Lost and Hard-to-Find movies; the ones that got away in Movie of the Day Forum

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Lost and Hard-to-Find movies; the ones that got away

Author	Comment
Dave Sindelar	Master of the World (1934) aka Der Herr der Welt	#21	[-]
May 31 07 5:48 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Master of the World (1934) aka Der Herr der Welt Directed by Henry Piel Featuring Walter Jannsen, Sybile Schmitz, Walter Franck Listed in: Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide by Bryan Senn and John Johnson Fantastic Content: The story involves an army of robots created by a mad scientist. Commentary: Just so THE LAST MAN ON EARTH doesn't get lonely, here's another movie I can't find that has the same title as an unrelated Vincent Price movie. I have no idea if this one exists or not, but the fact that it has no user comments or votes on IMDB certainly doesn't bode well. I'm classifying it as unknown. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	A Message from Mars (1913)	#22	[-]
May 31 07 6:01 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	A Message from Mars (1913) Directed by Wallett Waller Featuring Charles Hawtrey, E. Holman Clark, Crissie Bell Listed in: Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide by Bryan Senn and John Johnson Fantastic content: A martian comes to earth to reform a selfish man. Commentary: I don't know if this movie version exists or not, but I have had the pleasure of reading the play version on which this was based. It's your basic variation of "A Christmas Carol" with martians instead of ghosts. It must have been popular in its day; the movie was remade in 1921, and I've had no more luck finding that one than I have this one. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	The Picture of Dorian Gray (1917)	#23	[-]
May 31 07 6:08 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The Picture of Dorian Gray (1917) aka Das Bildnes des Dorian Gray Directed by Richard Oswald Featuring Bernd Aldor, Ernst Pittschau, Ernst Ludwig Listed in: Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide by Bryan Senn and John Johnson Fantastic Content: Another version of the Oscar Wilde novel; you know the story. Commentary: I've been told that this one is lost. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Bill Warren	Re: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1917)	#24	[-]
May 31 07 6:17 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* the fact that it has 13 votes on IMDB and user comments by F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre doesn't really convince me. You are wise in your generation, grasshopper. MacIntyre is a notorious blowhard. I'm curious: do you use other sources than Senn and Johnson? Do >they< use Walt Lee's Reference Guide and the various Don Willis books?
Barbenfouillis	some info...	#25	[-]
May 31 07 7:05 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The Last Man on Earth (1924) is at MOMA. However, I've never seen it either. I have seen a video of most of Der Herr der Welt. Its a grey market jobbie that looks like it was taken from TV. The copy that I have is missing some footage; presumably because the person didnt get a chance to tape the whole thing, iirc. So, I suppose the whole thing is extant. Ive heard that A Message from Mars (the 1913 version) is also at MOMA. This is from a correspondence with the folks at the Library of Congress. Never seen it, tho'. The story was made into a (poorly written) novel. There's a rare photoplay version with a few scenes; that I have seen for what it is worth. Steve Joyce
Dave Sindelar	Re: some info...	#26	[-]
May 31 07 7:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks, Steve; I amended the master list at the top of the thread to reflect their status. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	Re: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1917)	#27	[-]
May 31 07 7:33 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* I'm curious: do you use other sources than Senn and Johnson? Currently, I use five sources to compile my hunt lists. The source I list with each movie was the one where I first encountered the movie and added it to my hunt list. Currently, here are the five sources I use. 1) Senn and Johnson's "Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide" 2) Harris M. Lentz III's "Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Film and Television Credits, Volume 2" 1983 edition. 3) John Stanley's "Creature Features Movie Guide Strikes Again" 4) Nash and Ross's "The Motion Picture Guide" Sound ere only, with the 1985 supplement 5) Willis' "Horror and Science Fiction Films" The first volume. I chose the Senn and Johnson guide to kick off my hunt lists precisely because it wasn't comprehensive; when I first started the project, I wanted to start out with more familiar and easy to find titles, and with its 2500 entries in its index, it gives a decent coverage of the more familiar genre titles. And yes, I did actually pay a fortune for that mediocre "The Motion Picture Guide", but since it does classify movies by genre, I found a use for it. I do add new books after each run through the sets. The other three Willis books and the Walt Lee guides (which I did not have at the time I started this project) will be used. Practically any movie guide I have that either purports to be exclusively genre or adds genre classifications to its listings will be used. The Walt Lee guide is so comprehensive that I may save it for later on, and I plan to use IMDB itself as well; it classifies almost 22000 of its movies as belonging to the fantastic genres. I don't know if the Senn and Johnson guide used the Walt Lee guide at all; they don't list any bibliography. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Bill Warren	Re: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1917)	#28	[-]
May 31 07 9:35 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Supposed reference books that don't include bibiliographies I generally consider dubious sources at best.
