LOST FILMS

Here were going to look at some Lost films.

What exactly makes a Lost film? I define it as, simply, a film that has vanished
from circulation for years, if not decades, with no evident hope of turning back
up. It does notmean movies that were never made (such as Alejandro
Jodorowskys unrealized DUNE project or David Lynchs RONNIE ROCKET), nor
those that can be found in greymarket form. Im referring to films that literally
seem to have fallen off the face of the Earth.
The term lost obviously has numerous connotations. ELECTRIC DREAMS
(1984), for instance, is very likely a lost film. Like countless other movies its
been tied up in litigation for the past few decades, during which time the raw
materials have been left to molder and decay to the point that a proper DVD
release is very likely unfeasible. Yet the film is still available through VHS and
DVDr copies, and so isnt technically lost.
Conversely, the highly sought-after Argentine horror-art film THE UNITED
FAMILY AWAITS THE ARRIVAL OF HALLEWYN (1971) only exists in 16mm film
prints, in possession of its director Miguel Bejo. So again, this film is not lost
(even if most of us will never get a chance to see it).
On a related note, Im tempted to list several elusive titles Ive long been
searching for, including IN THE MIDST OF LIFE (1963), TWEETS LADIES OF
PASADENA (1972) and LOW-FLYING AIRCRAFT (2002), but I happen to know all
those films are extant. Lost does not mean difficult to find!
Its been said that a large portion of silent-era films have been lost (seemingly
dashing my hopes of ever seeing the 1912 DANTES INFERNO or the 1926 LATE
MATTHEW PASCAL). Below Im going to concentrate on comparatively recent
movies that have unaccountably vanished from circulation.
Quite a few supposedly lost films have been found by private collectors (such
as the complete versions of Abel Gances 1919 JACCUSE and LA FIN DU MONDE),
while others have a tendency to unexpectedly turn up on DVD after having been
presumed lost for decades (such as the seventies obscurities LE GRAND DEPART,
A VOYAGE TO ARCTURAS and CHAC: THE RAIN GOD). My hope is that the 21 films
outlined below will undergo a similar treatment--Im skeptical, though!
Lets start with the most famous and sought-after lost film of our time. Its
THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED
Yes, this is the legendary never-released 1972 Jerry Lewis catastrophe about a
clown in Nazi Germany who leads Jewish children into the gas chambers at
Auschwitz. The non-release is due to a dispute between the writers of the script
and Mr. Lewis (even though the screenwriters and the producer are now all dead).
This would seem to be another case of a film not being technically lost
(private screenings have supposedly been held for Lewis Hollywood pals), but I
dont know about that. According to Wikipedia the location of the original

negative is unknown. Jerry Lewis allegedly owns a videotape copy of an

unfinished rough cut, but who knows in what condition the tape is in--or if it even
still exists?
Theres also the fact that, outside some brief behind-the-scenes snippets, NO
footage from the film is currently available anywhere, in any form. This is
extremely unusual (contrast this with Todd Haynes SUPERSTAR, which was
suppressed by a lawsuit but is extremely prevalent in bootleg form), and leads
me to the sad conclusion that THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED is officially lost.
THE PRIMEVALS
This project is nearly as fabled as the above listing. Its a Charles Band
production begun back in 1978 under the direction of special effects ace David
Allen, only to be abandoned and then started back up again in the mid-nineties.
Depending on who you talk to, the film was never completed or just never
released.
It was given a massive spread by CINEFANTASTIQUE back in 78, and another
in 95. The film appears promising, being a time travel epic involving Eskimos,
Yetis and robots that utilizes extensive stop motion animation. Even if THE
PRIMEVALS turns out half as intriguing as it sounds itll be better than 99 percent
of Charles Bands other releases!
THE DREAM OF HAMISH MOSE
Word of the existence of this unfinished 1971 film didnt materialize until
recently, but its created a veritable stampede among cult movie buffs. Directed
by actor Cameron Mitchell, who personally financed the project under the
guidance of God himself (or so Mitchell claimed), it starred O.J. Simpson as a
black Civil War soldier searching for a sacred burial ground. The film is said to
feature black guys dressed as Indians, lengthy shots of steam rising from donkey
shit, and all manner of surreal EL TOPO-esque elements. No, it doesnt exactly
sound good, but I cant say my interest isnt piqued.
METAMORPHOSIS (FORVANDLINGEN)
Once again you can blame CINEFANTASTIQUE, which piqued my interest in this
1975 Swedish adaptation of Franz Kafkas METAMORPHOSIS with a review in the
Summer 1977 issue. According to CFQ reviewer Jeffrey Frentzen, the film brings
Kafkas half-world of insanity and dark morality to the screen in the style of
Kafkas prosethe feeling one gets from the film is that Kafka somehow had a
hand in the production. Sounds goodso why is it so impossible to find?
CASUALTIES OF WAR (1973)
Ive been unable to find any documentation about this film, a German-made
dramatization of Daniel Langs infamous NEW YORKER article about the rape and
murder of a Vietnamese girl by American soldiers. The film reportedly caused a
stir at the 1973 Venice Film Festival, but was never seen nor heard from again--at
least until Brian DePalma remade it in the eighties.
DePalma himself attests hes searched the world for this elusive film but has
never managed to track it down.

