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

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Author	Comment
Barbenfouillis	A Trip to Mars	#41	[-]
(06/05/07 8:05 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	A Trip to Mars (1910/Edison) - exists. I've seen what I reckon is a good portion of the film which I take to be incomplete. The reason that I say this is that back in the 80s I got a grey-market tape from a fellow called Rex Miller. He sold it under the title of Moonstones, Milestones & Touchstones . (anybody remember that one?) I'm assuming that this was culled from some sort of documentary (never have been able to find out which) since there is a present-day narrator in the background. It seemed like there may be some footage missing but who knows it might be the full thing. The film is at George Eastman House. So sayeth Madeline F. Matz of Library of Congress anyway. Treasures from the Film Archives by Ronald S. Magliozzi puts this in a Romanian archive. On a tangent...there were zillions of early films with "A Trip to Mars"...the renamed, pirated "A Trip to the Moon", a Koko the Clown Fleischer (extant and on DVD) and if I'm not off base an alternate title of Himmelskibet. Of course, none of them, even the Edison "A Trip to Mars", have any relation to "Edison's Conquest of Mars" !!! That was a book written by Garrett P. Serviss: www.gutenberg.org/etext/19141 Steve
GaryP11111	Re: The Wizard	#42	[-]
(06/05/07 9:59 PM) Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	It's lost. The comments posted on the film's IMDB entry illuminate only the most commonly known elements of the movie's plot. The story uses little from Balaoo and is much more a swipe from Neilan/First National's GO AND GET IT (1920). Some of my research pertaining to THE WIZARD (as well as THE GORILLA) is included in an article in the current issue of MONSTERS FROM THE VAULT. The previous issue includes a comprehensive look at GO AND GET IT (part 1 of the article in the current MFTV). GARY L. PRANGE "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectos nunc."
Dave Sindelar	Re: The Wizard	#43	[-]
(06/05/07 10:19 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Thanks, Gary; I'll amend my master list accordingly. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	Les Dieux s'amusent (1935)	#44	[-]
(06/07/07 5:21 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	And now for a few more... Les Dieux s'amusent (1935) Directed by Reinhold Schunzel and Albert Valentin Featuring Henri Garat, Armand Bernard, Jeanne Boitel Listed in: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film and Television Credits by Harris M. Lentz III Fantastic content: The ancient Greek god show up in the story. Commentary: I manage to catch the movie AMPHITRYON for this series, and even though it was in unsubtitled German, I felt I was lucky to just get a copy. Like several other movies from that time, parallel versions were made for other languages. This is the French version of that movie, but, unlike the German version, I can't find it anywhere. I'm calling it hard-to-find. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	The Arc (1919)	#45	[-]
(06/07/07 5:32 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	The Arc (1919) aka Die Arche Directed by Richard Oswald Featuring Leo Connard, Eva Speyer, Georg H. Schnell Listed in: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film and Television Credits by Harris M. Lentz III Fantastic Content: Information is pretty scanty on this one, but the plot involves the future destruction of civilization. Commentary: This is one of those that I've never heard anything about. All I know is that I can't find it anywhere. I'm classifying it as HARD-TO-FIND. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	The Artist's Dream (1898)	#46	[-]
(06/07/07 5:41 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	The Artist's Dream (1898) aka Reve d'artiste Directed by Georges Melies Cast unknown Listed in: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film and Television Credits by Harris M. Lentz III Fantastic Content: A woman in a painting comes to life in a dream. Commentary: There are several early silent movies with the same title from the late nineteenth/early twentieth century, and at least one of them exists. It does not appear to be the Melies one, though, and Elizabeth Ezra's book on Melies, which lists a filmography of all of Melies' extant films, does not list this one. I'm calling it lost. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	At the Villa Rose (1920)	#47	[-]
(06/07/07 5:51 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	At the Villa Rose (1920) Directed by Maurice Elvey Featuring Manora Thew, Langhorn Burton, Teddy Arundell Listed in: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film and Television Credits by Harris M. Lentz III Fantastic Content: Good question; my sources are singularly vague on this one. It appears to be a murder mystery with only borderline horror elements, with a possible plot involving psychics. Commentary: I've got three different versions of this movie on my hunt list, none of which I can find. Currently, the status of this one is unknown, so I'm putting it as unknown. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	Baddesley Manor: The Phantom Gambler (1926)	#48	[-]
(06/07/07 6:08 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Baddesley Manor: The Phantom Gambler (1926) Directed by Maurice Elvey Featuring John Stuart, Hugh Miller, Fred Raynham Listed in: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film and Television Credits by Harris M. Lentz III Fantastic Content: A man loses a wager with Death. Commentary: This was part of a series known as "Haunted Castles". I have no idea if any of them exist. I'm classifying this as Unknown. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Bill Warren	Re: Baddesley Manor: The Phantom Gambler (1926)	#49	[-]
(06/11/07 11:46 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Have you ever browsed through Denis Gifford's BRITISH FILM CATALOGUE?
