For this list of lost films, a lost film is defined as one of which no part of a print is known to have survived. For films in which any portion of the footage remains (including trailers), see List of incomplete or partially lost films.
Reasons for loss Films may go missing for a number of reasons. One major contributing factor is the common use of nitrate film until the early 1950s. This type of film is highly flammable, and there have been several devastating fires, such as the 1914 Lubin vault fire, the Universal Pictures fire in 1924, the Warner Bros. First National fire in 1933, the British and Dominions Imperial Studios fire in 1936, the 1937 Fox vault fire, and the 1965 MGM vault fire.
Black-and-white film prints judged to be otherwise worthless were sometimes incinerated to salvage the meager scrap value of the silver image particles in their emulsions. Silent films in particular were once seen as having no further commercial value and were simply junked to clear out expensive storage space.Robert A. Harris, public hearing statement to the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., February 1993. Occasionally, a studio would remake a film and destroy the earlier version. Films have also disappeared when production companies went bankrupt.
Statistics on lost films Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation claimed in 2017 that "half of all American films made before 1950 and over 90% of films made before 1929 are lost forever". Deutsche Kinemathek estimates that 80–90% of silent films are gone; the film archive's own list contains over 3,500 lost films.
A study by the Library of Congress of 2013 states that 75% of American feature-length silent films are lost. While others dispute whether the percentage is quite that high, it is impractical to enumerate here any but the more notable and those which can be sourced.
Roughly 200 out of over 500 Méliès films and 350 out of over 1,000 of Alice Guy's films survive. Of the roughly 1,100 films made in India between 1912 and 1931, only 29 are known to have survived.
As of 16 August 2006, The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture, a project of the Norman Lear Center at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism has not found an existing copy of 429 films.Associate director, Richard R. Ness, Professor of Film and Media Studies at Western Illinois University The following are films we still are attempting to locate as part of our research - The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture, a project of the Norman Lear Center
Notable lost films Among the films commonly mourned among critics and film historians are early films by noted directors and films of unique cultural importance. The Mountain Eagle (1926) is the second film directed by Alfred Hitchcock; the silent melodrama has been described by the British Film Institute as their "most wanted" lost film. London After Midnight, starring Lon Chaney and directed by Tod Browning in 1927, was a silent-era mystery-thriller pseudo-vampire film that is now considered to be the "holy grail" of lost films by collectors. Hollywood, a 1923 silent comedy film directed by James Cruze, featured over 30 cameo appearances from major stars of the day, including Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Astor and Pola Negri, but no footage exists.
Silent films 1890s Year Film Director Cast Notes Ref1895Young Griffo vs. Battling Charles BarnettOtway LathamYoung Griffo, Charles BarnettFirst American film shown to a paying audience 1896 Arrivée d'un train gare de Vincennes Georges Méliès A French short documentary L'Arroseur (a.k.a. Watering the Flowers) A short comedy Barque sortant du port de Trouville Bateau-mouche sur la Seine Bébé et fillettes A short documentary Les Blanchisseuses Bois de Boulogne (Porte de Madrid) Bois de Boulogne (Touring Club) Boulevard des Italiens Campement de bohémiens (The Bohemian Encampment) Les chevaux de bois Le chiffonnier (The Rag-Picker) Couronnement de la rosière Déchargement de bateaux Jardinier brûlant des herbes Jetée et Plage de Trouville (first and second parts) Jour de marché à Trouville Gestoorde hengelaar M.H. Laddé Lion Solser, Piet Hesse The first Dutch fictional film The First Dutch Film: Gestoorde hengelaar , EYE Film Institute Netherlands La Fée aux Choux Alice Guy Blache The first narrative film directed by a woman Spelende kinderen M.H. Laddé Spelende kinderen , EYE Film Institute Netherlands Zwemplaats voor Jongelingen te Amsterdam Zwemplaats voor Jongelingen te Amsterdam , EYE Film Institute Netherlands1898Ten Years in ManitobaJames FreerDocumentary film. First film known to have been directed by a Canadian.
1900s Year Film Director Cast Notes Ref 1900 Soldiers of the CrossJoseph PerryEarly Australian film, produced by the Limelight Department of the Salvation Army. It was a multimedia production which combined 200 lantern slides with 13–20 film reels of about 2 minutes each, a live oration and live orchestra. None of the film reels survive. Solser en Hesse M.H. Laddé Lion Solser, Piet Hesse The first film with this title, featuring the Dutch comedians Lion Solser and Piet Hesse 1902 The Adventures of the Cabman Kazimierz Prószyński The first Polish fiction film 1903 Hiawatha, the Messiah of the Ojibway Joe Rosenthal Believed to be the first Canadian fiction film 1906 Solser en Hesse M.H. Laddé Lion Solser, Piet Hesse The second film with this title, featuring the Dutch comedians Lion Solser and Piet Hesse 1907 Salaviinanpolttajat Louis Sparre, Teuvo Puro Teppo Raikas, Teuvo Puro, Jussi Snellman, Eero Kilpi, Axel Rautio The first Finnish fiction film. Some sources also consider it to be the first Russian fiction film, as Finland was a part of the Russian Empire until 1917. 1908 A Christmas Carol Tom Ricketts The first American film adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous 1843 novella of the same name. Barcarola Júlio Ferrez Antônio Cataldi A short Brazilian film based on The Tales of Hoffmann, an 1881 opéra fantastique composed by Jacques Offenbach. Following its premiere in Rio de Janeiro, the short was screened on eight known occasions between 1908 and 1909 in Rio Branco.The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays Francis Boggs, Otis Turner L. Frank Baum, Romola Remus First adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and several of its sequels. Shown only in roadshow engagements as part of a live theater presentation, the print decomposed and was discarded. 1908 La Tosca André Calmettes Sarah Bernhardt, Pierre Berton, Félicia Mallet The second film starring Bernhardt, the best known stage actress of the 1880s–1900s. Based on the play by Victorien Sardou that was adapted into an opera by Giacomo Puccini. 1909In the Sultan's PowerFrancis BoggsHobart Bosworth, Stella Adams, Betty Harte, Tom Santschi, Frank Montgomery, E. Vivian, Robert Z. LeonardThe production was shot in a vacant lot next to a Chinese laundry located at Seventh and Olive Streets in Los Angeles, California.
