London After Midnight (1927 Lost Silent Film)



London After Midnight was an 1927 film written and directed by Tod Browning, and starring Lon Chaney. The plot involved an Inspector Burke (Chaney) invesitgating the murder of Sir Roger Balfour in London. After finding a suicide note, the case is closed and seemingly forgotten, however, 5 years later the Balfour residence is taken up by a man in a beaver-skin hat, with gruesome suken eyes and fangs. People begin to wonder if it is Balfour back from the dead, although in fact, it ends up being Inspector Burke himself.

The last known surviving copy of this film was destroyed in the 1967 MGM Vault fire, and as such, it is today one of the most sought after lost films of all time. The film was remade into a talkie in 1935 by the same director, titled  Mark of the Vampire. Additionally, in 2003, a 45 minute reconstructed version of the film was released, using still photographs and text. These still photographs are the only known surviving footage of the film.