There have been many films that, unfortunately, were lost over time.  Perhaps the most famous of these is the horror/mystery film London After Midnight (1927).  Directed by Todd Browning (Dracula, Freaks), the film starred Lon Chaney (the “man of a thousand faces” is probably best known today for his starring roles in the original 1923 The Hunchback of Notre Dam and 1925 The Phantom of the Opera).

Unfortunately, the last known copy of London After Midnight was lost in a fire at the MGM studios’ vault fire in 1965.  Though there still exist stills from the film, a copy has yet to be found, though there are plenty of people looking for one.  In 2002 Turner Classic Movies aired a “reconstruction” of the film using stills and dialogue from the script.  Frankly, the film’s story is really creaky by today’s standards, but there’s little doubt Lon Chaney’s makeup was top notch, at least based on those same stills!