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	The Devil's Mother-in-Law (1910)	#1581	[-]
Sep 23 12 7:11 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The Devil's Mother-in-Law (1910) Director unknown Cast unknown Country: USA Company: Pathe Listed in "Horror and Science Fiction Films" by Donald C. Willis Fantastic content: The devil and hell Commentary: If you were the devil, and you got married, where would you have your mother-in-law stay? The answer to that question is probably the main gag in what I suspect was a comic short; actually, I suspect any movie with "mother-in-law" in the title is going to turn out to be a comedy. There's no listing for this one on IMDB. I'm classifying the survival status as Unknown. Oh, Benson, dear Benson, you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence!
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dcwillis9		#1582	[-]
Sep 23 12 8:15 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Dave Sindelar wrote: Time for a few more rarities to make room for some which I can (hopefully) find. The Devil (1910) Director unknown Cast unknown Country: USA Company: Powers Picture Plays Listed in "Horror and Science Fiction Films" by Donald C. Willis Fantastic content: Mephistopheles... Commentary: ... but not really. In truth, it's some guy in a Mephistopheles costume that scares people, as the Willis guide says. I've noticed that the Willis guide was more likely to include marginal concepts than the Walt Lee guide was, and sure enough, this movie ended up in the Exclusions section of the latter guide. Still, I don't mind these marginal titles; it gives me a chance to cover a wide spectrum. And once again, we have a title which is a bear to search for. I'm classifying the survival status as Unknown. Sometimes, I think I cast my net too wide. I guess I feared the sin of omission more than the sin of inclusion. But I'm not going to dwell too much on decisions made 40-some years ago....
doctor kiss		#1583	[-]
Sep 23 12 10:45 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Dave Sindelar wrote: The Devil (1910) Country: USA Company: Powers Picture Plays Many have tried to shake off the Devil, but in this incarnation he really is LOST. The Devil as Lawyer (1911) Country: UK Company: Messter There's no listing for this on IMDB, and I found myself checking the title against "The British Film Catalogue 1895-1985". It's not listed there, which didn't surprise me; for some reason, I had a feeling that this might be a British title to a non-British movie, though which one, I don't know. I'm classifying the survival status as Unknown. Indeed, this is definitely the British title of a German production by Messter. In 1911, Messter released 149 movies and the British titles for 46 of them have been matched up so far; but that leaves a lot of detective work to be done... and as of yet, the original title of THE DEVIL AS LAWYER remains unidentified (and clearly wasn't a direct translation of the German title, which would have made things easier!). Hence it retains UNKNOWN status from my standpoint too. The Devil's Billiard Table (1910) aja Ginhara ou Fidele jusqu'a la mort Directed by Georges Hatot and Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset Country: France Company: Eclair Fantastic content: A man sells his soul to the devil... Commentary:... so that he can win a pool competition. It seems like a an odd thing to sell your soul for, but I suppose there are those who might want it badly enough to do so. A lot of sources identify this as the English-language title of GINHARA OU FIDÈLE JUSQU'À LA MORT... but that was an entirely different Éclair production released on the same date in the US. Consequently the attribution of direction is wrong also, since Hatot and Jasset were the co-directors of GINHARA, and not of this short. In fact, THE DEVIL'S BILLIARD TABLE was originally LE BILLARD DU DIABLE [CITWF], which is considered to be LOST. Two different movies (!): The Devil's Fiddler (1914) Country: UK or Denmark Company: Apex or Biograph Fantastic content: A woman under a musical spell dances herself to death. Commentary: Allmovies.com has a fairly elaborate plot description of this one. However, I find contradictory information depending on which source I go to. Is it English or Danish? Is it from Apex or Biograph? Could we actually be dealing with two movies? I'm not sure, but for the moment, I'm classifying its survival status as Unknown. This was a Danish movie imported to the US through the Apex Film Co. office in New York; thankfully not only the copyright entry filed at the Library of Congress reveals its Danish origins, but also the US advertising which promoted the fact that two of the cast members had appeared in the recent box office smash SEALED ORDERS (the US release title of Benjamin Christensen's DET HEMMELIGHEDSFULDE X [1914]). What the advertising neglected to mention was that the 'new release' THE DEVIL'S FIDDLER was already two years old, having originally been titled DØDSVARSLET (1912; IMDb; CITWF). Although Biograph (or rather the Dansk Biograf Compagni) was named as the Danish distributor in paperwork filed by Apex, the movie had originally been produced by Filmfabrikken