A piece of film history missing for more than 100 years and thought to be lost forever was found on Long Island in New York by an intern going through old boxes.
The 16-millimeter film is believed to be the only known surviving copy of “The Heart of Lincoln,” a silent movie about the life of President Abraham Lincoln and American life during the Civil War. The 1915 motion picture released by Universal was listed by the Library of Congress as among 7,000 silent films believed to be lost forever.
The director and star of the film was Francis Ford, the older brother of legendary Hollywood director John Ford, the winner of a record four Academy Awards for Best Director who would go on to make his own movie about Lincoln decades later.
Film archivist Eliot Kissileff was able to clean and digitize the movie, so it could never be lost again.
“I guess it was just lucky the cans were sealed and had not decayed,” Kissilef saidf.
The film, which was in remarkably good condition despite its age, was found in 2024 at Lauro’s Historic Films Archive in Greenport, New York, by summer intern Dan Martin. He had been going through boxes of old films donated to the archive, and the movie was among many that had been left untouched for decades.
“For someone going to school for film preservation, this is about the most rewarding outcome you can have sifting through those old film cans,” said Martin, of Jamesport.
The movie’s five reels were among the rusty film cases lining the walls of the office of Joe Lauro, who owns the business.
“He came up with a startled look on his face and said ‘Joe, I really think we’ve got something special here,’” said Lauro, who hopes to restore the film and add a score to it, so modern audiences can be treated to a piece of cinematic history.
“With silent films, probably 70% of them are gone,” Lauro said. “It’s a piece of the puzzle that’s now been found. The puzzle of lost American cinema.”
As for Martin, his discovery serves as a reminder that no intern’s task is too small.
“It was very rewarding to end my internship on this high note,” Martin said. “A film like this provides evidence that film history is still being written.”
