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More on that LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT story!!!

AGAIN...I WANT to Believe by ProfGriffin	Jul 24th, 2008 03:58:37 PM
Harry, you KNOW I want this to be true. But there's LOTS of talk about how things just don't jive. If he HELD the damn thing in his hands...why are just NOW hearing about it? If in 1989 he knew where it was...why does he wait until now to share?
I don't support Republican cinema. by Fawst	Jul 24th, 2008 04:04:47 PM
Oh wait, LON CHANEY! I kid, I kid! I've never seen anything with this guy in it. I'm not a silent film buff at all. But supposedly LOST cinema? That's pretty sweet. It's a hell of a story, I'd love for this to pan out for all y'all.
Cool, if this pans out... by palimpsest	Jul 24th, 2008 04:08:27 PM
...and while you're at it, Powers That Be, get all this stuff preserved and publicly accessible.
It just doesn't make sense by ProfGriffin	Jul 24th, 2008 04:10:58 PM
He knew where it was, (shelf number and row) and JUST NOW he starts to talk. He KNEW the importance of the find and he just walked away? Why? And reagardless...even if the story is true, it does not get us any closer to finding it. Just news that we ALMOST had it. And ooops. Gone. That actually makes me angrier.
USE YOUR PULL AND CONTACTS HARRY!!! by Cannabis Holocaust	Jul 24th, 2008 04:14:24 PM
Time to call up all your director buddies, Roger Ebert, other film sites, etc. And get the fucking word out. DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR FUCKING POWER TO FIND THIS MOVIE. I'm sure you already are though. Keep up the good work.
Cannabis Holocaust by HEADGEEK	Jul 24th, 2008 04:15:35 PM
I'm working it - I own one of Lon Chaney's makeup boxes - trust me, I'm taking this very seriously.
Harry by Balcony Fool	Jul 24th, 2008 04:21:10 PM
The word you're looking for there is "corroborates," not "collaborates." Kudos to keeping after this story, and I hope you come up aces. I'm not a classic horror fan, but I'm all for the preservation of cinematic history. Hope you come up aces on this one. balconyfool.wordpress.com
Admit it Harry you've got more than that... by MCVamp	Jul 24th, 2008 04:21:27 PM
You've got Lon Chaney's left eye preserved in a small jar within that makeup box. Each day you cannot obtain the print, its baleful gaze will not leave you be--even with the box closed.
NO MORE! by thebearovingian	Jul 24th, 2008 04:23:09 PM
For the love of God, no more! You're killin' me!
Wolverine Trailer @ Con!!!! by mmaddox3	Jul 24th, 2008 04:39:41 PM
It was badass ladies and gents badass. We see gambit its great shit.
Well fuck. by Knuckleduster	Jul 24th, 2008 04:44:29 PM
Someone make it official already. Just knowing that it's in capable and reliable hands will make the wait more bearable.
Harry how in the world did you get your hands on by Snookeroo	Jul 24th, 2008 04:46:39 PM
Lon Chaney's makeup box?? And does Avon know about that?
Holy Frijoles!!!! by Paul T. Ryan	Jul 24th, 2008 04:49:32 PM
Please, for the love of the atheist God, let this be true and FIND THE DAMN PRINT!!!!!!!
holy shit! by alice 13	Jul 24th, 2008 04:52:52 PM
wtf is the with the slacking on this?
Let this film be seen! by ZombiKiller86	Jul 24th, 2008 05:00:20 PM
This needs to be on national news. It's that important.
...if it's a hoax... by thethedew	Jul 24th, 2008 05:01:15 PM
...then this guy 'Sid Terror' has gone to some degree of trouble to carry it out. He's been a member of HorrorDrunx since May of this year, to a total of 221 posts in that time. Quite a bit of history to toss away on a prank, (but you guys who frequent these message boards probably know better than I do if that's typical for a hoaxer). The Post also was written and assembled quite nicely, some thought sure went into it. But, aside from the obvious questions (re: why wait so along), I'm a little concerned at the timing of the posting; smack in the middle of ComicCon, where Harry, Drew or Bill Hunt are probably not going to be available to just pick up a phone and clear the matter up for us all. Kudos to Harry for finding the time anyway!
Snookeroo by HEADGEEK	Jul 24th, 2008 05:10:59 PM
Basically - I got it from Jack Pierce's Autobiographer.
