I know there are the preservation societies for films, but I was wondering if there was any type of website (beyond Wikipedia) which lists a lot of the lost movies or TV shows, and those that have been recovered, what some of the recovered films or TV shows have been. I guess I'm most interested to know whether or not they are still finding lost stuff. I know there is only so much to find but I hate to think that they aren't finding anymore. There are still so many old silent and early sound films, the Our Gang shorts, and so many old episodes of lost TV shows, like Doctor Who, Z Cars, the live anthology shows, et al.

It’s crazy to me that a film from the 1990s could be endangered this way.
I really enjoyed watching this film when I was able to see it on A&E (I think it aired on that network) before A&E and Bravo became a repository for reality television. It was the first time that I remember seeing Tracey Ullman in a mostly dramatic role and Lily Taylor was truly luminescent in this role. I am glad that Nancy Savoca was able to buy the rights to her film and rescue it from obsolescence.

We fans of daytime drama often talk about how gems are seemingly cast off to the wayside but the industry but, I guess, this happens all around.

https://www.wbur.org/news/2024/01/03/nancy-savoca-1993-film-household-saints-brattle-theatre

Oh my God, that is Sebastian Roche! Wow.

Per silent film, I remember the rumors a few years back that people found F.W. Murnau's 4 Devils. Sadly didn't pan out.

I saw an article that the Library Of Congress plans to screen the infamous "Lost" 1972 Jerry Lewis film " The Day The Clown Cried". The movie was never completed/released. The plot of the film is about a washed up circus clown during World War II that is used by the Nazis to lead a train of children to their deaths in a concentration camp. In the end " The Clown" joins hands with the children and he walks into the chamber deciding to die along with the children"

For decades people asked Lewis about it and he refused to allow it to see the light of day and barely would discuss it. He said it was a bad film and a mistake. He eventually donated a copy to the LOC and stipulated it could not been screened till 2024. 

 

 

https://www.wired.com/story/david-lynch-dune-sequel-script-unearthed/

https://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/2024/Feb/04/lost-recovered-jewel-thief-many-classics

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-68286968

I put a very rare Jeopardy episode in the game shows thread.

Wow, these missing reels of BBC programs seem to turn up fairly often, it seems.

22 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Wow, these missing reels of BBC programs seem to turn up fairly often, it seems.

Sometimes I am disappointed because the stuff I want to see is never likely to materialize, but I should be happy with any new find. 

Speaking of which:

Fans get rare chance to see lost Billy Connolly Big Banana Feet film (bbc.com)

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

Sometimes I am disappointed because the stuff I want to see is never likely to materialize, but I should be happy with any new find. 

Speaking of which:

Fans get rare chance to see lost Billy Connolly Big Banana Feet film (bbc.com)

"If it's pre 1950s and smells of old socks, get it out of the building because it's highly flammable."
 

Yikes! That paints quite an image. And smell.

Yes, I know I wish there were a treasure trove of reels from P&G soaps pre-1980s but I don’t expect that to happen.

Bits and pieces of this have been around (some of the pilot this is from was made into two shorts by Moe Howard's son in law and put into theaters in the early '60s), but this is the first time seeing it in color, apparently, and the first showing of the full version of the cartoon.

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Bits and pieces of this have been around (some of the pilot this is from was made into two shorts by Moe Howard's son in law and put into theaters in the early '60s), but this is the first time seeing it in color, apparently, and the first showing of the full version of the cartoon.

This is fascinating. Thank you.

A potentially intriguing update on the lost footage of The Magnificent Ambersons. I assumed for decades it was totally lost so I'm not getting my hopes up, but Wellesnet is a long-standing site not known for hyperbole. @DRW50

Edited June 8, 20241 yr by Vee

https://deadline.com/2024/06/comedy-central-mtv-news-cmt-tv-land-online-archives-purged-paramount-global-1235984361

https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/cmt-mtvs-eradication-of-editorial-content-is-a-catastrophe/

More material lost and likely never to be recovered in many cases.