Cleopatra (partially found drama film; 1917)

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ThedaBaraCleopatra-InfoboxPoster.jpg

A poster for the film.

Status: Partially Found

Cleopatra is a 1917 silent film starring Theda Bara. This is one of her many silent-era films to be lost (only four are still known to exist). Of this two-and-a-half-hour long film, only 20 seconds have survived prior to 2023.[1][2] James Fennell then discovered and purchased a previously unknown fragment on eBay, and uploaded the 41 second clip to the YouTube channel Old Films & Stuff on September 14th, 2023.[3]

Many believe the film to be among the most elaborate and expensive of its time.[4] Despite its success at the box office, the last known copies of the film were destroyed in fires. One was at the Fox studio vault fire in 1937, and the other fire was at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1958.[5][6] The film has never been seen in its entirety since.[7][8]

The only surviving footage known to exist is the aforementioned two clips. It has fallen into a category with 1922 Stroheim Director's Cut of Greed as a "holy grail" amongst movie collectors.

Phillip Dye started a failed Indiegogo project to reconstruct the film, but (as of September 2016) he has found over 400 film stills and counting. On February 8th, 2017, Dye screened Lost Cleopatra at a Hollywood museum.[9]

Surviving Footage

The first surviving clip of ~20 seconds (footage starts ~0:42).

The second surviving clip of ~41 seconds (footage starts ~0:36).

Reference

  1. ↑ Solomon, Aubrey (2011). The Fox Film Corporation, 1915-1935: A History and Filmography. McFarland. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-786-48610-6.
  2. ↑ http://silentera.com/PSFL/data/C/Cleopatra1917.html
  3. ↑ Cleopatra (1917) - Newly Discovered Footage. Retrieved 15 Sep '23.
  4. ↑ Silent Era article. Retrieved 15 Mar '16.
  5. ↑ Solomon, Aubrey (2011). The Fox Film Corporation, 1915-1935: A History and Filmography. McFarland. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-786-48610-6.
  6. ↑ Klepper, Robert K. (1996). Silent Films On Video: A Filmography Of Over 700 Silent Features Available On Videocassette, With a Directory Of Sources. McFarland & Co. p. 8. ISBN 0-786-40157-5.
  7. ↑ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.4321/default.html
  8. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20141225003106/http://www.thegreatstars.com/lost_film_wanted.htm
  9. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170501083710/http://laist.com/2017/02/06/20_of_the_coolest_events_happening_2.php

External Links

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