106-501: The Clue is a lost 1915 American drama silent film directed by James Neill and Frank Reicher and written by Margaret Turnbull . The film stars Blanche Sweet , Gertrude Kellar, Edward MacKay, Sessue Hayakawa , Page Peters and Ernest Joy . The film was released on July 8, 1915, by Paramount Pictures . Two Russian brothers, Count Boris and Alexis Rabourdin, get their hands on the Japanese coastal defense plan and plan to sell
212-614: A New Hampshire barn and donated to Keene State College . Beyond the Rocks (1922), with Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino , was considered a lost film for several decades. Swanson lamented the loss of this and other films in her 1980 memoirs but optimistically concluded: "I do not believe these films are gone forever." In 2000, a print was found in the Netherlands and restored by the Nederlands Filmmuseum and
318-595: A black-and-white print until 1987, when a film archivist found an unmarked (mute) 35 mm reel in a Hollywood film laboratory with the negative trims of the unused scenes. Several films that would otherwise be entirely lost partially survive as stock footage used for later films. For example, the Universal Pictures short Boo! (1932) contains the only remaining footage of the Universal feature film The Cat Creeps (1930). However, UCLA still has
424-600: A card game of bridge with a group of actors also known as "the Waxworks ". They included Buster Keaton , H.B. Warner and Anna Q. Nilsson . During the scene leading up to Cecil B. DeMille's cameo, where Max chauffeurs Joe and Norma to the studio, her Isotta Fraschini luxury automobile was towed from behind the camera, because Stroheim had never learned how to drive. Norma's dreams of a comeback are subverted, and when Gillis tries to break up with her, she threatens to kill herself, but instead kills him. She becomes delusional by
530-700: A comedy that had run on the Broadway stage with Tallulah Bankhead as its star. Kennedy wrote the script for the play A Goose for the Gander , which began its road tour in Chicago in August 1944. Swanson also toured with Let Us Be Gay . After her success with Sunset Boulevard , she starred on Broadway in a revival of Twentieth Century with José Ferrer , and in Nina with David Niven . Her last major stage role
636-627: A copy of a lost film is rediscovered. A film that has not been recovered in its entirety is called a partially lost film . For example, the 1922 film Sherlock Holmes was considered lost but eventually rediscovered with some of the original footage missing. Many film studios hired a still photographer to take pictures during production for potential publicity use. Some are produced in quantity for display use by theaters, others in smaller numbers for distribution to newspapers and magazines, and have subsequently preserved imagery from otherwise lost films. In some cases, such as London After Midnight ,
742-555: A copy of the soundtrack. The James Cagney film Winner Take All (1932) used scenes from the early talkie Queen of the Night Clubs (1929), starring Texas Guinan ; that footage is all that remains of the earlier film. Actress-turned-gossip columnist Hedda Hopper made her screen debut in the Fox film The Battle of Hearts (1916). Twenty-six years later, in 1942, Hopper produced her short series "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood #2". In
848-431: A failed screenwriter Joe Gillis ( William Holden ). She lives at the mansion with her former-husband-director-turned-butler Max von Mayerling ( Erich von Stroheim ), who personally disliked the role and only agreed to it out of financial need. A clip from Queen Kelly was used for the scene where Joe and Norma are watching one of her silent films, and she declares, "... we didn't need dialogue, we had faces ". Norma plays
954-497: A fight — Nogi causes an explosion that kills Boris. The Japanese, seriously injured, confesses that he was the author of Alexis' murder. Christine destroys the documents on the coastal defense plan and Nogi can die, reassured for having completed his mission. Lost film A lost film is a feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for
1060-408: A film on nitrate base is said to have been "preserved", this almost always means simply that it has been copied onto safety film or, more recently, digitized , but both methods result in some loss of quality. Some pre-1931 sound films produced by Warner Bros. and First National have been lost because they used a sound-on-disc system with a separate soundtrack on special phonograph records. In
1166-438: A general newsletter. She toured in summer stock , engaged in political activism, designed and marketed clothing and accessories, and made personal appearances on radio and in movie theaters. “It should be pointed out that Gloria Swanson was not Norma Desmond. Unlike her delusional screen counterpart, Swanson was fiercely realistic. She lived in the present –not in the past– and pursued many interests with passionate zeal. She
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#17327768298151272-613: A great screen chemistry that proved popular with audiences. Director Charley Chase recalled that Swanson was "frightened to death" of Vernon's dangerous stunts. Surviving movies in which they appear together include The Danger Girl (1916), The Sultan's Wife (1917), and Teddy at the Throttle (1917). Badger was sufficiently impressed by Swanson to recommend her to the director Jack Conway for Her Decision and You Can't Believe Everything in 1918. Triangle had never put Swanson under contract, but did increase her pay to $ 15
1378-514: A large number of his silent works to a vault fire in the early 1940s. In March 2019, the National Film Archive of India reported that 31,000 of its film reels had been lost or destroyed. An improved 35 mm safety film was introduced in 1949. Since safety film is much more stable than nitrate film, comparatively few films were lost after about 1950. However, color fading of certain color stocks and vinegar syndrome threaten
1484-415: A mistake and saw no way out of it. She did not like his home or his family and was repulsed by him as a lover. After becoming pregnant, she saw her husband with other women and learned he had been fired from Keystone. Taking medication given to her by Beery, purported to be for morning sickness, she miscarried the fetus and was taken unconscious to the hospital. Soon afterwards, she filed for divorce, which