APT PUPIL (1987)

While on the subject of lost predecessors to better-known remakes, most of us
know of the Bryan Singer adaptation of Stephen Kings novella APT PUPIL.
However, few are aware of this incomplete film of the material starring Rick
Schroeder and Nicole Williamson, and directed by English filmmaker Alan
Bridges.
The shoot was three-fourths of the way complete when its makers ran out of
money and called it off. Stephen King says hes seen the footage cut together
(and dubbed it really good), so clearly a rough cut exists--or, perhaps more
accurately, existed.
YOUVE GOT TO WALK IT LIKE YOU TALK IT OR YOULL LOSE THAT BEAT
Wes Craven worked as an assistant editor on this 1971 counterculture obscurity
that stars Zalman King, Allen Garfield and Richard Pryor. Its said to be about an
idealistic young man who is seeking the meaning of life amidst the inanities and
absurdities of New York. A VHS copy supposedly exists, but I dont know anyone
whos seen it.
A FABLE
Also from 1971 was this black power saga adapted from Leroi Jones play THE
SLAVE. Director Al Freeman Jr. plays a black radical who threatens his white exwife at gunpoint amidst an apocalyptic race war. Ive no idea what happened to
this film but would like to see it--Im not holding my breath, though!
HU-MAN
French sci fi is always a dicey proposition (classics like JE TAIME, JE TAIME and
LA JETEE excepted), but this 1975 Terrence Stamp headlined film looks too
fascinating to ignore. From what Ive read, its about a time travel experiment
that has Stamp, playing a TV actor, traveling into the past and future based on
the whims of his audience. I understand HU-MAN attained a fair amount of
acclaim in its day, and even won an award, but since then has been extremely
well hidden.
HEAVEN CAN HELP
This 1989 horror film appears to be a case of a director forcibly keeping his work
off the market. Filmmaker Tony Zarindast lists HEAVEN CAN HELP on his website
but has otherwise all-but disowned it. Theres doubtless a valid reason for that,
but the flick, based on a trailer uploaded on Youtube (though since removed),
looks like a real hoot, packed with endearingly cheesy special effects and
hilarious eighties fashions.
Its also captured the attention of quite a few collectors. I know a guy whos
been obsessively searching for this film, having personally contacted nearly
everyone involved with it. He tells me one of the lead actors said she had a copy
and was going to sell it on eBay; thus far, though, that hasnt occurred. So as far
as Im concerned, until somebody out there actually produces the goods (or bads)
this is officially a Lost film.
CUMULUS 9
From what I understand, CUMULUS 9S writer-director Aaron Michael Lacey

