Lost Films: The Right to be Happy
Written by Rachael Crawley
A “lost film” has no known existing copies. In most cases, none will ever be found. This series aims to discuss lost movies from across the ages, and to highlight the reasons for film loss and the continuing efforts to counteract it. It is estimated that 90% of all movies made before 1929 are gone forever.
Yes, it’s the holidays – and what better way to celebrate than with a festive lost film? The most reliable option seemed to be one of the many adaptations of A Christmas Carol, Dicken’s classic tale of economic disparity and great catchphrases. With over twenty versions, one had to be lost, right?
As it turns out, yes, there have been many adaptations – particularly from the silent era – and several appear to be missing (though a few survive). After some debate, I settled on The Right to Be Happy, Rupert Julian’s 1916 adaptation and apparently the first to be feature-length1. Fortunately, I don’t have to go too deeply into the plot, and there is no evidence that the film significantly deviated from the book. (Though it is often remarked on, no one seems to know why they changed the title.) For those who are not yet familiar with the premise, well, the Muppets tell the story far better than I do.
Did you know? Scrooge, Or Marley’s Ghost (Walter R. Booth, 1901) is the oldest known surviving version of A Christmas Carol. It can be found on YouTube.
Scholarly resources on this film are scant – my best sources were publications about Christmas, Dickens, or (most interestingly) disability on film, where the sole description was generally an entry on a long list of similar films. The film was five reels (or around seventy-five minutes)2 and was released on Christmas Day in 1916. The longest source I could find was in A Christmas Carol and its Adaptations, a 2006 critical analysis from Dickens scholar Fred Guida, which devoted a few paragraphs to the subject.
An additional resource was rupertjulian.com, which offered some insight on the filmmaker, if not the film. Julian, a New Zealand actor and director, was most famous for The Phantom of The Opera (1925) with Lon Chaney. He also took the role of Scrooge in this production, which appears to have been a hit with critics. He was much more prolific as an actor than as a director, which may account for the general good reception his performance received.
A few stills and promotional items do exist, many of which are accessible at IMDB. While the stills seem to be from famous moments in the book (Fezzwig’s party, Christmas with the Cratchits), the posters and reviews do tell us a bit about its release. Naturally, it was heavily promoted for the Christmas season. The ghosts in particular seem to be a draw, as they feature prominently in both pictures and posters – I wondered if the effects themselves were unusual for their time, though it is not explicitly stated. There is a shade of disappointment from some quarters that the film seems “American”, but in general the film appears to have been medium to well-received. Both critics and studio sources comment on its authenticity to the book and praise Julian’s performance.
Guida posits that it was a minor picture of the era, as neither its cast nor its studio were hugely famous4, but there is little evidence either way regarding the film’s commercial success or longevity. There is no suggestion as to where a print was last seen, and it does not appear to exist in archives. Though the reputation of Dickens’ novel might have brought in an audience, there are many famous versions of this story – and it is possible that this one was simply left behind with time.
As with any lost film, it is unlikely that it will be recovered, especially in full. But wouldn’t that be a great Christmas present?
Footnotes
1. A Christmas Carol and its Adaptations, Fred Guida, page 78.
2. Ibid.
3. Guida, 78-80.
4. Guida, 78.
Rachael Crawley holds a Master's Degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, and has worked with film in Canada and in Europe. She adores language and cinema, and how these subjects interact with each other.