "2005-10-07T17:54:23Z")
There are many, many motion pictures put out by the major studios of the 1920s and earlier that are lost today. One example (which I would have loved to have seen) is the movie [Hollywood](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0014137/combined), one of the first movies where nearly anybody who was anybody in the movie biz made a cameo appearance. Sadly, however, this movie is lost today. Hollywood was made in 1923. I’m certain that there are later movies that are just as equally lost as Hollywood. My question is: what is the latest movie made by a major studio (define that as you will) that is currently lost today? Are there any movies from the 1980s and 1990s that are lost, or does one have to go further back than that? And if so, what is the latest lost movie? Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/2 "2005-10-07T18:53:44Z")
I’d heard that **The Wicker Man** was _almost_ lost. It’s lucky that it got rekleased at all, apparently, and doubly lucky that it survived in so close to the director’s vision. The newest movie that I know of that’s “Lost”, as in you couldn’t find full prints of it, is Irwin Allen’s **The Animal World**. The animated dinosaur sections exist (they’re in the awful movie **Trog** ), but the rest of the film, the live-action segments, are apparently scattered. The lost movie I most want to see is **London After Midnight** , Lon Chaney’s vampire film. I’n convinced that much more of Fritz Lang’s **Metropolis** exists than the recent restoration includes. The was apparently a 2 hour + showing of a privately-held copy in Los Angeles back in the 1980s. That’s a lot longer than the existing restored version. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/3 "2005-10-07T19:05:42Z")
I doubt this counts as a “major studio” movie, but evidently it did have a theatrical release: the 1985 movie [**Blood Circus**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Circus). It was apparently a really horrid movie about wrestlers from outer space, or something. It was produced by the shady character who also produced the [Santo Gold infomercials](http://infomercial.tvheaven.com/santogold.htm), which are plenty weird in their own right. The movie’s very limited theatrical run even included a giveaway “Scream Bag”. Producer Santo Rigatuso was arrested for mail fraud, and his attorney used **Blood Circus** at trial to prove Rigatuso’s mental incompetence. Despite such compelling evidence, he was convicted. The film is now either lost or destroyed; all that survives are the clips that were shown during the Santo Gold infomercials. ---
**Author:** ![Boardwalk\_Elvis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@Boardwalk\_Elvis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boardwalk_Elvis)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/4 "2005-10-07T19:29:35Z")
By “lost” are you referring to films that are no longer in existence (destroyed, deteriorated film, or misplaced), or films that are not commercially available? Or both? > [@Martin Scorsese](#): > > “Film is history, With every foot of film that is lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around use, to each other and to ourselves. Fewer than 20% of U.S. feature films from the 1920’s survive in complete form; of the American features, those produced before 1950, only half survive… We’re still racing against the clock to save what we can.” I don’t think there are many films after the 50’s that are “lost”, as in, no prints exist. And the ones that are either porno’s or B-Movies. The latest one I can find is **Gordon Lewis’** _Black Love_ (1972). > [@CalMeacham](#): > > The lost movie I most want to see is London After Midnight, Lon Chaney’s vampire film. Well they did do a 45 min. reconstruction of the film, using still photograhs, which won a Rondo Award, so I guess it’s not completely “lost”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/5 "2005-10-07T19:44:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Well they did do a 45 min. reconstruction of the film, using still photograhs, which won a Rondo Award, so I guess it’s not completely “lost”. Oh, it’s still lost – that’s not the same thing. There is a book out of the shooting script, illustrated with the photos, but I haven’t heard of this film. Where can you see/rent it? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/6 "2005-10-07T19:49:44Z")
Here is a list of “lost” movies: [www.pimpadelicwonderland.com/lost.html](http://www.pimpadelicwonderland.com/lost.html) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/7 "2005-10-07T20:05:58Z")
