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Lost John Ford film found in Chile after 100 years | The National

Famous director John Ford’s film The Scarlet Drop, lost for more than 100 years, has been discovered nearly in its entirety in Chile.

Released in 1918, The Scarlet Drop was one of 26 westerns that Ford made with actor Harry Carey, the most prolific partnership of the six-time Academy Award-winning director’s storied career.

Described at the time as the “most supreme hit of Harry Carey’s career”, the film has been missing since its initial release. About 30 minutes of footage from the film exists in the Getty Archive, with no full cut of the film thought to remain intact.

The movie was rediscovered by the owner of a warehouse in Santiago, a day before it was set to be demolished. While reviewing the building’s contents, the owner discovered a trove of films that were once owned by a local collector, left untouched for 40 years after his death.