Dave Sindelar	Re: Baddesley Manor: The Phantom Gambler (1926)	#50	[-]
(06/12/07 6:45 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	No, I haven't. Would it be useful for me? If so, I'll try to hunt down a copy. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Bill Warren	Re: Baddesley Manor: The Phantom Gambler (1926)	#51	[-]
(06/12/07 1:06 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	*Quote:* Would it be useful for me? That's hard to say. It's very thick, very thorough, and covers the years 1895-1985. I have a copy here.
Dave Sindelar	Re: Baddesley Manor: The Phantom Gambler (1926)	#52	[-]
(06/12/07 2:20 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	If it makes some attempt to break out movies by genre, it would definitely be of use to me. If not, it still might be useful to me if it helps me find more elaborate descriptions of some of the movies I can't find. I found some inexpensive copies on the web, so I might just order one. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
doctor kiss	Re: Denis Gifford's BRITISH FILM CATALOGUE	#53	[-]
(06/13/07 3:48 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Denis Gifford's book offers only a one- or two-line capsule description for each entry, so you wouldn't gain any 'elaborate descriptions' from it; however, every entry (and there are over 15,000 entries in all!) identifies the film in question by genre, and offers a useful selection of credits/length/producer/distributor/censor-rating information. The book is arranged chronologically, and its real strength lies in the number of pertinent British-made silents and early talkies it lists, many of which aren't mentioned in any other source. Here are a couple of sample entries... From 1901: From 1914: From 1919:
doctor kiss	Re: The Arc (1919)	#54	[-]
(06/13/07 4:18 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	*Quote:* The Arc (1919) aka Die Arche Directed by Richard Oswald Featuring Leo Connard, Eva Speyer, Georg H. Schnell Fantastic Content: Information is pretty scanty on this one, but the plot involves the future destruction of civilization. Commentary: This is one of those that I've never heard anything about. All I know is that I can't find it anywhere. I'm classifying it as HARD-TO-FIND. This film is actually near the head of my movies-I-wish-weren't-lost list; but, sadly, I've never turned up so much as a meaningful fragment in any archive. Based on Werner Scheff's novel Die letzten Menschen (The Last Humans; never published in English), it was a two-part film directed and produced by Richard Oswald (who made the well-known UNHEIMLICHE GESCHICHTEN [Eerie Tales] starring Conrad Veidt the same year). Karl Freund was the cinematographer. The first feature-length part, DIE ARCHE, was released on 16 September 1919, with the concluding feature-length part, DIE LETZTEN MENSCHEN, following the next month. Here's part of the tantalising 'teaser' description from the 1919 German programme to the film: "Engineer Walter Fahr has constructed a massive passenger submarine, the 'Gloria'. The vessel undertakes a test journey with various esteemed invitees aboard, together with several animals, and the blind passenger Professor Keigo Sotuma. (...) When those aboard the 'Gloria' return to the surface, they find a ship whose entire crew is dead. It is the astronomer Sotuma who figures out what has happened: during their undersea journey, the Earth was scorched by the tail of a comet, and all life extinguished. The 'Gloria' sails back to shore, carrying the final humans into a dead world..."
