List of lost silent films (1910–1914)

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This is a list of lost silent films that were released from 1910 to 1914.

YearFilmDirectorCastNotesRef
1910Il Trovatore Louis J. Gasnier, Ugo Falena Francesca Bertini, Gemma Farina, Alberto VestriAn adaptation, by Film d'Arte Italiana, of the Gutiérrez play, with a special music score adapted from Verdi [1] [2]
Jean and the Calico Doll Laurence Trimble Jean Film debut of Helen Hayes [3] [4]
1911 Back to the Soil Thomas H. Ince King Baggot, Mary Pickford, Owen Moore A drama short [5]
The Better Way  ? King Baggot, Mary Pickford, Owen Moore A drama short [6]
Billy the Kid Laurence Trimble Tefft Johnson, Edith Storey A one-reel western short [7]
The Fisher-Maid Thomas H. Ince Mary Pickford, Owen Moore A short [8]
For Her Brother's Sake Thomas H. Ince Mary Pickford, Owen Moore, Jack Pickford, Thomas H. InceA one-reel short [9]
For the Queen's Honor Thomas H. Ince Mary Pickford, Owen Moore, King Baggot, George Loane Tucker, Isabel ReaA short [10]
Her Darkest Hour Mary Pickford A short [11]
His Dress Shirt Mary Pickford A short [12]
The Immortal Alamo William F. Haddock Francis Ford Earliest film of the Battle of the Alamo, shot at the Alamo itself [13] [14]
Love Heeds Not the Showers Owen Moore Mary Pickford, Owen MooreA one-reel short [15]
Only a Factory Girl Australian drama [16]
The Rose's Story Mary Pickford A short [17]
Science Mary Pickford, King Baggot A short [18]
Second Sight Mary Pickford A short [19]
The Sentinel Asleep Mary Pickford A short [20]
The Toss of a Coin Thomas H. Ince Mary Pickford, Irvin Willat, Ethel Grandin, Lottie Pickford A one-reel short [21]
1912 The Honor of the Family Lon Chaney Thought by some to be Chaney's on-screen debut, though this is disputed [22]
Honor Thy Father Mary Pickford, Owen Moore A one-reel short [23]
Saved from the Titanic Étienne Arnaud Dorothy Gibson First film about the sinking of the RMS Titanic, released just 29 days after the disaster. Gibson was an actual Titanic survivor. [24] [25]
1913 Adrienne Lecouvreur Louis Mercanton
Henri Desfontaines
Sarah Bernhardt A two-reeler [26]
Almost an Actress Allen Curtis Louise Fazenda [27]
Back to Life Allan Dwan Pauline Bush, J. Warren Kerrigan, William Worthington A 20-minute short, with Lon Chaney [28]
The Battle of Gettysburg Charles Giblyn, Thomas H. Ince Willard Mack, Charles K. French The film was reported to have been screened in France in 1973. Mack Sennett arranged to shoot Cohen Saves the Flag alongside the production of Gettysburg, surreptitiously capturing Ince's battle sequences in his film at no cost to himself. This indirect footage survives. [29] [30]
Bloodhounds of the North Allan Dwan Murdock MacQuarrie, Pauline Bush, William LloydA 20-minute short, with Lon Chaney [31]
Baldknobber Bill HarringtonUnknown actorsA feature film made in the Ozarks just 23 years after the hanging of the Bald knobbers [32]
Caprice J. Searle Dawley Mary Pickford, Owen Moore [33]
The Crisis W. J. Lincoln Roy Redgrave, Godfrey Cass An Australian melodrama [34]
An Elephant on His Hands Al Christie Eddie Lyons, Lee Moran, Ramona LangleyA one-reel short [35]
Evangeline Edward P. Sullivan, William CavanaughLaura Lyman, John F. CarletonThe first Canadian feature-length movie [36]
In the Bishop's Carriage Edwin S. Porter, J. Searle Dawley Mary Pickford [37]
Lady Babbie Oscar A. C. Lund Barbara Tennant, Oscar A. C. Lund This three-reel featurette was filmed at Eclair American's studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey and on location at Lake George, New York.
Macbeth Arthur Bourchier Arthur Bourchier, Violet Vanbrugh The International Museum of Photography and Film at George Eastman House may have a print. [38]
Maria Marten, or the Mystery of the Red Barn Maurice Elvey Nessie Blackford, Maurice ElveyOn the BFI 75 Most Wanted list [39]
A promotional Kinemacolor film of The New Henrietta Douglas Fairbanks The New Henrietta was a then-current stage adaptation of the very successful 19th century play The Henrietta which had starred William Henry Crane. The footage was not of the play, but instead depicted the cast relaxing "in their social hours." It was the first screen appearance of future movie star Douglas Fairbanks. [40]
Red Margaret, Moonshiner Allan Dwan Pauline Bush, Murdock MacQuarrie A two-reel short [41]
The Restless Spirit Allan Dwan J. Warren Kerrigan, Pauline Bush [42]
The Sea Urchin Edwin August Jeanie Macpherson, Lon Chaney [43]
