London After Midnight (film)

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This article is about a film. For other uses, see London After Midnight.
London After Midnight

Lobby card for London After Midnight.
Directed by Tod Browning
Written by Tod Browning (story, "The Hypnotist")
Waldemar Young(scenario),
Joseph Farnham (titles)
Starring Lon Chaney
Marceline Day
Conrad Nagel
Henry B. Walthall
Polly Moran
Cinematography Merritt B. Gerstad
Editing by Harry Reynolds
Distributed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures
Release date(s) December 3, 1927 (premiere)
December 17, 1927 (General release)
Running time 69 min.
Language English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

London After Midnight is a 1927 silent mystery film with horrific overtones. The film stars Lon Chaney, Marceline Day, Conrad Nagel, Henry B. Walthall, and Polly Moran and was directed by Tod Browning. It is also a lost film, quite possibly the most famous lost film ever. The last known copy was destroyed in a fire in an MGM film vault in 1965.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

The setting of the film is (then contemporary) 1920s London.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Sir Roger Balfour is found shot to death in his home. Inspector Burke (Chaney) of Scotland Yard is called in to investigate. The suspects are Williams (the butler), Sir James Hamlin (Walthall) and his nephew, Arthur Hibbs (Nagel). A suicide note is found and the case is supposedly closed.

Five years later, the old residence of Balfour is taken up by a man in a beaver-skin hat, with large fangs and gruesome, sunken eyes. His assistant is a ghostly woman, with flowing robes and raven black hair. Could it be Balfour, returned from the dead?

[edit] Background

The film was well-received at the box-office, grossing almost $500,000. It was the most successful collaborative film between Chaney and Browning. Unfortunately, it is now lost: no copies of the film are known to exist, although there have been attempts at reconstructions based on the script and publicity shots. Browning later remade the film, with some changes to the plot, as Mark of the Vampire.

The last known print of the film was stored by MGM in Vault #7. In 1965, an electrical fire broke out in the vault that destroyed countless films from the silent era, including this last known print. However, rumors persist that one copy of the film may exist in a private collection in Canada and the owner has declined to bring the print forward for preservation.

[edit] Reconstruction

In 2003, Turner Classic Movies commissioned famed restoration producer Rick Schmidlin (Greed, Touch of Evil) to produce a 45 min. reconstruction of the film, using still photographs. This was well received by horror fans and Schmidlin received the Rondo Award for his efforts.

[edit] External links

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