Film historians and fans of lost movies have reason to be extra thankful this holiday season. “The Scarlet Drop,” a 1918 silent film directed by John Ford and starring Harry Carey that was previously thought to be lost to history, could soon become available to watch.
A complete print of the film has reportedly been discovered in a warehouse set for demolition in Santiago, Chile (via The National). The day before the building was destroyed, workers unearthed a collection of film prints — including the most-complete known copy of “The Scarlet Drop” — that belonged to a deceased collector.
The Civil War-set Western stars Carey as Harry “Kaintuck” Ridge, a would-be Union soldier who joins a gang of marauders after being rejected by the Army. He eventually becomes a fugitive with a price on his head and falls in love with the daughter (Betty Schade) of the family who conspired to prevent him from joining the military.
“The Scarlet Drop” was one of seven films directed by Ford that were released in 1918, all of which starred his frequent collaborator Carey. While 30 minutes of the film have existed in the Getty Archive for years, the discovery marks the first opportunity for film scholars and Ford completionists to view the story in its entirety.
IndieWire reached out to Ford’s estate with a request for comment on the reported discovery, though we did not immediately hear back.
Per The National, the film was restored by archivist Jaime Cordova, who runs the Valparaiso Recovered Film Festival in Chile. A digitized copy of the film was shown at the latest edition of the festival in September.
“The film was very damaged, which indicates that it was a very popular film at the time. It was shown a lot,” Cordova told the publication.
Cordova said that while this is the most complete version of the film known to exist, the copy still might not be entirely complete.
“The film is 106 years old. It was stored in conditions we don’t know about. I think there are films that decide to live,” Cordova said.
No subsequent screenings of “The Scarlet Drop” have been announced.
