Lost John Ford Film found in Chile after 100 years.

Last night I came across an article from The National, about how a builder found John Ford’s “The Scarlet Drop”, which was lost for more than 100 years in Chile. The article goes on to state that the film — one of the 26 westerns Ford made with his long time acting collaborator Harry Carey, was released in 1918, and had been missing since it’s initial release. About 30 minuets of the film exists in the Getty Archive, with no full cut to the film thought to remain intact.

Described at the time as the “most supreme hit of harry Carey’s career”, the movie was rediscovered by the owner of a warehouse in Santiago, a day before it was set to be demolished. While reviewing the building’s contents, the owner discovered a trove of films that were once owned by a local collector, left untouched for 40 years after his death.

The owner contacted Jamie Cordova, an academic from the University of Vina del mar and Valparaiso Recovered Film Festival’s director, who rescued the films from being discarded.

“The film was very damaged, which indicates that it was a very popular film at the time. It was shown a lot,” Cordova told Cinentransit. Though he notes that the film is in overall in excellent condition.

Cordova digitized the film and screened it at his festival in Chile in September. He notes that it is still in need of a full restoration, and his materials may be missing partial aspects of the film while cleaning and repairing.

The story for “The Scarlet Drop” follows a man who refused to fight in the American Civil War and instead joins a gang of marauders, becoming a fugitive. Contained in the discovery may be Ford’s first on-screen depiction of American president Abraham Lincoln, whom he also depicted in his films; “The Iron Horse” (1924), “The Prisoner of Shark Island” (1936), “Young Mr. Lincoln” (1962), “How the West Was Won” (1962) and “Cheyenne Autumn” (1964).

Ford made more than 130 films in his 50 year career, from 1917-1970. With many of his silent films still considered lost. He won six Academy Awards throughout his career, including four for Best Director — still a record. In 2022, Ford was portrayed by another legendary director David Lynch in Steven Spielberg’s “The Fablemans”.

Next job, find Orson Welles’ lost film, supposedly in Brazil.