Shawn Hall Estimates suggest that as many as 90% of silent films made before 1929 are now lost but the line between lost, surviving, preserved, and accessible is not always simple.
In my new three-reel video essay, I explore seven different fates silent films can face, from movies with no known surviving footage to fragments, incomplete versions, preserved films, and titles that remain difficult for most audiences to see.
Along the way, I revisit films like London After Midnight, Cleopatra, Greed, and Metropolis to show why film preservation still matters and what we can do to help the silent films that survive today continue to find audiences.
The following are my show notes that include a comprehensive list of the film clips I used in my video and the primary and secondary sources I used when writing and fact-checking my script.
Intro: The Fox Film Vault Fire
Sources Used:
- Bergen Evening Record, July 9th, 1937.
- The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912–1929 by David Pierce. Library of Congress Report 2013. Figure 1 & 13, pg 2 & 26.
- Roughly 90% of Movies Made Before 1929 Are Lost Forever. Mat Novak.
Clips Used:
- Fox Film Vault Fire Footage (1937)
- Cradle Snatchers (1927)
- Marizza (1920)
- The Great K&A Train Robbery (1927)
- A Fool There Was (1915)
- East Lynne (1916)
- Raja Harishchandra (1913)
- Decasia (2002)
How to Lose a Silent Film
Sources Used:
- Evening Vanguard Archive: Wednesday, August 11, 1965. Venice, California. Page 1
- Visual Decay Guide: Gelatin & Base Decomposition https://www.filmcare.org/vd_binder.php
Clips Used:
- Titlecard adapted from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
- How to Make Movies (1918)
- Nitrate Burn – Nitrate Film Trailer Set on Fire (2009) Youtube Link
- Idle Wives (1916)
- The Evidence of Film (1913)
- Newsreel on the MOMA Film Archive
And How to Find Them
Sources Used:
- ‘Like walking into a time machine’: Long-lost Lincoln film found. NBCNews Report.
- International Federation of Film Archives Affliates. https://www.fiafnet.org/pages/Community/Affiliates.html
- ‘Lost’ Film From 1923 Uncovered in CFA Collection. August 3, 2020. https://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/news/2020/08/the-first-degree/
Clips Used:
- The Pill Pounder (1923)
- The Heart of Lincoln (1915)
- The First Degree (1923)
- Cleopatra (1917) – Newly Discovered Footage found by Old Films and Stuff.
Type 1: No Prints Extant
Sources Used:
- USU_P0551; Jack London photograph collection; Photograph Collections Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah. 01—07—01-07
- Daughter of the Gods Production Stills. Motography, October 28, 1916. Pg. 988.
- “Abraham Lincoln” Wins Photoplay Medal for 1924. Photoplay, December 1925. Pg. 30-31.
- It Could Be Done—So They Did It. Picture-Play April 1925.
- Reviews. Exhibitor’s Herald and Motography. July 12, 1919. Pg. 53.
- MSS 2028, Beverly Bayne Papers. L. Tom Perry Special Collections. (Finding Aid)
Clips Used:
- Titlecard adapted from 100% American (1918)
- Paths of Paradise (1926)
- Missing Reel Youtube Video
- London After Midnight (1927) Photo Reconstruction
Type 2: The Fragment
Sources Used:
- Tredell, Nicolas (February 28, 2007). Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby: A Reader’s Guide
Clips Used:
- Titlecard adapted from The Maid of McMillian (1916)
- The House that Shadows Built (1931)
- Battling Jane (1918)
- Unidentified Ethel Clayton Film
- Unidentified Lila Lee Film
- The Miracle Man (1919)
- Headin’ South (1918)
- The Patriot (1928) Trailer
- The Great Gatsby (1926) Trailer
Type 3: Incomplete Copies
Sources Used:
- ClassicFlix Restoration Notes. Our Gang (1922) Restoration.
- Ernest Lubitsch “The Loves of Pharaoh” Reborn, by Susan King. Los Angeles Times. Oct 18, 2011.