1590-606: A number of reasons. Early films were not thought to have value beyond their theatrical run, so many were discarded afterward. Nitrate film used in early pictures was highly flammable and susceptible to degradation. The Library of Congress began acquiring copies of American films in 1909, but not all were kept. Due to improvements in film technology and recordkeeping, few films produced in the 1950s or beyond have been lost. Rarely, but occasionally, films classified as lost are found in an uncataloged or miscataloged archive or private collection, becoming "rediscovered films". During most of
1696-418: A one-million-dollar-a-year (equivalent to $ 17,500,000 in 2023) contract with Paramount in favor of joining the newly created United Artists partnership on June 25, 1925, accepting a six-picture distribution offer from president Joseph Schenck . At the time, Swanson was considered the most bankable star of her era. United Artists had its own Art Cinema Corporation subsidiary to advance financial loans for
1802-419: A partner in her World War II efforts to aid potential scientist refugees fleeing from behind Nazi lines. Swanson described herself as a "mental vampire", someone with a searching curiosity about how things worked, and who pursued the possibilities of turning those ideas into reality. In 1939, she created Multiprises, an inventions and patents company; Henri de la Falaise provided a transitional Paris office for
1908-638: A permanent US resident. Besides her Fifth Avenue apartment, she and Dufty spent time at their homes in Beverly Hills, California; Colares, Portugal ; Croton-on-Hudson, New York ; and Palm Springs, California. After Swanson's death, Dufty returned to his former home in Birmingham, Michigan . He died of cancer in 2002. Swanson died of a heart ailment at the New York Hospital on April 4, 1983, having recently returned from her home on
2014-616: A soldier. She was raised in the Lutheran faith. Her father was a Swedish American and her mother was of German, French, and Polish ancestry. Because of her father's attachment to the U.S. Army, the family moved frequently. She spent some of her childhood in Key West , Florida, where she was enrolled in a Catholic convent school, and in Puerto Rico , where she saw her first motion pictures. Her family once again residing in Chicago,
2120-490: A souvenir. To show the jealous Guy that she is indifferent to Boris's attentions, Christine attaches the coin to her lover's watch chain. That night, Alexis' body is discovered. To find the killer, Eve hires an investigator, Williams, who discovers the ancient Russian currency next to the body. Guy actually wrestled with Alexis and is now convinced that he killed him. Christine, to save Guy, agrees to marry Boris in exchange for his silence. Guy plans to commit suicide, but — during
2226-505: A sticky mass or a powder akin to gunpowder . This process can be very unpredictable; some nitrate film from the 1890s is still in good condition, while some much later nitrate film was scrapped as unsalvageable when it was barely 20 years old. Much depends on the environment in which the film is stored. Ideal conditions of low temperature, low humidity and adequate ventilation can preserve nitrate film for centuries, but in practice, storage conditions have usually fallen far below this level. When
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#17327768298152332-464: A toy for showing brief excerpts from Hollywood films at home. Many other early motion pictures are lost because the nitrate film employed for nearly all 35 mm negatives and prints created before 1952 is highly flammable unless carefully conditioned and handled. When in very badly deteriorated condition and improperly stored (such as in a sun-baked shed), nitrate film can spontaneously combust . Fires have destroyed entire archives of films, such as
2438-461: A two-film package production for Art Cinema, which included Indiscreet and Tonight or Never (1931). Perfect Understanding , a 1933 sound production comedy, was the only film produced by this company. Made entirely at Ealing Studios , it co-starred Laurence Olivier as Swanson's on-screen husband. United Artists bought back all of her stock with them, in order to provide her financing to make this film, and thereby ending her relationship with
2544-814: A week, to be raised to $ 200 a week, and eventually $ 350 a week. Her first picture under her new contract was DeMille's World War I romantic drama For Better, for Worse . She made six pictures under the direction of DeMille, including Male and Female (1919), in which she posed with a lion as "Lion's Bride". While she and her father were dining out one evening, the man who would become her second husband, Equity Pictures president Herbert K. Somborn , introduced himself, by inviting her to meet one of her personal idols, actress Clara Kimball Young . Why Change Your Wife? , Something to Think About (both 1920), and The Affairs of Anatol (1921) soon followed. She next appeared in 10 films directed by Sam Wood , starting with The Great Moment (1921) and including Beyond
2650-406: A week. When she was approached by Famous Players–Lasky to work for Cecil B. DeMille , the resulting legal dispute obligated her to Triangle for several more months. Soon afterward, Triangle was in a financial bind and loaned Swanson to DeMille for the comedy Don't Change Your Husband . At the behest of DeMille, Swanson signed a contract with Famous Players–Lasky on December 30, 1918, for $ 150
2756-561: Is the case of Theda Bara , one of the most famous actresses of the early silent era. Bara appeared in 40 films, but only six are now known to exist. Clara Bow was equally celebrated in her heyday, but 20 of her 57 films are completely lost, and another five are incomplete. Once-popular stage actresses who transitioned to silent films, such as Pauline Frederick and Elsie Ferguson , have little left of their film performances. Fewer than ten movies exist from Frederick's work from 1915 to 1928, and Ferguson has two surviving films, one from 1919 and
