Top 10 Rarest Movies Ever Made: The first films were made in the late 19th century, and ever since then, thousands upon thousands of films have been produced all over the world.
There is no denying that a significant number of the earliest films have been lost due to the fragile nature of the material on which they were printed.
This list is comprised of some of the most notable films that were ever created that were either completely lost, partially lost, or rediscovered after having been lost over the course of many years.
There is just one original copy of each of the films on this list, making them all extremely rare. Either they have been lost through time or nobody has kept a copy.
Top 10 Rarest Movies Ever Made 2024
1. Frankenstein (1910)
- Reason for Rarity: lost until the mid-1970s
- Year Released: March 18, 1910
- Directed By: J. Searle Dawley
- Produced By: Thomas Edison
- Starring: Augustus Phillips; Charles Ogle; and Mary Fuller
The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has been turned into a movie an uncountable number of times, but the film version of Frankenstein that was produced by Thomas Edison was the very first. The film Frankenstein (1910) was a short picture that ran for only 14 minutes. Augustus Phillips starred as Dr.
Mary Fuller played the role of Frankenstein’s fiancée, while Charles Ogle portrayed the monster created by Frankenstein.
In the same vein as many of the other films on this list, Frankenstein was thought to be missing for a number of years.
Alois F. Dettlaff, a film collector from Wisconsin, made the purchase of a print of this film in the early 1950s.
At the time, Mr. Dettlaff was unaware of the film’s limited availability. It was not until the middle of the 1970s that the existence of the picture was made public.
In addition to issuing a DVD release of 1,000 copies, Dettlaff commissioned the creation of a 35 mm preservation copy.
Did It Cross Your Mind?
In honor of the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s birth, the Library of Congress finished restoring the film version of Frankenstein (1910) on November 15, 2018 and made it accessible to the general public on YouTube that same day.
2. Sherlock Holmes (1916)
- Reason for Rarity: lost until 2014; only William Gillette film
- Year Released: May 15, 1916
- Directed By: Arthur Berthlet and William Postance
- Produced By: Essanay Studios
Starring: William Gillette; Edward Fielding; Ernest Maupain
William Gillette was a well-known stage actor in the early 20th century who was best recognized for his depiction of the well-known literary character Sherlock Holmes.
Gillette had performed the role of Holmes on stage over 1,300 times. Gillette had a long career on stage, but he only appeared in one movie, Sherlock Holmes, which was released in 1916.
Before a complete copy of Gillette’s Sherlock Holmes was discovered in a cinema archive in France, it was believed that no prints of the picture had survived from its original run.
Following its restoration, this particular copy of Sherlock Holmes was displayed for the first time in France in January 2015 and then in the United States in May of that same year.
Did It Cross Your Mind?
The character of Sherlock Holmes originated in Arthur Conan Doyle’s short novels “A Scandal in Bohemia,” “The Final Problem,” and “A Study in Scarlet,” which were turned into a stage play in 1899 and given the same name as the movie that was produced from it.
3. East Lynne
- Reason for Rarity: lost until 1971; one of the few extant Theda Bara films
- Year Released: June 19, 1916
- Directed By: Bertram Bracken
- Produced By: William Fox
- Starring: Theda Bara; and Ben Deeley
Theda Bara, who was considered to be one of the most well-known actresses of the time period, starred in the 1916 silent picture East Lynne.
Despite the fact that Bara had a fruitful career, the majority of her films were destroyed in a fire that occurred at Fox Studios in 1937.
Before the discovery of a 16mm print of the picture in 1971, many people thought that East Lynne was one of these lost films.
This belief persisted for several decades. The Museum of Modern Art owns this particular copy of East Lynne, which they obtained from Fox and are now responsible for preserving.
Did It Cross Your Mind?
The novel East Lynne, written by Mrs. Henry Wood in 1861, served as the inspiration for the film adaptation of the same name.
4. The Life and Deeds of the Immortal Leader Karađorđe
- Reason for Rarity: only known copy was lost for several decades before being found in 2003
- Year Released: October 23, 1911
- Directed By: Ilija Stanojević
- Produced By: Svetozar Botorić
- Starring: Milorad Petrović and Ilija Stanojević
Karaore, also known as The Life and Deeds of the Immortal Leader Karaore, was the first full-length feature film to be produced in Serbia and the Balkans and to be made available to the public.
Karaoke was the leader of the First Serbian Uprising, which occurred between the years 1804 and 1813. The film is based on his life. While
Karaore was a commercial success in Serbia; nevertheless, the picture was never distributed anywhere else in the world, and the final known copy of the movie was lost in either 1947 or 1948. Nevertheless, a duplicate that is essentially unaltered of
Researchers from the Yugoslav Film Archive made the discovery of Karaore while they were working in Vienna. This specific copy of
The film Karaore was promptly sent back to Serbia, where it was promptly restored in time for a screening on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the First Serbian Uprising, which took place in February 2004.
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In 2011, The Life and Deeds of the Immortal Leader Karaore underwent a digital restoration in preparation for its screening at an event commemorating the film’s 100th anniversary. The following year, Karaore was added to the collection of films held by the Yugoslav Film Archive.
5. Une Femme Coquette
- Reason for Rarity: Only shown half a dozen times since the 1960s; only known stored in a European film archive
- Year Released: 1955
- Directed By: Jean-Luc Godard
- Produced By: Actua-Film
- Starring: Maria Lysandre and Roland Tolma
Before the short video “Une Femme Coquette,” also known as “A Flirtatious Woman in English,” suddenly appeared on YouTube in 2017, it had been one of the most sought-after rare films for several decades.
The fact that Jean-Luc Godard, the legendary filmmaker of French New Wave films, shot Une Femme Coquette as his very first project is the sole explanation for the film’s enduring popularity.
