One of the holy grails of lost films, the long version of the silent gem Metropolis (only a cut version had previously benn known to exist) has been found in South America (see link). It's really quite an interesting story how this came to be saved.

This gives me renewed hope that someday we might hear of a missing Chan or two turning up. On another board it was mentioned that the archives of South America haven't been adequately searched; thus it is possible other treasures could pop up.

Keeping fingers crossed that Charlie had fans down South.

That's incredible news about Metropolis.

It would be a big step forward if it were known to which countries the lost Oland Chans were originally sent. That would certainly help narrow the search a bit to more the plausible locations. I have often wondered if that sort of information exists somewhere.

Dear Steve and Douglas,

Yes, this is very good news, and, yes, it does open the door for some hope that one or more of the currently lost Charlie Chan films will one day resurface. Interestingly, the same region could also provide acceptable prints of later Chan films for commercial release.

Sincerely,
Rush

Even though they found it, It is in pretty poor shape.I hope they can find LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT hidden somewhere.

I saw the restoration of London After Midnight that TCM did a few years ago using the production stills and the script. . . . It was fun but it can wet your appetite for what the original must have been like!

Virginia