The Legend and Mystique of “London After Midnight”

Cinema’s most notorious lost film … but why?

Introduction

Of all the “lost” films in the history of cinema that have remained “lost,” London After Midnight has passed into legend as the equivalent of the Holy Grail. In 2017, a new fervor was caused by this Facebook post, courtesy of director Robert Parigi:

“I’m noticing chatter that a 7-reel print of long-lost Tod Browning/Lon Chaney film LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT has been discovered in Spain! I had long heard rumors of a print in Cuba. Is this perhaps that print, now sent to Spain? 20 years ago, I heard rumors of a print in the U.S., and contacted the supposed owner offering to transfer it to (then state-of-the-art) D1, but when it came time to produce the print he backed out.”

Ultimately, the announcement proved the equivalent of Geraldo Rivera opening Al Capone’s vault.

For those unsure of the reference, there was nothing to the rumor, and the vault was empty.