London After Midnight (film)
| London After Midnight | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Tod Browning |
| Produced by | Tod Browning Irving Thalberg (uncredited) |
| Written by |
Waldemar Young (scenario) Joseph W. Farnham (titles) |
| Based on | "The Hypnotist" by Tod Browning |
| Starring |
Lon Chaney Marceline Day Conrad Nagel Henry B. Walthall Polly Moran Claude King |
| Cinematography | Merritt B. Gerstad |
| Edited by |
Harry Reynolds Irving Thalberg (uncredited) |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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65 mins |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent English intertitles |
| Budget | $151,666.14 |
| Box office | $1,004,00 |
London After Midnight, also known as The Hypnotist, was a 1927 American silent mystery film with horror overtones, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film was based on the short story "The Hypnotist" by Tod Browning, who also directed the film. London After Midnight starred Lon Chaney, Marceline Day, Conrad Nagel, Henry B. Walthall and Polly Moran.
The movie is now lost and remains one of the most famous and eagerly sought after of all lost films. The last known copy was destroyed in the 1967 MGM Vault fire. In 2002, Turner Classic Movies aired a reconstructed version, using the original script and film stills, by producer Rick Schmidlin.
In 2014, the only poster known to exist for the film was sold in Dallas, TX for $478,000 making it the most valuable movie poster ever sold at public auction. 1932's The Mummy held the previous record for a poster's sale at public auction selling for more than $453,000 in 1997.
In a cultured and peaceful home on the outskirts of London, the head of the household, Roger Balfour, is found dead from what appears to be a self-inflicted bullet wound, but is in fact, a murder.
Some five years later, with the case still unresolved, Scotland Yard detective and hypnotist Edward C. Burke determines to identify the killer by reproducing the scene of the crime and using hypnosis to induce the suspect into re-enacting the murder.
Other characters include Roger Balfour's friend and neighbour, Sir James Hamlin, Sir James Hamlin's nephew, Arthur Hibbs, and Williams, the Balfour's long-serving butler. Lucille Balfour, Roger Balfour's daughter, is the only person beyond suspicion.
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Wikipedia