Just don't expect another "Nosferatu", guys. by Stalin vs Predator	Jul 24th, 2008 05:42:40 PM
Every information and opinion preserved about "London after Midnight" seems to state that it was a very average movie (one of the archivists posting on AMS even said harshly a few years ago that if it wasn't for its lost status, the film wouldn't even be remembered today.) Archivists' complaints aside, it is a very important find and obviously I will buy it for its significance (if it's all true, as hoaxes happen often in that field... remember last year's excitement over "4 Devils" at Criterion?), just as I bought Edison's Frankenstein - but as far as pure film experience goes, I'm not expecting the level of excitement I'd feel if I sat down to watch e.g. a discovered complete cut of "Greed", personally. Anyway, let us now seek and find some of those really unknown lost horrors, like "Dracula's Death" or "Vampires of Warsaw"...
By the way, get Roger Ebert indeed. by Stalin vs Predator	Jul 24th, 2008 05:45:44 PM
Or Leonard Maltin - he'll open everyone's door if he carps at them long enough with his voice! Seriously, though, Ebert's a great idea.
harry do something by pcassou	Jul 24th, 2008 05:47:01 PM
I'm not a big fan of classics movies, here in mexico if you didnt live in the 3 big cities 20 years ago you couldnt be a geek, thats why i love the internet. Would love to watch this, and the metrpplis print, does anyone remember what was the last thing that was said about it?
Can't wait by Series7	Jul 24th, 2008 05:53:30 PM
For the new restoration of Metropolis. Hopefully this movie is just as cool.
Some sobering discussion by wash	Jul 24th, 2008 05:57:49 PM
A lot of skeptical people over at the Classic Film Horror Board: http://tinyurl.com/5eaurk
most intresting point from the CFHB by wash	Jul 24th, 2008 06:01:57 PM
A poster over there says makes a great point: "A couple people have said that Warner/Turner were not interested in this "discover". If they weren't interested in finding the most sought after film in history then why on Earth would they spend money on that reconstruction a few years ago?"
one more by wash	Jul 24th, 2008 06:11:53 PM
The comment I posted above was posted by Michael Blake, who's the author of several books about Chaney.
I want to believe too.. by Circean6	Jul 24th, 2008 06:34:20 PM
but than again I also wanted to believe the Orson Wells/Batman gag several years ago...
Sid Terror is lying by HugePrawn	Jul 24th, 2008 06:39:42 PM
Sid states that he has permission to reprint a statement from his friend Ted Newsome. To me this means the statement was written by Ted, in his own words, and that Sid just copied the statement into his post. But Look at the way Sid writes. His style. It is almost the same as his “friend” Ted Newsome who corroborates his story. They both OVER hyphenate words (SID = Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, one-of-a-kind, life-long, motion-picture / TED = long-since, thirty-foot, inter-negative, two-reelers, voice-mail.) There are a bunch more. Look for them in both persons writing. Another punctuation character both Sid and Ted share is the use of the “double dash” to separate a long running sentence. Example, Sid writes, “In the days of 1927 through 1930, new sound productions- - often remakes of the silent classics- - were announced”. Then Ted writes, “The database itself does not date back very far—the late 1980s.” There are a ton of more “double dashs” they both use them the same way: no space after the word, double dash, space, then word. There are other similarities in grammar and the way they both tell a story. I believe they were both written by the same person. If that is true then the story is a fake. I personally believe Sid is out to stir the pot so to speak. It’s clear that he has a passion for old horror movies and very knowledgeable in the realm of classics and film, but it’s also clear the dude wants to associate himself with “big name” people and plant himself in the industry. His bio on his profile reads like someone that is desperate to fit in and be a part of things. I think he is lying about finding London After Midnight. The excuse that he didn’t want to lose his job doesn’t ring true. If he had taken the film canisters out of the building and called the media he would be called a hero, not lose his job. He would go doen in history as the guy who found London After Midnight. His name would be synonymous with the movie. And judging by how much he loves these films and wants to desperately to be associated with them, I don’t see him passing this opportunity by….if it really did happen. -Erik
Great.... by Cagliostro	Jul 24th, 2008 06:42:20 PM
Now if someone could just find the missing "Pool" scene from Night of Dark Shadows and fully restore that I'd be most appreciative.
yeah, I'm coming around to the hoax side by wash	Jul 24th, 2008 06:49:49 PM
If anyone at the studios is going to move on this it's only after "Sid" makes himself more available. "Sid" is conveniently unable to answer any communications until next week.
forgotten silver anyone? by g-ride9000	Jul 24th, 2008 06:56:33 PM

Not convinced by ByTor	Jul 24th, 2008 07:40:36 PM
A lot of holes in the story (see the thread on the CFHB for details). Assuming this is a hoax, it's really sad...and what is more, it makes everyone skeptical when something really does show up.