2862-414: The 1937 storage-vault fire that destroyed all the original negatives of pre-1935 films made by Fox Pictures and the 1965 MGM vault fire that destroyed hundreds of silent films and early talkies, including London After Midnight , now considered among the greatest of all lost films. Eastman Kodak introduced a nonflammable 35 mm film stock in 1909; however, the plasticizers employed to increase
2968-498: The Library of Congress estimates that 75% of all silent films are lost forever. The largest cause of silent-film loss is intentional destruction. Before the eras of home cinema , television and home video , films were considered to have little future value when their theatrical runs ended. Similarly, silent films were perceived as worthless after the end of the silent era. Film preservationist Robert A. Harris has said, "Most of
3074-821: The United States Supreme Court , which struck down mandatory prayer as conflicting with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution . Joining Swanson and Eisley at the Project Prayer rally were Walter Brennan , Lloyd Nolan , Rhonda Fleming , Pat Boone , and Dale Evans . Swanson declared "Under God we became the freest, strongest, wealthiest nation on earth. Should we change that?" In 1975, Swanson traveled
3180-580: The 1910s and 1920s were added to the film collection at the Museum of Modern Art in the 1930s and were preserved under the auspices of curator Iris Barry . Mary Pickford 's filmography is nearly complete. Her early years were spent with Griffith, and she gained control of her own productions in the late 1910s and early 1920s. She had originally intended to destroy these films but later relented. She also recovered as many of her Zukor-controlled early Famous Players films as were salvageable. Likewise, almost all of
3286-454: The 1950s, when 16 mm sound-on-film reduction prints of early talkies were produced for television syndication , such films without complete soundtrack discs were at risk of permanent loss. Many sound-on-disc films have survived only by way of these 16 mm prints. As a consequence of this widespread lack of care, the work of many early filmmakers and performers exists in the present day only in fragmentary form. A high-profile example
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3392-520: The 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy of every American film to be deposited at the Library of Congress at the time of copyright registration , but the Librarian of Congress was not required to retain those copies: "Under the provisions of the act of March 4, 1909, authority is granted for the return to the claimant of copyright of such copyright deposits as are not required by
3498-777: The French-American comedy Madame Sans-Gêne , directed by Léonce Perret . Filming was allowed for the first time at many of the historic sites relating to Napoleon. While it was well received at the time, no prints are known to exist and it is considered to be a lost film . Swanson appeared in a 1925 short produced by Lee de Forest in his Phonofilm sound-on-film process. She made a number of films for Paramount, including The Coast of Folly (1925), Stage Struck (1925) and The Untamed Lady (1926). Before she could produce films with United Artists, she completed Fine Manners with Paramount and turned down an offer to make The King of Kings with DeMille. She turned down
3604-527: The Haghefilm Conservation. It turned up among about two thousand rusty film canisters donated by Haarlem's eccentric Dutch collector, Joop van Liempd. It was given its first modern screening in 2005 and has since been aired on Turner Classic Movies . In the early 2000s, the German film Metropolis —which had been distributed in many different edits over the years—was restored to as close to
3710-474: The Library." A report by Library of Congress film historian and archivist David Pierce estimates that: Of the American sound films made from 1927 to 1950, an estimated half have been lost. The phrase "lost film" can also be used for instances where footage of deleted scenes , unedited, and alternative versions of feature films are known to have been created but can no longer be accounted for. Sometimes,
3816-658: The New York chapter of Seniors for Reagan-Bush . In 1964, Swanson spoke at a "Project Prayer" rally attended by 2,500 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The gathering, which was hosted by Anthony Eisley , a star of ABC's Hawaiian Eye series, sought to flood the United States Congress with letters in support of mandatory school prayer, following two decisions in 1962 and 1963 of
3922-800: The Rocks in 1922 with her longtime friend Rudolph Valentino . Valentino had become a star in 1921 for his appearance in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse , but Swanson had known him since his days as an aspiring actor getting small parts, with no apparent hope for his professional future. She was impressed by his shy, well-mannered personality, the complete opposite of what his public image would become. After her films with Wood, she appeared in Zaza (1923) directed by Allan Dwan . During her time at Famous Players–Lasky, seven more of her films were directed by Dwan. In 1925, Swanson starred in
4028-595: The United States and helped to promote the book Sugar Blues written by her husband, William Dufty . He also ghostwrote Swanson's 1981 autobiography Swanson on Swanson , which became a commercial success. The same year, she designed a stamp cachet for the United Nations Decade for Women , which was her last creative project. Wallace Beery and Swanson married on her 17th birthday on March 27, 1916, but by her wedding night she felt she had made
4134-474: The actor's Chicago studio. The 15-year-old Swanson was offered a brief walk-on for one film and eventually a stock-players contract, beginning her life's career in front of the cameras. Swanson left school, and was soon hired to work in California for Mack Sennett 's Keystone Studios comedy shorts opposite Bobby Vernon . She was eventually recruited by Famous Players–Lasky /Paramount Pictures, where she
4240-428: The adolescent Gloria developed a crush on actor Francis X. Bushman and knew he was employed by Essanay Studios in the city. Swanson later recalled that her Aunt Inga brought her at the age of 15 to visit Bushman's studio, where she was discovered by a tour guide. Other accounts have the star-struck Swanson herself talking her way into the business. In either version, she was soon hired as an extra. The movie industry
