Film preservation, or film restoration, describes a series of ongoing efforts among film historians, archivists, museums, cinematheques, and non-profit organizations to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images they contain. In the widest sense, preservation assures that a movie will continue to exist in as close to its original form as possible.
William Washington Beaudine was an American film director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres.
A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection or public archive.
Duck Soup is a silent comedy short film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy prior to their official billing as the duo Laurel and Hardy. The team appeared in a total of 107 films between 1921 and 1951.
The Godless Girl (1928) is an American dramatic silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, shown for years as his last completely silent film. The cast features Lina Basquette, Marie Prevost, Tom Keene and Noah Beery.
Mother Machree is a 1928 American silent drama film, directed by John Ford, based on the 1924 work The Story of Mother Machree by Rida Johnson Young about a poor Irish immigrant in America. Rida Johnson Young had invented Mother Machree in the stage show Barry of Ballymoore in 1910. John Wayne had a minor role in the film.
Cameo Kirby is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by John Ford which starred John Gilbert and Gertrude Olmstead and featuring Jean Arthur in her onscreen debut. It was Ford's first film credited as John Ford instead of Jack Ford. The film is based on a 1908 play by Booth Tarkington and Harry Leon Wilson. The story had been filmed as a silent before in 1914 with Dustin Farnum, who had originated the role on Broadway in 1909. The film was remade as a talking musical film in 1930.
On August 10, 1965, a fire erupted in Vault 7, a storage facility, at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio (MGM) backlot in Culver City, California. It was caused by an electrical short explosively igniting stored nitrate film. The initial explosion reportedly killed at least one person, and the resulting fire destroyed the entire contents of the vault, archived prints of silent and early sound films produced by MGM and its predecessors. The only known copies of hundreds of films were destroyed.
The Terror is a 1928 American pre-Code horror film written by Harvey Gates and directed by Roy Del Ruth, based on the 1927 play of the same name by Edgar Wallace. It was the second "all-talking" motion picture released by Warner Bros., following Lights of New York. It was also the first all-talking horror film, made using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.
My Lady's Lips is a 1925 American silent drama film written by John F. Goodrich and directed by James P. Hogan for B.P. Schulberg and his company Preferred Pictures. The film stars Alyce Mills, and represents an early role for actress Clara Bow. It is the tenth ever film for William Powell, and the first of only two films where Powell and Bow worked together.
Daughters of Pleasure is a 1924 American silent romantic comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring Marie Prevost and Monte Blue. Based on a story by Caleb Proctor, the film features an early appearance by Clara Bow who plays a supporting role.
The Cohens and the Kellys in Paris is a 1928 American comedy film directed by William Beaudine. It was the first sequel to The Cohens and Kellys. The film title is sometimes listed as The Cohens and Kellys in Paris.
Penrod and Sam is a 1923 American silent comedy-drama film directed by William Beaudine and starring Ben Alexander, Joe Butterworth, and Buddy Messinger. Wendy L. Marshall stated that "Beaudine had the Midas touch when it came to directing children" in films like this and Boy of Mine. In 1931, Beaudine directed a sound adaptation of the novel.
The Irresistible Lover is a lost 1927 American silent comedy film directed by William Beaudine.
Home, James is a 1928 American silent comedy film directed by William Beaudine. This is a preserved film at the UCLA Film and Television Archive and Cinematheque Royale de Belgique, Brussels.
Give and Take is a lost 1928 American silent comedy film directed by William Beaudine. It was Universal's second sound film.
A major fire broke out in a 20th Century-Fox film-storage facility in Little Ferry, New Jersey, United States, on July 9, 1937. Flammable nitrate film had previously contributed to several fires in film-industry laboratories, studios, and vaults, although the precise causes were often unknown. In Little Ferry, gases produced by decaying film, combined with high temperatures and inadequate ventilation, resulted in spontaneous combustion.
His Captive Woman is a 1929 American part-talking drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Milton Sills and Dorothy Mackaill. This film is "based on the short story "Changeling" by Donn Byrne in Changeling and Other Stories ." It was produced and distributed by First National Pictures which was already a subsidiary of the Warner Brothers studios. The Vitaphone sound system was also a subsidiary of Warners. Both Mackaill and Sills as well as director Fitzmaurice had worked together on the previous year's The Barker.
