When thinking about the idea of a “lost movie,” the image that comes to mind is likely that of a silent film that’s now over a century old or an independent feature that never made the jump to the streaming age. Well, even big, star-studded studio releases can be lost, as seen in the recent scuttling of the 2022 Batgirl movie and Coyote Vs. Acme, the latter of which is finally hitting theaters later this summer. That was the case with a 1932 Joan Crawford hit, Letty Lynton, which was mired in a court case that kept the film in the vaults—until now.
The TCM Classic Film Festival announced yesterday that they would host the world premiere of the new restoration of Letty Lynton, which will be the first legal screening of the film in 90 years. It joins a number of special presentations in the lineup including world premiere restorations of Alice In Wonderland, All The President’s Men, Auntie Mame, Citizen Ruth, Network, Out Of The Past, and the opening night film, Barefoot In The Park. But the big draw is this unseen rarity.
Starring Joan Crawford and Robert Montgomery, Letty Lynton follows its namesake character trying to wrest free from a loveless affair. When Letty (Crawford) meets Jerry (Montgomery) on a steamship, the pair fall fast in love, only with one problem: Letty’s beau is still waiting for her and won’t take no for an answer. The film became a sensation in its day partially for its costuming by designer Adrian, especially the white organdy gown with large poufy shoulder sleeves that became known as the “Letty Lynton dress.”
Released originally in 1932, the film quickly became embroiled in legal limbo, pulled from circulation in 1936 for following too closely to the story of a 1930 play, Dishonored Lady. This makes sense, as the play and the movie—which was based on Marie Belloc Lowndes’ novel of the same title—were both inspired by the same real-life case: the murder trial of Madeleine Smith. Now with the legal questions settled after the play’s copyright expired, this new 4K restoration from Warner Bros. Discovery can make its way back to the silver screen.
While Letty Lynton is perhaps one of the biggest Hollywood movies to be recently rediscovered, along with Spencer Tracy’s Depression-era romance Man’s Castle, the plight of missing movies is common, especially for independent films and films made in the silent era, the majority of which are lost.
Before its rerelease a few years ago, Nancy Savoca had no way to show her film Household Saints, as the negatives were lost and the only known copy was no longer playable. American Psycho director Mary Harron’s I Shot Andy Warhol ran into rights issues, which hindered its access aside from a few occasional screenings and an out-of-print DVD. Production companies and distributors go out of business, rights holders die or pull their film from circulation, and audiences have fewer ways to see these films aside from watching terrible bootleg copies that make their way to YouTube, as Letty Lynton did several times throughout its legally murky years. Ultimately, it took decades of legal wrangling and a copyright expiration for one of the biggest studios in Hollywood to bring one of its biggest stars back to her public, shining a light on the myriad behind-the-scenes dramas that can keep a film in the dark.
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