doesnt even possess a DVD print of this 1992 film, which (from what little info
Ive been able to piece together) appears to be a post-apocalyptic horror fest. As
to whether or not it was ever released, or even completed, your guess is as good
as mine. Apparently Laceys more recent directorial effort XSCAPE (2000)
suffered a similar fate.
THE ORACLE
The underground filmmaker Antero Alli has made several intriguing-sounding
films. This was his acclaimed 1993 debut, a hallucinatory account of an old mans
dream-journey through deathand beyond.
All of Allis films are available on DVD through his website--all except this one,
which it seems is officially MIA. Why???
DREAMSPEAKER
This 1977 Canadian TV movie was directed by Claude Jutra, widely hailed as
Canadas greatest filmmaker. Makes me wonder why so few of his films are
available on DVD--particularly this one, which doesnt appear to be extant in ANY
format whatsoever (prove me wrong, somebody!).
For the record, its about a disturbed boy who escapes from an institution and
befriends a First Nations (or Native American) man, only to meet his fate in a
horrible and tragic end.
DAUGHTERS OF FIRE (AS FILHAS DO FOGO)
A Brazilian film from 1978. It concerns two young women who after getting
acquainted with a female necromancer are made witness to all sorts of strange
events. Eventually their home is overrun with jungle vegetation.
BLOOD (LE SANG)
Amos Vogels landmark 1974 volume FILM AS A SUBVERSIVE ART lists quite a few
tantalizing obscurities, among them this ferocious 1971 work by a French
theater collective. Of it Vogel has this to say: An apocalyptic vision of man after
a cosmic catastrophe, this film is a terrifying metaphor for a dehumanized
futurean ambitious, almost completely successful example of visual cinema at
its best.
THOSE WHO DRINK THE BLOOD
These days, when we think of Russian genre cinema the ultra-slick NIGHT
WATCH and its follow-ups spring to mind. It wasnt always that way, however!
This vampire movie (whose original Russian moniker is unknown) appeared in
1991, and was directed by somebody named Eygeni Tatarski. Its said to play like
a Russian variant on THE EVIL DEAD--and apparently an extremely shitty one. Not
that Id know!
THE HANGMAN
More Russian early-nineties genre fare, this one an apparent variant on the LAST
HOUSE ON THE LEFT/I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE model, with a raped woman seeking
revenge on her tormentors. I also hear its nearly three hours long!
VIOLENCE IN THE CINEMA, PART 1
A twenty minute short, made in Australia by MAD MAXS George Miller back in

1971. A spoof on movie violence, it garnered Miller lots of attention, but doesnt
appear to have been seen much since.
GAME IN THE SAND (SPEIL IM SAND)
Tell me this doesnt sound intriguing: a Werner Herzog documentary from 1964,
involving four children and a rooster, that somehow got out of hand. Herzog
has never elaborated on the nature of the problem, but it was apparently severe
enough that he abandoned the project and has publicly vowed to never release it.
TALES OF KUBELKIND (GESCHICHTEN VOM KUBELKIND)
Herzog was part of this three-hour film of the German new wave, divided into 26
parts and released in 1970; hes an actor in this bizarre tale of a young woman
birthed in a garbage can who goes on to disrupt bourgeois society. If this
ambitious project was exhibited anywhere after 1970 I have yet to hear about it.
THE CURE FOR INSOMNIA
Officially the longest movie ever made, a shot-on-video ramble running 5,220
minutes, or 87 hours. Its said to consist of poet L.D. Groban reading from his own
4,080-page poem, along with X-rated movie clips and performances by the heavy
metal bands Cosmic Lightning and J.T.4.
THE CURE FOR INSOMNIA was exhibited at Chicagos School of the Art
Institute in a continuous screening that ran from January 31 to February 3, 1987-and apparently nowhere else. That of course hasnt stopped quite a few people
from claiming to have seen it (yeah right!).
I cant say Im not intrigued, although it sounds like you could make your own
87-hour video with equivalent results.
And thats it for this list. You might ask precisely how do I know the above
films are lost--or that they even exist? Well, in truth I dont know if any of them
are truly lost, but all are currently impossible to find. As to whether they all truly
exist, I cant say Im too sure of that either. The key words in both cases are I
dont know, and its precisely that element of the unknown that (among other
things) makes these obscure films so tantalizing, not unlike a fabulous treasure
no one has ever seen.
Bottom line: uncertainty or not, until I actually track down and view these 21
films they will remain lost. This, however, is an instance in which I wouldnt mind
being proven wrong.

--6/10/09