4346-568: The apartment. Davey moved out. In the subsequent legal separation proceedings, the judge ordered him to pay Swanson alimony. In an effort to avoid the payments, Davey unsuccessfully filed for divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty. He died within a year, not having paid anything to Swanson, and left the bulk of his estate to the Damon Runyon Cancer Memorial Fund . Swanson's final marriage occurred in 1976 and lasted until her death. Her sixth husband William Dufty
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4452-506: The cameras, her film success waned during the 1930s. Swanson received renewed praise for her return to the screen in her role as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard (1950). She made only three more films, but guest-starred on several television shows, and acted in road productions of stage plays. Swanson was born in a small house in Chicago in 1899, the only child of Adelaide (née Klanowski) and Joseph Theodore Swanson (né Svensson),
4558-484: The cast and crew suffered from long hours. Shooting was shut down in January, and Stroheim fired, after complaints by Swanson about him and about the general direction the film was taking. Swanson and Kennedy tried to salvage it with an alternative ending shot on November 24, 1931, directed by Swanson and photographed by Gregg Toland . Only two other films were made under Gloria Productions. The Trespasser in 1929
4664-456: The demise of their studios. However, unlike Suratt and Bara, because Bushman and Desmond continued working into the sound era and even on television, their later performances survive. Films were sometimes destroyed deliberately. In 1921, actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was charged with the murder of actress Virginia Rappe . Following a series of trials, he was ultimately acquitted, but not before his name had become so toxic that studios engaged in
4770-585: The documents to German agents in London. In the US, Alexis plans to marry rich Eve Bertram, who is in love with him. Boris, meanwhile, falls in love with Christine Lesley, a neighbor of Eve, who is also courted by Guy, the brother of the neighbor, an amateur inventor who experiments with explosives. Guy's valet is actually a Japanese spy who wants to get hold of the explosives and destroy the lost documents. Boris, leaving for London, gives Christine an ancient Russian coin as
4876-673: The double feature Grindhouse (2007), both segments— Planet Terror (directed by Robert Rodriguez ) and Death Proof (directed by Quentin Tarantino )—have references to missing reels, used as plot devices . " Cigarette Burns ", an episode of the horror anthology series Masters of Horror directed by John Carpenter, deals with the search for a fictional lost film, "La Fin Absolue Du Monde" ("The Absolute End of The World"). Gloria Swanson Gloria Josephine Mae Swanson (March 27, 1899 – April 4, 1983)
4982-617: The early films did not survive because of wholesale junking by the studios. There was no thought of ever saving these films. They simply needed vault space and the materials were expensive to house." The studios could earn money by recycling film for its silver content. Many Technicolor two-color negatives from the 1920s and 1930s were discarded when studios simply refused to reclaim their films, still being held by Technicolor in its vaults. Some used prints were sold to scrap dealers and ultimately edited into short segments for use with small, hand-cranked 35 mm movie projectors, which were sold as
5088-528: The early films of Pola Negri which were later lost. Several films have been made with lost film fragments incorporated into the work. Decasia (2002) used nothing but decaying film footage as an abstract tone poem of light and darkness, much like the more historical Lyrical Nitrate (Peter Delpeut, 1991) which contained only footage from canisters found stored in an Amsterdam cinema. In 1993, Delpeut released The Forbidden Quest , combining early film footage and archival photographs with new material to tell
5194-616: The early to mid-1950s that were either played in interlock on a 35 mm full-coat magnetic reel or single-strip magnetic film (such as Fox's four-track magnetic, which became the standard of magnetic stereophonic sound) are now lost. Films such as House of Wax , The Caddy , The War of the Worlds , War and Peace , The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T and From Here to Eternity that were initially available with three-track magnetic sound are now available only with monophonic optical soundtracks. The process by which magnetic particles adhere to
5300-482: The episode, the Clampetts mistakenly believe Swanson is destitute and decide to finance a comeback movie for her – in a silent film. After near-retirement from movies, Swanson appeared in many plays throughout her later life, beginning in the 1940s. Actor and playwright Harold J. Kennedy, who had learned the ropes at Yale and with Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre , suggested Swanson do a road tour of "Reflected Glory",
5406-463: The fictional story of an ill-fated Antarctic expedition. The 2016 documentary Dawson City: Frozen Time , about the history of Dawson City, Canada , and the 1978 discovery of previously lost silent films there, incorporates parts of many of those films. The mockumentary Forgotten Silver , made by Peter Jackson , purports to show recovered footage of early films. Instead, the filmmakers used newly shot film sequences to look like lost films. In
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#17327768298155512-423: The film industry's pioneering women filmmakers. She produced and starred in the 1928 film Sadie Thompson , earning a nomination for Best Actress at the first annual Academy Awards . Her sound film debut performance in 1929's The Trespasser earned her a second Academy Award nomination. Queen Kelly (1928–29) was a box-office disaster, but is remembered as a silent classic. After almost two decades in front of
