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A 1917 silent film about a deadly factory fire was lost for over a century. It just resurfaced.
The restored silent film was printed on rare 28mm safety stock and is estimated to be 90% to 95% complete, archivists said.
- The University of Maryland Libraries restored the 1917 silent film "An Unbeliever Convinced" in early 2026, leading to its selection for screenings at the 62nd Cinecon Classic Film Festival in Los Angeles.
- Underwriters Laboratories commissioned the film in 1917 to promote fire safety amid deadly industrial fires, and its survival was aided by the rare use of 28 mm diacetate safety film instead of flammable nitrate stock.
- Produced by Essanay Studios, the movie depicts a wealthy property owner ignoring warehouse fire hazards; when fire breaks out, workers struggle to escape while firefighters respond through Chicago streets, culminating in tragedy.
- Head preservationist Mark Coulbourne discovered the deteriorating film in 2025, prompting archivist Dino Everett to restore it with help from Nick Spark while composer Jon Mirsalis created a new musical score.
- Nearly 70 percent of silent films from 1912–1929 are lost, making this restoration historically significant; the film provides a rare visual record of early 20th-century Chicago fire services and emergency response.
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A 1917 silent film about a deadly factory fire was lost for over a century. It just resurfaced.
For more than 100 years, a silent film about a fictional industrial fire in Chicago remained elusive to the safety science organization that commissioned the short motion picture.But in 2025, it resurfaced at the University of Maryland Libraries, uncovered by the preservation team. Why it landed there, stored alongside a collection of movies printed on an entirely different type of film, was a mystery.The quest for answers triggered the film’s s…
·Pampa, United States
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Total News Sources11
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution90% Center
Bias Distribution
- 90% of the sources are Center
90% Center
C 90%
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