London After Midnight (1927)

Director:

Tod Browning

Writers:

Tod Browning (story)
Waldemar Young (scenario)

Release Date:

17 December 1927 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Tagline:

The Man of a Thousand Faces in a Great Detective Thriller!

Plot:

The abandoned home of a wealthy man who supposedly committed suicide five years earlier is taken over by ghoulish figures - could they be vampires?

Plot Keywords:

Ghoul | Night | Time For Title | Lost Film | Vampire

Cast

Lon Chaney	...	Professor Edward C. Burke
Marceline Day	...	Lucille Balfour
Henry B. Walthall	...	Sir.James Hamlin
Percy Williams	...	Williams, Balfour's Butler
Conrad Nagel	...	Arthur Hibbs
Polly Moran	...	Miss Smithson, the New Maid
Edna Tichenor	...	Luna, Bat Girl
Claude King	...	Roger Balfour
Andy MacLennan	...	Bat Girl's Assistant

Also Known As:

The Hypnotist (UK)

Runtime:

69 min (22 fps)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Lon Chaney wore a set of false animal teeth that hurt him so much that he could only wear them for a few minutes at a time. The teeth Chaney wore were not animal teeth, but were made of gutta-percha, a hard rubber-like material. What gave him the most discomfort were the wire loops around his eyes.

Quotes:

Miss Smithson, the New Maid: I - locked her in there -
Miss Smithson, the New Maid: Oh, sir... it was 'orrible! Miss Lucille was bidding me good-night, - --
Miss Smithson, the New Maid: - and then, sir I screamed, and frightened 'im! And out of the window 'e flew!
Professor Edward C. Burke: Smithson, have you been drinking?
Miss Smithson, the New Maid: Oh, no, sir! If I 'ave... I 'opes I chokes on the next one!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Recreating the Eighth Wonder: The Making of 'King Kong' (2006) (V)

From Beyond the Unknown

As of October 20, 2007, "London After Midnight" is a lost film -- there is no known surviving footage. Hopefully, a print or portion will be discovered. Until then, TCM's 2002 reconstruction, by Rick Schmidlin, will have to suffice -- it was created by referencing the original script and utilizing movie photograph still. Robert Israel provided a representative musical score. Cheers to all involved!

Before viewing the restoration by Mr. Schmidlin, consider watching the other Tod Browning (director), Lon Cheney (actor), and Merritt B. Gerstad (cameraman) collaboration "The Unknown" (1927) *********; it may provide the best indication of how "London After Midnight" might have looked on the motion picture screen. Then, see Browning's re-make "Mark of the Vampire" (1935) *****; its script closely follows "London After Midnight", and it will help explain some story elements limited by the movie stills available.

I'm speculating the performances of Lon Chaney (as Prof. Edward Burke) and Henry B. Walthall (as Sir James Hamlin) were noteworthy, but the story disappointing. Conrad Nagel (as Arthur Hibbs) must have been very impressive; he would shortly co-star with none other than Greta Garbo, in 1928 and 1929 films. And, certainly, Marceline Day was lovely (as Lucille Balfour).