- Sine Nominee. Pordenone Silent Film Festival. https://www.giornatedelcinemamuto.it/en/sine-nomine-2025/
Clips Used:
- Titlecard adapted from The Fighting Blade (1923)
- Bread (1918)
- The Divine Woman (1927)
- The Wolf of Wall Street (1929)
- Our Gang (1922)
- The Loves of Pharaoh (1922)
- Do Me A Favor (1922)
- Roman d’Amour (1904)
- Christmas Tears (1910)
- The Faithful Dog; Or True to the End (1906)
Type 4: Different Versions
Sources Used:
- Greed: A Film. Eric von Stroheim. 1972. pg 28-29
- The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912–1929 by David Pierce. Library of Congress Report 2013.
- On Road to Mandalay‘s survival status, pg. 24.
- On The Hunchback of Notre Dame‘s roadshow version , pg. 25.
- On D.W. Griffith’s constant editing of Intolerance during and after their first theatrical run, pg. 38
- On The Cat and the Canary foreign vs. domestic prints, pg. 27.
- Figure 1. Survival of American Silent Feature Films by Year and Format, pg 26.
- On Manhandled‘s preservation status pg. 28
Clips Used:
- Titlecard adapted from The Fighting Blade (1923)
- Greed (1924)
- Road to Mandalay (1926)
- Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
- The Birth of a Nation (1915)
- Intolerance (1916)
- A Movie Through Filmland (1921)
- The Iron Horse (1924)
- Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
- The Cat and the Canary (1927)
- Kitty (1929)
- Manhandled (1924)
Type 5: Low Quality Versions
Sources Used:
- The Film Preservation Guide: The Basics for Archives, Libraries, and Museums. The National Film Preservation Board. Pg. 7.
- The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912–1929 by David Pierce. Library of Congress Report 2013. Pg. 38.
Clips Used:
- Titlecard adapted from The Mountaineer’s Honor (1909)
- Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
- The Evidence of Film (1921)
- Movie Night (1929)
- The Spanish Dancer (1923)
- Metropolis (1927)
- Pampered Youth (1925)
- Rhapsodia Satanica (1917)
Type 6: In the Vault
Sources Used:
- A Gift of Silent Era Gems. Dec 2010. Spasibo, Russia. Library of Congress Bulletin.
- Rare Films’ Library Records that I Screened at UCLA Film & Television Archive Viewing Room:
Clips Used:
- Titlecard adapted from The General (1926)
- The Call of the Canyon (1923)
- The First Degree (1923)
- The Cruise of Jasper B (1926)—Cecil B. DeMille Pictures Logo
- Black Beauty
- The Life of Moses (1909)
- Derby Days (1922)
- Shipwrecked (1926)
- The Bat (1926)
Type 7: Forgotten Films
Sources Used:
- The Silent Clowns. Walter Kerr. 1975 Chapter 31: The Unexpected Raymond Griffith.
- NewsTalk: CapitolFest 2025—What to Expect During This Year’s Local Film Festival. August 5, 2025.
- The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912–1929 by David Pierce. Library of Congress Report 2013. Pg. 4.
Clips Used:
- Titlecard adapted from Paths to Paradise (1926)
- Lost by a Hair (1914)
- Fine Feathers (1912)
- Hypocrites (1915)
- Sunshine Molly (1915)
- Suspense (1913)
- Paths of Paradise (1926)
- You’d Be Surprised (1925)
- Hands Up! (1926)
- You’re Next (1919)
- Maytime (1923)
- Sherlock Jr. (1924)
- Ben Model
- Moonlight Nights (1925)
Conclusion: Become an Audience Preservationist
Sources Used:
- Queen Kelly Restoration Notes. KINO LORBER.
Clips Used:
- The Fighting Blade (1923)
- Luke’s Movie Muddle (1915)
- Queen Kelly (1929)
- Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
- The Maid of McMillian (1916)
- A Kiss from Mary Pickford (1927)
- The Miracle Man (1919)
- The Crowd (1928)
Want to keep exploring silent cinema? Watch my video essay 24 Silent Films Across 12 Different Genres, read my deep dive into Romeo and Juliet (1916): Two Dueling Screen Adaptations, or visit my YouTube channel for more video essays about silent cinema and overlooked classic Hollywood.