I’ve been to that site before – but it’s not by any means a complete list, or even tries to be. It’s an idiosyncratic list of flicks the guy who runs the site is looking for. Some interesting stuff I’d been wobdering about – I’ve always wanted to see **The Naked Ape** , and **Femmes Fatales** disappeared after I saw it once. But I haven’t heard of most of the filmsd on his list, and I’m not particularly interested in most of them. And it ain’t got **London After Midnight**. ---
**Author:** ![Dusty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@Dusty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/8 "2005-10-07T20:20:05Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The lost movie I most want to see is **London After Midnight** , Lon Chaney’s vampire film. By all contemporary accounts, _London After Midnight_ was a rather lackluster film with the only thing going for it being Chaney’s makeup. Were it not lost today, it wouldn’t likely be remembered at all. It was remade, more or less shot-for-shot (Tod Browning directed both), 8 years later under the new title _Mark of the Vampire_ with Bela Lugosi, and of course there’s the recent photo reconstruction that’s already been mentioned, it’s available on DVD in the Lon Chaney box set. Don’t get me wrong, if a print were to surface, I’d be there in line to see it, but as far as my lost film tears go, I’ll save those for _Greed_. I’d also like to see the rest of the _Lucille Love: Girl of Mystery_ serial. Fragments of several episodes exist, but nothing approaching the whole thing. It’s really, really stupid and cheesy, but you get the feeling that it realizes that and runs with it. > [@](#): > > I’n convinced that much more of Fritz Lang’s **Metropolis** exists than the recent restoration includes. The was apparently a 2 hour + showing of a privately-held copy in Los Angeles back in the 1980s. That’s a lot longer than the existing restored version. Running time isn’t a useful measure for silent films as the frame rate is variable. The most recent restoration of _Metropolis_ transfered the prints at 24fps and was 124 minutes long. It’s the most complete version known to exist, but is still missing about 30 minutes (using that same frame rate). There is a 210 minute version, but it’s actually less complete–it just runs much slower and reuses a few shots. ---
**Author:** ![Boardwalk\_Elvis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@Boardwalk\_Elvis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boardwalk_Elvis)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/9 "2005-10-07T20:26:24Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Oh, it’s still lost – that’s not the same thing. There is a book out of the shooting script, illustrated with the photos, but I haven’t heard of this film. Where can you see/rent it? It was commissioned by Turner Classic Movies… [Original TCM airing](http://www.tcm.tv/ThisMonth/Article/0,,475,00.html) info. And it looks like you can find it in the [Lon Chaney Collection](http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?btob=Y&cds2Pid=2413&ean=12569579125) DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/10 "2005-10-07T21:03:08Z")
Canada’s first sound feature, a western called _The Crimson Paradise_, wasn’t made till 1933. It was shot mostly in British Columbia and had a gala premiere in Vancouver. It was later lost due to what the CBC called “poor preservation,” probably meaning some archive had it but just let it rot. :mad: I’d like to see the newsreel version of NBC’s first TV broadcast in 1936. RKO Pathé News filmed it as it was being broadcast live, with a movie camera right beside the TV camera. RKO handed over the reel to their parent RCA, who wanted it for a screening for bigwigs who hadn’t been able to make the live show. It was subsequently “lost,” but seeing as the show was so top secret that even the press weren’t invited, it was probably burned. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/11 "2005-10-07T21:18:27Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’d heard that **The Wicker Man** was _almost_ lost. It’s lucky that it got rekleased at all, apparently, and doubly lucky that it survived in so close to the director’s vision. Having seen **The Wicker Man** all I can say is that “luck” is in the eye of the beholder. As I’ve noted before, most of the TV shows of the 1950s, and many from the 1960s are lost – film destroyed and tapes erased. For anyone who thinks _Father Knows Best_ or _Leave It to Beaver_ serve as sociological recordings of the past, think about _The Goldbergs_ and the 15-minute newscasts of that era. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/12 "2005-10-07T21:28:25Z")
Was _The Goldbergs_ noted for its social realism? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/13 "2005-10-07T22:31:18Z")