5618-413: The film's flexibility evaporated too quickly, rendering the film dry and brittle and causing splices to separate and perforations to tear. By 1911, the major American film studios had reverted to nitrate stock. "Safety film" was relegated to sub-35 mm formats such as 16 mm and 8 mm until improvements were made in the late 1940s. Nitrate film is also chemically unstable and over time can decay into
5724-461: The film's production. Though Henri was a Marquis and related to the famous Hennessy cognac family, he had no personal wealth. She had conceived a child with him before her divorce from Somborn was final, a situation that would have led to a public scandal and possible end of her film career. She had an abortion, which she later regretted. They married on January 28, 1925, after the Somborn divorce
5830-675: The films created by Charlie Chaplin have survived, as well as extensive amounts of unused footage dating back to 1916; the exceptions are the aforementioned A Woman of the Sea and one of his early Keystone films, Her Friend the Bandit . Stars such as Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks benefited from their great popularity: because their films were repeatedly reissued throughout the silent era, surviving prints could be found even decades later. Pickford, Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Cecil B. DeMille were early champions of film preservation , although Lloyd lost
5936-621: The first annual Academy Awards , Swanson received a nomination for Best Actress for her performance, and the film's cinematographer George Barnes was also nominated. By the end of 1927, Swanson was in dire financial straits, with only $ 65 in the bank. Her two productions had generated income, but too slowly to offset her production loan debts to Art Cinema Corporation. Swanson had also not made good on her $ 100,000 subscription for preferred United Artists shared stock. She had received financial proposals from United Artists studio head Joseph Schenck, as well as from Bank of America, prior to engaging
6042-602: The first live television series in 1948 in which she invited friends and others to be guests. Swanson later hosted Crown Theatre with Gloria Swanson , a television anthology series in which she occasionally acted. Through the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s, Swanson appeared on many different talk and variety shows such as The Carol Burnett Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to recollect her movies and to lampoon them as well. On The Carol Burnett Show in 1973, Swanson reprised her impersonation of Charlie Chaplin from both Sunset Boulevard and Manhandled . She
6148-482: The man who would become her fourth husband. They met by chance in Paris when Swanson was being fitted by Coco Chanel for her 1931 film Tonight or Never . Farmer was a man of independent financial means who seemed not to have been employed. Rumors were that he was a gigolo . Swanson began spending time with him, during which she discovered a breast lump and also became pregnant, but was not yet divorced from Henri. She
6254-491: The married Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. , father of future President John F. Kennedy . He became her business partner, and their relationship was an open secret in Hollywood. He took over all of her personal and business affairs and was supposed to make her millions. Kennedy left her after the disastrous Queen Kelly . After the marriage to Henri and her affair with Kennedy was over, Swanson became acquainted with Michael Farmer,
6360-514: The only real peace and happiness I had ever known—or have ever known since. Of my five marriages this one came the nearest to being what I, in my haus-frau heart, have always wanted a marriage to be. He was then and he remains in memory a more delightful companion than any I have known. Gloria Swanson, 1950 During the production of Madame Sans-Gêne , Swanson met her third husband, Henri, Marquis de la Falaise (commonly known as Henri de la Falaise), who had been hired to be her translator during
6466-435: The original cut soundtrack recording on the standard 12-inch LP left, as well as several CD releases with mediocre remastering, although still lacking the complete score without dialogue. This list consists of films for which any footage survives, including trailers and clips reused in other films. Occasionally, prints of films considered lost have been rediscovered. An example is the 1910 version of Frankenstein , which
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#17327768298156572-609: The original version as possible by reinstating edited footage and using computer technology to repair damaged footage. However, at that point, approximately a quarter of the original film footage was considered lost, according to the Kino Video DVD release of the restored film. On July 1, 2008, Berlin film experts announced that a copy of the film had been discovered in the archives of the film museum Museo del Cine in Buenos Aires , Argentina, which contained almost all of
6678-580: The other from 1930, her only talkie. All of the film performances of the stage actress and Bara rival Valeska Suratt have been lost. Most of the starring performances of Katherine MacDonald are gone save for a couple of costar appearances. All of George Walsh 's Fox appearances have disappeared. Only three of the films of Fox's William Farnum , an early screen Western star, have survived. Others, such as Francis X. Bushman and William Desmond , accumulated numerous film credits, but films produced in their heyday are missing because of junking, neglect, warfare or
6784-471: The overall experience of making the movie a pleasure, and later stated, "I hated to have the picture end ... When Mr. Wilder called ‘Print it!’ I burst into tears...” She was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award, but lost to Judy Holliday . Swanson received several acting offers following the release of Sunset Boulevard , but turned most of them down, saying they tended to be pale imitations of Norma Desmond. Her last major Hollywood motion picture role
6890-648: The partnership. The film was panned by the critics upon its release and failed at the box office. When she made the transition to sound films as her career simultaneously began to decline, Swanson moved permanently to New York City in 1938. Swanson starred in Father Takes a Wife for RKO in 1941. She began appearing in stage productions and starred in The Gloria Swanson Hour on WPIX-TV in 1948. Swanson threw herself into painting and sculpting and, in 1954, published Gloria Swanson's Diary ,
