LIST

List Of Lost Films (All Films--Silents Prominently Marked)

4 DEVILS (1928) IMDb TWO VERSIONS

Country:  USA

Genre: Drama

Studio: Fox

Release Date:  1 August 1929

Director: F. W. Murnau

First Billed:  Janet Gaynor

Filming Location(s): ?

Sound:  Silent Version & Sound Version: Mono (MovieTone)

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1

Technicals: 35mm Spherical

Running Time: 97 minutes (1 Hour 37 Minutes) Silent Version/100 minutes (1 Hour 40 minutes) Sound Version

Notes:  It is thought the only surviving copy of the film was thought to have be destroyed by once of the actresses who appeared in the film Mary Duncan when she borrowed the nitrate film from Fox to screen for friends in Florida.  They story goes that she threw it into the ocean after the screening--but that might be apocryphal--nitrate simply does not travel well. If the film was damaged in any way, she may have simply tossed it out.  In any case, she just assumed that Fox had another copy--they didn't.  When Murnau's Sunrise (1927) was released on DVD in 2003, Fox put together a montage of  photographs, still, voiceover and sketches to give an approximate idea of what the film would have been like.  This same feature is also included in the Blu Ray release of Sunrise as well.

Added: 25 June 2017

ACROSS THE PACIFIC (1926) IMDb SILENT

Country: USA

Genre: Romance/War

Studio: Warner Bros.

Release Date:  2 October 1926

Director: Roy Del Ruth

First Billed: Monte Blue

Filming Location (s): ?

Sound: Silent 

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1

Technicals: 35mm Spherical (7 reels)

Running Time: 78 minutes (1 Hour 18 Minutes)

Notes: Oddly this film had it's copyright renewed in 1956.  This was often the case with silent films that were to be copied specifically for broadcast for television, but nothing with this film was done.  Many silent films, such as Lubitsch's Lady Windemere's Fan (1925), would not have survived if not for this coping process in the 1950's.  It is possible that when it came time to copy the film, the print was too degraded to use, or simply not where records claimed it was being stored.  There is no word on any nitrate print having actually been examined in 1956 or after.  

Added: 27 June 2017

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A BADLY MANAGED HOTEL (1896) IMDb SILENT

Country:  France

Genre: Short Comedy

Studio: Star-Film

Year: 1896

Director:  Georges Méliès

Sound:  Silent

Black & White

Notes: The original French title was L'hôtel empoisonné.  This is, unfortunately, one of many Méliès films from 1896 that have been lost.  

Added: 27 June 2017

THE CALLAHANS AND THE MURPHYS (1927) IMDb SILENT

Country: USA

Genre: Comedy Drama

Studio: MGM

Release Date: 18 June 1927

Director: George W. Hill

First Billed:  Marie Dressler

Filming Location:  MGM Studios, Hollywood

Sound: Silent

Black & White

Aspect Ratio:  1:33:1

Technicals:  35mm Spherical (7 reels)

Running Time: 70 minutes (1 Hour 10 MInutes)

Added: 2 July 2017

CONDEMNED TO DEATH (1932) IMDb

Country: United Kingdom

Genre: Crime/Horror

Studio: Julius Hagen Productions

Release Date: 30 May 1932

Director:  Walter Forde

First Billed: Arthur Wontner

Filming Location(s): ?

Sound: Mono (RCA Photophone)

Black & White

Aspect Ratio:  1:20:1

Technicals:  35mm Spherical (8 reels)

Running Time:  75 minutes (1 hour 15 minutes)

Notes:  Back in the early 1990's the British Film Institute started a search for lost British films, they found a cut print of this in France, dubbed into French.  As far as I know, there have been no restoration efforts or plans to release it for home viewing.  The print is not complete, but the film is still basically intact.

Added: 21 June 2017

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DANSE SERPENTINE (1896/I) IMDb SILENT

Country: France

Genre: Short Fancy

Studio: None

Year:  1896

Director: Georges Méliès

First Billed:  None

Filming Location: ?

