The
most famous "lost film" is Cleopatra produced by Fox in
1917 starring Theda Bara. An anagram of her name,
created by the studio
publicists, was "Arab Death". An original 27 by 41
inch "one sheet" poster (left) is priceless.
My 3 1/4 x 4 inch "Coming
Attraction" glass slide (right) used to promote the
movie is rare, but not nearly as priceless. Glass survives --
paper and nitrate film don't. With many lost silent films, all
that survives are glass slides and studio stills.
Here
are some stills from Cleopatra.
Fox spent $500,000 making this movie (a whole lot of money
in 1917). 2,000 horses, many great costumes for Theda, the
boat below with Nubian oarsmen, etc.
What did you expect Buster.
Here is one of Theda's earlier Vamp roles.
