Lost silents found in New Zealand

[MichiganJ]

Thought the news deserved a thread of its own:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/movies/07silent.html

A partial list of the films:
http://www.filmpreservation.org/preserv ... highlights

[charliechaplinfan]

This is fantastic news, some really interesting films have turned up.

[MichiganJ]

And here is some news about a lost Chaplin Keystone film discovered in a Michigan antique sale.
(This has been a pretty great week for lost silents.)

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/natio ... 32037.html

[feaito]

Thanks for posting Kevin.

[MichiganJ]

Here's a link to a pretty good four and a half-minute audio news story from NPR about the silents found in New Zealand.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... mmentBlock

[Gagman 66]

A thread has been running about the matter since Sunday in the Silents portion of the TCM forum. This on top of the 5 Silents uncovered that were in Argentina recently, including CRIMSON CITY (1928) with Myrna Loy and Anna May Wong. Not to mention, the forgotten Chaplin Keystone short in Michigan. 2010 has been a very good year for the recovery of lost films.

As a Preferred Pictures release, MAYTIME is probably Public Domain fair, I would assume? So maybe Film Preservation Associates might swoop in and nab that one?

If it had been one of the lost Paramount's that was found, it would probably have just been stashed away again and we would never get a look anyway. Not that I wouldn't have gone wild if it had turned out to be ROUGH HOUSE ROSIE, LADIES OF THE MOB, or RED HAIR mind you.




This still of a young Clara appears to be from MAYTIME (1923)


I want to know what else was uncovered. All we have is a partial list thus far. Maybe the guy in charge of going through the prints didn't think it was important enough to mention names like Colleen Moore, Renee Adoree, Pola Negri, Corinne Griffith, Betty Compson, Nita Naldi, Vilma Banky, Jetta Goudal, Greta Nissen, Wanda Hawley, Esther Ralston, Billie Dove etc. But it sure is to me. Or Western Starrs like Tom Mix, Richard Dix, Fred Thompson, Hoot Gibson, Ken Maynard, and Art Accord just to name a few. The survival rate of Silent Westerns is truly abysmal. If there is anything there, I sure hope they will share the news with us.

There was a Jacqueline Logan 1928 film called MIDNIGHT MADNESS with Clive Brook. apparently in-tact, found in the bunch. And at least a fragment of a MGM movie with Ramon Novarro and Marceline Day called THE ROAD TO ROMANCE from 1927. It is unclear how much of the film is there. It could be the entire thing, or just a reel or two? Details have not been made public.

[charliechaplinfan]

And here is some news about a lost Chaplin Keystone film discovered in a Michigan antique sale.
(This has been a pretty great week for lost silents.)

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/natio ... 32037.html

That's even better news.

[feaito]

This on top of the 5 Silents uncovered that were in Argentina recently, including CRIMSON CITY (1928) with Myrna Loy and Anna May Wong.

I remember reading that among the 5 films discovered in Buenos Aires, were the only full-length surviving copy of "Metropolis" (1926); the only surviving copy of a Soviet film titled "My Son" (1928); and the only surviving prints of William S. Hart's "The Aryan" (1916) (No less!) and Mae Murray's "The Gilded Lily" (1921). An impressive list of Silents.

Does anyone know if the Library of Congress or any Archivist or company in the USA got hold of these films to restore, preserve and release them?

[Gagman 66]

Hey, take a gander at this amazing video. Pictured is Kodachrome (Kodak) Two-Color Test Footage from 1922. Actresses would include Mary Eaton, Hope Hampton and Mae Murray. The color is gorgeous. Not sure who the beautiful lady is in the revolutionary War cap? Woof! She needed more screen time. Lo! I wonder if this is the lone surviving footage from these tests? Hope is modeling costumes worn in the production of THE LIGHT AND THE DARK (1922) (which contained the first commercial use of Two-Color Kodachrome in a feature film.


[youtube][/youtube]

[MichiganJ]

Here's the link to a BBC video report on the premier of the lost Chaplin film:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-10673400