Roger Corman’s version of the [Fantastic Four](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109770/) from 1994 isn’t exactly lost, but it was never officially released. It only exists as crappy bootlegs. There’s also the strange story of [Exorcist: the Beginning](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204313/) (2004). There was a prequel shot for The Exorcist. This was originally filmed by Paul Schraeder and the studio hated hated hated it. hey hated it so much that they canned around 90% of the movie and hired Renny Harlin to remake it. The original film was eventually released this year as [Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449086/) due to write in campaign from fans, so there are now battling prequels ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/14 "2005-10-08T01:29:09Z")
Wasn’t [Bunny Lake](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0058997/) missing for a while? Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/15 "2005-10-08T01:47:46Z")
> [@Dusty](#): > > Running time isn’t a useful measure for silent films as the frame rate is variable. The most recent restoration of _Metropolis_ transfered the prints at 24fps and was 124 minutes long. It’s the most complete version known to exist, but is still missing about 30 minutes (using that same frame rate). There is a 210 minute version, but it’s actually less complete–it just runs much slower and reuses a few shots. I hate to pit my faulty memory against someone who clearly knows what they’re talking about, but when I saw it recently it was preceded by a brief talk in which they explained that a four hour version was circulating awhile back (which may just be an exaggeration of the 210-minute version you’re discussing - I don’t know) that was essentially just every scrap of film from it they could find - I was left with the impression, at least, that it was considered to be much further from the director’s vision, as it was sliced and diced (and may even have had footage that was not put in the director’s own release of the film, though again, my memory fails me.) It’s safe to say, though, that it wasn’t a good version of the film. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/16 "2005-10-08T02:10:35Z")
The OP asked about movies. But a lot of important television broadcasts are lost. Among those which no longer exist: The first commercial American television broadcast in 1939 with Franklin Roosevelt opening the World’s Fair Harry Truman giving the first Presidential address from the White House The first Super Bowl in 1967 The first NFL championship game in 1951 Don Larsen’s perfect World Series game Johnny Carson’s first _Tonight Show_ (along with most of Steve Allen’s shows) Early BBC concerts by The Beatles Over half of the original _Honeymooners_ episodes _Hound of Heaven_, a 1953 TV movie featuring James Dean Several years worth of early _Dr Who_ episodes The entire run of Ernie Kovac’s first series, _Time to Get Ready_ Pretty much every episode of game shows and soap operas from the 40s and 50s and many from the 60s ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/17 "2005-10-08T02:18:37Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > Pretty much every episode of game shows and soap operas from the 40s and 50s and many from the 60s Actually, they were still erasing daytime programming as late as 1978. As far as films go: Of the various films made using the 2-color Technicolor process in the 1920’s and early 1930’s, a large number either don’t exist altogether, or only exist in 1) fragments or 2) black-and-white copies. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/18 "2005-10-08T03:10:05Z")
Slightly off topic, but wasn’t most of the D-Day invasion footage lost to the sea? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/19 "2005-10-08T03:58:28Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Slightly off topic, but wasn’t most of the D-Day invasion footage lost to the sea? I don’t think there were any newreel cameras on the beach at D-Day. You might be misremembering [Robert Cappa](http://www.skylighters.org/photos/robertcapa.html), a _Life_ photographer who took 106 shots on the beach only to have all but eleven of them lost when an over-anxious technician cranked the heat on the dryer up too high. Those were still photos, though, not moving. DD ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225/20 "2005-10-08T04:33:08Z")
Relevant to the topic of this thread, the [Film Threat](http://www.filmthreat.com/) had two editions of [the Top 10 Lost Films](http://www.filmthreat.com/Features.asp?Id=1197). The website also has a weekly feature called [“The Bootleg Files”](http://www.filmthreat.com/Features.asp?Id=1589) which reviews movies and TV shows which are considered “lost” or have simply fallen through the cracks so that they’re not readily available on tape or DVD. BTW, isn’t this topic better suited for Cafe Society? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-latest-lost-major-movie/325225.md?page=2)