Title: London After Midnight: 75Th
Anniversary Reconstruction
Star: Lon Chaney
Director: Todd Browning
Score: Robert Israel
Reconstruction Filmmaker: Rick
Schmidlin
Running Time: 47 minutes without
commercials
Media: Turner Classic Movies
Presentation (NTSC VHS Screener)
Premiere Thursday, October 31, 2002 at
8pm (ET)
Network: Turner Classic Movies (Check
your local cable/satellite listings for channel)
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Turner Classic Movies will present a
reconstructed version of Lon Chaney’s Silent Film Icon “London After
Midnight” on Halloween Night, Thursday, October 31, 2002, at 8pm (ET) as the
finale to a month-long 29-film festival that has included silent German classics
as well as four films by acclaimed Italian Horror Filmmaker Mario Brava. Odds
are if you are a genre film fan and have grown up reading magazines like Forrest
J. Ackerman’s “Famous Monsters Of Film Land,” you might have seen this
stunning creation of horror by Lon Chaney and may not have known even what it
was. Turner Classic Movies broadcast of “London After Midnight” will be the
first time the film has been seen in nearly 50 years.
The last known print in existence was
destroyed in a vault fire at MGM in the 1960s. Listed on the American Film
Institute’s Ten Most Wanted “Lost” Films, “London After Midnight” is
referred to by proponents as the most famous of lost films. Though no actual
film footage is known to exist, award-winning Filmmaker Rick Schmidlin has been
able to faithfully reconstruct the entire narrative through an extensive
collection of more than 200 still photographs and a complete continuity script.
A new score by acclaimed composer Robert Israel completes the presentation.
It is a pleasure to view Lon Chaney’s
talents as both a makeup artist and actor creating what is widely considered the
first American vampire complete with wings, bulging eyes, and pointed teeth. The
film was directed by Todd Browning (Dracula & Freaks). For horror film buffs
as well as restoration enthusiasts, this reconstruction is worth a look and may
be as close as one will ever get to seeing the completed film as it was
presented back in 1927, but I must warn the casual viewer that this is
essentially a narrative told through a moving picture gallery with the
occasional use of the camera to close in on important aspects of the photos for
dramatic purposes and while it is an admirable undertaking, it can become boring
very quickly. So just in case, I recommend that one records it while they view
it just in case they lose their interest temporarily. This is definitely worth
viewing, but be prepared or be patient, I recommend both.
© Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.