Legendary Western director John Ford’s long-lost movie,The Scarlet Drop, was recently found 106 years after it premiered, but what is the film, and why is its recovery so important? For decades,The Scarlet Dropwas thought to be completely lost to time. The Getty Archive had about half an hour of the film’s 50-minute runtime, but there hadn’t been a widely available complete copy of the film in nearly a century. Now, however,John Ford’s lost Western has been recovered, andThe Scarlet Dropcan be viewed in its entirety for the first time in over a century.
John Ford has become a legend of Western cinema, so rediscovering any of his movies is a big deal. Ford made some of thebest Western movies ever made, such asThe Searchers,The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, andStagecoach. Aside from the fact thatThe Scarlet Dropfills in a gap in the legendary director’s career, the recovery of the film marks a big moment for film in general. Here’s everything you need to know aboutThe Scarlet Drop, including its plot, why it was lost and how it was found, what it did for Ford’s career, and why rediscovering it was so special.
What John Ford’s The Scarlet Drop Is About
The Scarlet Drop Follows A Man Who Becomes A Bandit & Finds Redemption Through Love
After 106 years, the plot ofThe Scarlet Dropmay seem like standard Western fare today, but in 1918, it was a momentous film.The Scarlet Dropfollows “Kaintuk” Harry Ridge (Harry Carey), a man who was denied from serving in the Union army during the American Civil War. Kaintuk became a bandit, but he eventually met and romanced Molly Calvert (Molly Malone), and their relationship inspired him to seek redemption. Themes of redemption are a staple of Westerns in the modern era, but in 1918, Kaintuk’s life as a bandit was almost scandalous, and several cities edited the film to remove his more unsavory actions (viaExhibitors Herald).
How The Scarlet Drop Was Lost & Found Explained
The Majority Of Silent Films Have Been Destroyed Or Lost Entirely, But The Scarlet Drop Was Found In A Chilean Warehouse
Though it was an important early step in John Ford’s career as a filmmaker,The Scarlet Dropwas almost completely lost to history. Unfortunately, the reasonThe Scarlet Dropwas forgotten for over a century is not unique to Ford’s film. According to David Pierce and theLibrary of Congress,3/4 movies from the era of silent film have already been lost to time, and even more have only survived in incomplete or severely damaged states.
The Library of Congress can now authoritatively report that the loss of American silent-era feature films constitutes an alarming and irretrievable loss to our nation’s cultural record. Even if we could preserve all the silent era films known to exist today in the U.S. and in foreign film archives — something not yet accomplished — it is certain that we and future generations have already lost 75% of the creative record from the era that brought American movies to the pinnacle of world cinematic achievement in the twentieth century.
There’s a litany of reasons so many silent films have been lost to time. Several major studies outright destroyed their copies of silent films over the years, either to make space in storage or simply because they were damaged. An untold number of copies were destroyed by time itself, usually because they weren’t properly preserved or were stored in conditions that allowed the film to deteriorate.The film preservationistThe Scarlet Dropwas given to, Jaime Cordova, mentioned that he had previously found a film from 1955 that was in far worse condition, which illustrates that many films were simply neglected.
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Silent cinema features some of the most creative and important movies ever. It is a travesty that audiences have forgotten so many essential examples.
Somehow, a single complete copy ofThe Scarlet Dropdidn’t succumb to any of the challenges the vast majority of silent films have. The owner of a warehouse in Santiago, Chile, discovered a complete version of the film a day before the building was set to be demolished. The previous owner, who had died 40 years prior, had the copy among a large collection of other films.The current owner then gave the films to Cordova, who identifiedThe Scarlet Dropamong them. Cordova then digitized the footage and screened it at the Valparaiso Recovered Film Festival (viaThe National).
The Scarlet Drop Was Part Of A Long-Standing John Ford Partnership
John Ford & Harry Carey Made 26 Films Together Over Almost 20 Years
The Scarlet Dropwas important to John Ford’s career personally, but it was also an important part of his most prolific partnership.John Ford and John Wayne’s Westernstogether may be the most well-known collaboration today, but Ford worked more extensively with Harry Carey.Ford and Carey actually made 26 films together, compared to Ford and Wayne’s 24. The actor and director duo worked together for nearly 20 years, from 1917’sThe Soul Herderto 1936’sThe Prisoner of Shark Island.The Scarlet Dropwas also described as “the most supreme hit” of Carey’s career at the time (viaMovie Web).
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The Scarlet Dropwas John Ford and Harry Carey’s 10th film together, and it’s now one of the few lasting products of their relationship, but not the only positive development. Ford and Carey were more than just business partners; they were also friends.After Carey died in 1947, Ford dedicated his film3 Godfathersto Carey’s memory and called him the “Bright star of the early Western sky.“Ford also had an extensive collaboration with Carey’s son, Harry Carey Jr. It’s likely because Ford and Carey worked together so often and so early in their respective careers that they became close.
The Scarlet Drop Is Far From John Ford’s Only “Lost” Movie
Almost 50 Of John Ford’s Earliest Films Have Been Lost To Time
While recoveringThe Scarlet Dropis a major win for silent film and John Ford enthusiasts alike, it’s far from the director’s only film to be lost to time.Ford made over 130 movies during the course of his career, and nearly 50 of them, mostly from the silent era, are completely lost. Of the 26 films Ford and Harry Carey made together, only five are still around and in their complete condition, now thatThe Scarlet Drophas been found. It’s difficult to name another director who has such a huge catalog of movies that has so thoroughly vanished from the annals of history.
The recovery of The Scarlet Drop is a wonderful moment for cinephiles the world over.
The sheer number of John Ford’s movies that have been lost makes the recovery ofThe Scarlet Dropeven more special. A piece of Ford’s legendary filmography that was written off as nonexistent has been brought back to life, and we get to enjoy it now just as much as viewers did in 1918. This news may even have the added benefit of showing people why silent films are still so valuable, even after a century’s worth of technological advancement. The recovery ofThe Scarlet Dropis a wonderful moment for cinephiles the world over.
The Scarlet Drop
Cast
The Scarlet Drop is a silent film set during the American Civil War, featuring Kaintuck Ridge, portrayed by Harry Carey. After being denied entry into the Union militia, Ridge joins a group of marauders, ultimately becoming a fugitive with a bounty on his head.