6996-405: The play The Eyes of Youth by Max Marcin and Charles Guernon. The production was a disaster, with Parker being indecisive and the actors not experienced enough to deliver the performances he wanted. The film fell behind in its schedule and, by the time of its release, the end product had not lived up to Swanson's expectations. While it did not lose money, it was a financial wash, breaking even on
7102-455: The position of "European director of Pathé " to put her third husband Henry de La Falaise on the payroll. Sound films were already becoming popular with audiences, most notably the films of singer Al Jolson , who had success with The Jazz Singer released in 1927 and The Singing Fool in 1928. Kennedy, however, advised her to hire Erich von Stroheim to direct another silent film, The Swamp , subsequently retitled Queen Kelly . She
7208-458: The preservation of films made since that time. Most mainstream films from the 1950s and later survive today, but several early pornographic films and some B movies are lost. In most cases, these obscure films are unnoticed and unknown, but some films by noted cult directors have been lost as well. Some films produced from 1926 to 1931 using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system, in which
7314-498: The production costs. She engaged the services of director Raoul Walsh in 1927 and together they conceived of making a film based on W. Somerset Maugham 's short story "Miss Thompson". Gloria Swanson Productions proposed to film the controversial Sadie Thompson about the travails of a prostitute living in American Samoa, a project that initially pleased United Artists president Joseph Schenck. As she moved forward with
7420-427: The productions of individual partners. The partnership agreement included her commitment to a buy-in of $ 100,000 of preferred stock subscription. The Swanson Producing Corporation was set up as the umbrella organization for her agreement with United Artists. Under that name, she produced The Love of Sunya with herself in the title role. The film, co-starring John Boles , was directed by Albert Parker , based on
7526-536: The project, association members urged Schenck to halt the production due to its subject matter. The members took further steps by registering their discontent with Will H. Hays , Chairman of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America . Walsh previously had his own battles with the Hays office, having managed to skirt around censorship issues with What Price Glory? By bringing him to
7632-498: The promotion of Tonight or Never in 1931, given that the movie title was inspired by the Offenthal fragrance name, an unprecedented tie-in advertising campaign was conceived to promote both the movie and the fragrance. She was a pupil of the yoga guru Indra Devi and was photographed performing a series of yoga poses, reportedly looking much younger than her age, for Devi to use in her book Forever Young, Forever Healthy ; but
7738-463: The publisher Prentice-Hall decided to use the photographs for Swanson's book, not Devi's. In return, Swanson, who normally didn't do publicity events, helped to launch Devi's book at the Waldorf-Astoria in 1953. As a Republican she supported the 1940 and 1944 campaigns for president of Wendell Willkie and the 1964 presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater . In 1980, she chaired
7844-530: The rediscovered 1898 film Something Good – Negro Kiss was inducted into the National Film Registry . Its portrayal of a warm, loving Black couple stands in stark contrast to the typically racist portrayals of that era. Sometimes, a film believed lost in its original state has been restored, either through the process of colorization or other restoration methods. " The Cage ," the original 1964 pilot film for Star Trek , survived only in
7950-579: The scenes still missing from the 2002 restoration. The film now has been restored very close to its premiere version. The restoration process is featured in the documentary Metropolis Refundada . In 2010, digital copies of ten early American films were presented to the Library of Congress by the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library , the first film installment from the Russian state archives to be repatriated. In 2018,
8056-469: The scientists and gave written documentation to authorities guaranteeing jobs for them. Viennese electronics engineer Richard Kobler, chemist Leopold Karniol, metallurgist Anton Kratky, and acoustical engineer Leopold Neumann, were brought to New York and headquartered in Rockefeller Center . The group nicknamed her "Big Chief". While still married to Henri, Swanson had a lengthy affair with
8162-585: The services of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. as her financial advisor. He proposed to personally bankroll her next picture and conducted a thorough examination of her financial records. Kennedy advised her to shut down Swanson Producing Corporation. She agreed to his plan for a fresh start under the dummy corporate name of Gloria Productions, headquartered in Delaware . Upon his advice, she fired most of her staff and sold her rights for The Love of Sunya and Sadie Thompson to Art Cinema Corporation. Kennedy then created
8268-410: The short, Hopper, William Farnum (the film's star), her son William Hopper , and William Hopper's wife Jane Gilbert view brief portions of The Battle of Hearts . More than likely, Hopper had an entire print of the movie in 1942. However, like many early Fox films, The Battle of Hearts is now lost or missing. One of the best-known of Charlie Chaplin's works, the silent film The Gold Rush (1925),
8374-570: The soundtrack is separate from the film, are now considered lost because the soundtrack discs were lost or destroyed, while the picture elements survive. Conversely, and more commonly, some early sound films survive only as sets of soundtrack discs, with the picture elements completely missing, such as The Man from Blankley's (1930), or surviving only in fragmentary form, such as Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929) and The Rogue Song (1930), two highly popular and profitable early musicals in two-color Technicolor . Many stereophonic soundtracks from
