Londres après minuit

It's sad to say, I would probably not know much about this movie had it not been reconstructed. I did not know it was a lost "classic" (with mixed reviews). That's one of the reasons why I love projects like this so much, they help manifest the place in movie history some lost movies deserve. Another reason why I like projects like these, is that they give you the thrill of getting as close as possible to seeing something considered lost. Even though it's readily available, it feels somehow exclusive. (Oh, the vanity!) Even though they managed to piece the surviving stills and title cards together in an impressive coherent way, I still did struggle to follow the plot at times. Still, I prefer it over trying to recreate motion by editing the stills, as that can easily seem silly. I did figure out the plot by the end of it, and must say that I was not that impressed by it, but it has its charm. Playing with the ideas of vampires, hypnosis and murder is always fun, to some degree. The highlight to me was probably Cheney's make up. In the close up on some of the stills you can see how he achieved those eyes, for instance.

So, my high rating of this movie is not because of the inherit quality of the movie itself, but they enjoyment of watching a restoration of it.

Hey, wait!! Hold it a second, guys....how can a film unseen by the general public for 75 years get any User Ratings? Granted, there may be some seniors around who saw the film as children, but are they the ones rating this film on IMDb? Or, are these merely false ratings made by silent film fans based on the reputations of Chaney and Browning and the existence of some tantalizing surviving stills from the film?

I think we need a reality check here: this film is lost, folks, and it's going to stay lost. All efforts to flush a print out of hiding have failed, including those of Turner, who owns the rights and have the most to gain by the film's recovery. (TCM will broadcast a stills-only re-creation of the film in October '02. Translation? Even the rightful owners of the film have given up hope! Does this tell you anything?) And, yes, while someone may have a print in a private collection, or in their attic, etc., it's a real longshot.

Don't get me wrong; the loss of this film is lamentable in the extreme. (The loss of any film is lamentable. The loss of any SILENT film is most lamentable. The loss of any CHANEY film is truly awful. And, the loss of any Chaney film featuring the coolest vampire get-up EVER is unspeakably awful!!!) But, I believe film fans need to let go of this one and move on. The reputations of Chaney and Browning will survive without this film. I believe our energies would be better spent putting pressure on archives and film libraries to release their long-held treasures to the viewing public, as there is a huge amount of silent material that HAS survived, but which goes unseen by all but scholars and the privileged few.

The Turner Classic Movies recreation of this "lost" classic was unbelievably well done. The Recreation using still photos was close to experiencing it on film. The music was well suited to the theme. I sincerely hope that a print of this classic exists somewhere so that it can be seen.

As of October 20, 2007, "London After Midnight" is a lost film - there is no known surviving footage. Hopefully, a print or portion will be discovered. Until then, TCM's 2002 reconstruction, by Rick Schmidlin, will have to suffice - it was created by referencing the original script and utilizing movie photograph stills. Robert Israel provided a representative musical score. Cheers to all involved!

Before viewing the restoration by Mr. Schmidlin, consider watching the other Tod Browning (director), Lon Cheney (actor), and Merritt B. Gerstad (cameraman) collaboration "The Unknown" (1927); it may provide the best indication of how "London After Midnight" might have looked on the motion picture screen. Then, see Browning's re-make "Mark of the Vampire" (1935); its script closely follows "London After Midnight", and it will help explain some story elements limited by the movie stills available.

I'm speculating the performances of Lon Chaney (as Prof. Edward Burke) and Henry B. Walthall (as Sir James Hamlin) were noteworthy, but the story disappointing. Conrad Nagel (as Arthur Hibbs) must have been very impressive; he would shortly co-star with none other than Greta Garbo, in 1928 and 1929 films. And, certainly, Marceline Day was lovely (as Lucille Balfour).

******* London After Midnight (12/3/27) Tod Browning ~ Lon Chaney, Henry B. Walthall, Conrad Nagel

"London After Midnight" is a combination mystery film and vampire movie. Lon Chaney plays dual roles--a detective as well as a crazed vampirey guy. Five years after a supposed suicide, weird ghouls move into the dead man's house--and the detective returns to investigate. At the end, the mystery is finally solved--though exactly how all this is proved is baffling--like there is either something missing or it just had a HUGE plot hole.

I won't give this film a numerical rating, as the film no longer exists--at least not in any known archive. Turner Classic Movies recently showed what purported to be "London After Midnight" and I saw it on a DVD with "The Unknown" but it was a strange reconstruction--a film that should have been left lost if you ask me. Using the original intertitles and LOTS of stills from the movie, they attempted to re-create the film--without any actual film! Now I am a die-hard lover of silents and especially love the films of Lon Chaney, but this sort of reconstruction is simply ridiculous. It just isn't THE original film nor is it even a truncated version--it's a bizarre attempt to recreate the film from nothing--totally bizarre. To give the film a sense of movement, the camera moves about the stills--but again, these are just stills! And so, the film is lifeless--with no more energy than simply reading the screenplay. I say with such re-creations it's best to just leave them alone and put your energy into piecing together films with PORTIONS missing--not the entire film! I've seen such re-creations (such as Frank Capra's "Lost Horizon") and since the missing portions are filled in with stills for only tiny portions, it's very acceptable. This one, in my opinion, was a HUGE mistake and not worth your time.