Reasons for film loss Lost film

theda bara in cleopatra (1917). stills , less 1 minute of film known have survived.



the first men in moon (1919), lost british film, reputedly first movie ever based entirely on famous science fiction novel .

most lost films silent film , talkie era, 1894 1930. martin scorsese s film foundation estimates more 90% of american films made before 1929 lost , library of congress estimates 75% of silent films lost forever.

the largest cause of silent film loss intentional destruction, silent films perceived having little or no commercial value after end of silent era 1930. film preservationist robert a. harris has said, of films did not survive because of wholesale junking studios. there no thought of ever saving these films. needed vault space , materials expensive house.

many other motion pictures lost because nitrate film used 35 mm negatives , prints made before 1952 highly flammable. when in badly deteriorated condition , improperly stored (e.g., in sun-baked shed), nitrate film can spontaneously combust. fires have destroyed entire archives of films. example, storage vault fire in 1937 destroyed original negatives of fox pictures pre-1935 films. 1967 mgm vault fire resulted in loss of hundreds more silent films , talkies.

humor risk (1921), long-lost, first marx brothers film. pictured in photograph same year, left right, zeppo, groucho, harpo, , chico.

nitrate film chemically unstable , on time can decay sticky mass or powder akin gunpowder. process can unpredictable: nitrate film 1890s still in condition today, while later nitrate had scrapped unsalvageable when barely 20 years old. depends on environment in stored. ideal conditions of low temperature, low humidity, , adequate ventilation can preserve nitrate film centuries, in practice, storage conditions far ideal. when film on nitrate base said have been preserved , means has been copied onto safety film or, more recently, digitized; both methods result in loss of quality.

eastman kodak introduced nonflammable 35 mm film stock in spring 1909. however, plasticizers used make film flexible evaporated quickly, making film dry , brittle, causing splices part , perforations tear. 1911, major american film studios using nitrate stock. safety film relegated sub-35 mm formats such 16 mm , 8 mm until improvements made in late 1940s.

tenderloin (1928), starring dolores costello, second vitaphone feature have talking sequences. considered lost film because soundtrack known have survived.

some pre-1931 sound films made warner bros. , first national have been lost because used sound-on-disc system separate soundtrack on special phonograph records. if of film s soundtrack discs not found in 1950s when 16 mm sound-on-film reduction prints of talkies being made inclusion in television syndication packages, film s chances of survival plummeted: many sound-on-disc films have survived way of 16 mm prints.

gold diggers of broadway (1929), third warner bros. film shot in technicolor, partially lost film .

before eras of sound film, television , later home video, films viewed having little future value when theatrical runs ended. thus, many deliberately destroyed save space , cost of storage; many recycled silver content. many technicolor two-color negatives 1920s , 1930s thrown out when studios refused reclaim films, still being held technicolor in vaults. used prints sold scrap dealers , cut short segments use small, hand-cranked 35 mm movie projectors, sold toy showing brief excerpts hollywood movies @ home.

as consequence of widespread lack of care, work of many filmmakers , performers has made way present in fragmentary form. high-profile example case of theda bara. 1 of best-known actresses of silent era, made 40 films, 6 known exist. clara bow equally celebrated in heyday, 20 of 57 films lost, , 5 incomplete. once-popular stage actresses such pauline frederick , elsie ferguson, made jump silent films, largely forgotten minimal archive represent careers; fewer 10 movies exist frederick s 1915–1928 work, , ferguson has 2 surviving films, 1 1919 , talkie 1930.

john wayne in lost john ford western oregon trail (1936)

this preferable fate of stage actress , bara rival valeska suratt, entire film career has been lost. western hero william farnum, fox player bara , suratt, 1 of screen s big western actors rivaling likes of william s. hart, tom mix, , harry carey. farnum has 3 of fox films extant. other male performers, such francis x. bushman , william desmond, had numerous film credits, films made in heyday missing due junking, neglect, or studios being defunct. nevertheless, unlike suratt , bara, these men continued working sound era , television, later performances can observed , appreciated.

occasional exceptions exist; of charlie chaplin s films entire career have survived, extensive amounts of unused footage dating 1916. exceptions woman of sea (which destroyed himself tax writeoff) , 1 of keystone films, friend bandit (see unknown chaplin). filmography of d. w. griffith complete, many of biograph films deposited company in paper print form @ library of congress. many of griffith s feature-film works of 1910s , 1920s found way film collection @ museum of modern art in 1930s, , preserved under auspices of curator iris barry. mary pickford s filmography complete: years spent griffith, , gained control of own productions in late 1910s , 1920s. backtracked many of zukor-controlled famous players films salvageable. stars such chaplin , douglas fairbanks enjoyed stupendous popularity, , films reissued on , on throughout silent era, meaning prints of films surface decades later. pickford, chaplin, harold lloyd, , cecil b. demille champions of film preservation, though lloyd lost number of silent works in vault fire in 1940s.