Dave Sindelar	Re: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1917)	#29	[-]
May 31 07 9:59 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I don't disagree with that, but for the purposes of using it as one of many lists of genre movies, it works well enough. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	Sindbad, Alibaba and Aladdin (1965)	#30	[-]
Jun 2 07 12:01 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Time to enter a few more... Sindbad, Alibaba and Aladdin (1965) Directed by Prem Narayan Arora Featuring Pradeep Kumar, Sayeeda Khan, Agha Listed in: Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide by Bryan Senn and John Johnson Fantastic Content: Arabian nights-style fantastic content - flying carpet, genie, etcs. A fire-breathing dragon is also in here. Commentary: Of the sources I'm using to compile my hunt list at this point, only the Willis book bothers much with the output of Bollywood, and I've only used that source for very early movies at this point. The other books were published before the recent interest in the prolific cinematic output of India blossomed. As a result, this is the only Bollywood movie on my hunt list, and it has remained elusive for me. I don't know whether this one is lost or not, but my gut reaction at this point is that it exists out there somewhere and that it's only a matter of time before it pops up. So I'm classifying it as hard to find. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Bill Warren	Re: Sindbad, Alibaba and Aladdin (1965)	#31	[-]
Jun 2 07 1:32 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	For his most recent volume, Don Willis began haunting ethnic video stores in the San Francisco Bay area, turning up dozens, probably hundreds, of fantastic films, many of which were probably never mentioned in any other U.S./British source.
Dave Sindelar	Sinbad the Sailor (1919)	#32	[-]
Jun 2 07 3:03 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Sinbad the Sailor (1919) Directed by Norman Dawn Featuring George Hupp, Raymond Lee Listed in: Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide by Bryan Senn and John Johnson Fantastic Content: Given it's the story of Sinbad, I'm guessing that there's some Arabian Nights-style fantasy elements. Commentary: Given that this a silent version of an Arabain Nights story with a cast of children, this is a companion piece to ALADDIN AND THE WONDERFUL LAMP (1917), which I covered nearly four years ago. The main difference is that I can't find this one. I don't know if it's lost or really hard to find, so I place it in the unknown category. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	The Wizard (1927)	#33	[-]
Jun 2 07 3:17 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The Wizard (1927) Directed by Richard Rosson Featuring Edmund Lowe, Leila Hyams, Gustav von Seyffertitz Listed in: Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide by Bryan Senn and John Johnson Fantastic Content: The plot involves an ape that has a human face grafted onto it, and is used in a plot of revenge. Commentary: I originally classified this one as being lost, but now I'm not so sure. There are 68 votes for it on IMDB, and one user comment from someone other than FGM, and it leaves me wondering if a copy of it has been dredged up somewhere. It's one of several versions of Gaston Leroux's novel, "Balaoo". Granted, this could be another false lead, and it may still indeed be lost, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt at this time and classify it as hard-to-find. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	The Queen of Atlantis (1932)	#34	[-]
Jun 2 07 3:25 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The Queen of Atlantis (1932) Directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst Featuring Brigitte Helm, Gustav Diessl, Vladimir Sokoloff Listed in: Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide by Bryan Senn and John Johnson Fantastic Content: Atlantis is discovered in the middle of a desert. Commentary: This movie was made in three different languages concurrently. I've covered the English and French versions. However, the source from which I first got this one lists the French title (L'ATLANTIDE), and then gives the cast for the German version. I can understand this somewhat; all three were directed by the same man and feature Brigitte Helm as Antinea. The German version appears to be lost, however, and I classify it as such. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	The Gorilla (1930)	#35	[-]