8480-550: The studio. In 1915, she co-starred in Sweedie Goes to College with her future first husband Wallace Beery . Swanson's mother accompanied her to California in 1916 for her roles in Mack Sennett 's Keystone Studios comedy shorts opposite Bobby Vernon and directed by Clarence G. Badger . They were met at the train station by Beery, who was pursuing his own career ambitions at Keystone. Vernon and Swanson projected
8586-646: The surviving coverage is so extensive that an entire lost film can be reconstructed scene by scene from still photographs. Stills have been used to stand in for missing footage when making new preservation prints of partially lost films: for example, with the Gloria Swanson picture Sadie Thompson . Most lost films originate from the silent film and early talkie era, from about 1894 to 1930. Martin Scorsese 's Film Foundation estimates that more than 90% of American films produced before 1929 are lost, and
8692-413: The systematic destruction of all films in which he had a starring role. The Charlie Chaplin -produced A Woman of the Sea was destroyed by Chaplin himself as a tax write-off. In contrast, the filmography of D. W. Griffith is nearly complete, as many of his early Biograph films were deposited by the company in paper print form at the Library of Congress . Many of Griffith's feature-film works of
8798-424: The table, literally over breakfast in her home, Hays and Swanson developed a working relationship for the film. Hays was enthusiastic about the basic story, but did have specific issues that were dealt with before the film's release. The project was filmed on Santa Catalina Island , just off the coast of Long Beach, California . Gross receipts slightly exceeded $ 850,000 (equivalent to $ 14,900,000 in 2023). At
8904-596: The time of the wedding, she was forced to remarry Farmer the following November, by which time she was four months pregnant with Michelle Bridget Farmer, who was born on April 5, 1932. Swanson and Farmer divorced in 1934 after she became involved with married British actor Herbert Marshall . The media reported widely on her affair with Marshall. After almost three years with the actor, Swanson left him once she became convinced he would never divorce his wife Edna Best , for her. In an early manuscript of her autobiography written in her own hand decades later, Swanson recalled "I
9010-416: The time the police and news media arrive. Max sets up the studio lighting towards her on the staircase and directs her down towards the waiting police and news cameras, where she says, "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." Although Swanson had objected to enduring a screen test for the film, she had been glad to be making much more money than she had been in television and on stage. She found
9116-481: The tri-acetate film base eventually caused the autocatalytic breakdown of the film (vinegar syndrome). As long as studios had a monaural optical negative that could be printed, studio executives felt no need to preserve the stereophonic versions of the soundtracks. The original isolated scoring session recordings for the soundtrack of the 1968 musical - fantasy Chitty Chitty Bang Bang were either lost or discarded when United Artists merged its archives, with only
9222-401: Was a promotional come-on to attract audiences into movie theaters to hear the voices of their favorite actors, as sound productions became the future of commercial films. On hand were Swanson, Charlie Chaplin , Norma Talmadge , John Barrymore , Dolores del Río , and D. W. Griffith . Before she began filming Perfect Understanding as Gloria Swanson British Productions Ltd., she finished
9328-408: Was a sound production, and garnered Swanson her second Oscar nomination. Written by Edmund Goulding , with Laura Hope Crews fine-tuning the dialogue, Kennedy approved funding for the go-ahead on the production. The film was a melodrama, complete with musical numbers sung by Swanson and completed in 21 days. The world premiere was held in London, the first American sound production to do so. Swanson
9434-1008: Was a writer who worked for many years at the New York Post , where he was assistant to the editor from 1951 to 1960. He was the co-author (ghostwriter) of Billie Holiday 's autobiography Lady Sings the Blues , the author of Sugar Blues , a 1975 best-selling health book still in print, and the author of the English version of Georges Ohsawa 's You Are All Sanpaku. They met in the mid-1960s and moved in together. Swanson shared her husband's enthusiasm for macrobiotic diets , and they traveled widely together to speak about nutrition. Swanson and her husband first got to know John Lennon and Yoko Ono because they were fans of Dufty's work. Swanson testified on Lennon's behalf at his immigration hearing in New York City, which led to his becoming
9540-581: Was also a good actress. Judging by the number of people who think she was Norma Desmond, maybe a little too good.” – Biographer Lon Davis in Silent Lives: 100 Biographies of the Silent Film Era. (2008). The film Sunset Boulevard was conceived by director Billy Wilder and screenwriter Charles Brackett , and came to include writer D. M. Marshman Jr. They bandied about the name of Mae West , whose public persona even in her senior years
9646-545: Was also her first color film, the poorly received 3 for Bedroom C in 1952. Nationally syndicated columnist Suzy called it "one of the worst movies ever made." In 1956, Swanson made Nero's Mistress , an Italian film shot in Rome, which starred Alberto Sordi , Vittorio de Sica and Brigitte Bardot . Her final screen appearance, in 1974, was as herself in Airport 1975 . Swanson hosted The Gloria Swanson Hour , one of
9752-603: Was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress , most famously for her 1950 turn in Billy Wilder 's Sunset Boulevard , which also earned her a Golden Globe Award . Swanson was born in Chicago and raised in a military family that moved from base to base. Her infatuation with Essanay Studios actor Francis X. Bushman led to her aunt taking her to tour
