Sherlock Holmes
According toMartin Scorsese ’s Film Foundation , half of all American moving picture made from before 1950 , and 90 per centum of films made before 1929 are lost . That ’s in the United States alone . The old frail ( and inflammable ) nitrate flick were easily lost or destroy , in an era when film was not being carefully taken guardianship of .
Here ’s a facial expression at some of the lost films from around the world throughout the decades , what they were about , and what happened to them . Not all Bob Hope is lose , but the betting odds of recovery are pretty low .
A Study In Scarlet
As part of the lean of The British Film Institute ’s " Most Wanted " missing films , A Study In Scarletis one of the former media incarnations of the famousSherlock Holmes . The film is named for the novel of the same name , by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle , who authorized the output of the film .
The tether actor was vagabond due to his close resemblance to Sherlock Holmes ( harmonize to early sketches in the published novel ) . The sarcasm of the earth ’s greatest tec and his whereabouts being a mystery story is surely not lost on the tribe searching for the moving-picture show .
The Idiot (Original Version)
ground on the Fyodor Dostoevsky novel of the same name , The Idiotwas a project guarantee byAkira Kurosawa , one of movie theater ’s most far-famed directors . The cinema was originally pose at 265 minute , a four and a half - time of day film . It was meant to be presented as a two - part motion-picture show , however , it was evince in full distance to the studio apartment , who demanded across-the-board cuts to make the runtime more bearable .
A acerbic Kurosawa went along with it , and years subsequently , he return to the same studio to make another pic , and while he was there , he search for the chopped footage , to no service .
The Mountain Eagle
Yet another top - grade filmmaking legend , Alfred Hitchcock’sThe Mountain Eaglewas the director ’s second celluloid he ever made and was a silent melodrama . LikeA Study In Scarlet , it is also on the BFI ’s " Most want " list , though it is actually the top priority .
In a change from his usual expressive style , the film was shot in Germany , so Hitchcock was able to get off studio micromanaging , and likewise , was influenced by German movie house in the devising of the film . The shoot was chevvy with problems , but the picture show still manage to be made , and sadly , all that is depart of the trial by ordeal are a few photograph stills .
Hollywood
Also bonk asHollywood And The Only Child , this hide gem was a film that was a spiritual root to 1992’sThe Player . The film was about an aspire actress going off to Hollywood to become a star , showcasing the brashness and glamor of the experience , along with the pit .
It featured a mass of cameo from massive stars at the clock time , among them being Fatty Arbuckle , Charlie Chaplain , Mary Astor , Douglas Fairbanks , and about 30 others .
The Patriot
The Patriotis a biographical film touch on Emperor Paul I of Russia , the son of Catherine the Great . famous German worker Eil Jannings was in the lead function ( who would laterruin his careerby starring in Nazi propaganda films ) and was nominated for Best Actor at the Second Academy Awards .
The film was also nominated for Best Picture , the last silent film to receive a nominating speech in that category until 2012’sThe Artist . The fact that there was an Oscar - nominate film that survive missing showcases how bad the old archiving and protection was for all films .
The Magnificent Ambersons (Original Version)
Yet another prolific filmmaker who suffer from studio apartment changes wasOrson Welles . Like Hitchcock withThe Mountain Eagle , Orson’sThe Magnificent Ambersons(based on the Booth Tarkington novel of the same name ) was his 2nd film , however , a rendering of the plastic film does subsist , and it is actually considered to be great .
At least an hour of footage , if not more , was disregard from the movie , and to make matter worse , the ending was interchange to be more upbeat and happy to please ecumenical audience . besides , Bernard Herrmann , one of the most celebrated film composers , was angry at the film ’s changes because his score was blue-pencil down , and he insist his name be removed . Welles lamented the changes and always wanted to re - shoot the ending or find his old footage , but was never able to do so . And worst of all , the consultation response to both rendering of the celluloid was about the same .
London After Midnight
An experimental enigma film with elements of revulsion , London After Midnightstarred " The Man Of a Thousand Faces " star Lon Chaney , and was conduct by Tod Browning ( who also directed Bela Lugosi’sDracula ) .
The film imply hypnosis and murder and featured Chaney in a dual role . Sadly , the only known rendering of the film was destroyed in the terrible 1965 MGM vault fire , along with century of other movies . The film ’s post horse ( the only one known to still be ) is the most valuable poster ever auctioneer off , for a damage of virtually half a million dollars , and it went to Metallica ’s Kirk Hammett .
The Life Of General Villa
frivol away during the Mexican Revolution , The Life of General Villawas a quasi - biographical film with staged and live footage shot on placement . The very controversial D.W. Griffith ( managing director ofBirth of a Nation ) produced it , and the picture boast actual footage of Pancho Villa , who resolve to be in the movie to fund himself during his warfare efforts .
Pancho Villa , his common red-hot - headed ego , was quite charismatic onscreen … until the film depict people strip corpses for their gold teeth after Villa ’s sack squads had shot them . The film disappeared , which is exceedingly disappointing from both a cinematic and a historical position .
Greed (Original Version)
The Silent Era , for all of the experimenting that was present , did have its limits . Erich von Stroheim ’s magnum opus , Greed , ground on the novelMcTeague , was over nine hour long in its first version . That was , naturally , far too foresighted for oecumenical audience to sit through . Von Stroheim ’s declaration did not give him for post - production employment , so to edit such a long motion-picture show down ( from 85 hour to nine ) to get down with and not be paid for it must have been awful . Then , cut down the nine - time of day version he was proud of must have been even worse .
The best to come out of the mountain was a four - hour cut many eld down the route , and only a handful of people ever saw the full - length version of the film . Despite that , many conductor of noted background have give great praise for it or now tell it was the best moving-picture show ever made , including Orson Welles ( whose own movieCitizen Kaneis often hold thebest movie ever made ) . As of this class , the copyright forGreedhas expired , meaning it is now in the public domain for anyone to view .
Batman Fights Dracula
As the most recent launching on this tilt ( being farm in 1967),Batman Fights Draculawas a film produced in the Phillippines that cash in on the popularity of the 1960sAdam West Batman . The problem was , it did so without getting permit from DC Comics .
Amazingly , this is not even the first or the last first film to have Batman fight Dracula . There ’s Andy Warhol’sBatman Dracula , made in 1964 ( again , without permission ) , theElseworldscomic encounter in 1991 , and the 2005 animated filmThe Batman vs. Dracula .
NEXT : The 15 Best ( And Strangest ) Batman Crossovers
