The most famous lost film in history might actually be a massive disappointment
In short: London After Midnight, a 1927 silent horror starring Lon Chaney, vanished in a 1965 studio fire. It remains a holy grail for collectors, with a single surviving poster selling for nearly half a million dollars. Yet, historians suggest that if the film were ever recovered, it would likely underwhelm audiences.
Directed by Tod Browning, London After Midnight was a commercial success for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, earning a $540,000 profit upon its 1927 release. The plot follows Inspector Burke, played by Lon Chaney, as he investigates a suspicious suicide that he eventually reveals to be a murder. Chaney famously performed a dual role, donning grotesque vampire makeup to manipulate suspects through hypnosis. This makeup, featuring sharp teeth and wire-fitted eye effects, became iconic, even inspiring the look of the monster in the 2014 film The Babadook.
Despite its legendary status, contemporary reviews were decidedly mixed. Critics frequently labeled the narrative incoherent and nonsensical, noting that the atmospheric horror elements were limited to a small portion of the runtime. Much of the film was reportedly occupied by comic relief and dialogue-heavy scenes. Historians like Jon C. Mirsalis argue that the film’s reputation is inflated by its unavailability; those who saw it before its destruction, such as William K. Everson, admitted it was inferior to Browning’s 1935 sound remake, Mark of the Vampire.
The film’s disappearance in the 1965 MGM vault fire cemented its status as a lost masterpiece. While a 1955 inventory placed a print in Vault #7, no copies are known to survive today. Efforts to reconstruct the experience have relied on production stills, novelizations, and a 1928 magazine serial. While these reconstructions and a 2023 audio drama keep the story alive, the actual celluloid remains elusive, leaving the film’s true quality to the realm of speculation and myth.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: London After Midnight (film)
- Also: Wikidata — London After Midnight · CC0
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