Skandinavien. A reasonably complete composite copy EXISTS, having been put together from surviving incomplete prints in the collections of Eye (formerly the Netherlands Film Museum) and Germany's Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv. The Devil's Mother-in-Law (1910) Country: USA Company: Pathe Commentary: If you were the devil, and you got married, where would you have your mother-in-law stay? The answer to that question is probably the main gag in what I suspect was a comic short; actually, I suspect any movie with "mother-in-law" in the title is going to turn out to be a comedy. There's no listing for this one on IMDB. And completing today's set of 'nationality-challenged' titles, this one was in fact a French production and originally titled UNE BELLE-MÈRE ENVOYÉE AU DIABLE [IMDb]. A copy with Portuguese intertitles (just to add to the confusion!) EXISTS in the collection of the British Film Institute under the title SOGRA ENVIADA AO DIABO. dcwillis9 wrote: Sometimes, I think I cast my net too wide. I guess I feared the sin of omission more than the sin of inclusion. But I'm not going to dwell too much on decisions made 40-some years ago.... Personally I'd rather any reference work offered too wide a selection of possible titles for inclusion... so that I can decide for myself whether or not to embrace all the suggestions. Rather that than constantly sensing that the author has edited out all kinds of potentially interesting material due to having inflexible criteria for what should be included... If people started going down that path, then 50% of the best threads at CHFB might suddenly disappear overnight! Last Edited By: doctor kiss Sep 23 12 10:48 PM. Edited 1 times.
Dave Sindelar		#1584	[-]
Sep 24 12 5:36 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks, doctor kiss! I've got all of the survival statuses updated! Oh, Benson, dear Benson, you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence!
Dave Sindelar	The Diamond Mystery (1913)	#1585	[-]
Oct 8 12 8:21 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's time for a few more rarities to get off my hunt list and on this one. The Diamond Mystery (1913) Directed by Charles Kent Featuring Charles Kent, Mary Maurice, Leah Baird Country: USA Company: Vitagraph Listed in "Horror and Science Fiction Films" by Donald C. Willis Fantastic content: Inventions and secret processes Commentary: The fantastic content is incredibly vague, but that's all I could find out about it. In fact, the Walt Lee guide consigns the movie to the Exclusions list, so I suspect that the content doesn't make much of a difference to the story. The tag line for the movie on IMDB makes it sound like the story won a contest in Motion Picture Story Magazine. I'm classifying its survival status as Unknown. Oh, Benson, dear Benson, you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence!
Dave Sindelar	Distilled Spirits (1915)	#1586	[-]
Oct 8 12 8:35 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Distilled Spirits (1915) Directed by Milton J. Fahrney Cast unknown Country: USA Company: MinA Listed in "Horror and Science Fiction Films" by Donald C. Willis Fantastic content: Devils, giants and strange creatures... Commentary: ... all scenes in a drunkard's visions, but I could have guessed that from the title. That's about all I can find on this one. I'm classifying the survival status as Unknown. Oh, Benson, dear Benson, you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence!
Dave Sindelar	Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1910)	#1587	[-]
Oct 8 12 8:54 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1910) aka Den skaebnesvangre opfindelse Directed by August Blom Featuring Alwin Neuss Country: Denmark Company: Nordisk Listed in "Horror and Science Fiction Films" by Donald C. Willis Fantastic content: It's the Jekyll and Hyde story. Commentary: There are five votes for this on IMDB, but I suspect the voters either got off on it being an early version of the famous story or were mistaking it for one of the earlier extant versions; according to Silent Era, this one is presumed lost. According to the Walt Lee guide, it turns out to be all a dream, which makes it closer to the Sheldon Lewis version of the story. I'm going with Silent Era on this one, and classifying it as Lost. Oh, Benson, dear Benson, you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence!
Dave Sindelar	Dr. Mesner's Fatal Presciption (1910)	#1588	[-]
Oct 8 12 9:31 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Dr. Mesner's Fatal Prescription (1910) Director unknown Cast unknown Country: UK Company: Warwick Listed in "Horror and Science Fiction Films" by Donald C. Willis Fantastic content: Mesmerism... Commentary: ... or, in this case Mesnerism; he must be a hypmotist or something. At any rate, he hypnotizes his wife to commit suicide. I'm a little skeptical about the country assigned to it, as I find no listing of the movie in The British Film Catalogue, so maybe it's the British title of a foreign movie. At any rate, there's no listing for it under this title on IMDB. I'm classifying the survival status as Unknown. Oh, Benson, dear Benson, you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence!
