London After Midnight: The Lost Film that Refuses to Stay Completely Lost

As a nerd who loves collectibles, I've seen plenty licensed merchandise connected to all sorts of movies, TV shows, comic books, cartoons and video games. Yet of all the titles that keep popping up in collector circles, the one that repeatedly surprises me is a film that has been lost forever: London After Midnight (1927).

London After Midnight was a mystery horror film from the silent era that starred legendary horror actor Lon Cheney (a.k.a. "The Man of a Thousand Faces") and was directed by Tod Browning. Even though all copies of this film have been lost, that hasn't kept posters, film stills and publicity photos of Lon Cheney in makeup as his Midnight character Professor Edward Burke from being shared among monster movie fans and published in books and magazines. It also hasn't stopped the steady production merchandise based on Professor Burke, which so far has included model kits, statues, busts, and figures of varying sizes and features. For a film that hasn't been seen in decades, that's a pretty impressive run of merchandise.

The latest replica of Professor Burke is being produced by NECA as part of its Ultimate Universal Monsters line. This 7-inch articulated figure comes with a lantern, a removable hat, extra hands, three interchangeable heads, and an attachable winged cape. Pre-orders are being taken for this figure now, and I wouldn't be surprised if Super7 and Jada Toys soon release their own versions of the Burke figure in 3.75- and 6-inch scales.

NECA's Professor Burke figure and accessories.

Because no copies remain, we'll never know for sure if London After Midnight was actually a good movie. According to Wikipedia, most reviews at the time of its release were mixed; Browning himself would later remake Midnight as Mark of the Vampire (1935) with Bela Lugosi. Nevertheless, most of the interest in Midnight stems from Cheney himself, an actor who provided horror fans with iconic depictions of classic characters in The Hunchback of Norte Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). Even if Midnight itself is best left forgotten, the images of Cheney in the makeup he wore for that film continue to stir the imagination about what might have been.