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Author Topic: London After Midnight found? Frank Bruno Film Handler Posts: 50 From: houston, tx Registered: Aug 2003 posted 07-28-2008 02:43 AM                     So this sounds like a fish story to me, but aintitcool.com is running a link to this. Their link doesn't work, but I found it anyway. This guy claims to have handled an acetate print of Lon Chaney Srs London After Midnight in the 80s as part of the Turner collection, and to have been trying to hunt the print down since. Does any of this sound particularly sensible OR bullshit to anyone here? I'm "lost film" geek enough to think it an interesting read anyway, even if the writer is a bit "me me me." I wasn't aware of the Rick Schmidlin "reconstruction." Is that worth a watch? I did enjoy his attempt at Greed.  |  IP: Logged Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 07-28-2008 06:23 AM                     Your right about the me, me, me part of the article. But the Jefferson storage site did have problems over the years with tagging material. I've been to the Jefferson site during those days and to other film storage areas on the studio lots.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 07-28-2008 08:49 AM                        Urban legend.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 07-28-2008 12:14 PM                       I've never heard of this picture until today. There are tons of lost movies, why is this one in particular so important?  |  IP: Logged Todd McCracken Master Film Handler Posts: 263 From: Northridge, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2008 posted 07-28-2008 12:24 PM                    Well it was a very successful Lon Chaney film that did exist until modern times but was lost in a fire. I think the combination of the star power and they fact that some people actually screened this as late as the 50's have led to its prominence in lost film lore.  |  IP: Logged Gene Stavis Film Handler Posts: 26 From: New York, NY Registered: Aug 1999 posted 07-28-2008 12:48 PM                        It is famous because Forrest Ackerman made it so to several generations of people who were in love with horror films. From the reconstruction shown on TCM and from the personal recollections of historian Bill Everson, it was in fact a particularly mediocre film which was more notable for its comic relief than for its horror content. Lon Chaney's Sr.'s reputation has also made it sought-after, but in truth there are other lost Chaney films which sound far more interesting yet are totally unknown.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-28-2008 03:20 PM                     Is the version of treasure island with chaney playing blind man Pew exist or is it lost  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 07-28-2008 05:33 PM                       quote: it was in fact a particularly mediocre film... there are other lost Chaney films which sound far more interesting This is precisely the impression I got reading the story of the fellow who saw the print on the shelf. He went around flagging down people in the business who could do something with it, but it seemed like he was the only one who cared. That spoke volumes.  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 07-30-2008 05:45 AM                     quote: Todd McCracken Well it was a very successful Lon Chaney film that did exist until modern times but was lost in a fire. I think the combination of the star power and they fact that some people actually screened this as late as the 50's have led to its prominence in lost film lore. Interesting that at the time of the vault fire the film was only 40 years old, and that was now 41 years ago, so the film has now been 'lost' for more than half its life.  |  IP: Logged Jack Theakston Master Film Handler Posts: 411 From: New York, USA Registered: Sep 2007 posted 07-30-2008 02:48 PM                     After reading this article, I must stress to those who don't know better that this is a hoax, and a poor one at that. It was also done in very poor taste in the wake of the legitimate METROPOLIS discovery. quote: Gordon McLeod Is the version of treasure island with chaney playing blind man Pew exist or is it lost Still lost.  |  IP: Logged Frank Bruno Film Handler Posts: 50 From: houston, tx Registered: Aug 2003 posted 07-31-2008 01:37 PM                     Which article? the one I started with. Kind of figured as much. The one Leo posted admits to being a prank on the last page, (and the dvd cover looks REALLY photoshopped.) Just a sucker for the lost-film mythos, I guess. It is a shame that far better things have supposedly been lost, but I still kind of hope they surface anyway. I mean, even the Day the Clown Cried might still be awful, remarkably or unremarkably so, but I'd still love to see it.  |  IP: Logged Todd McCracken Master Film Handler Posts: 263 From: Northridge, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2008 posted 08-14-2008 02:59 PM                    Well, add this to this list of empty hopes it seems. Bet they got allot of traffic on their board from this though...  |  IP: Logged

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