Dave Sindelar	Dr. Smith's Automaton (1910)	#1589	[-]
Oct 8 12 9:44 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Dr. Smith's Automaton (1910) Director unknown Cast unknown Country: France Company: Pathe Listed in "Horror and Science Fiction Films" by Donald C. Willis Fantastic content: Robot made of buckram of springs Commentary: According to the Willis guide, the robot is unstoppable. Quite frankly, I'd love to see what the robot in this one looks like, but I've had no luck finding it. There's no listing for it on IMDB under this title. I'm classifying its survival status as Unknown. Oh, Benson, dear Benson, you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence!
Barbenfouillis		#1590	[-]
Oct 8 12 11:44 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Dave Sindelar wrote: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1910) aka Den skaebnesvangre opfindelse Directed by August Blom Featuring Alwin Neuss Country: Denmark Company: Nordisk I suspect the voters either got off on it being an early version of the famous story or were mistaking it for one of the earlier extant versions; I guess that they didn't read the warning printed in The Moving Picture World of Sept 24, 1910 which commented on the Danish film"“We do not wish to compare the production with that of another firm that did it two years ago,..." Actually, if the IMDB contributors confused the film with another it was probably with a later version. I don't think anything 1910 or earlier survives when it comes to Jekyll/Hyde Films. Steve "This is the wireless detonator, men," he explained. "When I press this key it will complete a radio circuit in the real detonator tuned to this wave combination. As soon as I can get the boy Hank, I'll have him tow the old duck boat with the wireless bomb and leave it under the radio shack where that Evans chap has his laboratory and his confounded radioplane. Then blooey!"
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Barbenfouillis		#1591	[-]
Oct 9 12 12:13 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Dave Sindelar wrote: It's time for a few more rarities to get off my hunt list and on this one. The Diamond Mystery (1913) Directed by Charles Kent Featuring Charles Kent, Mary Maurice, Leah Baird Country: USA Company: Vitagraph The tag line for the movie on IMDB makes it sound like the story won a contest in Motion Picture Story Magazine. To add a little more...this in some sort of Question & Answer column from The Motion Picture Story Magazine in a late 1913 issue: "No, the Diamond Mystery was not like the scenario in the magazine; the director took liberties with the script". BTW, the MPSM issue is online at the Media History Digital Library. Steve "This is the wireless detonator, men," he explained. "When I press this key it will complete a radio circuit in the real detonator tuned to this wave combination. As soon as I can get the boy Hank, I'll have him tow the old duck boat with the wireless bomb and leave it under the radio shack where that Evans chap has his laboratory and his confounded radioplane. Then blooey!"
doctor kiss		#1592	[-]
Oct 9 12 4:45 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I fear that, with this latest bunch of titles, we've had a quintet of LOST films. THE DIAMOND MYSTERY (1913) and DISTILLED SPIRITS (1915) are both considered long-LOST, like the majority of movies by their production companies, Vitagraph and MinA (the latter a contraction of 'Made in America'). DR. MESNER'S FATAL PRESCRIPTION (1910) was indeed not a British-made movie, but rather a production of Warwick's French affiliate Raleigh et Robert. The original title was the 'grand guignol'-esque À HUIT HEURES, TU TE SUICIDERAS! ('At Eight O'Clock, You Will Commit Suicide!'), of which - like so much of Raleigh & Robert's output - there is no trace to be found in any online movie database. The movie appears to have been 'strong stuff' and was released only in France and Britain. It too is considered long-LOST; below is a list of R&R's releases for June 1910 by way of proof that the title ever existed at all: And DR. SMITH'S AUTOMATON (1910) was originally L'AUTOMATE DU DR. SMITH [IMDb; CITWF1; CITWF2]. Like you, I'd be intrigued to see what this oddly-constructed unstoppable automaton looked like, but not even a single still appears to have survived from this LOST title. Last Edited By: doctor kiss Oct 9 12 5:11 AM. Edited 1 times.
dcwillis9		#1593	[-]
Oct 9 12 11:54 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	doctor kiss wrote: I fear that, with this latest bunch of titles, we've had a quintet of LOST films. THE DIAMOND MYSTERY (1913) and DISTILLED SPIRITS (1915) are both considered long-LOST, like the majority of movies by their production companies, Vitagraph and MinA (the latter a contraction of 'Made in America'). DR. MESNER'S FATAL PRESCRIPTION (1910) was indeed not a British-made movie, but rather a production of Warwick's French affiliate Raleigh et Robert. The original title was the 'grand guignol'-esque À HUIT HEURES, TU TE SUICIDERAS! ('At Eight O'Clock, You Will Commit Suicide!'), of which - like so much of Raleigh & Robert's output - there is no trace to be found in any online movie database. The movie appears to have been 'strong stuff' and was released only in France and Britain. It too is considered long-LOST; below is a list of R&R's releases for June 1910 by way of proof that the title ever existed at all: Shades of "This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse"....