Sound: Silent

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: None specified

Technicals: None specified

Running Time: Unknown (likely not more than 2 minutes)

Notes:  Yet another Méliès film from 1896 that is lost (though all hope is not gone, in 2004 a short of his was indeed found intact!).  Please note that a couple of individuals on IMDb are confused as to what film they have seen and have, unfortunately, reviewed the wrong film under this title--the dead give away is the colorization of the Lumiere film from the same year listed in the database under the exact same name, but with the designation 1896/II.  That film thankfully survives in all of it's glory.  There were, in fact, many Serpentine Dances filmed on both sides of the Atlantic; the Edison company had their own versions of it that pre-date these two films.   Making both of these remakes.

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DOLLARS AND THE WOMAN (1916) IMDb SILENT

Country:  USA

Genre: Drama

Studio: Lubin Manufacturing Co.

Release Date: 20 March 1916

Director:  Joseph Kaufman

First Billed:  Tom Moore

Filming Location(s): ?

Sound: Silent

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1

Technicals: 35mm Spherical (6 reels)

Running Time: ?

Added: 29 June 2017

FAIR AND MUDDY (1928) IMDb SILENT

Country:  USA

Genre: Comedic Short

Studio:  Hal Roach Studios

Release Date: 5 May 1928

Director:  Charles Oelze

First Billed:  Joe Cobb

Filming Location(s): ?

Sound:  Silent

Black & White

Aspect Ratio:  1:33:1

Technicals: 35mm Spherical (2 reels)

Running Time: 20 minutes

Notes:  Reportedly a full and complete copy of this film has been found "abroad," but without any more specifics, this can't be verified at this time.  This is an Our Gang film.

Added: 4 July 2017

GALLOPING FURY (1927) IMDb SILENT 

Country:  USA

Genre: Western Comedy

Studio:  Universal 

Director:  B. Reeves Eason

First Billed:  Hoot Gibson

Filming Location(s):  ?

Sound: Silent 

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1

Technicals: 35mm Spherical

Running Time: 1 Hour

Notes:  This may or may not be one of the casualties of the Universal vault fire in the 1960's--there seems to be considerable amount of confusion as to what befell this film.  There is known to be a old Mutoscope copy that can be viewed through the paying machine, see YouTube.  

Added: 5 July 2017

HALBBLUT [Half Blood] (1919) IMDb SILENT

Country: Germany

Genre: Fantasy

Studio:  Decla-Bioscope AG

Release Date: 3 April 1919

Director: Fritz Lang

First Billed: Ressel Orla

Filming Location: Decla-Studio

Sound: Silent

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1

Technicals: 35mm Spherical

Running Time:  ?

Notes:  This is Fritz Lang's directorial debut (he also penned the script).  It is such a shame that it is lost to history!

Added 6 July 2017

IL MONSTRO DI FRANKENSTEIN (1921) IMDb SILENT

Country: Italy

Genre: Horror

Studio: Albertini Film

Release Date: 4 July 1921

Director: Eugenio Testa

First Billed: Linda Albertini

Filming Location(s): ?

Sound: Silent 

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1

Technicals: 35mm Spherical (4 reels)

Running Time: 39 minutes

Notes: The concept of the original idea for this film as envisioned by Testa was met with severe backlash by Italian censors.  I don't believe any sources know how long the film would have been if it had not been seriously cut to pieces.  The heavily censored version at 39 minutes long is the only known version to ever have been screened and even that is completely lost now as well.

Added: 6 July 2017

THE IMMIGRANT (1915) IMBb SILENT

Country:  USA

Genre:  Drama

Studio: Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company

Release Date: 20 December 1915

Director: George Melford

First Billed:  Valeska Suratt

Filming Location(s): ?

Sound:  Silent

Black & White

Aspect Ratio:  1:33:1

Technicals: 35 mm Spherical (5 reels)

Running Time: 50 minutes

Notes:  This is the only film that Valeska Suratt made for a company other than Fox.