1910s
1920s
Sound films From 1929 on, films are "all-talking" unless otherwise specified.
1920s Year Film Director Cast Notes 1928 4 Devils F.W. Murnau Janet Gaynor Fox Studios' print was reportedly borrowed by actress Mary Duncan, who played a supporting role in the film, but its whereabouts are now unknown. Conquest Roy Del Ruth Monte Blue Warner Bros.' fifth all-talking feature Gang War Bert Glennon Jack Pickford Released with the Mickey Mouse short Steamboat Willie, the film was a failure and became lost. Heart Trouble Harry Langdon Harry Langdon Langdon's last silent feature received little promotion in the United States, with fewer than 100 prints struck. There were reported showings in Australia in 1931. The Actress Sidney Franklin Norma Shearer The film was based on the 1898 play "Trelawny of the Wells". Trelawney of the "Wells" original 1898 Broadway debut and the many revivals over the years; IBDb.com database The Home Towners Bryan FoyDoris Kenyon, Richard Bennett Warner Bros.' third all-talking feature Melody of Love Arch Heath Walter Pidgeon, Mildred Harris Universal's first sound feature On Trial Archie Mayo Pauline Frederick, Lois Wilson, Bert Lytell Warner Bros.' fourth all-talking feature Tenderloin Michael Curtiz Dolores Costello, Conrad Nagel Second feature film to have synchronized dialogue sequences, part-talkie The TerrorRoy Del RuthMay McAvoy, Alec B. Francis, Edward Everett Horton, Louise Fazenda.Warner Bros.' second all-talking feature Women They Talk About Lloyd Bacon Irene RichA part-talkie released by Warner Bros. 1929 The Argyle Case Howard Bretherton Thomas Meighan, H. B. Warner, Lila Lee, Gladys Brockwell Silent veteran Brockwell died in a traffic accident shortly after making this film. The Aviator Roy Del Ruth Edward Everett Horton, Patsy Ruth Miller The Awful Truth Marshall Neilan Ina Claire College Love Nat Ross George J. Lewis, Eddie Phillips Dark Streets Frank Lloyd Jack Mulhall, Lila Lee Jack Mulhall's character is the first attempt at dual role double exposure photography in a talking film. Pictorial History of the Talkies c.1958,1970 & 1980 and other years, by Daniel Blum Evidence John G. Adolfi Pauline Frederick, Conway Tearle Fancy Baggage Audrey Ferris, Myrna Loy A part-talkie from Warner Bros. Footlights and Fools William A. Seiter Colleen Moore Part-Technicolor. The Forward Pass Edward F. Cline Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Loretta Young Frozen Justice Allan Dwan Lenore Ulric The Gamblers Michael Curtiz H. B. Warner, Lois Wilson Hearts in Exile Dolores Costello, Grant Withers Honky Tonk Lloyd Bacon Sophie Tucker, Lila Lee This was Tucker's film debut. The complete soundtrack survives. The Hottentot Roy Del Ruth Edward Everett Horton, Patsy Ruth Miller Is Everybody Happy? Archie Mayo Ted Lewis, Ann Pennington Jealousy Jean de Limur Jeanne Eagels, Fredric March Love, Live and Laugh William K. Howard George Jessel, Lila Lee The Love Racket William A. Seiter Dorothy Mackaill, Sidney Blackmer Lucky in Love Kenneth S. Webb Morton Downey, Betty Lawford Madonna of Avenue A Michael Curtiz Dolores Costello, Grant Withers The American Film Institute Catalog 1921–30, The American Film Institute, c. 1971Melody Lane Robert F. Hill Eddie Leonard, Josephine Dunn Universal's first fully talking musical The Painted Angel Millard Webb Billie Dove, Edmund Lowe Paris Clarence G. Badger Irene Bordoni, Jack Buchanan Technicolor sequences. Queen of the Night Clubs Bryan Foy Texas Guinan, Lila Lee Red Hot Rhythm Leo McCarey Alan Hale, Kathryn Crawford Multicolor sequences. The Sacred Flame Archie Mayo Pauline Frederick, Conrad Nagel Skin Deep Ray Enright Monte Blue, Betty Compson Smiling Irish Eyes William A. Seiter Colleen Moore Part-Technicolor. A Song of Kentucky Lewis Seiler Lois Moran, Joseph Wagstaff South Sea Rose Allan Dwan Lenore Ulric, Charles Bickford Speakeasy Benjamin Stoloff Paul Page, Lola Lane Stark Mad Lloyd Bacon Louise Fazenda, H. B. Warner Released in both silent and all-talking version; both are lost. However Vitaphone disc soundtracks of both the trailer and excerpts of the film were spotted in UCLA's Archive in October 2023 by Ray Langstone. The Time, the Place and the Girl Howard Bretherton Grant Withers, Betty Compson The Burning of the Red Lotus TempleZhang ShichuanHu DieThe film ran for 27 hours total.
1930s