Dave Sindelar		#1594	[-]
Oct 9 12 8:48 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks, doctor kiss and Barbefoullis, for your help once again; I've marked all five of the films as Lost. And yes, I did mean "later" rather than earlier; I think I'm suffering from some sort of writers dyslexia that makes me choose the opposite word from the one I mean. Oh, Benson, dear Benson, you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence!
Dave Sindelar	The Doctor's Experiment (1908)	#1595	[-]
Oct 9 12 9:04 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The lack of movies continues, so I'm clearing out some more. The Doctor's Experiment (1908) Director unknown Cast unknown Country: France Company: Gaumont (?) Listed in "Horror and Science Fiction Films" by Donald C. Willis Fantastic content: Injection makes men act like monkeys Commentary: If all of the movies from the silent era were extant, you'd probably be able to stitch together a feature length compilation of all the shorts that came up with ways to make men behave like monkeys. What's intriguing about this one is that it has ten votes on IMDB, which implies that it still exists. So I'm going to classify it as Hard-to-Find, even though these votes aren't really proof. Maybe I'd just like to believe at least ONE of these films exist. The question mark after the company name is because only one of my sources references it; the others don't say one way or the other. Oh, Benson, dear Benson, you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence!
Dave Sindelar	Doomed (1909)	#1596	[-]
Oct 9 12 9:14 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Doomed (1909) Director unknown Cast unknown Country: France Company: Pathe Freres Listed in "Horror and Science Fiction Films" by Donald C. Willis Fantastic content: Either hypnotism or Satan himself. Commentary: One of my sources talks about a man with Satanic hypnotic powers, while another says that Satan himself is present. Which it is I can't say, since I haven't seen it. There's no listing for this one on IMDB, but it may exist under another title. I'm classifying the survival status as Unknown. Oh, Benson, dear Benson, you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence!
Dave Sindelar	The Dream of Old Scrooge (1910)	#1597	[-]
Oct 9 12 9:25 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The Dream of Old Scrooge (1910) aka Il sogno dell'usuraio Director unknown Cast unknown Country: Italy Company: Cines Listed in "Horror and Science Fiction Films" by Donald C. Willis Fantastic content: Scrooge = Christmas Carol = Ghosts Commentary: Looks like another adaptation of the Dickens classic. I'm classifying its survival status as Unknown. Oh, Benson, dear Benson, you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence!
Dave Sindelar	The Earthquake Alarm (1909)	#1598	[-]
Oct 9 12 9:44 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The Earthquake Alarm (1909) Director unknown Cast unknown Country: Germany Company: Schultze Listed in "Horror and Science Fiction Films" by Donald C. Willis Fantastic content: Alarm warns of impending earthquakes. Commentary: According to the Willis guide, the alarm goes off five minutes before the earthquake, allowing you to hit the snooze button and get a few extra winks. Beyond that, this movie may actually not be German; I notice that when I search the title on IMDB, I get a hit, only the movie I hit on is an Italian movie from a year earlier called L'AVVISATORE DI TERREMOTO by Itala. Different movies or the same? I can't say, but if they are different movies, there is no listing for this one on IMDB. I'm classifying the survival status as Unknown. Oh, Benson, dear Benson, you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence!
Dave Sindelar	Electrocuted (1911)	#1599	[-]
Oct 9 12 10:01 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Electrocuted (1911) aka L'electrocute Directed by Camille de Morlhon Cast unknown Country: France Company: Pathe Freres Listed in "Horror and Science Fiction Films" by Donald C. Willis Fantastic content: The body of a cook is revived through the use of electricity. Commentary: I may have the wrong listing on IMDB for this one. The Willis guide lists a 1907 movie by this title from Pathe, and so does the Walt Lee guide. The one listed above that I found from IMDB is also from Pathe, but it's from four years later. However, all the descriptions agree that it is the body of a cook specifically that is revived, and this leads me to believe they are all the same movie. This one is written by Abel Gance, and has five votes on IMDB, but Silent Era says the survival status is unknown. In this case, I'll agree with Silent Era. Oh, Benson, dear Benson, you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence!