Jun 2 07 3:39 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The Gorilla (1930) Directed by Bryan Foy Featuring Joe Frisco, Harry Gribbon, Walter Pidgeon Listed in: Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide by Bryan Senn and John Johnson Fantastic Content: See THE GORILLA (1927); this is the first sound remake of that one. THE GORILLA (1939) is another version. Commentary: There used to be a website out there about vitaphone that was very useful; it contained lists of the releases by the major studios from 1925 through 1935, and it marked which of them were considered lost. Unfortunately, I can't find the web site anymore, but that was where I discovered that this version of the movie was as lost as the 1927 version, and at least one of the user comments on IMDB confirms this. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	A Message From Mars (1921)	#36	[-]
Jun 5 07 5:10 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	A few more for the list... A Message From Mars (1921) Directed by Maxwell Karger Featuring Bert Lytell, Raye Dean, Maud Milton Listed in: Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide by Bryan Senn and John Johnson Fantastic Content: The Martian Reformation League strikes again, another sinner is reformed. Commentary: It's another version of the play that also served the basis for the 1913 version of the movie. I don't know whether this one exists either, so I'll classify it as unknown. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	A Trip to Mars (1910)	#37	[-]
Jun 5 07 5:22 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	A Trip to Mars (1910) Director Unknown Cast Unknown Listed in: Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide by Bryan Senn and John Johnson Fantastic Content: A professor creates an anti-gravity powder which takes him to Mars. There he meets a gigantic Martian monster. Commentary: IMDB has proven invaluable with this project; I've used the My Movies option to maintain these lists and help me find my movies. Yet, there remains a handful of movies that contain no listing on IMDB, and this is one of them. All I know about it is that it is from Edision studios, and the basic plot above is in agreement between several sources. Once again, I don't know if this is lost, but the lack of a listing in IMDB does not bode well. I'll classify it as unknown. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	The Ace of Scotland Yard (1929)	#38	[-]
Jun 5 07 5:58 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The Ace of Scotland Yard (1929) Serial Directed by Ray Taylor Featuring Crauford Kent, Monte Montague, Grace Cunard Listed in: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film and Television Credits by Harris M. Lentz III Fantastic Content: The plot involves a cursed ring, a mummy (though perhaps not a walking one), and some of the sources describe it as a little bit spooky. Commentary: The Silent Era website has a database of movies that are presumed lost, though it is far from complete. It does mark this silent serial as being lost, though, so I'll take them at their word. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1910)	#39	[-]
Jun 5 07 6:05 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1910) Directed by Edwin S. Porter Cast unknown. Listed in: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film and Television Credits by Harris M. Lentz III Fantastic content: It would be difficult doing an adaptation of the Lewis Carroll story without some form of fantastic content, but with these silent shorts, it can be difficult to tell which elements pop up. Commentary: I don't know if this one is lost or not. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	Along the Moonbeam Trail (1920)	#40	[-]
Jun 5 07 6:12 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Along the Moonbeam Trail (1920) Directed by Herbert M. Dawley and Willis O'Brien Cast unknown. Listed in: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film and Television Credits by Harris M. Lentz III Fantastic content: It features a trip to the moon and dinosaurs. Commentary: This silent short borrows footage from another O'Brien movie, THE GHOST OF SLUMBER MOUNTAIN. From all reports, this one is lost. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"

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Lost and Hard-to-Find movies; the ones that got away