Most silent film fans know it still exists by Mgmax	Jul 24th, 2008 09:29:02 PM
http://www.michaelgebert.com/l am/lam1.html
i dont know anything about this movie by Mr_X	Jul 24th, 2008 09:39:26 PM
but of all the "industry" type people who visit this site, one of you fuckers cant use a computer to find a film left on a shelf? seems a bit silly really. pull your finger out lads and get it done.
Whether he's trustworthy or not... by film_fanatic_in_the_original_bla ck_and_white	Jul 24th, 2008 09:41:17 PM
...it seems like a solid lead. I home someone follows up on it and finds it.
By the way, if it all were true... by Stalin vs Predator	Jul 24th, 2008 09:46:27 PM
...then the easiest way to interest an executive in it would be to say "It's a horror movie that you could remake for cheap!"
If it's true,Lori DeWitt is an idiot by Trazadone	Jul 24th, 2008 10:20:11 PM
Seriously, why would he walk away from such a find and then tell people about it years later? Wouldn't you alert people IMMEDIATELY if you found this? It doesn't make any sense. Either he's lying or he's just dumb.
Harry... by TheBigLebowsky	Jul 24th, 2008 11:33:36 PM
Reading the article of Sid Terror, I see that the print is not in a MGM vault anymore, but must have been transfered to U.C.L.A. to be preserved, as have been all nitrate films. That's where you have to look...
Trazadone... by TheBigLebowsky	Jul 24th, 2008 11:36:48 PM
Lori DeWitt is a woman. She is the daughter of the woman who located the print in the first place. The name of the guy (or pseudonym I should say) is Sid Terror.
London After Midnight by Abdul_Alhazred	Jul 25th, 2008 12:08:24 AM
The holy grail of lost films...well, right along with the Georges Méliès stuff he destroyed. Think anyone, anywhere will ever again will see The Merry Frolics of Satan or The Conquest of The Pole? Probably not, but if we can see Chaney's London After Midnight, it would be a rare, rare treat indeed.
"Jack Pierce's autobiographer" by BruceVain	Jul 25th, 2008 12:40:50 AM
... would be Jack Pierce, logically speaking.
If this turns out to be bullshit then I'm gonna... by alucardvsdracula	Jul 25th, 2008 02:02:48 AM
Put wires in my eyeballs, grind down my teeth and find these people and kill each and every one of them. So, you've been warned. Find this fucker and fast or else.
Warner, care? by landosystem	Jul 25th, 2008 02:35:51 AM
Warner have outsourced all their restoration to India, if that tells you anything about how much they care about film...
Thomas G. Aylesworth's... by DocPazuzu	Jul 25th, 2008 03:31:22 AM
...old scholastic books dealing with movie monsters -- anyone else remember those? I ate that shit up back in the 1970s when I was a kid. Even then I was fascinated by London After Midnight and the whole idea and mystique of a "lost" film. I want to believe this, but it's sounding more and more like a hoax. The very notion that an old horror movie fan would keep shtumm about a find like that for so many years simply doesn't ring true, no matter how many people vouch for the guy. I'll remain open-minded about this for a while, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I'm guessing that when a print finally is found, it will be in some private collection in another country.
Bruce Vain by HEADGEEK	Jul 25th, 2008 04:11:07 AM
True - and the second I hit post - I wished I'd had an edit button on this worthless site. But nobody will listen to me.
First METROPOLIS now LAM... by JIMBOCOP	Jul 25th, 2008 04:55:41 AM
...all I need is the Spider scene from King Kong and an HD print of DEATH OF A NATION and I'll be a happy man!
Screw this... by TopHat	Jul 25th, 2008 07:30:00 AM
...get us a pic of Lori!!
SOMEONE IS LYING!! by Pacino86845	Jul 25th, 2008 08:03:54 AM
The original dude said Lori Dewitt died in the early nineties!!
Never mind... by Pacino86845	Jul 25th, 2008 08:05:32 AM
Just realized the original dude was talking about Lori's mom... but I still bet someone is lying...
How great would it be... by Blue_Demon	Jul 25th, 2008 12:22:23 PM
If this film finally did get re-released and none other than Forry Ackerman gets to see it again?! Come on man, just for him! He's not getting any younger. I don't know why this is bugging me so much. Do whatever you have to do Harry. Favors, threats, you name it. We can take up a collection to bail you out big guy.
SCREENSHOT OR IT DIDNT HAPPEN. by tailhook	Jul 25th, 2008 12:54:00 PM
Having one person state that another person isn't full of bullshit is bullshit in and of itself. The only 'proof' needed is the film itself.