doctor kiss		#1600	[-]
Oct 10 12 2:27 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	For a second day running, I think we have a quintet of LOST titles... in spite of any IMDb ratings that claim the contrary. Though I'll happily be corrected if anyone has proof otherwise, of course! But it seems to me that a certain number of people are giving ratings to movies there simply because they're genre and mentioned or written up in well-known works such as Gifford, The Overlook Encyclopedia, etc. A case in point is... The Doctor's Experiment (1908) Country: France Company: Gaumont (?) Listed in "Horror and Science Fiction Films" by Donald C. Willis What's intriguing about this one is that it has ten votes on IMDB, which implies that it still exists. So I'm going to classify it as Hard-to-Find, even though these votes aren't really proof. Maybe I'd just like to believe at least ONE of these films exist. The question mark after the company name is because only one of my sources references it; the others don't say one way or the other. This was originally LE SÉRUM DU SINGE [CITWF], and was indeed a Gaumont production. I actively looked for a copy when writing a chapter on pre-1914 'Darwinian transformation movies' in 1999/2000, and came up empty-handed. No FIAF archive claims to have any holdings relating to this title, and the Gaumont-Pathé Archives also consider it a LOST movie. What were the people at IMDb voting for? The fact it's mentioned in Gifford's 1969 book Movie Monsters? The fact his mini-write-up has been regurgitated unattributed all over the Internet? I can't believe they were getting mixed up with one such Gaumont movie that does exist, LA VÉRITÉ SUR L'HOMME-SINGE (The Truth Behind the Ape-Man, 1906)... So color me puzzled and yet still certain that this movie should be considered LOST. Doomed (1909) Country: France Company: Pathe Freres Fantastic content: Either hypnotism or Satan himself. Commentary: One of my sources talks about a man with Satanic hypnotic powers, while another says that Satan himself is present. Which it is I can't say, since I haven't seen it. Contemporary write-ups describe the hypnotic fellow as an 'old beggar' who turns out to be Satan in disguise... so really, you get both plot possibilities for your money! This was originally DAMNATION [IMDb], which CITWF [link] lists as LA DAMNATION, although there is no 'LA' in either the Pathé Catalogue or in contemporary French trade souces. The Gaumont-Pathé Archives, amongst others, consider this a LOST title. The Dream of Old Scrooge (1910) aka Il sogno dell'usuraio Country: Italy Company: Cines Commentary: Looks like another adaptation of the Dickens classic. I'm classifying its survival status as Unknown. And writers on the subject of 'Dickens on Film' have actively looked for this one in recent years and come to the conclusion that it should be considered LOST. Indeed, the write-up in The Bioscope referred to in the Willis guide seems to be the only surviving material of substance relating to this one at all. The Earthquake Alarm (1909) Country: Germany Company: Schultze Commentary: According to the Willis guide, the alarm goes off five minutes before the earthquake, allowing you to hit the snooze button and get a few extra winks. Beyond that, this movie may actually not be German; I notice that when I search the title on IMDB, I get a hit, only the movie I hit on is an Italian movie from a year earlier called L'AVVISATORE DI TERREMOTO by Itala. Different movies or the same? The German release in February 1909 went by the title DER ERDBEBENAPPARAT, but was definitely originally the Italian movie. Tellingly, in Italy, Germany and Britain alike the short was released on a split-reel with a second Itala production, VENEZIA (Lagoons of Venice and Chioggia, 1908). No archive claims to have any holdings on this title, so it too should be counted among the LOST. Electrocuted (1911) aka L'electrocute Directed by Camille de Morlhon Country: France Company: Pathe Freres Fantastic content: The body of a cook is revived through the use of electricity. Commentary: I may have the wrong listing on IMDB for this one. The Willis guide lists a 1907 movie by this title from Pathe, and so does the Walt Lee guide. The one listed above that I found from IMDB is also from Pathe, but it's from four years later. However, all the descriptions agree that it is the body of a cook specifically that is revived, and this leads me to believe they are all the same movie. This confusion stems from the fact that someone in the Internet age has attached the write-up for the 1907 movie to the 1911 film! Willis and Lee are both right to date this movie to 1907, as it premiered under its original title, L'ÉLECTROCUTÉ, at the Théâtre Omnia Pathé in Le Havre at the end of November 1907, prior to then being included in the French Pathé Catalogue Bulletin for January 1908. In February 1908, it was released in Germany as ELEKTRISIERT and in the US as ELECTROCUTED, being written up in the in-house trade journal Views and Film Index. Regardless of the fact that several IMDb voters believe they've seen the 1911 movie with this one's description attached to it (?!), the Gaumont-Pathé Archives once again consider this a LOST title. Here's a [link] to the correct listing at the IMDb.
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Lost and Hard-to-Find movies; the ones that got away