9858-426: Was as a sex symbol, but she objected to playing a has-been. Mary Pickford was also considered for the lead role of Norma Desmond. It was director George Cukor who suggested Swanson, noting that she was once such a valuable asset to her studio that she was "carried in a sedan chair from her dressing room to the set". The storyline of the film follows a faded silent movie actress Norma Desmond (Swanson), in love with
9964-484: Was believed lost for decades until the existence of a print (which had been in the hands of an unwitting collector for years) was discovered in the 1970s. A print of Richard III (1912) was found in 1996 and restored by the American Film Institute . In 2013, an early Mary Pickford film, Their First Misunderstanding , notable for being the first film in which she was credited by name, was found in
10070-466: Was born on October 7, 1920. In 1923, she adopted one-year-old Sonny Smith, whom she renamed Joseph Patrick Swanson after her father. During their divorce proceedings, Somborn accused her of adultery with 13 men, including Cecil B. DeMille and Marshall Neilan . The public sensationalism led to Swanson having a " morals clause " added to her studio contract. Somborn was granted a divorce in Los Angeles, on September 19, 1923. My marriage to Henri gave me
10176-481: Was finalized on December 12, 1918. Under California law in that era, after a divorce was granted, there was a one-year waiting period before it became finalized so that neither of the parties could remarry. She married Herbert K. Somborn on December 20, 1919. He was at that time president of Equity Pictures Corporation and later the owner of the Brown Derby restaurant. Their daughter, Gloria Swanson Somborn,
10282-474: Was finalized. Following a four-month recuperation from her abortion, they returned to the United States as European nobility. Swanson now held the title of Marquise. She received a huge welcome home with parades in both New York and Los Angeles. He became a film executive representing Pathé (USA) in France. This marriage ended in divorce in 1930. In spite of the divorce they remained close, and Falaise became
10388-468: Was hesitant to hire Stroheim, who was known for being difficult to deal with and who was unwilling to work within any budget. Kennedy, nevertheless, was insistent and was able to get Stroheim released from contractual obligations to producer Pat Powers . Stroheim worked for several months on writing the basic script. Filming of Queen Kelly began in November. His filming was slow, albeit meticulous, and
10494-565: Was in the 1971 Broadway production of Butterflies Are Free at the Booth Theatre . Kevin Brownlow and David Gill interviewed her for Hollywood , a television history of the silent era. Swanson was a vegetarian and an early health food advocate who was known for bringing her own meals to public functions in a tin box. She was known for her love of fragrances and was often portrayed among her wide collection of bottles. For
10600-605: Was mobbed by adoring fans. Before leaving London, she sang at a concert carried over the BBC. What a Widow! in 1930 was the final film for Gloria Productions. Mary Pickford and her husband Douglas Fairbanks hosted the March 29, 1928, episode of the Dodge Hour radio program, originating from Pickford's private bungalow at United Artists, and broadcast to audiences in American movie theaters. The brainchild of Joseph Schenck, it
10706-630: Was never so convincingly and thoroughly loved as I was by Herbert Marshall." Davey was a wealthy investment broker whom Swanson met in October 1944 while she was appearing in A Goose for the Gander . They married January 29, 1945. Swanson had initially thought she was going to be able to retire from acting, but the marriage was troubled from the start by Davey's alcoholism. Erratic behavior and acrimonious recriminations followed. Swanson and her daughter Michelle Farmer visited an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and gathered AA pamphlets, which they placed around
10812-476: Was not interested in marrying Farmer, but he did not want to break off the relationship. When Farmer found out she was pregnant, he threatened to go public with the news unless she agreed to marry him, something she did not want to do. Her friends, some of whom openly disliked him, thought she was making a mistake. They married on August 16, 1931, and separated 2 years later. Because of the possibility that Swanson's divorce from La Falaise had not been finalized at
10918-519: Was put under contract for seven years and became a global superstar. She starred in a series of films about society, directed by Cecil B. DeMille , including Male and Female (1919). She continued as a successful movie star in The Affairs of Anatol (1921) and Beyond the Rocks (1922). She also starred in critically acclaimed performances such as Zaza (1923) and Madame Sans-Gêne (1925). In 1925, Swanson joined United Artists as one of
11024-463: Was re-released in 1942 to include a musical track and narration by Chaplin himself. The reissue would end up having the unintentional result of preserving the film, as the original film (though generally not considered a lost film) shows noticeable degradation of image and missing frames, damage not evident in the 1942 version. The Polish film O czym się nie mówi [ pl ] (1939) contains three short fragments of Arabella (1917), one of
11130-443: Was still in its infancy, churning out short subjects, without the advantage of today's casting agencies and talent agents promoting their latest find. A willing extra was often a valuable asset. Her first role was a brief walk-on with actress Gerda Holmes , that paid an enormous (in those days) $ 3.25. The studio soon offered her steady work at $ 13.25 (equivalent to $ 403 in 2023) per week. Swanson left school to work full-time at
11236-582: Was the "mystery guest" on What's My Line . She acted in "Behind the Locked Door" on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in 1964 and, in the same year, she was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her performance in Burke's Law . She made a guest appearance on The Dick Cavett Show in the summer of 1970; a guest on the same show as Janis Joplin . She made a notable appearance in a 1966 episode of The Beverly Hillbillies , in which she plays herself. In
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