Long-Lost 1919 Silent Comedy Discovered in Japan
The film "Van-ar-chy," starring Billy B. Van, was found in an antique shop and will be screened for the first time in a century.
A silent comedy from 1919, believed lost for over a century, has been discovered in an antique shop in Japan. The film, titled "Van-ar-chy," features the silent film era star Billy B. Van.
Film student Kohei Okita found the reel while searching for films related to "anarchy." He purchased a collection of old films from an antique shop and found "Van-ar-chy" among them. Okita then contacted New Hampshire film archivist John Tariot, who undertook the restoration of the film. This marks the first time the film will be publicly screened in approximately 100 years.
"For nearly a century... [Van-ar-chy] was presumed lost forever, sadly the fate of roughly 75% of all American silent films," said Kiki Keating, a spokesperson for Tariot. She added that "an extraordinary story of international discovery, lost cinema, and local New Hampshire history is heading to the stage at [New Hampshire’s] Newport Opera House — the lost film is making its official world premiere back where it was created over 100 years ago."
Billy B. Van, born William Webster Van de Grift in 1870, was a performer in vaudeville and on Broadway before establishing the Equity Motion Picture Company on the shores of Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire. Historians consider this studio to be northern New England's first.
The film will premiere on November 1 at the Newport Opera House at 2 p.m. The screening event will also include live music and the premiere of another rediscovered Van film from 1919, "Where Are Your Husbands?" This farcical film, which features a role-reversal theme, was also recently found after more than a century.
