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Lost Sessue Hayakawa films found!
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 7:49 pm
by Richard72
Three movies starring (first non-Caucasian actor/producer) supposedly gone forever were found again by the Amsterdam Filmmuseum (
www.filmmuseum.nl). Titles are: The Man Beneath (1919), His Birthright (1918) & The Courageous Coward (1919).
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 8:05 pm
by Antoine Doinel
Very cool news, though it should be noted, two of the films are incomplete:
His Birthright
William Worthington (USA 1918)
Silent, Dutch intertitles, 48 minutes, reproduced with original tints.
Young Yukio (Hayakawa) travels to US from Japan, to revenge the American admiral who he holds responsible for his mother’s suicide. Yukio gets involved in the scheme of a gang of spies who order him to steal secret documents from the admiral. Yukio does what is asked of him, but regrets his deeds as it becomes clear that the admiral is his long lost father. Reels 1 and 4 out of 5 are missing.
The Courageous Coward
William Worthington (USA 1919)
Silent, Dutch intertitles, 14 minutes, reproduced with original tints.
The Japanese-American law student Suki Iota (Hayakawa) investigates a murder. He lives with his guardian and is secretly in love with his ward’s niece Rei (Tsuru Aoki). When he discovers that Rei’s American friend Tom Kirby is the murderer, he withdraws from the case in order not to embarrass Rei. Suki is called a coward, but when Tom confesses publicly a rehabilitation follows and Suki is regarded as a valuable member of American society. Only the last reel of The Courageous Coward is known to have survived.
The Man Beneath
William Worthington (USA 1919)
Silent, Dutch intertitles, 66 minutes reproduced with original tints.
The Indian doctor Chindi Ashutor (Hayakawa) falls in love with the Scottish Kate Erskine. Kate’s sister Mary is engaged to Ashutor’s fellow student James Bassett. Kate refuses to marry Ashutor because she fears the social consequences of a mixed marriage. In the meantime Bassett falls under the spell of a religious sect. Ashutor intervenes but cannot prevent a death. The honoured scientist returns to India without any illusions about the British class dominated society. The Man Beneath has survived almost completely.
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 3:24 am
by HerrSchreck
The Wicked Darling, Beyond The Rocks, The Passion of Joan of Arc, now Hayakawa... Scandinavia is Lost Film Recovery Central.
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:05 am
by miless
HerrSchreck wrote:The Wicked Darling, Beyond The Rocks, The Passion of Joan of Arc, now Hayakawa... Scandinavia is Lost Film Recovery Central.
Well the weather there certainly seems habitable to long storage.
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 12:47 pm
by Knappen
Did I ever mention that the nitrate copy of Jeanne d'Arc was found at an insane asylum in 1981 only a couple of kilometers from where I grew up?
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 12:50 pm
by skuhn8
Knappen wrote:Did I ever mention that the nitrate copy of Jeanne d'Arc was found at an insane asylum in 1981 only a couple of kilometers from where I grew up?
No, you didn't; but a far more interesting tidbit would be the above with the following removed: "only a couple of kilometers from"
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 12:54 pm
by Knappen
Did I ever mention that the nitrate copy of Jeanne d'Arc was found at an insane asylum in 1981 where I grew up?
Edited one time by skuhn8
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:16 pm
by SoyCuba
HerrSchreck wrote:The Wicked Darling, Beyond The Rocks, The Passion of Joan of Arc, now Hayakawa... Scandinavia is Lost Film Recovery Central.
Netherlands isn't part of Scandinavia though.
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:17 pm
by Scharphedin2
HerrSchreck wrote:The Wicked Darling, Beyond The Rocks, The Passion of Joan of Arc, now Hayakawa... Scandinavia is Lost Film Recovery Central.
Great news indeed, although I am not sure the Scandinavians can take the credit for the discoveries made in Amsterdam (Beyond the Rocks & Hayakawa). Just like we do not want the Dutch to take any credit for the Scanidinavian Women
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 5:49 pm
by miless
Knappen wrote:Did I ever mention that the nitrate copy of Jeanne d'Arc was found at an insane asylum in 1981 where I grew up?
wasn't it also discovered with another "lost" film? (I believe it was a German Expressionist horror film)
correction: it was discovered with Der Brennende Acker, FW Murnau's film preceding Nosferatu.
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 8:32 pm
by HerrSchreck
Jesus am I gaffe prone lately or WHAT? This is what happens when you type just as your first cup of coffee (next to me right now.. lets see what I fuck up today) is yet to be fully consumed. Or late at night in halfawake ville.
As to the sentiments above, I guess I basically meant Northern Europe Blonde Person Land... excluding north Germany. I always sort of lumped Holland in with Denmark (though of course the proximity between Holland and the genuine "primary Scandinavian arctic penninsula" --Sweden, Norway, Finland... its' Russki-ness notwithstanding-- is not pronounced like the tiny leap between Denmark & say, Malmo in Sweden) though thats a generalization only someone far far away would lapse into.
But anyhow, Amsterdam & surrounding environs is nontheless, Joan & Murnau aside, an incredible source of lost Hollywood silents for some reason.
I always thought, by the way, the the single extant copy of Der Brennende Acker was obtained from a collector in Italy... vague recollection of it being bought from a collector there, may have even been a priest or something?
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:06 pm
by Knappen
I'm pretty sure that the fragment of
Anders als die Andern is a norwegian find too.
But then I can't remember seeing anything about that on the Filmmuseum dvd.
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:24 pm
by miless
here's what imdb said about Der Brennende Acker:
This movie was considered lost for a long time. In 1978 an almost complete print was found in the estate of an Italian priest who had organised screenings in mental hospitals.
so you are correct, Der Brennende Acker was discovered in Italy.
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:39 am
by HerrSchreck
See? So I may not know shit about Amsterdam vs Scandinavia, or whether or not Gordon Brown posts on our forum... but I know my Murnau at least!