If there ever was a complete print of this film stored... by Subtlety	Jul 25th, 2008 01:42:38 PM
The gods seems to have conspired so that we'd never find it. I must say, I have my doubts about this story, even if a couple people will vouch for the guy. I mean, the real interesting thing is that the story does make SENSE -- that the film is simply archieved in a place where no one who is in a position to know what it is would think to look for it. Filed under an alternate title... now owned by a different company... marked as "incomplete"... it would add up that even something that important could be lost (it also explains how even though certain people know its value, as evidenced by spending money on the stills-reconstruction, those particular people may not be in a position to know a print is still archieved). Still, the fact that just before he printed the article, the film mysteriously moved to some new unkown location raises all kinds of red flags. The long delay in reporting on it, the conveniently non-verifiable nature of this claim.... all adds up to making this seem about a credible as "I personally saw an Alien corpse while I was working in Hanger 18." Hey, maybe you did man, but you got to give us a little more to go on than a long (and suspiciously autobiographical) unverifiable (though not inconcievable) tale. On the other hand, even if its a hoax, I'm greatful to the guy for bringing the name "London After Midnight" back into the limelight and getting people interested in looking for it. I'm in Harry's camp on this one... I'd sell a kidney or two on the black market to take a look at this on the big screen... whatever the movie is in its content, it means a lot to me in its history.
I had a bad copy of this on VHS by Dick Bahls	Jul 25th, 2008 02:52:39 PM
This can't be that rare as I had a copy (very bad though) on tape. I have to check as I may have taped over it with one of George Lucas' fine smaller artistic projects of years ago, such as "Dead Ewoks: Caravan of Carnage", "Willblow", or "Phucker: A Man & His Cream".
Actually it is joeelliot by wash	Jul 25th, 2008 03:00:22 PM
And you are woefully uniformed or lying.
uninformed* by wash	Jul 25th, 2008 03:00:48 PM

Thanks, HugePrawn by epevensie	Jul 25th, 2008 03:17:32 PM
I'm not buying any of this...
Gotta admit... by digitalcos	Jul 25th, 2008 03:36:55 PM
I bought into it as I read it last night. But then this morning, in the harsh light of day, really thinking about it, Uh, no sir, I call shinanigins.
Lon Chaney by kungfuhustler84	Jul 25th, 2008 05:40:02 PM
is an acting legend in my book. So when can I finally own this fucking movie?
and Harry!!!! by kungfuhustler84	Jul 25th, 2008 05:41:20 PM
what's keeping you from that edit button? Is there some weird web site installation problem? Do you not trust us?
my post has disappeared... by emeraldboy	Jul 25th, 2008 06:02:08 PM
odd
This 'discovery' would make a movie in itself! by Ray Gamma	Jul 25th, 2008 06:18:46 PM
Go on, somebody make a movie out of this guy's tale about how he discovered this long lost movie. The climax of the movie could be this point when Aint It Cool News gets on it and campaigns for the restoration and re-release. And then the tiny bit that appears after the end credits could be a scene where Leonardo DiCaprio plays me, Ray Gamma, typing this message on the AICN forum.
Dubious by Donkey_Lasher	Jul 25th, 2008 08:17:48 PM
Like a previous poster has already stated, the article seems to have been written by just one man...the style of it seems just too similar and I have my doubts. I'm no great fan of Lon Chaney, as I have never seen any of his films but I do recognise his talent. If this film IS still out there, then you'd think that it would have been found by now what with Nitrate film restoration being big business since the 60's. What I'm really waiting for is the rediscovery of Hat's Off. A true classic.