Added 23 July 2017

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JULIUS CAESAR (1911) IMDb SILENT

Country:  UK/Portugal

Genre: History

Studio:  Co-operative Cinematograph

Release Date:  March 1911

Director:  Frank R. Benson

First Billed: Frank R. Benson

Filming Location(s): ?

Sound:  Silent 

Black & White

Aspect Ratio:  1:33:1

Technicals:  35mm Spherical (1 reel)

Running Time:  ? (Definitely 45 minutes or less)

Added:  8 July 2017

KISS ME AGAIN (1925) IMDb SILENT

Country:  USA

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Studio: Warner Bros.

Release Date: 1 August 1925

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

First Billed:  Marie Prevost

Filming Location(s): ?

Sound: Silent

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1

Technicals: 35mm Spherical (7 reels)

Running Time: ? (definitely feature length)

Notes:  Unfortunately this Lubitsch film didn't have the same happy fate as his other romantic comedy from the same year: Lady Windermere's Fan.  That later film was saved from being lost by the copying of for broadcast on television--but that was a program of the 1950's.  This film is listed as being "junked" by Warner Bros. in 1948, before studios realized the importance of saving films specifically for airing on TV.  It was the only known copy of the film and the print was a nitrate print.

Added: 9 July 2017

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LE FAKIR, MYSTERE INDIEN (1896) IMDb SILENT

Country:  France

Genre: Short Fancy

Studio: Théâtre Robert-Houdin

Year:  1896

Director:  Georges Méliès

First Billed:  ?

Filming Location(s): ?

Sound: Silent

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: ?

Technicals: ?

Running Time: ? (probably no more than a minute)

Added: 10 July 2017

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MARKET DAY (1896) IMDb SILENT

Country:  France

Genre: Documentary Short

Studio:  None

Year: 1896

Director: Georges Méliès

First Billed:  ?

Filming Location(s): ?

Sound: Silent 

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: ?

Technicals:  ?

Running Time: ? (mostly not more than 1 minute)

Added:  12 July 2017

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NAVAL REVIEW AT CHERBURG (1896) IMDb SILENT

Country:  France

Genre: Documentary Short

Studio: ?

Year: 1896

Director: Georges Méliès

First Billed: None

Filming Location(s): ? (one can assume Cherbourg)

Sound: Silent 

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: ?

Technicals: ?

Running Time: ? (one can assume a minute or less)

Notes:  The actual place in France where this would have been shot is Cherbourg, but the film is listed in the Méliès catalog as spelled "Cherburg."

Added:  14 July 2017

NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER (1914) IMDb SILENT

Country:  USA

Genre: Fantasy

Studio: Universal

Release Date: 25 April 1914

Director: Herbert Benon

First Billed:  Annette Kellerman

Sound: Silent

Black & White

Filming Locations: IMDb

Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1

Technicals: 35mm Spherical (7 Reels)

Running Time: 70 minutes (1 Hour 10 Minutes)

Notes: There are two lengthy fragments that have been confirmed to survive, both were held in foreign films vaults (one in Australia and one in Russia), that may now be in private hands domestically.

Added: 20 June 2017

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Officers Of French Army Leaving Service (1896) IMDb SILENT

Country:  France

Genre: Documentary Short

Studio: ?

Year: 1896

Director: Georges Méliès

First Billed: None

Sound: Silent 

Black & White

Filming Location(S): ?

Aspect Ratio: ?

Technicals: ?

Running Time: ? (probably no more than 1 minute)

Added: 14 July 2017

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PALIMPSEST (1919) IMDb SILENT

Country: Czechoslovakia 

Genre: Drama

Studio: ?

Release Date: 10 October 1919

Director: Joe Jencik

First Billed:  Anny Ondra

Sound:  Silent

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: ?

Technicals: ?

Running Time:  ?

