After 14 years, the Flickr page dedicated to identifying unknown films is getting a new name.

 

Introducing: Unidentified Films

 

Since launching this Flickr page, there have been more than 9,000 images uploaded which represent over 1,300 unknown films. Crowdsourcing has led to the re-uniting of 575 of those films with their original titles. While some clips were identified as extant films, many titles were previously considered to be lost films. The exciting new discoveries have included: over a dozen shorts made by the Selig company of Chicago between 1898 and 1902; the second known example of a film produced by England's Norwood Films company that was active in 1906 and 1907; multiple 1910s productions with Native American casts; a fragment from a lost 1913 German drama starring Wanda Treumann, which has subsequently been restored and released with a new original score; a tantalizing reel from a 1914 release by the Ammex Film Manufacturing Company of National City, California; a 1917 Fox parody of its box-office smash A Fool There Was starring Theda Bara; the lone surviving elements from a number of African-American feature films of the 1920s, now included on the Film Heritage Award-winning Pioneers of African-American Cinema DVD set; a previously entirely unknown 1929 talkie starring British stage star Donald Calthrop; and much, much more besides.

 

Established in September 2008 as a project from the Association of Moving Image Archivists Nitrate Film Interest Group (now called Nitrate Committee), this highly successful Flickr page has received 4.4 million views. Submissions of unidentified films come from institutions and collectors both domestically and internationally. Individuals have lent their expertise about locations, historical events, actors, and movie history to help identify these films, thus placing each clip within its proper social context.

  

How can a film be unidentified?

Having unidentified films is a surprisingly common occurrence – especially amongst silent cinema. Not regarded as holding historical or commercial value after concluding their initial theatrical run, it was not an uncommon occurrence for film reels to remain in the hands of the projectionist of the end-of-the-line theater. Thus, attics, basements, or barns are common locations for new discoveries, though often the material may be incomplete.

 

Also, keep in mind that with motion picture film, the loss of even a few dozen feet at the start of a reel could result in the loss of the title. Sometimes those projectionists would only keep their favorite part of a five reel film, or they would edit together random scenes making a compilation reel. Another major factor in films becoming unknown is nitrate deterioration. Deterioration may have eaten all but the last portion of a film and thus making it difficult to identify.

  

How can I help?

- Frequently check this Unidentified Films Flickr page and if you are able to provide title, actor, approximate date, context, or other potentially helpful information we invite you to leave a comment.

- Help promote the page by telling other film buffs, researchers, archivists, and collectors.

- Submit unidentified content by sending images and all known information via either FlickrMail or by writing unidentifiedfilms@fadedshadows.com

  

What can be submitted to Unidentified Films?

Anything moving image related that is at least partially unknown. Film, television, silent, sound, black-and-white, color, 35mm, 16mm, 8mm, still, negative, positive, feature films, shorts, production elements – everything! From identifying a film’s title to a specific actor glimpsed in the background, everything is accepted. Also allowed are requests for technical information such as color processes, projectors, or cameras.

  

Any helpful insights?

- Films that have multiple images are grouped into albums. It is best to view the page via album view – not photostream view.

Information that applies to all images within that album appears under the album title. You may have to click “See more” to read all of the information.

- All comments can be helpful, no matter how seemingly trivial the information.

- Once identified, albums are re-named with “IDENTIFIED:” and their title. Eventually the identified album is moved away from the first several pages to keep remaining unknown films near the top.

- Unknown films that only had a singular image submitted (including film stills) have been placed in the album titled “single unknown frame scans”

- Frequently re-titled and moved, it is best to track an unidentified film/album by its URL.

- If you would like to share a comment directly with the moderator, write via FlickrMail or unidentifiedfilms@fadedshadows.com

- Unless specifically requested, sources of unidentified material are never revealed.

- A few helpful on-line resources:

- American Film Institute Catalog

- British Film Institute

- Foundation Jerome Seydoux-Pathe

- Library of Congress Motion Picture Copyright Descriptions

- Media History Digital Library

- Newspapers.com

  

Who is behind this?

Created and run by film archivist Rachel Del Gaudio, this Flickr page was inspired by a request made to AMIA’s Nitrate Committee. A graduate from Chapman University, Rachel holds a bachelor’s degree in Film Studies and a minor in American History. Through her work at the Academy Film Archive and the Library of Congress, she processed a variety of collections, authored workflows, and organized events both small and large.

 

As chair of the Nitrate Committee since 2007, Rachel has become an authority on nitrate motion picture film and its corresponding regulations. She has given presentations at the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival, the AFI Silver, and the AMIA annual conference. Recent publications include being a contributor to Scripts From The Crypt: Mr. Sardonicus.

 

Subsequently, Rachel is a co-creator an in-person event (previously titled Mostly Lost) that screens unidentified films in front of an audience that calls out information they recognize on screen.