Film Foundataion? by filmfanatic1	Jul 25th, 2008 09:30:53 PM
Here's another place to enlist some help; the Film Foundation is into preservation and they have some pull; contact info is: http://tinyurl.com/5n6rlo
Who Is Sid Terror and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things Abo by Frank Leonidas	Jul 26th, 2008 08:26:07 AM
There seems to be a lot of Sturm und Drang regarding all of this over on the Horror Drunx message board. There seems to be two camps: the skeptics and the true believers. Despite how I don't "believe" in anything except death and taxes, there are still too many little deus ex machinas in this story to be even remotely credible. Mr. Terror wrote he was employed by a company out of Los Angeles called "Cinema Delivery Service" in the late eighties. He must have assumed we all know what this job entailed because he never bothers to tell us exactly what he did for them. Okay, let's all use our heads and assume he was a courier for film cans and the like. Still, Mr. Terror bores us to death with his entire life story up to and including his fateful return to Hollywood in the late eighties yet he leaves out all of the details surrounding the job that put him in contact with his very own "Holy Grail", the lost film of London After Midnight? Now, being as how I don't know what a person who works for a company like Cinema Delivery Service actually does, am I just to assume that a delivery boy would have readily available on him a pair of rubber gloves, a film magnifying loop and a sharpie on a routine delivery run? I guess Mr. Terror was carrying those items with him as a part of one of his "clandestine research missions" he conducted after his "regular work hours." It's a good thing he didn't leave his sharpie in his other trousers that fateful day. It appears as if Mr. Terror is a very intelligent man but in the almost fifty years after the film's supposed demise does he honestly expect me to believe that he was the only person who has ever conducted a successful search using an "alternate title" for the most talked-about, well-known and infamous "lost" silent film in cinema history? Furthermore, it appears to me that Mr. Terror is hinting at a massive plot to hide or withhold the film from public exhibition. If this is true, why would it just be sitting in there where a courier could come in, open the actual film cans, handle the precious nitrate by hand and then mark the cans with a sharpie when he was done? I know, I know, hiding in plain sight, right? I like Raiders of the Lost Ark too but this ain't the Ark of the Covenant and that was just a movie. Lastly, I suppose what Mr. Terror is saying is that everyone in the film business associated with the companies he mentions (MGM, Turner, etc.) or at least all of the folks who have been associated with the discovery of this "lost" gem over the course of half a lifetime were simply too ignorant or uniformed to know what they had sitting right there under their noses all that time. Could Mr. Terror be a Clifford Irving for our times? Hard to say. I think in the last 72 hours he's gotten all the exposure he needs as it is. Well, I guess if the film turns up in the next couple weeks we'll have our answer to that question. If it doesn't, there's always next year.
by MonsterKid	Jul 26th, 2008 08:27:04 AM
2-to-1 when Sid Terror (real name Robert P. Yeomans) resurfaces and gives his explanation why he waited 20 years to say something it'll be along the lines of "I knew no one would believe me, but then I found the story that Ted Newsom posted on the classic horror film board that corroborated my own." I just think it's odd that after 20 years this story surfaces not terribly long after Sid Terror posted a few times on the CHFB. C'mon people, when you build a story and want to make it believable, you surround it with enough truth that the lie becomes plausible. I'd wager that almost everything in Sid Terror's story is probably true, but I'm not buying the bushwa about fondling the film canisters containing a print of London After Midnight. The last time someone watched LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT was in the early 1950s when William K. Everson and David Bradly screened the MGM print.
Now I've sobered up.... by Donkey_Lasher	Jul 26th, 2008 08:42:06 AM
...and read it all again I'm even more convinced this is a hoax. And not even a very good one.
This story is still up? by WhoDis	Jul 26th, 2008 02:03:50 PM
Wouldn't this have been solved by now? Let it go.
You've been hoaxed Harry by wash	Jul 26th, 2008 02:06:53 PM
That should be pretty obvious by now.
London After Noon Delight by bunkyboo	Jul 26th, 2008 03:48:43 PM
Rubbin' blood and fangs make the sparks ignite And the thought of findin' you is gettin' so exciting Archivists in flight- London After Midnight A-A-After Mid-id-night!
A few observations ... by VoldemortWearsPrada	Jul 26th, 2008 08:01:18 PM
1) OK, so silent film discoveries of this sort aren't unknown - for example, the lost Rudolph Valentino/Gloria Swanson `Beyond the Rocks' a few years back 2) ... however, these are almost ALWAYS found in private collections or in foreign archives. The idea that it would lying around - at MGM ITSELF no less - mislabeled by some archivist who `doesn't know' the regular length of silent films ... it just stretches credibility. 3) Surely if MGM had it they would have put it on their Lon Chaney box set of a few years back (missing reel or otherwise) rather than the reconstruction they included instead? I mean - heck, why sit on something that could be making money for you? 4) Speaking of credibility - if this guy wants to be taken seriously, framing the whole thing with that phony piece of crap about kissing up to the receptionist, meeting her pretty blonde daughter years later, etc, etc - it's not helping his cause. Conclusion: my mind's open, but I'm not optimistic.
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Whether Sid's claims are true or not... by xavier masterson	Jul 27th, 2008 03:55:12 AM
..someone should explain to Mort Daddy( apparently the founder of the message board this originated from)that yelling "Prove us Wrong!" while banning people that that are bringing up inconsistencies in Sid's story isn't exactly doing Sid any favors.
Xavier by PaulW	Jul 27th, 2008 12:05:16 PM
Yeah, I totally agree with you and I came to the same conclusions yesterday. Mort Daddy banned the most vocal skeptic even though he was totally civil and making solid claims. I put up some posts myself there yesterday explaining the fallacy of the "prove us wrong" idea as well as calling him out for banning a person who was providing some good civil debate. Mort immediately deleted my posts. The tone of my posts were toally civil by the way. I want to believe Sid is on the level though I remain on the fence due lack of evidence. I agree that Mort isn't doing much to help Sid.