There was never a commercial release of Une Femme Coquette, and the movie has only been seen a handful of times since the 1960s.
Before the unexplained upload to YouTube, the only known copy of Une Femme Coquette was safely being kept for a private owner in a national film archive in Europe.
Did It Cross Your Mind?
Jean-Luc Godard, who directed Une Femme Coquette, makes a cameo appearance in the film while sporting his signature glasses.
6. The Curse of Quon Gwon
- Reason for Rarity: never publicly released; only two out of an estimated seven or eight reels exist
- Year Released: N/A; filmed c.1916 or 1917
- Directed By: Marion E. Wong
- Produced By: Marion E. Wong
- Starring: Violet Wong; Marion E. Wong; and Harvey Soohoo.
Although it was never actually exhibited to the public, The Curse of Quon Gwon: When the Far East Mingles with the West is historically noteworthy as the first Asian American feature film.
In addition to that, it is one of the first films to be directed by a female filmmaker named Marion E. Wong.
Wong’s intention was to introduce Americans to Chinese culture with the film The Curse of Quon Gwon, which he produced, directed and also authored the screenplay for.
Gregory Mark, the grandson of Wong’s sister-in-law Violet Wong, who starred in The Curse of Quon Gwon, discovered two reels of the film after a period of time during which it was believed that the film had been completely lost.
Did It Cross Your Mind?
The National Film Registry selected the film The Curse of Quon Gwon: When the Far East Mingles with the West as a film of outstanding cultural, historical, and aesthetic importance in 2006. In 2010, a new original score was composed and added to the picture.
7. Cleopatra (1917)
- Reason for Rarity: last two known copies were destroyed in the 1937 Fox studio fires; only fragments of the movie survived
- Year Released: October 14, 1917
- Directed By: J. Gordon Edwards
- Produced By: William Fox
- Starring: Theda Bara; Fritz Leiber, Sr.; and Thurston Hall
Theda Bara, who was one of the most famous silent film actresses of all time, starred in one of the most famous early Cleopatra films, which was released in 1917.
This film is considered to be one of the most famous early Cleopatra films. Cleopatra (1917) was the most expensive and labor-intensive film that Hollywood had produced up to that point in time.
It was also one of the most successful. The production of the movie reportedly set the studio back a total of $500,000, which is comparable to $9.78 million in today’s dollars.
It wasn’t until decades later, when a fire broke out at Fox Studios in 1937, that Cleopatra, along with a number of the other films on this list, was destroyed. Unfortuitously, the fire also consumed the majority of the other films that Bara had produced.
Did It Cross Your Mind?
The outfits that Theda Bara wore in the 1917 film Cleopatra were considered risqué for the time period and several scenes from the film were prohibited in a number of towns across the United States.
Cleopatra was one of the most successful pictures released that year, 1917, despite the fact that this did not affect the number of tickets sold.
8. London After Midnight
- Reason for Rarity: last known copy of the movie was destroyed in the 1965 MGM vault fire; only stills exist
- Year Released: December 3, 1927
- Directed By: Tod Browning
- Produced By: Tod Browning and Irving Thalberd
- Starring: Lon Chaney; Marceline Day; Conrad Nagel; Henry B. Walthall; Polly Moran; Edna Tichenor; and Claude King
The film London After Midnight, which was directed by Tod Browning and starred Lon Chaney, was not only one of the most financially successful pictures of 1927 but also the most successful film cooperation between the two.
In spite of the fact that it is a well-known and well-liked film, the last known copy of London After Midnight was lost in a fire that occurred in the MGM vault in 1965, making it one of the most sought-after lost films.
In 2002, Rick Schmidlin published a condensed version of London After Midnight that he had reconstructed by using the original script as well as film stills.
Did It Cross Your Mind?
It is the only known poster for London After Midnight, and it was auctioned off in 2014 for a staggering price of $478,000, making it the most valuable movie poster that has ever been sold at a public sale.
9. The First Men on the Moon
- Reason for Rarity: only production stills and a plot synopsis exist
- Year Released: 1919
- Directed By: Bruce Gordon and J.L.V. Leigh
- Produced By: Unspecified
- Starring: Bruce Gordon; Heather Thatcher; and Lionel d’Aragon
The novel written by H.G. Wells with the same name was adapted into a silent black-and-white film in 1919 under the title The First Men in the Moon.
The film adaptation of Wells’ novel was making its debut here, as it had never been done before. The unfortunate situation is that practically all of The First Men on the Moon has been lost.
There are only stills from the film’s production and a synopsis of its story that has survived to the present day, although the British Film Institute is still looking for a copy of the film.
Did It Cross Your Mind?
The First Men in the Moon was the first film of any length to be adapted in its entirety from a work of science fiction literature.
10. The Mountain Eagle
- Reason for Rarity: only lost Hitchcock film; only a couple dozen stills exist
- Year Released: May 23, 1927
- Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
- Produced By: Michael Balcon
- Starring: Nita Naldi; Bernhard Goetzke; Malcolm Keene; John F. Hamilton
It is generally agreed that Alfred Hitchcock was one of the most important filmmakers in the history of the industry.
Hitchcock had a career that spanned over six decades, and during that time, he directed over 50 pictures. Surprisingly, just one of those films is thought to be lost.
The American Bald Eagle It’s true that over the years, a lot of really good movies have been lost, but none are more sought after than The Mountain Eagle, which is why it’s the rarest movie that’s ever been made anywhere in the world. The only still images that have been found are a couple of dozen in total.
Did It Cross Your Mind?
Alfred Hitchcock directed The Mountain Eagle, which was his second picture ever but was not well received by critics and audiences. Reportedly, Hitchcock felt a sense of relief upon learning that the film had been destroyed.
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