The Vampire

Lon Chaney as The Vampire from Tod Browning's 1927 silent film "London After Midnight."

Lon Chaney's makeup for "London After Midnight" in my opinion is one of the most compelling images in classic horror, not far behind Frankenstein. It just calls out to be watched, unfortunately, it is now lost, no copies of the film are known to exist. The last known print of the film was stored by MGM in Vault #7. In 1965, an electrical fire broke out in the vault that destroyed countless films from the silent era, including this last known print. The film was the most successful collaborative film between Chaney and Browning. Browning later remade the film, with some changes to the plot, as "Mark of the Vampire" starring Bela Lugosi and Carroll Borland which was released in 1935.

Unfounded rumors persist, however, that a print exists in a private collection in Canada but that the owner refuses to allow it to be preserved. Instead is said to be holding on to it until the film enters the public domain in 2018 at which time it is believed they will take the opportunity to cash in on their find.

In 2003, Turner Classic Movies commissioned famed restoration producer Rick Schmidlin to produce a well received 45 min. reconstruction of the film, using still photographs. Schmidlin received the Rondo Award for his efforts.

The original shooting script is available online at Leila's Vampire Movie Guide