Mort is a fucking douchbag by wash	Jul 27th, 2008 12:34:09 PM
Prove me wrong.
Hate to say it, Harry... by Subtlety	Jul 27th, 2008 03:40:49 PM
But it looks like you've been had. A lot of people have been paying attention to this all week and... no news whatsoever. Or are you keeping this up because you HAVE heard something?
Another Sid Terror claim is debunked. by MonsterKid	Jul 27th, 2008 05:27:19 PM
The boys at the CHFB (http://tinyurl.com/5eaurk)hav e been digging hard. On Sid Terror's yuku progile he claims he's the great-grandson of Max Schreck (which he spells wrong), the German actor who played Graf Orlok in Nosferatu. One of the CHFB silent movie experts who lives in Germany points out that Max Schreck and his wife Fanny had no kids, "biological or adopted."
Terror's profile by MonsterKid	Jul 27th, 2008 05:39:12 PM
Here's a tinyurl link to Sid Terror's yuku profile: http://tinyurl.com/678bhp
Hey MonsterKid by PaulW	Jul 27th, 2008 08:11:41 PM
Thanks for the CHFB link. That thread has made for some great reading. The people there really seem to know their stuff and I have found their writing to be very sensible. From what I have read there have been a bunch of people who have been banned from the HorrorDrunx site and many posts have been deleted (not just mine). Mort is trying to eliminate the most damning criticism right now.
I'm tired of this by theJackalope	Jul 27th, 2008 10:22:58 PM
bullshit. Could we please move on to the next hoax? How 'bout the guy who found a print of the lost RKO serial "Daredevil Nitwits" starring Wheeler & Woolsey?
Call UCLA and resolve this by BigGuy219	Jul 27th, 2008 10:48:41 PM
This is a film archive at a respected university. According to the story, that is where it is if it's true. Seems like one phone call and the situation is resolved. Why didn't they call BEFORE going public? That bothers me.
Has Harry learned anything since? by christian66	Jul 28th, 2008 12:17:40 AM
Seems to crazy to post two stories on this with NO follow-up. Certainly everybody in town has read this by now...
Sid Terror is back by Donkey_Lasher	Jul 28th, 2008 12:13:09 PM
..and he is insisting that he is right and everyone is wrong. The way these people are conducting themselves is a little too hostile. The latest post is basically a Ten Commandments style edict on how things are going to work.
So Sid is back... by Subtlety	Jul 28th, 2008 03:01:13 PM
With a big long (and incredibly patronizing) list which includes the things people aren't allowed to ask him about, and what the conversation will entail. I guess I'd be a little pissed too if I'd been called a liar and opportunist so many times, but damn, he sure isn't making it any easier for people to believe him. Especially since this matter could have been cleared up with a few phone calls, which I suspect have already been made numerous times. It's been a week now... and no news. His story does sound remotely plausible, and its nice to have some confirmation that at least Lori finds him credible, but... but man, as I said before, if there is a grain of truth to this thing, the gods seem to have willed that no one would ever believe it. And Sid (and Mort)ain't helping by being such Nazis about polite skepticism (especially skepticism by people who have already done a little legwork to see if there's anything to the claim). Let's have a little more investigation, rather than telling everyone that if they either believe (despite a week with no new evidence whatsoever) or they're not entitled to speak. And hey - I'd love for this to be true. By all means, investigate! But I think people probably already have by this point, and we're hearing... nothing at all. Not even an encouraging sign. Come on, Sid, you've come this far, now you gotta give people something more than a story.
And yeah... by Subtlety	Jul 28th, 2008 03:09:26 PM
Knowing what he know, Sid definitely could have resolved this issue himself before going public with his story. It might have taken an extra month or so just to be absolutely sure, but if he's pissed people don't believe him, well shit, he decided to create a huge ruckus without any proof. What did he think was going to happen? Seems like he had come far enough by this point to just go ahead and find the truth before telling the world. BTW, has anyone here personally called UCLA or the other pleaces? If so, post and let us know if there's anything at all to this.