Shon the Piper Otis Turner Robert Z. Leonard, Joseph Singleton, Lon Chaney [44]
The Trap Edwin August Murdock MacQuarrie, Pauline Bush, Cleo Madison, Lon Chaney A one-reel short [45]
The Werewolf Henry MacRae Clarence Burton, Marie Walcamp The first werewolf film; it was destroyed in a Universal fire in 1924 on the East Coast. [46] [47]
1914Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie as himselfRecording of Carnegie reading The Gospel of Wealth. The Kinetophone sound cylinder remains. [48]
The Birth of the Telephone Allen Ramsey? Thomas A. Watson as himselfWatson was the person who received the first telephone call, from Alexander Graham Bell. The Kinetophone sound cylinder remains. [49]
A Celebrated Case George Melford? Alice Joyce, Guy Coombs, Marguerite Courtot [50]
The Crucible Edwin Stanton Porter, Hugh Ford Marguerite Clark Clark's second feature, based on the play by Mark Lee Luther. Re-released in 1919 [51]
Damaged Goods Thomas Ricketts Richard Bennett Bennett starred in the 1913 Broadway play Damaged Goods with Wilton Lackaye. [52]
Darktown Jubilee Bert Williams (likely) Bert Williams An "all-Negro" film starring comedian Williams, the lone black star of the Ziegfeld Follies and America's top recording artist. The distributor, Biograph, pulled the film from circulation after white audiences responded poorly to Williams' wily, independent characterization. [53]
The Escape D. W. Griffith Donald Crisp The master negatives for this feature on the subject of venereal disease were destroyed on June 13, 1914 in a disastrous fire at the Lubin Manufacturing Company in Philadelphia. [54]
Fighting Death Herbert Blaché Rodman Law A thrill film starring early motion picture stuntman Rodman Law. Filmed in New York and New Jersey
The Ghost Breaker Cecil B. DeMille, Oscar C. Apfel H. B. Warner Based on the 1909 Broadway play of the same name by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard. [55]
Hearts Adrift Edwin Stanton Porter Mary Pickford A film similar in theme to Henry De Vere Stacpoole's The Blue Lagoon [56]
Her Friend the Bandit Charlie Chaplin Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand The only lost film starring Chaplin. Rumors that it had been found in Argentina proved to be untrue. [57]
The Higher Law Charles Giblyn Murdock MacQuarrie, Pauline Bush [58]
The Hopes of Blind Alley Allan Dwan Murdock MacQuarrie, Pauline Bush, George Cooper [59]
In the Clutches of the Gang George Nichols, Mack Sennett Fatty Arbuckle [60]
The Jungle George Irving, John H. Pratt George Nash, Gail Kane The only film version to date of Upton Sinclair's book of the same name [61]
The Life of General Villa Christy Cabanne Pancho Villa A film about Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, starring Villa as himself [62]
The Man Who Disappeared Charles Brabin Marc McDermott, Herbert Yost A ten-part serial [63]
The Million Dollar Mystery Howell Hansel A serial in 23 parts [64]
A Night of Thrills Joe De Grasse Lon Chaney, Pauline Bush [65]
The Old Cobbler Murdock MacQuarrie Murdock MacQuarrie, Richard Rosson, Agnes Vernon This two-reel short was MacQuarrie's directorial debut. [66]
The Siege and Fall of the Alamo Ray Myers Four production stills and a review are held at the Library of Congress. [67]
Sperduti nel buio Nino Martoglio Giovanni Grasso, Virginia Balistrieri The only known copy of this movie was stolen in Rome by German soldiers during the Second World War, and then presumably lost. No other copy has been found since then. [68]
A Study in Scarlet George Pearson James Bragington The first feature-length adaptation of a Sherlock Holmes story, it is on the BFI 75 Most Wanted list of missing films. [69] [70] [71]
Such a Little Queen Edwin S. Porter, Hugh Ford Mary Pickford Based on a play by Channing Pollock [72]
The Trey o' Hearts Wilfred Lucas, Henry MacRae Cleo Madison, George Larkin A serial with 15 episodes [73]

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References

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  60. "In the Clutches of the Gang". silentera.com. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  61. "The Jungle". silentera.com. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  62. "The Life of General Villa". silentera.com. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  63. "The Man Who Disappeared". silentera.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
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