doctor kiss	Re: Les Dieux s'amusent (1935)	#55	[-]
(06/13/07 9:47 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	*Quote:* Les Dieux s'amusent (1935) Directed by Reinhold Schunzel and Albert Valentin Featuring Henri Garat, Armand Bernard, Jeanne Boitel I manage to catch the movie AMPHITRYON for this series, and even though it was in unsubtitled German, I felt I was lucky to just get a copy. Like several other movies from that time, parallel versions were made for other languages. This is the French version of that movie, but, unlike the German version, I can't find it anywhere. I'm calling it hard-to-find. Indeed, the film still exists, and is merely hard-to-find. It was screened publicly for the first time in many years at the 2005 Cinefest Film Festival in Hamburg, which was dedicated to the subject of 'multi-language versions'. Sadly, I never made it to the Cinefest that year, so I can't comment further.
Dave Sindelar	Re: Les Dieux s'amusent (1935)	#56	[-]
(06/13/07 11:50 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Thanks for the samples of the Gifford book; it sounds like it will definitely be useful to me, so I have it on order. It's also good to know I was right about LES DIEUX S'AMUSENT, but your comments on THE ARC have lead me to believe that I should reclassify it as lost. Thanks! ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	The Basilisk (1914)	#57	[-]
(06/17/07 9:15 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	...and now for a few more. The Basilisk (1914) Directed by Cecil M. Hepworth Featuring William Felton, Cyril Morton, Tom Powers Listed in: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film and Television Credits by Harris M. Lentz III Fantastic content: It's a short horror film involving a hypnotist who uses his power on a woman so that she will kill the man she loves. Commentary: A basilisk is a legendary creature with a deadly look; I'm assuming it's a metaphor for the hypnotist. I have no idea if this British short still exists or not. I'm putting the status as "unknown". ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	The Bewitched Inn (1897)	#58	[-]
(06/17/07 9:25 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	The Bewitched Inn (1897) aka L'Auberge ensorcelee Directed by Georges Melies Cast unknown, but knowing Melies, he's probably in it. Listed in: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film and Television Credits by Harris M. Lentz III Fantastic content: A man's clothing and furniture comes to life at an inn. Commentary: According to the Ezra book, this is one of the extant films of Georges Melies. It does not appear to be one of the seventy or so that I've been able to find at this point. I'm still hoping that a boxed set of the works of Melies will manifest itself and make it available, but for now, I have to classify it as "hard-to-find". ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	The Bishop of the Ozarks (1923)	#59	[-]
(06/17/07 9:36 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	The Bishop of the Ozarks (1923) Directed by Finis Fox Featuring Milford W. Howard, Derelys Perdue, Cecil Holland Listed in: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film and Television Credits by Harris M. Lentz III Fantastic content: The plot involves telepathic mind control and seances. Commentary: There are a few votes for this one on IMDB, which opens up the possibility that it might exist. However, I think I need a little more evidence to say for sure; I know that I haven't found it anywhere. I'm classifying it as "unknown". ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"
Dave Sindelar	The Black Box (1915)	#60	[-]
(06/17/07 9:44 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	The Black Box (1915) Directed by Otis Turner Featuring Herbert Rawlinson, Ann Little, William Worthington Listed in: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film and Television Credits by Harris M. Lentz III Fantastic Content: According to Walt Lee's book, this serial has a whole slew of fantastic content, including ape men, electric thought transference, and invisibility. Commentary: IMDB has a few votes for it, but Silent Era classifies it as lost. I'm going with the latter one myself. ***************** "A maniac with a lot of knowledge is a threat!"

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