Sid needed to stand above the fray by PaulW	Jul 28th, 2008 04:34:18 PM
After some heavy skepicism I can understand a little bit why Sid is lashing out at everyone. Unfortunately, he doesn't help his case much by acting this way. This might have been difficult to achieve but I think he needed to stay cool, calm, collected, and professional. A small paragraph urging a continued search and a few points addressing the skepicism would have been enough in the absence of additional evidence. Unfortunately, he has gotten emotional and flipped out. This generally happens when you know you have been reduced to being on the defensive. A few days ago I came to the conclusion that Mort_Daddy was ironically Sid's worst enemy. I now believe that Sid is Sid's worst enemy. I hope he is right about LAM and that it can be found but I have lost faith in the messengers. I am in agreement with the previous several posts.
Kane You Believe It? by Frank Leonidas	Jul 28th, 2008 06:16:22 PM
Look, when the one guy you need to back you up essentially says you're full of crap (Ted Newsom, the guy who sometime around 2002 apparently found the corrected entry Terror made in the database twenty years ago minus the "section, row and shelf number" in Mr. Terror's claim) and that's the only source other than yourself you have to trust...we're done. It's over. And I don't think any of us really care about Mr. Terror's life story, who he dated, who he broke up with but still keeps in touch with, etc. It still doesn't prove he found anything and neither does acting like a petulant five year old with internet access who doesn't get his way. Did the woman Terror claims helped him exist? Didn't she exist? (she supposedly died before Mr. Terror could break his story) Who cares? The only guy who could probably answer that question for you is semi-retired (Dick May) and in his mid-seventies and according to some trusted sources he doesn't give a crap about this laughably juvenile exhibition either. If you want to help preserve film history -- become a FILM ARCHIVIST, not a rock star. Seriously folks, if you want a very humble opinion based on this story and want to know what you can do to help: ignore it. If London After Midnight is genuinely found one day it will be a revelation -- and it will more than likely have nothing to do with anyone reading this. Lastly, if this guy truly wanted to concoct a story worth telling, he should have read this: http://www.mardecortesbaja.com /blog/_archives/2008/4/1/36120 16.html That should explain the title of this post. It beats the hell out of anything I've read all week.
Kane You Believe It? LINK by Frank Leonidas	Jul 28th, 2008 06:27:22 PM
try copying and pasting this: http://www.mardecortesbaja.com /blog/_archives/2008/4/1/36120 16.html
by Frank Leonidas	Jul 28th, 2008 06:30:24 PM
you'll need to delete that little space at the end between the 0 and the 1. Trust me, it will be worth it!
by Frank Leonidas	Jul 28th, 2008 06:38:46 PM
last try: http://tinyurl.com/6ldjtz
by Frank Leonidas	Jul 28th, 2008 06:40:37 PM
That last one seemed to do the trick!
Dealing with "Sid Terror" by BigGuy219	Jul 28th, 2008 08:23:36 PM
After reviewing the original story and the way “Sid Terror” and “Mort Daddy” have reacted in the wake of logical criticism, it is now safe to assume we are dealing with self-centered individuals seeking publicity in the wake of the news regarding the recovery of the lost METROPOLIS footage. It would seem that this was nothing more than an elaborate backstory to a claim made by “Ted Newsom” previously. Please understand that I am not claiming that “Ted Newsom” was involved in this hoax. Enough criticism has been leveled to puncture numerous holes in the original story and rather than address them, they have chosen to delete them and conduct a cover up. Their only response, resembling something you might hear in Kindergarten, is “prove us wrong.” The claim is twenty years ago “Sid Terror” saw LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT in a film archive and the only person he notified in the facility, who he did not show the film to incidentally, is now deceased. The claim has been written in such a way that if the film were not found in the UCLA Film Archives it could easily be said “it was moved,” “it was stolen,” or some other excuse. As they can offer no proof he was “right,“ we can of course offer no proof that he was “wrong.“ This is a classic internet hoax. The problem I have with this is that it hurts film preservation. Because their claim reached the likes of Harry Knowles at AintItCoolNews, countless people in the industry were contacted about this alleged claim. The professionals contacted about this story are obviously annoyed and are now less likely to believe someone if and when it is ever found. This is unacceptable. For the sake of film preservation this cannot be allowed. “Sid Terror” has encouraged us all to search for LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT, but only a small handful of us has access to a film archive or industry contacts and therefore useless in the search. However, we do have access to the internet, telephones, and other resources. Therefore, I propose the following. We devote our time to finding “Sid Terror.” We find his real name, his telephone number, his cell phone number, his address, the names and information on members of his family and loved ones. We post this information wherever we can in the same way he posted the contact information of the film archivists at UCLA. We cannot let this deed go unpunished. In short, I want the next person who considers orchestrating a hoax like this to shudder in “Terror” of ending up like “Sid.”
