"London After Midnight" Television Question in Silent Horror Forum

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"London After Midnight" Television Question

Author	Comment
JoeM	"London After Midnight" Television Question	Lead	[-]
Jun 26 11 9:33 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Before the last known copy of "London After Midnight" was destroyed in the fire in a MGM film vault in 1967 does anyone know whether it ever had a confirmed television broadcast?
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DonM435		#1	[-]
Jun 26 11 1:16 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Growing up in the late 1950s / early 1960s, the only silent films I ever saw telecast were on the "educational" channels -- and I don't think there were any of those in my area until about 1962. I'm not counting silents that were played, sometimes dubbed over, for mockery. So, unless some PBS affiliate had acces to a copy of the film, I'd say the odds are slim.
Rider		#2	[-]
Jun 26 11 1:43 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm pretty sure this is covered in the other massive LAM threads. Some people claim to have seen it on TV. Some people also claim to have held the reals. Some people also claim to be taken by aliens and probed... Simple fact is that LAM is gone and no mater how much we talk about it, it will still be gone. There are people with better resources and access that have and are looking for it. Endless talk about theories and rumors on message boards got old long ago.
JoeM		#3	[-]
Jun 26 11 2:23 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I was not speaking of the "rumors" that it was shown on AMC, but a confirmed broadcast before 1967.
Rick		#4	[-]
Jun 26 11 2:28 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Never heard of one. Never saw it listed in TV Guide, and I used to read the listings religiously. I agree with Don. The only silent I ever saw on TV before PBS started occasionally showing them was KING OF KINGS, which one of the local stations ran every Easter afternoon. I don't even remember any other silent showing up in all those years of TV Guide.
Rider		#5	[-]
Jun 26 11 2:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	JoeM wrote: I was not speaking of the "rumors" that it was shown on AMC, but a confirmed broadcast before 1967. I was not speaking of rumors that it was shown on AMC either. I was talking about rumors that it was shown on TV back in the 50's and 60's.
Ted Newsom		#6	[-]
Jun 26 11 2:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The answer, Joe, is a resounding "No." It never happened.
JoeM		#7	[-]
Jun 26 11 4:24 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks. I actually know of a customer or friend of a good friend of mine (Bob Hermann of Robbie's Reels http://www.robbiesreels.com) who saw it in the 60's-I know, I know what that sounds like, but the gentlemen who saw it has been listed in articles/books discussing it, but I am drawing a blank on his name. He was either doing a documentary or writing something and MGM gave him a screening of both London After Midnight and Mark of the Vampire. He has always told my friend that in his opinion Mark of the Vampire was a better film.
PhantomXCI		#8	[-]
Jun 26 11 4:34 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, depending upon whom they were talking to, both William K. Everson and David Bradley confirmed and denied they saw LAM at MGM in the '50s. There were never any TV broadcasts, because there were no 16mm prints in syndication.
Rider		#9	[-]
Jun 26 11 4:40 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	So basically we just have another random rumors thread.
PhantomXCI		#10	[-]
Jun 26 11 4:43 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Is there any other kind of thread where LAM is concerned?
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JoeM		#11	[-]
Jun 26 11 4:45 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I believe it was William K. Everson. Not sure if he did or not and that really was the reason for my post. Just curious if there were any confirmed television showings. Thanks for all the information.
todmichel		#12	[-]
Jun 27 11 1:46 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Apparently, LAM was never shown on television in America. However, the question is interesting, as some silents WERE shown on TV in other countries, so the discussion remains open. Secondly, we can reasonably assume that every official film archive has been asked on the subject, but even this isn't sure. Do you know if Asian archives were searched, for instance? after all, it's in Japan that the uncut "Dracula / Horror of Dracula" was found. And remember the recent discovery of the Argentinian print of METROPOLIS. Many old prints still remain in foreign archives (and Army archives) in different countries. The German language version of "The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case" was found in Russia, for instance. And don't forget private collectors. Many of them keep the contents of their collection like a state secret - it can be more easy to enter in FBI or Vatican's hidden archives. So, nobody can tell if LAM is really lost - it's just "lost" at this moment, but what about the future?
TServo4		#13	[-]
Jun 27 11 2:09 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	after all, it's in Japan that the uncut "Dracula / Horror of Dracula" was found. Supposedly. I'll believe it when I see screenshots. No offense to Mr. Le Strange, but it wouldn't be the first time someone toyed with a bunch of people. If LAM ever turns up (and I wish it would so people would just shut up about it already), it's going to be a freak surprise, not some History Detectives-esque scavenger hunt by some fanboys. J. Theakston Capitol Theatre, Rome, NY
Ted Newsom		#14	[-]
Jun 27 11 2:20 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I dealt with the Tokyo archive prior to this current go-round, and nearly had the material shipped over here for a telecine, so I tend to believe the tale M'sieur LeStrange has told, which dovetails with details I know personally. But yeah... we'll see, we'll see. J-C has a good point about foriegn holdings, however. Add in THE GHOUL found in the Czech archives & the subsequent (obvious?) print found at the BFI.
TServo4		#15	[-]
Jun 27 11 2:29 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	True... true... but also keep in mind that a lot of those "great finds" were done in the days before the proliferation of the Internet. Today, things are a bit more "connected" in that regard. Most of the archives know what they have, though. It's not like the LoC or BFI have so much stuff that they're overwhelmed—there are many years that have gone into cataloging what they have, and as new stuff comes in (and yes, there is a lot of it), there are people I know who are really on it. Those same people spend their personal time going through the "unidentified" stuff and try to identify it (the Association of Moving Image Archivists has an entire website dedicated to identifying frames scanned in.) The more recent stuff usually surfaces when either famed archive gets a donation and voilà... instant find. The other instances, like the Buenos Aires METROPOLIS find are rare instances where an archive is formed or just getting their things together, and during cataloging come across something good. And those are really rare instances. Gosfilmofond, which was considered by many as "the place where all the goods are hidden" actually has a very thorough catalog of what they've actually got... so some of these things aren't as hidden in shadows as one might think. And as for private collectors—I know a LOT of 35mm collectors. Even the most batshit crazy ones always brag about the crown jewel in their collection. I've never come across the mythical, "lone wolf" collector who doesn't want you to know what he has. J. Theakston Capitol Theatre, Rome, NY
Ted Newsom		#16	[-]
Jun 27 11 3:19 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	-- which is why I don't buy the "Somebody stole it" part of the disappearance of the 3-color Technicolor neg of the SON OF FRANKENSTEIN tests. Someone would've talked. A treasure ain't no durn good iff'n ya don't git braggin' rights with it. It's sitting in a trim box, inside a bigger anonymous trim box, on some shelf in a vault in New Jersey. The only question is... which one?
Tim Hammell		#17	[-]
Jun 27 11 12:24 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	LOST FILM DETECTIVES, a new reality TV series on TCM this Fall. Applications for host/detectives now being considered. : )
DonM435		#18	[-]
Jun 27 11 9:36 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's too bad that some Uncle Jocko didn't show the film on his Saturday morning fun TV show while making jokes about it. If they kinescoped the show for a later rerun, it just might turn up.
PhantomXCI		#19	[-]
Jun 27 11 10:22 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	They generally didn't kinescope movies, because they already existed on film.
DonM435		#20	[-]
Jun 27 11 10:25 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	PhantomXCI wrote: They generally didn't kinescope movies, because they already existed on film. I was referring to a possible recording of the hypothetical show on which the movie may conceivably have played.
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"London After Midnight" Television Question

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