Added: 17 July 2017

THE QUEEN OF SHEBA (1921) IMDb SILENT

Country: USA

Genre:  Drama

Studio:  FOX

Release Date: 10 April 1921

Director:  J. Gordon Edwards

First Billed: Betty Blythe

Filming Location: Laguna Beach, CA

Sound:  Silent

Black & White

Aspect Ratio:  1:33:1

Technicals:  35 mm Spherical (9 reels)

Running Time: 90 minutes

Added:  22 July 2017

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THE EAGLE'S TALON (1923) [Serial] IMDb SILENT

Country:  USA

Genre: Action

Studio: Universal

Release Date (Beginning On):  30 April 1923

Director:  Duke Worne

First Billed: Fred Thomson

Filming Locations: ?

Sound: Silent

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1

Technicals:  35mm Spherical (30 reels, in 15 episodes)

Running Time: Total ?

Added: 3 July 2017

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THE RAG PICKER (1896) IMDb SILENT

Country:  France

Genre: Comedic Short

Studio: Théâtre Robert-Houdin

Years:  1896

Director:  Georges Méliès

First Billed: ?

Filming Location(s): ?

Sound:  Silent 

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: ?

Technicals: ?

Running Time: ? (most likely a minute or less)

Added: 10 August 2017

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THE SIREN (1927) IMDb SILENT

Country:  USA

Genre: Drama

Studio: Columbia Pictures

Release Date:  20 December 1927

Director:  Byron Haskin

First Billed:  Tom Moore

Sound:  SILENT

Black & White

Filming Location(s): ?

Aspect Ratio:  1:33:1

Technicals:  35mm Spherical (6 reels)

Running Time: 58 minutes

Added:  30 June 2017

THE SOUL OF BROADWAY (1915) IMDb SILENT

Country: USA

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Studio:  Fox

Release Date: 18 October 1915

Director:  Herbert Brenon

First Billed: Valeska Suratt

Filming Locations: IMDb

Sound: Silent

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1

Technicals: 35mm Spherical (5 reels)

Running Time: ?

Notes:  This film was one of the casualties of the infamous 1937 Fox vault fire.  The film marked "vamp" Valeska Suratt's silver screen debut.  

Added: 28 June 2017

THE STRAIGHT WAY (1916) IMDb SILENT

Country: USA

Genre: Drama

Studio: Fox

Release Date:  18 September 1916

Director: Will S. Davis

First Billed:  Valeska Suratt

Filming Location(s):  ?

Sound: Silent 

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1

Technicals: 35 mm Spherical (5 reels)

Running Time: 50 minutes

Added: 15 July 2017

Still from the film showing Bara in costume

UNDER TWO FLAGS (1916) IMDb SILENT 

Country:  USA

Genre: Adventure Drama

Studio: Fox

Release Date:  31 July 1916

Director: J. Gordon Edwards

First Billed: Theda Bara

Sound:  Silent

Black & White

Filming Location: New Jersey (home of the first studio system)

Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1

Technicals: 35mm Spherical (6 Reels)

Running Time: 60 minutes (1 Hour)

Added:  25 June 2017

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UNMASKED (1929) IMDb EARLY TALKIE

Country: USA

Genre:  Mystery

Studio:  Weiss Brothers Artclass Pictures

Release Date:  15 December 1929

Director:  Edgar Lewis

First Billed: Robert Warwick

Sound: De Forest Phonofilm

Black & White

Filming Location: New York City

Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1

Technicals: 35mm Spherical (6 Reels)

Running Time: 62 minutes (1 Hour 2 Minutes)

Added: 22 June 2017

THE VICTIM (1916) IMDb SILENT

Country: USA

Genre: Crime (Vamp)

Studio:  Fox

Release Date:  25 December 1916

Director:  Will S. Davis

First Billed:  Valeska Suratt

Filming Location(s): ?

Sound:  Silent 

Black & White

Aspect Ratio:  1:33:1

Technicals:  35mm Spherical (5 reels)

Running Time: ?

Added: 16 July 2017

THE WOLF MAN (1924) IMDb SILENT

Country:  USA

Genre: Drama

Studio: FOX

Release Date:  17 February 1924

Director:  Edmund Mortimer

Frist Billed:  John Gilbert

Filming Location(s): ?

Sound: Silent

Black & White

Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1

Technicals:  35mm Spherical (6 reels)

Running: 60 minutes

Added: 11 July 2017