I look in the mirror-- by Ted Newsom	Jul 28th, 2008 10:08:40 PM
-- and see me, not Sid Terror. I get a kick out of being described as a figment of someone's literary fantasies on the basis of em-dashes, but I understand the suspicion. Here's the poopscoop, guys: I've never met Sid; he pm'd be through the CHFB to ask if he could excerpt posts I'd made ages back on LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT within his story. I said sure. I know my part of the tale is true, but I've always couched it in ambiguous terms. The listing in the MGM database when I worked for the company in 2002 was an anomaly: a title 9THE HYPNOTIST aka LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT) with no specifics: no description, no vault location (there are a score of them in the LA area, as many in Jersey, more in Rome & London, more in Japana and China, and even Kansas.) , no location within the vault, and no description of the "assets," i.e., "4 reels, 35mm nitrate, b/w," or "2 reels, 16mm reversal, color," or whatever. Just the title. And I have always said that it COULD have been entered as a film-buff gag. However, I scanned through the 7 or 10,000 other MGM titles in that d/b and found no other "gags" like GREED, 24 reels, 35mm negative," or anything. And I did call the Turner company AT THE TIME (since MGM/UA did not have the rights, nor did I have any idea where this would-be asset might be) and told them, 'I think you've got this in one of your facilities." They shrugged and said, "Yeah, and it's going to be on TV next Thursday." "No, that's a photo recreation. I'm talking about the real movie." "Oh. Uh-huh. Okay, thanks. I'll tell someone." And I just said to hell with it. So-- despite the em-dashes-- I really am not Sid error. Andif you'd poke around on the net, you'll find my LAM story a number of places that predate this whole mishegosh by months or years: Latarnia, Scarlet Street, CHFB, and, who knows where else.
Ted N by PaulW	Jul 29th, 2008 12:15:01 AM
Only a few people have made the accusation. The vast majority of people (judging from the many posts I have read on various sites), have never considered you to be Sid. Other than the em-dash thing I have found you to be in tone and style pretty different from Sid.
So Harry... zero hour. by Subtlety	Jul 29th, 2008 03:51:54 PM
Is there anything to this or not? Give us an update or let us off the hook already!
Hmm by Donkey_Lasher	Jul 29th, 2008 05:00:09 PM
This is a fascinating story to me, I'm no silent film buff but in the past I have felt sorrow for hearing of a films destruction, and I think Harry perhaps should give us more updates (even if no news, or perhaps his opinion on this since the story broke). I think he has been looking into it however, but must now be having his doubts) Ted's posts have now been removed from the Horrordrunx topic, and while I can't say for certain if his words are true or not, this is starting to sound very odd. The credibility of that site is now shot. Please Harry, make a statement?
My theory has been proven right... by HugePrawn	Jul 29th, 2008 06:57:11 PM
In my previous post I made the observation that, it seemed like the direct copied quotes from Ted Newsom were written by Sid Terror. Looks like I was right. "Ted's" portion of the story that Sid wrote are now GONE! Funny how that worked - this story got so much heat that Sid's lies caught up to him. I don't have anything personally against Sid (how could I? I don't even know the dude), but I find his character to be in question. This whole deal leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Even Sid's "10 commandments" retort reeks of a guy that is in over his head and is scared of being found out. Unfortunately he has denial and unconformable events on his side. But one thing I'm sure of.....if London After Midnight was out there, it would have been found by now. And that is too bad, cause I would really love to see it. -Erik
MOM'S BASEMENT AFTER MIDNIGHT by FlyingToupee	Jul 29th, 2008 08:12:41 PM
That's where Sid Terror thought up his grand hoax. Too bad it blew up in his face. Well, I'm sure he'll try again. Next time he can say he found the missing twenty minutes from BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN in his great grandpappy's attic(next to all of his NOSFERATU mementoes).
Why do I get the feeling... by MonsterKid	Jul 30th, 2008 08:26:43 PM
that we'll see no further official comment from AICN on this subject?
Oy... It's looking very ugly on Horror Drunx! by Paul T. Ryan	Jul 30th, 2008 09:55:26 PM
Are they going to ban everyone who questions this story? Oh, and if you're the Ted Newsom who made Cinemaker, just wanted to say I loved it!
Paul T. Ryan is my new best friend. by Ted Newsom	Aug 1st, 2008 03:09:49 PM
He may be one of 8 people in the world who saw CINEMAKER! (Thanks, Paul. I try. And, yes, I'm the same guy.)
horrorcirklejerkz by wash	Aug 1st, 2008 04:10:20 PM
Now that they've banned pretty much everyone off their site, it's just a handful of people posting now. They claim they've banned all the dissenters because they weren't contributing, but I don't see what their little jerk fest they're having is going to accomplish.

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